[eddy_berry]

Well, as the title says, I didn't really feel like ordering a USB OTG cable for my newly acquired Z30 so I made one instead. If you got a bit of soldering skills and the right tools you can make one too. I figured I'd explain a bit for anyone interested.



I used this little "multi-hub" thing that I got for $3 for parts. It has 2 USB female plugs and one Micro-USB. Of course I only need one female and the Micro to make the USB OTG. The issue here is that using different cables from different manufacturers can be tricky. The Micro-USB especially can be different from manufacturer to manufacturer. This one just so happens to be quite accommodating which was a relief since I would have no idea what it would be like until I got in there. You can split the housing (very carefully) with a hobby knife or exacto blade. (VERY CAREFULLY)



Looking at the Micro-USB you can see the common wiring for USB. I made a chart below to show the pin outs with the normal wire colours and the alternate that are shown here. Power and Ground are different colour because I don't know that's what this particular manufacturers uses. The Micro-USB has 5 pins. Pin 4 is not used and Pin 5 is connected to Pin 4 (Ground) in a standard USB cable. USB OTG cables need both Pins 4 and 5 connected to Ground (Black wire). This can be accomplished by joining the two as I did or using a jumper wire between the connectors. Normal USB cables do not have pin 4 connected to anything and the phone treats it like a charger cable or data transfer to a computer. With pin 4 grounded the phone can now power small devices. For example a mouse or a usb key and can send/receive data from them.





This Micro-USB connector was nice enough to have access to the pins and close enough for a solder jumper.



Make sure you connect to the correct pins on the Female lead. It is easier if you have another standard male usb to make sure all the connections are correct.



Glued the housing back on. Looks pretty good. I don't recommend doing this unless you really think you can. Just order one.You won't save yourself much money unless you have the skill and the equipment. If anyone makes their own from seeing this then I would be happy if you showed it off. Hope you got this far. Cheers.

Some more sources if you need:

Weekend project: DIY USB on-the-go from old cables | Android Central

Make Your Own USB On-The-Go (OTG) Cable | MAKE

Make a USB OTG host cable. The easy way!

[anon(1852343)]

Nice job

Blackberry Passport on the TELUS network

[Morten]

nice little project,.


or for those without cables or soldering iron - you can go to amazon and get them for $1.48 including shipping....;-)

[anand_ma]

nice little project,.


or for those without cables or soldering iron - you can go to amazon and get them for $1.48 including shipping....;-)

But I will be more excited to use my own otg.. and show off to kids inspiring them

[Morten]

But I will be more excited to use my own otg.. and show off to kids inspiring them

Yep

[eddy_berry]

nice little project,.


or for those without cables or soldering iron - you can go to amazon and get them for $1.48 including shipping....;-)

Haha. Yes. You can get them for cheap. Although the free shipping thing I would assume depends on where you live. Shipping is never free when you live in Canada. Lol. I did mention that you wouldn't save $ making your own. I know these cables are dirt cheap, but even doing it yourself won't break the bank.

But I will be more excited to use my own otg.. and show off to kids inspiring them

Yes. Lol. There really isn't a better reason to do something like this. Inspire the children. Haha. Thanks.



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