[phungy]

That's a good idea. I'm afraid of breaking the back cover if I do it myself. I'm satisfied with the volume as it is.

[ttormamny]

Originally Posted by phungy

That's a good idea. I'm afraid of breaking the back cover if I do it myself. I'm satisfied with the volume as it is.

when you do get the nerves to do it yourself you will love it. it makes a difference in the audio quality. It really isnt that hard and besides if you mess up you can get another cover at shopblackberry.com for 10 bucks.

[phungy]

Originally Posted by ttormamny

when you do get the nerves to do it yourself you will love it. it makes a difference in the audio quality. It really isnt that hard and besides if you mess up you can get another cover at shopblackberry.com for 10 bucks.

Yeah, I didn't know the back cover was that cheap. I'll give it try when I can find a dremel.

[1999]

The cover on/off test made a noticable difference for me. Usually when I play audio through the speaker it vibrates, distorting the audio to a muffled sound (notice it more when using the speaker phone). Before now I thought the Pearl had a crappy speaker when it turns out it was the cover that was causing the problems.

I want to try this but I don't have a drill. How much is the drill you guys are using (Dremel)?

[phungy]

I believe you can get one at Walmart for....$20?

[1999]

Originally Posted by phungy

I believe you can get one at Walmart for....$20?

Hm, I don't think there is a Walmart in San Francisco, but at least I know how much I should expect to pay. Thanks!

[phungy]

Are you serious?! Well expect to pay around $30 then.

[Ophidian]

Originally Posted by phungy

Are you serious?! Well expect to pay around $30 then.

LOL-- there will never be a Wally World in SF.

We always went to the Target in Emeryville (but we also lived in Berkeley)


Back on topic:
I'm pretty lazy... if people wanna drill these things (with the BBerry logo) I know of at least one potential buyer

[phungy]

Yeah, I like Target better. The atmosphere is completely different. I'm tempted to do the DIY mod but I don't think I can return the dremel so I'm going to find someone who does first.

[notabun]

You guys are all funny. The covers are replaceable for cheap so dont be scurd and drill away.

Also, to say that the sound will not be louder and clearer with the cover off than on is quite illogical.

I also noticed right away the vibration noise of the cover against the speaker when cranking up the volume and Im thinking of inserting something underneath it like another foam square so the vibration noise will disappear. That is my only real gripe about the speaker's sound.

*EDIT* So far the vibration noise is gone by just placing a small and really thin foam insert over the dimple on the inside of the cover. That dimple is what rests on the outer frame of the speaker and is the culprit of the vibration noise when cranked up (at least on my phone it is). I think I'll be satisfied with the speaker volume now that the annoying noise is gone.

[nigletsyz]

Some observations from someone who did this mod:

Before the holes were drilled, the sound was muffled and if the volume was up past 3/4, the cover would buzz and rattle and just basically sound like a$$. When playing MUSIC, it sounded much better to have the cover off and have the BB either on its back (so the sound would echo up) or simply just have the speaker pointed at you.

Now after the holes are drilled, it MUSIC sounds much better at all speaker levels. A big improvement there. HOWEVER, when watching videos, it seems that its harder to hear voices or dialog when playing at a lower audio level as all the sound is just being directed directly out the back. So, to remedy this situation, I have to cup my hand around the back speaker area and this allows the sound to bounce back towards me at a much more reasonable level without having to crank up the volume.

[nigletsyz]

Also, you don't need a dremel to do this mod. A simple cordless hand drill will work. Dremels are more money so don't spend it if you dont plan on using it ever again. PLUS, they wont fit really small drill bits. So you may end up having to drill holes larger than you'd like. They don't have any torque and spin really fast (30,000 RPMs) so its not like you'll be able to use it for drilling some screws into wood at some other time. You're better off buying a cheapo $15 battery operated drill or even a corded drill for this job. Dont forget to get a small drill bit. Get them at Home Depot... there's one in Emeryville

[krad]

The real issue here is besides a bad battery door design.... the speaker should really be on the front of the phone. For a bb with media capabilites, having the speaker on the top or the back is lame.... They really designed the best they could be filtiing the sound waves up out the top of the bb.

