Stephanie's eMate Overclock

One of the things I didn't like about the eMate was it's speed. It was kinda slow. This page describes how I sped it up.

Disclaimer and Warning: The information provided below is provided for entertainment purposes. By attempting any modifications to your Newton you will definately void any remaining warranty you might have, and could destroy your Newton completely. I am in no way liable or responsible for your actions or how you use the information below, nor am I liable or responsible for any unexpected or undesired results arising from the modifications described on this page. Soldering experience with Surface Mount components is required. This is definately not for beginners. You have been warned.

Theory, and Stuff

According to the FAQ the eMate runs at 25 MHz. According to the Service Manual the eMate runs at 27 MHz. I don't know exactly how fast it does run really, but we're going to speed it up anyways.

The proceedure is identical to that of the MP2x00 Overclock. We have to replace an existing 3.686 MHz crystal with a switch and another 3.686 MHz crystal and a 5.000 MHz crystal.

So if it runs at 25MHz with the normal crystal, it is going to run at 33.9MHz with the accellerated crystal. If it runs at 27MHz with the normal crystal, it will run at 36.6MHz once accellerated. Either way, the eMate is accellerated by a factor of 1.35 times it's original speed.

The real time clock is not affected by this hack. Sound is sped up, generally speaking, your serial port won't work right, your IR port won't work right, and you may have problems using some modem and ethernet cards. Everything works normally of course, when it's running at normal speed.

I have successfully beamed from my accellerated MP2100 to my accellerated eMate. This works because they are both accellerated by the same ratio: Both using a 5.000 MHz crystal instead of the factory 3.686MHz.

I apologize for the blurriness in the following images.

This image shows the part of the eMate mother board that will be worked on. By the time I took this picture the existing crystal had already been removed, and the two new crystals have been glued to the side of the PCMCIA holder. For perspective, we are looking at the top of the mother board, from the back. On the left side of the picture you can see the headphone jack. The original crystal used to be in the white rectangle which is near the centre of the image, just to the left of the square black Cirrus Logic chip.

I was careless in removing the crystal from the motherboard, and in doing so, nearly destroyed my emate. The copper traces that the crystal were soldered to, got torn up off the board. So I had to solder the jumper wires directly to the two pins on the Cirrus Logic chip. This was very delicate work, and I really regret my impatience earlier. The leads on the chip are too fine to allow the use of much solder; that would risk a solder bridge which would spell catastrophe, so I used only enough to make a connection. In this image you can see the two jumper wires soldered directly to the small 3.686MHz crystal in order to verify that my soldering on the chip was working.

After verifying that it worked, I then used some 5-minute epoxy, carefully applied, to permanently fix the jumper wires in place to the Cirrus chip, and hopefully prevent them from ever breaking loose. I also used the epoxy to mount my 2-way switch to the mother board, as you will see in the next image.

In this image you can see the wiring is complete. Below you will see the schematic, it is again quite simple. From the original crystal location, in this perspective, the 'upper' contact was used as the common one and the lower contact is wired to the switch.

As you can see by this schematic, the circuit is incredibly simple. I must caution though, that while the design is simple, the implementation is anything but. Please re-read the warning and disclaimer above. This is difficult, and there are real risks to your Newton.

The switch was mounted next to the headphone jack, and then a small square hole was cut in the bottom half of the case. Here you can see the position of the slide switch. It is recessed so that it cannot be accidentally bumped. To switch speeds, I simply use the stylus tip to slide the switch one way or the other.

Discussion, Pros & Cons

Someone experienced with soldering and electronics, might expect to spend about 30 to 60 minutes on this hack. It requires a steady hand, a good eye, and strong nerves. Actually, two steady hands are preferable.

Someone who has little or no experience with soldering and electronics, should perhaps be discouraged from attempting this as their first project. I would suggest doing some kit projects first, to learn soldering skills.

The benefits of this home-brew overclock, are of course the speed is increased, and it's pretty cheap. The cost of two crystals and a switch, really.

There is a drawback though: The switch. There is no way of controlling what the eMate's processor is doing at the moment you throw the switch. It is possible, very possible, to crash your Newton by switching it while it's busy. In practice, I do not switch speeds unless the eMate is either sleeping, or at very least, all packages are closed (only the Backdrop running). Sticking to this, I've had about 1 'crash' in 50 switches. When crashed, the eMate requires the reset button to be pressed. I have never lost data doing this, and I do not think that the electronics themselves can be damaged by this. (See the disclaimer again! Your mileage may vary!)

A Newtontalk reader has suggested that the small lengths of hookup wire may act as antennas, radiating the crystal frequency and/or harmonics of it. To minimize this risk, hookup wires should be kept as short as possible. The eMate's case has some shielding which will also minimize the risk of stray RF being radiated out. If you use your eMate in an RF-sensitive environment, you may want to think twice before doing this modification, or refrain from using the modified Newton in such locations. Once again, I do not take any responsibility for unexpected / undesired results arising from the modifications outlined on this page.

Results

As expected, the serial port is unusable while accellerated. The IR port will only function when the receiving unit has been accellerated by the same ratio. Otherwise it too is inoperable at high speed. My modem card - a generic 56k pcmcia modem - worked fine, without any difference. My ethernet card - a 3Com 3C589D - works just fine too, nice and fast! As usual though, your mileage may vary.

