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by leiroigh 2655 days ago
Damn, 15 minutes after getting pointed to your mods the disappointment :)

Also, thanks for all your guides on the thinkpad forums.

Would you mind writing a small idiosyncratic guide about "51nb procurement for dummies"?

Like: Buy one of these models of chassis. These aftermarket batteries. These screens (possibly with aliexpress links). Use this preferred method of ordering. Remember that you also need to procure (ram, wifi, ssd).

I was lucky enough to have a chinese collegue who dealt with everything for me (I sent him the taobao link and gave him cash, next time he visited family he brought me my board). Without that I would have been lost.

(seriously, taobao? no way to enter a non-chinese address? Take my money already! There must be somebody in China who wants to make a quick $50 per item for just reshipping 51nb boards to the West, e.g. via aliexpress or ebay, instead of imposing on the time of hackers / hardware engineers who have better things to do than reshipping packages)
1 comments
xiphmont 2655 days ago
The problem with any specific process or link recommendations is they become obsolete instantly. Putting one of these together requires some searching and active exception handling.

There are Chinese services that do forwarding (I use FSC), as well as enthusiast engineers, like Jacky (or me), but enthusiasts get overwhelmed quickly... it becomes a full time job for little or no profit. I have to consciously dial way back to keep this only a hobby so it stays fun.

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leiroigh 2655 days ago
I know, and I am super grateful for all the cool things you and the other people in the scene develop, and for the effort you go to to actually ship out modkits. You do what's fun and I won't ask for more.

Don't get me wrong, putting together my x62 from your and other's guides was fun. I am just wishing that some of the Shenzen hardware hackers had an entrepreneurial cousin or friend who made a business out of this. I wish I could just send an aliexpress link to all my friends who rightfully complain about lenovo design quality nosediving.

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