If only the speaker was behind the pearl. that would be the ideal place for sound and for ringering... who puts their pearl face down on a desk?

If i were to attempt this mod..... I would drill from the inside of the cover to the outside. I would use a dremel bit the size of a pin. I would want very tiny holes, maybe 9 or 10 total in an x pattern...

[nigletsyz]

why would you drill from the inside? you would get a rough outside edges on the holes. Having the speaker facing down is not a bad thing once the holes have been drilled. If you read my above post, you will see that the sound will "echo" off the desk. It sounds great like that. Good luck finding a dremel bit the size of a pin too. Dremels are cutting tools, not drilling.

[SanFrancisco]

Originally Posted by 1999

The cover on/off test made a noticable difference for me. Usually when I play audio through the speaker it vibrates, distorting the audio to a muffled sound (notice it more when using the speaker phone). Before now I thought the Pearl had a crappy speaker when it turns out it was the cover that was causing the problems.

I want to try this but I don't have a drill. How much is the drill you guys are using (Dremel)?

You and anyone else thinking about doing this mod had best be very, very careful. If you are inquiring about prices for drills, etc. IMHO you should NOT do this mod.

If you are the type who knows what a Dremel tool is and has one, then go ahead and try doing the mod, otherwise it's too easy to screw this up.

For example: there is no way any of you should be contemplating using a large drill to do this little job. Even a small corded drill will be too cumbersome to drill into that little cover, which is thin, low density, and soft plastic.

A powered drill is also difficult to handle when using small drill bits. The balance of the drill is thrown way off.

The Dremel tool I used [I have three] was perfect for the job, and the one I used was a low powered battery operated model. But even its revs or "speed" was fast enough for drilling the BB cover. [IMHO that cover is about as soft a surface one could drill, other than Styrofoam, I guess].

There are also other cautions one has to take when drilling, which I cannot go into on a cell phone site [pardon for calling BF a cell phone site]. For example,

When drilling, before touching the surface with the bit, one has to make sure the the drill or Dremel is operating at full speed.

One has to make sure to get the correct bit, get one meant for wood, you're toast.

You have to make sure the drill bit is not bent, otherwise when you start drilling all hell will break loose.

So if you are a noob to all this, don't do the mod.

[SanFrancisco]

Originally Posted by nigletsyz

Good luck finding a dremel bit the size of a pin too. Dremels are cutting tools, not drilling.

You are right about the Dremel tool being a cutting tool. That's why the revs are perfect for drilling plastic, which does not need much in terms of power.

You are also right about drill bits being too small for the Dremel chuck. All I did was take a fairly small drill bit [for the size of holes I was making in the Pearl] and carefully wrap some masking tape around it. It worked perfect. Bit did not slip at all.

Like I said, the Pearl cover is such a light job that the Dremel was perfect for it. I have all kinds of drills, corded and cordless, but none of those would have been manageable for drilling holes in that teeny, flimsy cover.

[krad]

Originally Posted by nigletsyz

why would you drill from the inside? you would get a rough outside edges on the holes. Having the speaker facing down is not a bad thing once the holes have been drilled. If you read my above post, you will see that the sound will "echo" off the desk. It sounds great like that. Good luck finding a dremel bit the size of a pin too. Dremels are cutting tools, not drilling.

False False False.

if you pretend to zoom in with your mind as close as you can to the contact where the dremel or drill bit is going into an object, the tip of the bit is a point, that is expanding out to the thickness of the total bit..... from zero point to wide. When you drill down into something, you are actually creating a crator into the object, or a indepth hole. think of a swimming pool.

