Query - Converting an x86 Tablet to a Mini PC

[MattPrime]

I recently had a mishap with my little 8" Intel Atom-based Windows 10 tablet, and was wondering what I can do with it now...

 

I thought it might be fun to remove the motherboard, mount it in a little box and attach some break-out cables so that its a portable Mini PC. The main issue I have with this is that, due to it being a cheapo tablet, it only has a single USB port which is used for charging AND connected devices such as a mouse and/or keyboard. I have done some research on USB cables/adaptors that support attaching a charger AND devices at the same time but apparently a lot of devices, especially lower-end ones, don't tend to support this? Instead I thought maybe I could remove the battery and hard-wire an alternative power source onto the board in its place.

 

Is this a feasible solution? The obvious things to consider are the incoming VOLTS and AMPS from the new power source so I guess it might be possible to source a power circuit to handle this?

 

Has anybody tried anything like this before?

 

Cheers

Matt

[MattPrime]

I've done a tiny bit of googling on this so far and have found a few people asking similar questions on supplying mobile phones with power via an alternative source as the original batteries are long dead. There was some talk about making sure the voltage and MAh is matched to the requirements of the handset (so, essentially, the same as the battery output) but more importantly considering regulation of that power to avoid destroying the device through spikes, over-volting or under-currenting.

 

Does anyone have anything to add to this?

[Pixel5]

i would say the easier way would be to modify a USB cable to be able to charge and connect a device at the same time.

 

i guess the tablet charges via 5V?

 

you could build a USB cable to connect the 5V input to and also have a port to connect to a USB hub or something to connect devices.