Disassembling a Seagate Free Agent Desk 1TB

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My Seagate external HDD got invaded by ants yesterday, so I decided to disassemble it to ensure that all the ants are out.

From the outside the HDD looks like it was designed to never be opened, which is partly true I guess, so I did a quick Google search but only turned up results for the older Black/Orange (Seagate Free Agent Desktop, if you are wanting to take one of these apart, click here) version, but none for my White/Silver version. Thus it was up to me to figure out how to open it.img_1325-large

The basis of the casing is that it all clips together. In the following picture you can see the “lid” removed with all its clips, and the top of the case without the lid. I started on a front corner, and then wedged a blunt flat head screwdriver in, and slowly worked my way along the edge unclipping the “lid”.img_1324-large img_1323-large

After that you must remove the 4 small philips screws, one in each corner. You can then remove the white plastic frame/side panel, by unclipping it from the base.img_1321-large

The metal casing then just slides vertically off the plastic “base”. There are 4 rubber stoppers, two on each side of the HDD, which prevent some shock from damaging the HDD. Beneath each stopper is a screw, holding the HDD in place. As you remove the stoppers, remove the screws as well.img_1319-large

Three of these you can pull off. For the fourth one, you must first remove the 3 screws visible in the next picture.img_1318-large

The metal panel on top of the HDD can then be lifted off. The HDD is now plain to see. It is a standard Seagate Barracuda 1TB SATA HDD. The HDD is connected to the little circuit board via the SATA, and power connectors. You can simply lift the rear of the HDD, and pull it towards you, thus unplugging it.img_1316-large

You will now have the removed the HDD from the casing and should be able to access any part you are interested in.img_1315-large

This should all be possible without breaking anything. I did however unfortunately break a small join on the side/rim panel thing. It’s not visible however, and will only reveal itself on close inspection.

Doing what I did may void the warranty, but there were no stickers or anything, so they probably can’t figure out that I opened the case.

Audi Remote Control

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So, when I got my car (’96 Audi A4 B5) the remote control for the central locking didn’t work. We replaced the batteries and did a series of tests to try sort it out but nothing worked.

We took it in to the local Audi dealership who after a morning of having it returned it to us with a quote for R8000 (excl). We said thank you and I have used the key ever since.

It seems that something went wrong with the Infra-Red system my Audi used (I know from 1997 they switched to RF remotes) and the previous owner never bothered to fix it.

If your Audi came out before the IR remotes, this approach should still work, if it came out after the RF remotes, check here.

Now the Audi’s whole security system, the alarm, the pump for the central locking etc are all contained in one neat little box located in the boot under some panels. So although 90% of my box still worked (everything except the infrared circuitry) they would have to replace hte entire unit. Thus the huge cost. I’ve seen 2nd hand units advertised for about R3000, so it is just an expensive component.

So recently I got thinking, couldn’t we just try and install a conventional wireless system around the current system.

Because the infrared system was stuffed, we decided to go at it a different way, and use the signal that gets sent to the alarm system when you manually unlock the driver’s door.

This invloved taking the panelling off and finding the wires that go from the lock to the alarm system. 3 wires were found, a brown one (we think it’s some form of check to see if the door is open or closed) and the two important ones, a red & brown cable witch is shorted with the car’s earth when the key is used to lock the car, and a grey & white cable for unlocking.

To get at the security box in the car open the boot and remove the mats covering the side wall and bottom area off to the right of the boot. I had to remove a little storage box by just lifting it up and unclipping it. There are also two plastic caps which keep the mat in place, remove those, then you just need to use a bit of force to work the carpet out from behind the plastic fascia. You shouldn’t have to unscrew anything.img_0853-large img_0849-large img_0852-large

Once removed you should see a foam box to the right, lift the cover and a plastic box should be lying there. There are 3 wiring harnesses, the two outer ones can be pulled straight out, but the middle (power) one needs a screwdriver or something to unclip. There is also the air pipe which can just be pulled off. You can then quite easily remove the security box. This is just to make soldering easier.img_0848-large

Of the two outer plugs, one is smaller than the other. This is the one that takes signals from the lock in the driver’s door. You will find two wires that correspond to the two we found in the driver’s door. The grey & white and red & brown ones.img_0846-large

And voilà!

Connect these onto a remote control receiver and you’ve got yourself a new remote control.

Power for your receiver can be taken from the middle wiring harness. Check your polarity with a multimeter, but for me the brown cable was earth (which I used as the earth for the lock and unlock signal as well) and the red one next to it was positive. This gives you the necessary 12V.img_0847-large

I haven’t connected my remote control yet, as I’ve had to shop around for a decent one at a cheap price. I eventually found this on ebay for R240. At a local security shop they sold a 3 channel receiver (for garage doors) for R310 and a remote with two buttons is R150 rand. Those are code hopping ones, which are more secure than the ones I bought, and will work fine in a car.

note: When you use the key, turning it once turns off the alarm, and physically unlocks your door. That means that if you push your remote control once, it will turn off the alarm and NOT unlcok your front door. If you turn the key twice in succession it unlocks all the doors. Likewise, pushing the remote’s button twice will unlock all the doors.