Now if you do it the opposite way when you pierce the backside of the blackberry door, you have a small whole with no crater, no ridge... just the slightest hole. Here you could rub or polish the ruff edge if there is one, but it is much smaller.

Hogwash you say!

this is very easy to do.

take out two small pieces of 2X4
Rest the battery door with the inside part facing you. with a towel or rag, clamp the top and bottom of the door to the blocks.....

Take a black fine point marker, make your pattern.

take out your drill with whatever size drill bit you want.... i have particularly have a set of tiny drill bits, can be found at any hardware store.

Make sure to have another small block in the middle of the door underneath so it is nice and sturdy....

Very slowly drill down untill you barely pierce the back of the battery door. Use a polish cloth to rub out the back of the door for any stray pieces of plastic...

and your done.....

This isn't rocket science. There is no fancy trick to do this. It is not like rubbing or scratching your pearl with a wet penny. This is basic hardware/electrical stuff.

If you wanted to get hardcore..... you would actually use the dremel to create an identical rounded square like the camera... just half the size.... cut it out and then glue metal mesh into the hole.... basically like the 7100 without the plasitc piece covering it.

THat would make it look stock.

_______________________________________
my opinon about the whole placement of the speaker and how it goes out the top is very favorable. When i had my 7100t and used speakerphone i used to have to turn the phone around to hear the speakphone, then people couldn't hear me because the microphone was not facing me. It was a big problem..... With the sound coming out the top, i do not suffer from this anymore. I have the phone facing the right way and i can use the speakerphone.

with the rogers update, my movies and mp3s are super loud, i have to keep them on 40-50% loudness to not disturb others...

[nigletsyz]

^^^ San Fran, I think you're being a little overcautious. The plastic is so soft that you don't need full operating speed of the drill to get through it. I drilled through mine at maybe 100rpms using a regular-sized hand drill. I put a piece of scotch tape over the area i was going to drill, then marked the drill points w/ a sharpie and then used a pushpin to make an indent for the drill bit. This will prevent the drill bit from sliding all over your backplate on initial contact. I had the backplate sitting on a magazine, since it countoured nicely w/ the backplate of the pearl and allowed for some forgiveness when drilling.

I disagree that a powered drill is too difficult to handle. Its pistol-grip allows better leverage than your average dremel tool. Originally I took out my dremel to do this, but decided it would be easier to use a regular drill to drill holes. I suppose this comes down to personal comfort.

This is not a difficult job. Its just drilling holes. Just use some common sense.

[nigletsyz]

Originally Posted by krad

False False False.

...

Ok, well I drilled it from the outside and the holes are much nicer looking the way I did it. The inside holes don't look anywhere close to as nice, even after attempting to "polish" them. In theory maybe you are right, but the fact is that there is that fine mirror finish over the speaker and it will just splinter once that drill bit pokes through it, just like wood does when you drill through it. I understand what you're saying, but I am just stating the facts.

Good luck if you decide to do it.

[krad]

Originally Posted by nigletsyz

Ok, well I drilled it from the outside and the holes are much nicer looking the way I did it. The inside holes don't look anywhere close to as nice, even after attempting to "polish" them. In theory maybe you are right, but the fact is that there is that fine mirror finish over the speaker and it will just splinter once that drill bit pokes through it, just like wood does when you drill through it. I understand what you're saying, but I am just stating the facts.

Good luck if you decide to do it.

you could use high strength floss and floss the hole to a smooth hole.... but you got my point.... What are we trying to do here????

1. Are we trying to create holes to hear better?
2 Or are we making holes because you want it to look cool(er).

Personally, I love the look of the whole phone, and if i were to make holes i would want them to be functional but also so tiny that you had to look hard to find them....

For those who did the holes.... did you take the next step and apply a small strip of silicon to the door so the sound waves do not travel up like it was designed?

I learned my lesson from the tmobile logo rubout. the speaker is staying stock on mine.