[duo8]

If I put one of those Chinese CF adpater boards in, can I still fit a battery mod?

 

[duo8]

If I put one of those Chinese CF adpater boards in, can I still fit a battery mod?

It seems like with a thick case and a slim CF adapter, I'll get 4mm for the battery.
But if I file the adapter down to 3.3mm, I can get 5-6mm for the battery.
The other adapters are all 6mm thick, same thickness as a slim HDD.

 

[mueslitoeter]

It expanded enough to make the iPod pop open.

This doesn't sound good. Which battery was this? The 6th gen don't open as easy as the 5th gen, so if this happens to a 6th or 7th gen ipod, there could be more damage.

 

[Happytalk]

The one we all bought like 3 years ago. Th name Alex comes to mind. Prior to my iPod expanding, it stopped working properly. There was an error message saying connect to iTunes. Back to the drawing board, I guess.

 

[duo8]

OK, so I got the generic red adapter and the slim red CF-ZIF adapter. I plugged them in.
They don't work.

-----The end.

 

[duo8]

And now the battery connector's about to break, from repeated removals.
I guess I'll have to give up the SD mod. Luckily it seems like the 1900 battery will fit in a thick case even with the (slim) HDD.

 

[0rpheu]

And now the battery connector's about to break, from repeated removals.
I guess I'll have to give up the SD mod. Luckily it seems like the 1900 battery will fit in a thick case even with the (slim) HDD.

Your mistake was to get a generic adapter, just speend a little bit more and get tarkan's it's proven to work

 

[duo8]

Your mistake was to get a generic adapter, just speend a little bit more and get tarkan's it's proven to work

"A little bit" is already 10 times what I paid. Also I can't wait a month for shipping.
The real issue the zif-cf adapter, which has been confirmed not working. I was going to try and figure out why, but the failing battery connector means I won't mess around with this anymore. Just gonna epoxy the connector then close it up.

 

[duo8]

OK, so I managed to squeeze everything back together. I'll leave whatever I've learned here, hopefully it'll make it easier for others looking for info.

• The battery connector isn't designed for many repeated connections. Mine almost fell off. (Maybe try using tweezers instead of propping a spudger against the frame)
• Chinese iPod parts are crap. Most of the difficulties I've had came from these. The front case's matte surface is too rough, the edges are too sharp, the foam padding for the screen is too thick (I had to remove it), and the screen cover is made of very soft and slightly deformed plastic. The back case had a few holes drilled wrong, making it impossible to fit the hold switch in. The clickwheel is also pretty bad, the surface is too rough and uneven (there's a bump wherever the white plastic underneath shows), the thickness is also wrong, making it protrude a bit from the case and unable to hold the center button tight enough, though it does work properly. The only thing that (almost) work properly is the headphone jack+hold switch, the only problem is the quiet buzzer.
• The red CF-ZIF adapter doesn't work (att.), which is a shame because it's the thinnest one around (4mm)
• The green CF-ZIF adapter has been confirmed by others to work (att.). The black adapter seems to be similar, but no one has tried.
• These CF-ZIF adapters use a 0.5mm ZIF connector, the HDDs on iPods use 0.25mm.
  
• The generic red CF-SD adapter has been confirmed by others to work. No idea what chipset it uses.
• The thick case uses parts different from the thin case (headphone+hold switch and dock port bezel). You can fit thin case parts into a thick case, but it'll leave open gaps, and the hold switch will be harder to operate. You cannot fit thick case parts into a thin case.
• Check for dust between screen and screen cover before assembling.

Some measurements (estimated):

• Thin HDD: 5mm
• Thin HDD + foam: 7mm, ~6mm compressed
• Green CF-ZIF: 6mm
• CF Type I: 3mm
• CF Type II: 5.5mm
• 1900mAh battery: ~3.5mm (YMMV)
• Thick case clearance: ~9mm

 

[potatotornado]

OK, so I managed to squeeze everything back together. I'll leave whatever I've learned here, hopefully it'll make it easier for others looking for info.

