The Newton internal audio out jack project

by John Skinner

I did this project without much planning, although I had been thinking of it for quite a while. The pictures I made with my only digital camera (a Kodak DC25). The camera is not that great on quality, so the pictures ended up kind of fuzzy and out of focus.

The Audio Jack

This is the audio jack that I bought from Radioshack (Cat No. 274-246A).

I probably could have found a smaller jack if I had searched elsewhere and online, but I wanted to start right away.

For anyone seeing this and wanting to do it for yourself, I would strongly suggest finding an even more compact jack than this one. It was a buggar making it fit.

Opening up my Newton for the very first time on my desk

I wanted to open up my Newton to see what I was up againdst, and to take some measurements.

I have seen many other web pages that show pictures of the inside of a Newton 2100, but it is different when you open up your own for the first time. Quite neet how they fit everything in there huh?

Well,... It's off to the shop...

NOTE:

I found a great guide for opening up a Newton 2100 at the PDA Soft web site.

My make-shift shop in the corner of my garage

Basically, I just setup a table, hung a light, ran an extention cord over and opened up my toolbox.

I have already taken the entire living room from my wife for my computer habbit/"man cave", so I figured power tools and soldering should be done out here.

I put my (rarely used) PowerBook 3400 and a printer out here. I have a hub, but still need to lay a cable run from my network in the living room.

(Thanks for the printer Jeff!)

An overhead view of the openned Newton

The picture is not a good one, but you can see the empty space where the "internal modem" would be, if Apple ever made one.

This is the space that David Humphreys' used for his SER-001 "Dongle Killer".

David is not making them anymore (rats!). I guess I'll have to make my own "Dongle Killer" soon, now that I've already been inside my Newton.

Different angle shot of the "internal modem" space behind the I/O door.

I guess my camera doesn't focus well up-close.

Another shot...

Comparison shot of Newton and audio jack

It is kinda hard to tell from the picture, but the audio jack seems to be too big to fit in the proposed space.

Another shot...

I thought it might show up better without the white background.

How is it going to fit?

It was obvious that some modification was gonna have to be done, either to the Newton, the audio jack or both.

I wanted the least amount of modification to be done to the Newton as I could help. I knew that eventually I would have to make a hole in the back plate of plastic to allow for pluging in an audio cable. That was enough for me to be scarred.

I settled on modifying the audio jack almost beyond recignition.

The tweeking and test fitting...

This is the part that took most of the time.

I would have to hold up the audio jack to the Newton, guess at how to modify the audio jack, make the modifications, then see if I was close enough or not.

Ta Da!

I do wish that at some point I could keep from the slight buldge where the bottom half of the case meets the the I/O plastic plate

Jammin'!

After all is said and done...

The finnished product!

Overall I am quite pleased with my results.

I had thought that the volume might not be that loud with headphones plugged directly into the Newton, but I was wrong. If the volume is all the way up and you open the "Extras" drawer...

LOOK OUT!!!

Hosted by directNIC.com

	The Audio Jack This is the audio jack that I bought from Radioshack (Cat No. 274-246A). I probably could have found a smaller jack if I had searched elsewhere and online, but I wanted to start right away. For anyone seeing this and wanting to do it for yourself, I would strongly suggest finding an even more compact jack than this one. It was a buggar making it fit.
	Opening up my Newton for the very first time on my desk I wanted to open up my Newton to see what I was up againdst, and to take some measurements. I have seen many other web pages that show pictures of the inside of a Newton 2100, but it is different when you open up your own for the first time. Quite neet how they fit everything in there huh? Well,... It's off to the shop... NOTE: I found a great guide for opening up a Newton 2100 at the PDA Soft web site.
	My make-shift shop in the corner of my garage Basically, I just setup a table, hung a light, ran an extention cord over and opened up my toolbox. I have already taken the entire living room from my wife for my computer habbit/"man cave", so I figured power tools and soldering should be done out here. I put my (rarely used) PowerBook 3400 and a printer out here. I have a hub, but still need to lay a cable run from my network in the living room. (Thanks for the printer Jeff!)
	An overhead view of the openned Newton The picture is not a good one, but you can see the empty space where the "internal modem" would be, if Apple ever made one. This is the space that David Humphreys' used for his SER-001 "Dongle Killer". David is not making them anymore (rats!). I guess I'll have to make my own "Dongle Killer" soon, now that I've already been inside my Newton.
	Different angle shot of the "internal modem" space behind the I/O door. I guess my camera doesn't focus well up-close.
	Another shot...
	Comparison shot of Newton and audio jack It is kinda hard to tell from the picture, but the audio jack seems to be too big to fit in the proposed space.
	Another shot... I thought it might show up better without the white background.
	How is it going to fit? It was obvious that some modification was gonna have to be done, either to the Newton, the audio jack or both. I wanted the least amount of modification to be done to the Newton as I could help. I knew that eventually I would have to make a hole in the back plate of plastic to allow for pluging in an audio cable. That was enough for me to be scarred. I settled on modifying the audio jack almost beyond recignition.
	The tweeking and test fitting... This is the part that took most of the time. I would have to hold up the audio jack to the Newton, guess at how to modify the audio jack, make the modifications, then see if I was close enough or not.
	Ta Da! I do wish that at some point I could keep from the slight buldge where the bottom half of the case meets the the I/O plastic plate
	Jammin'! After all is said and done... The finnished product! Overall I am quite pleased with my results. I had thought that the volume might not be that loud with headphones plugged directly into the Newton, but I was wrong. If the volume is all the way up and you open the "Extras" drawer... LOOK OUT!!!