Extend your wireless music bridge bluetooth range!

[C4RVA]

 

So. The Bluetooth range on the WMB is pretty poor. I use airplay, but I have a significant other that is an android person and likes to use Bluetooth for her music. Unfortunately, the blue tooth range is terrible on the WMB. So lets fix that:

 

 

 

Warnings:

 

-This modification is at your own risk. You could ruin your WMB if you’re not careful.

 

- This modification probably violates FCC regulations and could likely cause interference with WiFI , Zigbee, and other Bluetooth signals. Read up on channel selection and place your antenna carefully.

 

 

 

Credits:

 

 

 

Thanks to C4Jedi for introducing this modification to me. As far as I know, this is his idea.

 

 

 

Prereqs:

 

 

 

1) A wireless music bridge

 

2) Phillips screw driver

 

3) Needle nose pliers or a small hemostat

 

4) U.FL Mini PCI to RP-SMA Pigtail Antenna WiFi Cable

 

            http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005UWD0EG

 

5) Amped Wireless High Power 1000mW Wi-Fi Signal Booster

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004MDQQ04

 

 

 

 

 

Step 1:

 

 

 

Unplug your music bridge from everything. Place it on a table and have a metal grounded item near by to ground yourself from static electricity. Google grounding yourself if you’re not used to touching electronics.

 

 

 

 

 

Step 2: Flip the WMB upside down. Remove the rubber feet with your fingers. They peal off like a sticker. Take all four off and place them to the side.

 

 

 

Step 3: Take your Phillips or cross screw driver and remove the four screws that are in the wells below where the rubber feet were.

 

 

 

Step 4: Carefully flip over the WMB and gentle lift the cover off. There are four wire tethers that attached the  lights and antennas to the circuit board.  You should not need to remove any to get the access you see below.

 

 

 

Step 5: Find the Bluetooth antenna wire. There are three gray antenna wires. Two for wifi that terminate to  the same place on the circuit board, The other is the Bluetooth antenna. This wire should be grey and it will be by itself  furthest from the power input.  See picutes.

 

 

 

Step 6: Ground yourself and tools. GENTLY remove the yellow goo from around the antenna connection on the circuit board. Then gently pull up on the grey Bluetooth wire as close to the gold connector as you can get. This should pull up easily.  You can leave the  old antenna wire and Bluetooth antenna in the box or rip it out.

 

 

 

Step 7:  Take your new pigtail and gently push it down onto the circuit board where the old antenna wire was connected. You should feel a slight pop like a button.

 

 

 

Step 8: Drill a small hole above the power input the same size as the antenna connection. Mount the antenna pigtail in the hole.

 

 

 

Step 9:  Make sure your wire tethers to the lid are still in place. Place the lid back on the WMB and carefully flip it upside down. Put your four screws back in and the rubber pads back in place.

 

 

 

 

 

Step 9: Connect the amped wireless  booster to the new antenna connection you made. This booster is designed for WiFI but Bluetooth is in the same range as wifi  and works well for me. You can try other boosters / antennas  and you could also put your antenna closer to where you want.

 

 

 

Step 10:  Power on the booster.  Plug in Ethernet to the WMB.  Plug in audio path. THEN plug in power.

 

 

 

Step 11: Enjoy awesome Bluetooth range!

 

 

 

 

[electrician9421]

You could of saved yourself alot of trouble and just connected her android based device though dlna.

[Matt Lowe]

bluetooth still has its advantages friends family you dont want on the wifi can easily stream their music

[C4RVA]

You can't stream media services ( npr / spotify / podcasts ) via DLNA.

This mod only takes about 10 minutes once you have the parts as well.  

 

Hopefully this is helpful to someone else that likes to tinker.  

 

 

 

[TheaterExtreme]