Before I bought into the whole Apple ecosystem, I used to love the HTC phones.. Throughout the years I pretty much owned all of them. Along with their accessories. One of my favourite of all the accessories was the HTC Desktop Cradle CRG300, I loved the sleek design and shiny surfaces.. Even if they did attract finger prints and dust.
I’ve had the cradle now for properly 7 years, just could bring myself to throw it away.
Today I decided it was time to either repurpose of get rid – in the end, I have settled with repurposing!
Using some household tools (a hand full of screwdrivers) and some Sugru, I have managed to ’embed’ a lighting cable from Amazon into the HTC Desktop Cradle CRG300 housing. I have to admit, currently there is more that needs to be done on this project – as there’s nothing taking the weight of the phone. (Until more Sugru arrives – as I ran out!) However, if you would like to give it a go, there are some basic instructions below:
1. Flip over the unit, break through the centre make/model sticker to revel the torx head screw
2. Using a CB-VT-8 torx head on your screwdriver, remove the screw
3. Using a flat bladed screw driver, carefully prize open the dock. There are 6 clips holding the dock together. As seen in the picture below.
4. Carefully lift the mini usb adapter out of the dock, and then prize up the circuit board with a flat bladed screw driver.
5. Remove and discard the old circuit board. Now you’ll need to find a donor lighting cable. I used an Amazon Basics one, as I had one whose cover had already fallen off.
You need to very carefully strip all of the plastic moulding around the lightning adapter. Being careful not to damage any of the wire underneath.
This takes time, and requires a sharp knife, so be careful!
Once you’ve god rid of all the moulding,
6. Place the cable in the position where the old one was, and use some Sugru to hold it in place. It takes some adjusting to get the cable just right. So its worth loosely attaching the lid of the case and ensuring your phone will charge in its position.
7. Once done, click the lid of the dock back into place – being careful not to dislodge the adapter.
8. Replace the torx screw in the bottom of the dock. It’s also best to leave the Sugru to set – so after you’ve tested the phone charges one last time. Place the dock to onside for at least 8 hours.
Below is a picture of my dock in its current state. I’ve ordered some more Sugru and will update this post with more pictures once it’s arrived and I’ve made the iPhone support better