If someone manages to hack the infrared section of the circuitry, you would not have this problem. I may get round to looking through it one day, but at the moment this works :)

When I get my remotes I will see if I can build a small circuit to send two signals instead of one, so I don’t have to push twice each time.

I have already soldered all the wires in place that I need to install my receiver, and have checked that they work by shorting them. I will repost once I have received my package and installed it.

Audi Radio codes :(

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So, I have a 1996 Audi A4 B5 1.8. It comes stock with a Blaupunkt radio. The radio itself says it’s a Gamma CC, whereas everything on the internet points it towards being a Delta CC.img_0241-largeAnyway, effectively my car’s battery was replaced, which sends the radio into lock down mode. Enter a 4 digit pin, and you can continue using the radio. The code for said radio comes with the radio’s manual, with neat instructions about what to do with the code. It recommends cutting it out and storing it in a safe place, something the previous owner of my car did with much enthusiasm.img_0838-largeAnyway, I have effectively been left with a radio that I can’t use. This was two days before I was supposed to take a 3000km tour in said car. I spent hours on the internet searching for ways to get the code. And was blocked at every way.

In the end I discovered that the only way to get the code, is to take your car to Audi, they charge you for their minimum work time (roughly R275) and give you your code, after 5min.

I don’t like to think of myself as stingy, but to pay R275 (the cost of a low end frontloader) for them to do this goes against who I am. It didn’t help that my previous dealings with the local Audi dealership left us on unsavoury terms.

Apparently it is possible to get your code from Blaupunkt themselves. I haven’t tested this myself, but Maple Audio can allegedly get your code for you if you supply them with the radio’s serial code. For the pricely sum of GBP25 that is.

But yet again here I was, stuck on a Friday night without a radio. I decided the best plan would be to replace the radio with an old radio we had lying around at home. This I proceeded to do on Saturday morning.

Fortunately I had had the foresight to get a local car audio place to remove the radio for me, as I found myself without a means to remove the radio. After looking at the mechanism, you can take the radio out with some steel wire if need be. I have a nail file in a knife which also works quite nicely.

Simply push whatever “key” you are using with the point on the outer side of the hole and push the key in and shift it inwards. You can understand the way it works by looking at the picture.img_084211-largeSo, unlike on previous cars I’ve dealt with, the Audi’s radio has three wiring harnesses that plug a veritable array of non-colour coded wires into the radio. Most of the other radios I’ve dealt with adhere to a standard wiring system, with different colours symbolising which speaker the wire leads to, what is positive. negative etc. Not on this one.

Anyway, after a while of fiddling round I figured out a system that would work.

The radio I was installing is a cheap radio with four wires. Left, Right, Positive (power) and common (for the speakers). Simple enough.

Because I didn’t want to just chop off all the wiring harnesses on the car’s side, I had to figure out a method of making plugs that would fit, that I could solder onto the radio’s wires. I ended up using little wiring plugs that I cut to size with a pair of side cutters.img_0245-largeI hooked up two plugs for each of the left and right wires, so I could have sound front and back. I also found a washer and screw to attach an earth to the back of the radio.

The car had a dedicated earth plug, but I found that making use of it only supplied my radio with 9V, so instead I used one of the earth’s on the wiring harness.

Now on the Delta CC radio there is wiring diagram of what all the pins are supposed to link up to, unfortunately some of them are missing, which I only noticed after having soldered and wired all my plugs.img_0239-largeI eventually ended up only connecting the front speakers, because for some reason only they would work, even though I feel that the back speakers should have worked with the way I had wired it. But in any case.img_0240-largeI used the point corresponding to pin H for the negative (earth) on my radio and pin B fo the positive. I checked the voltage before hand to ensure there was 12V and also chose this connection as it supplies the 12V even with the ignition off.

I initially attempted to use i -> ix points to hook up the sound but couldn’t get it work. Partly because my wiring harnesses were missing the contact points ii & viii. I ended up using points A -> D and just hooking up the front speakers. Because I wasn’t going to play the music too loudly, I didn’t bother to test which was the positive and negative of the speakers and just hooked up 1 & 2 as common, and 3 & 4 as the positives for the left and right speakers.

If you are installing a permanent radio, it is advised to check the polarity of the speakers. This can be done by removing the speaker’s covers and attaching a 1.5V battery to it. If the speaker bulges outwards as you attach the battery, you have the polarity correct. If the speaker membrane retracts, switch the polarity.

Now, the aerial. This posed a particular problem, why? because the radio aerial connector on the Audi is not the standard one that I know. So, to overcome this, I just didn’t bother hooking it up. I was originally going to use an FM transmitter with an MP3 player to listen to music, but due to this problem, I instead opted for one of these cassette adaptations (that I had lying around the house), which allow a 3.5mm audio input.

Some time in the future I’ll figure out how to correctly connect the rear speakers as well, and post it here. Any questions feel free to post below.

Sorry for the long windedness of this post. Once I get going I tend not to stop too soon.

This system worked for me for my entire journey, only decision I have to make now is what radio to buy :) Also, my next plan will be to build a cruise control system into my car.img_0249-large