Hmmm… my Moto 5Gs Power (and all my older Moto phones) have FM Radios built into them. It uses the Headphone cord as the antenna BTW. So there must be a tiny chip for that, as I still get cell service while on FM.
2 Likes
A USB-C module with a tiny screen showing you voltage and amperage of the USB PD charger
3 Likes
How much money though lmao- also who would manufacture these… Not to mention where would you get the designs from…
Also to my understanding wouldn’t Iris Xe just be like 1000x faster? Although it is less controllable in terms of power and whatnot…
1 Like
Would have to be probably a group ordering thing like enthusiast communities of older, retro, systems do for when they need PCB’s & etc that are no longer in mass production.
Best Regards,
Varg
1 Like
Honestly for tinkering about these niche applications a FPGA would be invaluable. You can make a VGA signal or a cool little amp/mixer, or go crazy with digital to have RJ45.
FPGA is like a microcontroller, except for you don’t write the program but the logic gate to be implemented.
6 Likes
How about a card that accepts Lenovo’s rectangular power connector?
At my university, a lot of people have P-series ThinkPads that still have them. Would be nice to be able to borrow their chargers
4 Likes
you could. there are “adapters” on amazon that basically have enough circuitry to tell the computer “this is a 20V 3.2A supply”.
It is then the user’s responsibility to make sure that whatever is supplying power is actually a 20V power supply capable of delivering at least 3.2A.
Normally, a product should not put this responsibility to the user (because all users are ill-knowledged and careless), which is why DC jacks of various different computers are not the same (so you cannot plug one into another accidentally), and do not shape like other plugs, like USB or whatsnot. And this is why a product like this do not exist
Dell actually made a 19.5V to 65W USB PD adapter. For their own chargers, of course.
But, afaik they stopped making them because they are as expensive as a regular charger, and thus nobody bought them and so there is no demand for them to make more and blah blah.
You can find rubbish DC-DC switch(ing power supply) online for quite cheap, but a good switch would not be cheap. They actually have some good complexity, especially if you want a smooth consistent voltage without spikes.
If you come across some they are likely remaining stock. grab them if you want one. I wanted one quite bad, not only because I needed one but because the circuitry inside is valuable. (I work with electronics part time). However the (slightly more) reputable sites in my region don’t have any in stock.
2 Likes
Yep! These Dell adapters had pretty decent demand but were expensive to both buy and for Dell to produce. - Now either Dell’s selling a really small quantity or they don’t at all because they’re really rare.
Kinda sucks because literally having this in my bag would mean I’d always have a charger at school without having to carry a brick.
Would be awesome to see if anyone can RE this thing and even possibly sell it as an expansion card! 
1 Like
DS game port
I wouldn’t know the first thing to do about this but I am just sticking the idea out there. Would probably need a complicated program to pull this off. I know if someone is dedicated enough they will pull through
3 Likes
There is this device to load DS games to a Type-A port. It could probably be made compact enough to fit in a framework module
I had this same thought one night. I was also thinking whether there are any classic controllers out there that you’d be able to rig up an expansion port for, like the GameCube controllers.
Yess!!
We can make our own ‘retro’ games console with the expansion card system.
Maybe even integrate like the PS1/Gamecube/… to usb adapters into expansion cards.
Love the creativity here. 
An eGPU which you can basically snap/slide on the bottom cover (so it should be the same size) and is connected via one expansion slot.
I guess there would also be enough room for an additional battery.
3 Likes
They are. People like to put their multiple Dell bricks to good use.
Like I said, they are effectively a DC-DC switch. It’s a lot more difficult than people would normally anticipate.
The only problem is that a single expansion card is not enough of a structural support to keep the external GPU in place. On laptops with docks you need heavy-duty tabs, aligning pins, hooks (and matching eye-holes) and whatsnot to ensure firm attachment.
My original idea is more of a cable “cast” where the connector plug is shaped like an expansion slot and directly to the main board (instead of through a USB-C passthrough that degrade signals), and help eliminate extra “stuff” beyond the edge of the laptop. The other end then goes to a regular graphics box.
What this idea reminded me of is the old Dell Optical/Floppy “deck”. It’s a dock for their older laptops, and it houses an optical and a floppy drive, as well as maybe some USB, Serial and other ports on the back. Like I mentioned, there are multiple locking points on the bottom of the laptop.
That’s why I meant to slide or snap it onto the base, so there would be no force on the expansion slot. But that was just a thought, as I’m still waiting to hold a Framework laptop in my hand I can’t verify if there would be a way to make this possible.
2 Likes
I’m not sure if others mentioned it, but having an expansion card to run doom on it would be great!
1 Like
Pretty much every controller has a plug thicker than a module so making a module to accept one would be little better than the USB adapters that already exist.
Honestly Wacky things i would love to see is a built in battery pack that acts like a bridge-battery like the old thinkpads ( the last being the T480 generation )
1 Like
It’s a 4-cell vs 6-cell battery.
Weirdly I remember them as being a Dell thing. Although it could be for both
Before Lenovo bought them.
If you make it stout enough (maybe half or 1/3 the depth of the laptop) a 4-port “stand” with … aah.
Fan booster and GPU all in one “performance dock” would be nice.
The connectors on one side could simply be removed and “snap-on” later. And because it’s relatively stout the torque/forces applied to it is not going to be too significant.
I made a little 3-view drawing.
6 Likes
Is there a way to make usb expansion cards that only do data transfer and not charging?