• The battery connector isn't designed for many repeated connections. Mine almost fell off. (Maybe try using tweezers instead of propping a spudger against the frame)

Absolutely never, never lift up the battery connector like this:

Come at it from the side and lift it like this:



And use a simple flat head screwdriver, not that black spudger. I guarantee you'll never break a connector again.

I only figured this out after watching some of Tarkan's Youtube tutorials. That guy has probably opened up thousands of iPods.

 

[ThinWalls]

OK, so I managed to squeeze everything back together. I'll leave whatever I've learned here, hopefully it'll make it easier for others looking for info.

• The battery connector isn't designed for many repeated connections. Mine almost fell off. (Maybe try using tweezers instead of propping a spudger against the frame)
• Chinese iPod parts are crap. Most of the difficulties I've had came from these. The front case's matte surface is too rough, the edges are too sharp, the foam padding for the screen is too thick (I had to remove it), and the screen cover is made of very soft and slightly deformed plastic. The back case had a few holes drilled wrong, making it impossible to fit the hold switch in. The clickwheel is also pretty bad, the surface is too rough and uneven (there's a bump wherever the white plastic underneath shows), the thickness is also wrong, making it protrude a bit from the case and unable to hold the center button tight enough, though it does work properly. The only thing that (almost) work properly is the headphone jack+hold switch, the only problem is the quiet buzzer.
• The red CF-ZIF adapter doesn't work (att.), which is a shame because it's the thinnest one around (4mm)
• The green CF-ZIF adapter has been confirmed by others to work (att.). The black adapter seems to be similar, but no one has tried.
• These CF-ZIF adapters use a 0.5mm ZIF connector, the HDDs on iPods use 0.25mm.
  
• The generic red CF-SD adapter has been confirmed by others to work. No idea what chipset it uses.
• The thick case uses parts different from the thin case (headphone+hold switch and dock port bezel). You can fit thin case parts into a thick case, but it'll leave open gaps, and the hold switch will be harder to operate. You cannot fit thick case parts into a thin case.
• Check for dust between screen and screen cover before assembling.

I'd concur with that. Though aren't all ipod parts 'Chinese', including the original ones? I realise you mean 'third party Chinese ipod parts', and in my experience they are very variable - often they have exactly the faults you list, but not always. I had one back case with no screw holes at all for the audio socket/hold switch and several clickwheels have not worked at all.

Loads of people have broken that wretched battery connector at least once. Every time you have to remove and reinsert it it gets a bit weaker, it seems.

 

[zedhed]

And use a simple flat head screwdriver, not that black spudger. I guarantee you'll never break a connector again.

I only figured this out after watching some of Tarkan's Youtube tutorials. That guy has probably opened up thousands of iPods.

I also brace the connector by using a toothpick. Use this to push down on the connector (the part that's soldered to the board); and lift up the plastic lock using something that hooks under the lip.

I've NEVER broken a connector this way. Broken plenty of other stuff though....

 

[zedhed]

Anybody know where to buy these batteries? I've been looking in the usual places but have drawn a blank.
It's size is roughly the equivalent to two standard thin iPod batteries, side by side.

It fitted really well in a thin iPod with a 256GB msata SSD.

 

[potatotornado]

Anybody know where to buy these batteries? I've been looking in the usual places but have drawn a blank.
It's size is roughly the equivalent to two standard thin iPod batteries, side by side.

It fitted really well in a thin iPod with a 256GB msata SSD.

I can sell you one that I never used. But don't they only fit with the half-sized 64gb and 128gb ssd zif chinese brand drives? I don't think they fit with the Tarkan msata board unless you use a fat backplate

 

[headwhacker]

Anybody know where to buy these batteries? I've been looking in the usual places but have drawn a blank.
It's size is roughly the equivalent to two standard thin iPod batteries, side by side.

It fitted really well in a thin iPod with a 256GB msata SSD.

Found this at AliExpress but with bundled msata drive.