I decided to go with a full upgrade to the 13 Pro (have a pre-order in already), and I’ve been thinking about what I want to do with my original 11th gen. Right now, my plan is to get the cooler master case and move the mainboard over to that so I can use it as a mini desktop / HTPC.
Looking at the information for the case, I see that there are a number of components that are optional that don’t come with the case, namely the “audio board” for the headphone jack and the wireless card and antenna for wifi/bluetooth. I figured that, since I wouldn’t be using the laptop without a mainboard in it, that I would just transplant all the parts out of the laptop anyways. Looking at the replacement guides for the parts, it seems like the audio board and wireless card will be easy enough, but I’m worried about the antenna.
In particular, Step 10 on the replacement guide indicates that I’ll have to peel off adhesive-backed pads off of the top cover. My concern just looking at the guide is that either I will damage (eg tear) the pads, or that the adhesive won’t be meaningfully reusable after removing the antenna. I’m not 100% sure how important those pads are, especially on the cooler master case (which is plastic, unlike the FW13 chasis), or even if this is something to be worried about at all.
Has anybody tried removing the antennas from a FW13 before? Would I be ok reusing the antenna, or should I just buy a new one for it? I know I can just order a new one off the marketplace (or just getting the SMA to U.FL/MHF4 cables and use external antennas), but I would like to know before hand whether I need to go that route, or if I can save the money (since the WiFi would only be as a backup, and I would only occasionally want to use the bluetooth, so there isn’t a ton of value to having it for me).
Heat and isopropyl alcohol are options I know that can make removing adhesive easier, but they can also prevent them from re-adhering properly (hence the other part of my concern).
With adhesives that I’ve used heat on, it’s always returned to normal after cools.
Alcohols can certainly do that though, as they seem to work by dissolving the adhesives, the ones alcohol can work on. A portion of the adhesive is becoming a liquid alcohol/adhesive solution.
But yeah, often a stickiness won’t be fully 100% after removal. Any oils from your fingers transferred to it will reduce it. Heat can help to remove it without physical damage, tearing. If the stickiness isn’t as good as you’d like you can add tape.
Have you looked at the Cooler Master guide?
If you zoom in, you can tell the antenna was peeled off a laptop. The corners where they started peeling it are curved up. They could have taped them down, but they didn’t bother. There are also some slight wrinkles you can see. I don’t think you need to be that concerned.
Worst case, you can buy thin double-sided tape if you ruin the adhesive.
I have some double-sided tape from an office supply store that works very well for smartphone and laptop repair–it’s the thin clear plastic type, not foam core, and not the 3M Command Strips stuff. I put the double-sided tape onto the old adhesive, and it sticks extremely well, then I use sharp scissors to trim the double-sided tape to shape.
Also, if you are worried about handling the factory adhesive, first degrease and dry your fingers (I would not wear gloves, as those seem to really love getting stuck to adhesives) and use the hair dryer trick to soften the glues. Either that or use clean metal tweezers to handle the adhesive.
Worst worst worst case, you could just leave the FW antennae alone and buy brand new antennae online for a few bucks.