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[Just Another] Apple DIY Bluetooth Module

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Jul 7, 2013
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Motherboard
ASUS MAXIMUS GENE VIII
CPU
Intel i7-6770K
Graphics
EVGA Nvidia Gtx 970 ssc
Mac
  1. MacBook Pro
  2. Mac Pro
Classic Mac
  1. PowerBook
Mobile Phone
  1. iOS
sirretv Just asked me on my build about my Homemade Bluetooth module, so im doing this post to him/her or enyone who needs more info:

fisrt, there are already some pages online about this process who can help you a lot:
http://www.tonymacx86.com/customization/48085-a1115-apple-bluetooth-pin-out.html
http://www.tonymacx86.com/general-help/60734-diy-apple-bluetooth-module.html
http://www.tonymacx86.com/customiza...kintosh-airport-bluetooth-card-100-apple.html
http://forums.whatthetech.info/index.php?topic=5.0
http://news.hitb.org/content/adding-original-apple-bluetooth-module-hackintosh
http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/to...ng-apple-bluetooth-module-in-your-hackintosh/

even this guy ho made his own PCB!
http://electronicsfun.net/archives/497

So, you need an apple bluetooth module (mine is a 1181) an antenna (some modules comes with the orginial one) a connector for the antenna and a way to get power and data in and off the module.

About the module: im not shure of the specific compatiblity of each model, but if you read the links you can get an idea i guess the most important thing is that is a satnadalone bluetooth module, not the wifi/bluettoth combo on some mac equipment

The antenna: you can use the one on the module (if you happen to buy one with it included) or you can simply use a wifi antenna, because they have the same sespecs. i used this one: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004PFWFDG/?ie=UTF8&tag=tonymacx86com-20 it mos have an RP-SMA Male connector.

To connect the antenna: yo will need a conector somethimes refered as U.fl or IPEX to RP-SMA Pigtail like this one:
http://www.amazon.com/20cm-U-fl-IPEX-RP-SMA-Pigtail/dp/B007XVLO4U/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1374341145&sr=8-14&keywords=RP-SMA


to connect it to your mobo you need a internal usb 5 pin header cable (and a free usb header in the mobo)
But hey! if you purchased the GA-Z77X-UP5-TH mobo, then you already have all this items on the included WIFI/BT Pcie card!

Then the power
: The BT module needs 3.7 v bout the mobo supplies 5.0 v trought the usb headers, so you must choose a method to "transfrorm" the power so you dont damage your module, i have found three ways to do this(check the links above):

some people soldered to a PCIe adapter card but they have reported some issues
other prefer to found a 5.v to 3.7 converter (wich i didint found in my country)
the most uses some diodes to lower the voltage, i choose this method

some info on diodes:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diode
there cheap!
they have a printed strip on one side wich is the cathode its marks the way the power "goes" you must solder this part towards yout module. Everyone recomended the 1n4001 diode but i coudnt find any instead i bought some 1n4007 that works perfect seems like the whole series lower aprox .6 volts the power so you will need two of them here is the info sheet on 1N400x diodes: http://www.diodes.com/datasheets/ds28002.pdf

Housig: is a nice idea to put your rigg into some case or something to protect it, i used a broken usb wifi adapter that had at home

Wiring: I you read the links above you'll have all the info you need to solder everything together (using shrink tube is always a good idea to deal with small wires) but the color code is very important . Black is always Ground, red power and the you will have two more cables wich can be green, yellow, gray or withe depending on your module those are the data cables . here's more info on usb 5pin header arrangement : http://paulski.com/zpages.php?id=1713. It seems to my as long if you connect the black and red wires properly, then you can try diferent combinatinos of the other two to ensure data transfer, i dont know if you can harm your BT by trying this but in my case i put them both ways untill it worked and didin´t damage the module on the process.

so wiring goes like this
Bt Module -------------------------------USB
Black -------------------------------Black
Red --------diodes or adapter----Red
in my case:
Green --------------------------------White
White --------------------------------Green