PixSolution has some freeware available on their website, and one of their programs does a status test that probably is like a 'diagnostic' for their Implant product. It has the nice benefit of showing the current clock speed, so I have used it to get the following 'before' and 'after' screenshots, so you can see the difference in processor speed.

Before	After

I don't know how the PixSolution program works, and it's been suggested that there is no really accurate way for software to measure a Newton's clock speed, due to the way the Newton OS works, so these figures may not be accurate. I think the reason they show 20 MHz and 27 MHz is because the software thinks it's running on a MP130, for which PixSolution sold an Implant accelerator.

Parts & Tools Needed

Parts available at better electronics shops. Online, try DigiKey.: Y1a - 3.686 MHz Crystal; Y1b - 5.000 MHz Crystal; SW1 - Small, or Surface Mount Slide Switch: SPDT; Fine Hookup Wire; Fine electronics solder - Rosin core (Not Acid core!!!)

The two crystals I used are the 'parallel, 18pf' kind (as opposed to 'serial'). I know there's a difference, but I'm not sure what it is. For the switch, if you have a choice, break-before-make is what you want. This means that as the switch moves, there is a moment where neither crystal is selected. My experience has shown me that this is preferable to having a moment where both crystals are selected.

Tools available at electronics shops:: Torx-8 Screwdriver; Torx-10 Screwdriver; Fine tipped soldering pen. 15 to 20 watts maximum!!!; Tweezers; Fine probe or needle

Step by Step Instructions

Back up your eMate.
Back up your eMate.
I know it's non-volatile Flash memory. I don't care. Back up your eMate.
Dissassemble the eMate. Disassembly is somewhat involved. I may post instructions here later. For now, you can find them in the eMate Service Manual, available at unna: www.unna.org/unna/apple/documentation/eMate/eMateServiceManual.pdf
You need to get the motherboard out. It's held down by five shiney silver Phillips screwdrivers. It is also held down on one side by four wires, two red and two black. One pair (at the back, near the AC adaptor plug) are for the backlight power, and the other pair, (on the same side, nearer the keyboard) are for the speaker.
The easiest thing to do is get a permanent magic marker and mark on the board where the Red and Black wires are soldered. Then unsolder them. Then you can get the motherboard off completely. The marker is so you know where to solder them back down later.
Now that you have the motherboard out, locate the existing crystal, using the image near the top of this page. It will be a short silver-coloured rectangular metal 'can' next to the small square Cirrus Logic chip.
This crystal must be removed. This is the single most dangerous and difficult part of the procedure. This crystal is Surface Mount, most of the solder you need to remove is hidden underneath the crystal body. If you rush it and try to pry it free, you will probably tear the copper traces off of the circuit board - And kill your eMate in the process.
The best way is to use a magnifying glass, a needle, and a fine tipped soldering pen. Go one side then the other, heat, pry gently, then switch sides. Expect to take up to about 10 to 15 minutes. One person suggested adding a bit of solder to the tip of your iron, to maximize heat transfer into the existing solder under the crystal.
Once you have removed the old crystal, set it free. Or, if the leads are in good shape, you can opt to re-use it, since you know it's definately the right speed for the low-speed setting.
The eMate has just loads of empty free space. Position your new crystals as you like. I found gluing them to the side of the PCMCIA holder was the easiest, and it keeps them from bumping into other circuitry.
Solder together the two leads in the middle, so the crystals are tied together in the middle.
Use your hookup wire, to solder from the two common leads on the crystals, to the trace of the original crystal that is nearest the PCMCIA holder.
Once you have decided where your switch will go, it should be mounted firmly to ensure it won't come loose and there is no 'play' when you are switching speeds. I have gone with 5-minute epoxy. It sets up fast and is strong and permanent.
With your switch positioned, solder hookup wire from it's common terminal, to the remaining trace of the original crystal. Nearly there.
Now solder from the unused pin of your 3.686 MHz crystal, a hookup wire over to one of the remaining terminals on your switch.
This is a good time to actually test things, though testing a dissassembled eMate is not as easy as a disassembled Newton. At the bare minimum you need to plug the ribbon-cable for the display into the motherboard, then plug AC power in. Make sure the contrast slider on the motherboard is about in the centre. You won't hear the chime (because the speaker is not attached) but the eMate screen should show the normal start-up sequence, then ask for pen alignment.
If all is well, then remove AC power, and unplug the screen ribbon cable, then you can proceed.
If all is not well, remove AC power, unplug the screen ribbon cable, then review what you have done. Inspect your soldering. Check for short circuits and solder bridges.
When ready to continue, solder a piece of hookup wire from the unused lead on the 5.000 MHz crystal, and to the remaining empty terminal of the switch.
You can test things again using the above proceedure. Again, you won't hear anything but you should see the start up screen and all. If not, check check and double check. Remember the warning and disclaimer.
If all is well then you can re-assemble the eMate.
A few things to be careful of. When re-placing the motherboard, make sure the contrast and volume slider-switches line up into the panel mounted plastic sliders. Ensure when soldering the backlight wires and the speaker wires that you have their polarity correct.
Then re-assemble, in the reverse order of disassembly. Don't forget to hook the keyboard back up.