USB hostmode (No female-to-female cable)
 

Ok, i'd like to start off by giving all credit to the Hostmode development team and especially MohammadAG for making it possible and easy to run USB hostmode on the N900.

This is a tutorial on how to get USB hostmode to work even when you can't get your hands on those rare female-to-female usb cables. If you can get it then there is no need to read the rest of this post

Let's start then.
What you will need:
1. An old motherboard(never to be used again) with USB ports like the one's found in the pictures below.
2. A soldering iron.( I used a candle :))
3. Pliers
4. Four Jumpers
5. Tape

Take the motherboard and melt away the soldering to remove the USB ports.
http://i52.tinypic.com/32zmckg.jpg

1. I don't have a soldering iron so i used a candle to melt the soldering(In the Red circles).
http://i55.tinypic.com/5dmatz.jpg

2. Use the pliers to gently pull it out.
http://i51.tinypic.com/2ltoenm.jpg

3. Once removed, use the four jumpers to connect the opposing pins, and tape them in place.
http://i51.tinypic.com/11jqf7k.jpg

Done! :-)
http://i53.tinypic.com/ngq1og.jpg
Hit the "Thanks!" button if you liked this:)

Re: USB hostmode (No female-to-female cable)
 

Problems with the pictures? Linky linky no worky worky, not from where I'm sitting, although I will stand to be corrected if my works url filtering policy is to blame.....

Re: USB hostmode (No female-to-female cable)
 

It just doesn't seem to come out right. Do you know how i can fix it?

Re: USB hostmode (No female-to-female cable)
 

There we go. All cleaned up.

Re: USB hostmode (No female-to-female cable)
 

Sorry mate missed previous reply, grabbing lunch (nom nom nom).

Buuuump for the thread too :D

Re: USB hostmode (No female-to-female cable)
 

thats a cool idea , nice shall try that later if can find my old mother board !

great job

Re: USB hostmode (No female-to-female cable)
 

Im just trying to get the HDD's to work.

Re: USB hostmode (No female-to-female cable)
 

Cool! I love being cheap! :D :p I think I have one of the most ancient motherboards ever, that old pentium 1...

Re: USB hostmode (No female-to-female cable)
 

@ammyt If you fail or succeed, post your experiencing here :-)

Re: USB hostmode (No female-to-female cable)
 

Good job! :D Pentium 1 cracked up by ARM Cortex A8 :)

Re: USB hostmode (No female-to-female cable)
 

Nice!:D Good thing those old Mobo's have alota jumpers on, seems like you going to need a few.

Re: USB hostmode (No female-to-female cable)
 

I would like to report another working one :D
The biggest problem was to get that thing out of motherboard.

Ele-Mental, thanks for the idea!

Re: USB hostmode (No female-to-female cable)
 

@Magik: Yeah i thought that a flame would melt more evenly than a soldering iron, thus allowing me to pull out all the pins at once. How did you loosen yours?

Re: USB hostmode (No female-to-female cable)
 

I used a my sister's hair fixer spray and a match, pretty unsafe but reliable :)

Re: USB hostmode (No female-to-female cable)
 

I did this when h-e-n was first released and I was still waiting for my female-female adaptor in the mail. :D

Re: USB hostmode (No female-to-female cable)
 

You wont believe how rare those F2F adapters are here. I looked everywhere. Ive never even seen one here. But h-e-n is too good a feature to turn down. Was getting sick of my GF bragging with flash drives and N8.

Re: USB hostmode (No female-to-female cable)
 

This idea is bloody awesome! Love it!

Female 2 Female = is easy to find. $1.50 delivered from eBay!

Re: USB hostmode (No female-to-female cable)
 

First I wanted to do it with a candle, but that pissed me off too much so I've borrowed Hot Air from my friend.

Here the adapter in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyEjA5Jxrdo

Re: USB hostmode (No female-to-female cable)
 

Cool hack, kudos Ele-Mental!

But instead of a (usually long) cable + a lezzie adapter, I like a short one-piece cable; the ones sold on ebay as n810 host cables work fine.

Re: USB hostmode (No female-to-female cable)
 

Not in South Africa.

Re: USB hostmode (No female-to-female cable)
 

You can buy gender changers for very little money (and I've certainly never had troubles getting hold of one), or does this method also generate the cable select signal that should make the OTG chipset switch mode automatically.

Edit: I should clarify that the gender changers I'm talking about aren't cables but rather something similar to what was being made in the previous post - i.e. a pair of connectors joined together and all in all about 3cm long. Therefore you still need your normal cable to go with this.

Re: USB hostmode (No female-to-female cable)
 

This method doesn't, but it doesn't matter at present, since the existing hostmode implementation (h-e-n) requires manual control.

Re: USB hostmode (No female-to-female cable)
 

Has anyone tried to get a HDD to work using a Y-cable and a USB charger? Just wondering. Im thinking of buying the charger if this solution works.