My particular build
my parts: apple 1181 module P1090388.jpg tp link antenna P1090394.jpg diodes P1090392.jpgold wifi moduleP1090385.jpg the included WiFi/Bt card with the GA-Z77X-UP5-TH mobo P1090389.jpgfrom whom i took the RPSMA antenna conectorP1090393.jpgand the usb cableP1090398.jpg so i took apart the Wifi/module P1090395.jpgand drilled a hole on the empty case P1090396.jpg soldered the diodesP1090399.jpg then soldered the rest of wires P1090401.jpg covered them with ellectrical tape/shirnk tube. then acomodate into the old wifi dongle P1090406.jpgand closed it P1090410.jpgP1090409.jpg the i disasemble the TP-LINK TL-WDN4800 that im using for wifi and drilled a hole above the 3 existing ones for the antennae o the pcie slot cover, then i inserted my "new" module onto itP1090411.jpg and reasambled the tp link P1090413.jpgso now i got a BT/wifi module PCIe card of my own! inserted into a PCIe slot on the mobo and connected de usb header (on the mobo too) P1090414.jpg and attached all four antennae to it (3 for wifi 1 Bt) P1090416.jpg as you can see my bt antenna is a huge one. but that gave me a powerfull signal and a wide BT coverage (up to 20- 30 mts!)

Power up the customac an it was recognized natively no driver o anything needed Screen Shot 2013-07-20 at 1.28.20 PM.png

that's it, hope it helps you

-Jio
 
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thanks for this, i found a spare A1181 macbook lying ard and thot id give this a try. My IOgear usb bluetooth while great, does disconnect sometimes and i seem to have a prob connecting both a logitech bluetooth mouse concurrently with an apple wireless keyboard. Even tried with another keyboard(Logitech Bluetooth Easy-Switch Keyboard K811) and it doesnt even pair properly, although i suspect compatibility might be the main issue since its not really included in the list of prefered keyboard along with the rest.

This will serve as good reading material while i ponder and find out if this DIY is within my capacity. Thank you for the post and wish me luck.
 
...
I'm worried though about my onboard bluetooth on my z77n-wifi....I couldnt disable the bluetooth in the bios and I fear it was interfering with my dongle.

In your screenshot you only seem to have 1 bluetooth device showing. So what happened to the bluetooth that comes on the board? Did you turn it off? does the dongle replace the other one?
...
help please

I had problems with my onboard BT on my GA-H87N-WIFI (after upgrading to 10.9.2), so I decided to order the IOGear GBU-521. I could't get it to work, not even after a complete reinstall of OSX. So I decided to yank the 'onboard' mini-PCI (WIFI+BT) out, WiFi was not working anyway, and it immediately started pairing my Magic Mouse and Trackpad :headbang:
It also wakes my machine from the paired BT devices :clap:

But this morning the following happened:
- my machine was in a sleep state
- I was able to wake it by clicking on my Magic Mouse
- OSX resumed, but no response from mouse, trackpad, wired keyboard
- performed hard reset of the system
- mouse and trackpad are connecting / disconnecting randomly (not able to work) :thumbdown:

I'm currently at work, so I have to further investigate this evening.

My first conclusion is that the GBU-521 conflicts with the 'onboard' module.

Update:
After another reboot the mouse and trackpad were working again, however the mouse appeared to act a bit laggy. I had the BT dongle plugged in at the back and the distance to the desktop is about 6~7 feet. I decided to plug the BT module into an USB extension cable and now it's working flawlessly :headbang:.
 
Very nice - good work.

I have just ordered my fourth usb bluetooth adapter. if that doesnt work. yanking out the mini-pci card could be an option.

Reflecting on the past few months i think its incredible the lengths one man will go to to get his freakin magic mouse to pair with his computer. I worry it getting to the stage where i might do harm to my mobo by removing parts. I wonder if its time to cut my losses, hang up the boots and sell the mouse on ebay :|

The onboard mini-PCI is locked with one small screw. As soon as you remove the screw the board can be easily removed but don't forget to detach the two antenna connectors. I left the antenna wires aside on the mainboard.
 
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