Part 2: The Physical Setup
Voyage users: stupidhaiku has supplemental pictures & instructions to help you! Read his first post and his second post
1. Crack open the Kindle
Peel off the front cover. It's held down with glue or tape.
I prefer to heat it up with a hairdryer to soften the glue, and then I stick an exacto knife into the seam near the corner to start prying it up.
In case you want more help, here is a blog from MaCXyLo with more detailed teardown instructions
2. Remove the screws
There are 11 screws. The one in the middle is hidden underneath adhesive tape- don't miss it!
Tiny screws are like children! They love to play hide & seek! So make sure you put them immediately into your previously-obtained plastic container so have no chance to escape your merciless screwdriver.
3. Remove the battery
a. Pry the silver frame (which holds the screen) out of the black back cover.
b. Flip it over and put it onto a tupperware lid so you don't get crumbs on the adhesive on the front.
c. Remove the 3 screws holding the battery and pull out the battery. Put them all in your container'o'screw-storage for safekeeping.
Play safe! It's dangerous to wield a soldering iron near lithium & live current
4. Unhook cables
1st cable:
You don't want your delicate fragile cables getting in the way of mean mr. soldering iron
- Peel back the tape (Yellow)
- Lift the tiny lever that holds the cable in place (Red)
- Pull out the cable
- Wrap the tape & cable behind the screen
2nd cable- Lift the cable out from its socket (Pink)
- Wrap the cable behind the screen
5. Connect the USB converter board!
Use your soldering tools to do this work. You need to make these 4 connections:
Code:
Converter Kindle Board On Diagram
V TP1706 Blue Arrow
GND (Any Ground) Purple Arrows
RX Left Serial Red Arrow
TX Center Serial Green Arrow
Hint: You can connect to any of the possible ground points. The metal plates are very convenient
Here is a close-up of my own soldering adventure:
6. Reconnect screen and battery
Your kindle needs powah...! Reconnect:
- Screen cables
- Battery
- Plug USB Serial converter into your computer
- Plug Kindle into your computer
I have taped my USB board to the frame because my soldering skills are weak and I didn't want to risk pulling things loose as I moved it around.
BONUS: These other kindlers show off some great ideas on how to connect your serial port: