SpeedBoost MP130

This project will aim to hardware over-clock my MessagePad 130. After reading a number of articles on the web it seems that some good results have been achieved from this modification. One modification I saw was by felesmagus.com and focused on the eMate, as the eMate’s processor runs at the same speed hopefully I can achieve a 7MHz speed boost to my MP130. After doing some research and posting on the NewtonTalk message board it seemed best to us a 5MHz crystal to replace the 1.8MHz crystal. I ordered the components online and set out to perform a tricky operation on my trusty MP130.

WARNING: This is intended to be an illustration of what I did to replace the crystal, I don't intend this to be used as a tutorial. The reasons for this will become clear after you read the results.

Stage Two: Removing the Crystal

I carefully remove the existing 1.8MHz crystal being very careful not to damage the copper connectors on the board. This was tricky as the crystal is glued on also.

Stage Five: Routing the cables
The main problem I had was that there was no room to mount the crystals under the logic board. I had to run cables from the back and mount the crystals wherever I could. I made sure to firmly epoxy them in place.

Stage Seven: Securing the Components
I made sure epoxy the crystals and wires in place to stop them moving. The wires where glued to prevent the PCMCIA ejector button from catching on them.

Stage One: Open the 130

I used the instructions from pda-soft.com to take the MP apart, it took a while. I then remove the logic board to reveal the board with the crystal underneath it.

Stage Three: New Crystal
I simply soldered the new crystal in the same place as the old. After reading on the web I then had a change of heart and decided it would be best to switch between the two crystals should I find any problems with the new one.

Stage Six: Switch
This was hard as I had to find a small switch then some place to mount it. There are very few places on the MP130 so I decided to remove the rubber cap and mount the switch in its place.

Stage Eight: The Finish and Results

I re-assembled the MP130 and made sure to epoxy the switch in place to secure it in the case. I made sure the switch moved freely. After switching the MP on with the switch activated everything looked the same as before. I started the speed test to test the new crystal, lets just say the results are less than impressive. The software crashes each time I run the test so I can’t tell if there is any change at all. The only thing of real note is that the contrast on the screen changes when you switch between the two crystals.

There is no noticeable speed increase when timing the opening of applications or the ‘Extras’ folder. Now the bad news is that I have done some serious harm to my beloved MP130, I have left it with an intermittent power off fault. I have opened it time and time again but the source of the fault is a mystery, its just resetting and blaming a power issue. I have also read that making the wiring long can cause additional RF interference and a different crystal means the Apple keyboard won’t work. The last thing to say is don’t try this unless your confident and not worried about the potential problems. I would not recommend this hack as the results don’t compare to the potential risk.