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Sunday, October 15, 2017

SD Card Extension Mod, Turnigy 9X

I love the new sound mod that I did for my TG9X transmitter!  One big problem that I have with it is that it's such a pain to update the sounds!  Because of how I opted to do this mod (the way almost everyone has done it) I have to open my transmitter every time I want to update any files.  What a pain.  Then I noticed one day that it's possible to get SD card extensions.  This is a cable where one end plugs into the existing SD card slot and the other end has another card slot for you to locate somewhere.  So I hunted down the best deal (because, you know, I'm cheep) and ordered one.  So now the rest of this is a review of what and how I did my mod.

This is just the back view of my transmitter getting ready to take the screws out and crack it open.


Here is the view of the micro SD card extender that I bought.  I wanted the flat ribbon cable but should have paid closer attention to the length.  You'll see later how the length affected the install.

 Here is a closer image of the insertion end.  Looks good.  You can also see from this view how wide the flat ribbon cable is.  I might have also paid closer attention to this and found a narrower one.  What was not obvious from this view is that the circuit board material that it is made from is thicker than the micro SD cards.  While it still fit in, it was very snug and did not "click" in.  It just stays in by friction.



Here is the socket end that will have to be mounted somewhere.  It too was larger and thicker than anticipated.  I tested inserting a micro SD card and it works just fine.


Here is my radio open with the first look at where everything is and what I have to deal with.  Lots of wires from the programming cable to the jumble of wires for the MegaSound board.


This is another closer look.


And yet another closer look.  We can easily see now the micro SD slot that we will be working with.  It sure has been a pain to open my radio every time I wanted to update a sound for a new plane or option.


This view is just holding the radio programming cable out of the way to see what kind of space I have to work with.  After looking things over, I decided this would be the best location for the SD slot end to mount.  I really wanted to mount it on the side, but with all of the socket connectors (all the white ones) and the MegaSound board on the other side, it would be too confining.  So, I reluctantly went with a bottom mount.


This view is of the mating side showing how the battery box from the other half might interfere with mounting in this location.  Since it is just under flush with the rim, it should not be an issue if I stay below the rim of the mating side.


Here I have outlined the area that I need to cut out to accommodate the socket end.  I made sure that it would be clear of the stand and above the curvature and still well below the rim.


I started by drilling small holes inside the lines.  I just used whatever suitable small drill bit that I had.  I could have just as well used a larger size and just drilled them down the middle.


Here is the end result ready for cutting in-between the holes.


I just used my utility knife and worked at cutting the ribs.  It took some time but finally the center was cut free.


Fortunatly this plastic, while tough, carves nicely.  It took some effort, but was nice to work with.  As soon as I could, I broke out the files and cleaned it up and to the lines.


Here is the final test fit of the socket end.  Nice and snug without pushing in on the sides of the socket end.


Here is how it looks from the other side.  You can already see that I will have to do some folding and manipulating of the ribbon cable to get it to the SD socket on the MegaSound card.


here you can see how I started to layout the ribbon cable.  It was so long that it had to make a few runs back and forth across the radio.  I also put a ruler along the bottom stands to make sure the socket end would not extend below and interfere with sitting level.


Here it is hot glued from the back side.  You can also see how I folded the ribbon cable.  I creased it to help fit better as well.


Here I started to add some hot glue from the outside to ensure as secure mount.


Here it is all done and put back together.  I didn't think that I would be happy with the bottom mount but I have changed my mind.  I realized that if it were on the sides, my hands might inadvertently cause problem, but on the bottom, it is out of the way but easily accessible when needed.

I have already used this about twenty times as it is so easy to add and mod sound files now.  I am really happy that I did this upgrade.

Thanks for stopping by my blog.  Please feel free to post comments, good or bad, and be sure to come back and check for future posts.

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