Introduction: Cracking Open the Motorola HS820 Bluetooth Headset
Many people have been repurposing bluetooth headsets for use in their projects.
http://www.grooveking.com/blog/2006/03/grooveking-geekout-make-your-old-brick.html
http://kamalot.blogspot.com/2005/09/nes-bluetooth-handset.html
Both radioshack and Amazon had the Motorola HS820 on sale for 30 dollars this week. I bought one, popped it open. I wrote this up to show how easy it is and why you shouldn't be afraid.
Step 1: Remove the Ear Hook and Screw
First off, we need to remove a couple of things so we can get inide to the guts.
1) I'm not sure of the technical name, but I'm going to call it the ear hook as it hooks around your ear. It just pops right off if you give it a slight tug. It's supposed to pop off so you can change the orientation of the set. It turns out that I'm left earred.
2) After you remove the hook, then take out the screw. It's a hex screw but, I found a mini-flathead screwdriver that was able to fit perfectly.
Step 2: Pry the Top Off
With a mini-flathead screwdeiver, you can pop off the lit with minmal effort. Be careful becasue there is an exposed circut board under there. If you use too much pressure, or insert the screwdriver too far in, you could scratch it.I pried from the front to the back beacuse there is a rubber/plastic protector with some give located over the microphone and could easily pop the scredriver in there.
Step 3: Free the Board
The board is tacked on each side with some cheapo glue. I was able to use a small flathead screwdriver to scrape away the glue on each side.
Step 4: Free Board and Remove Mic
Remove the board, but take care because the mic and speaker are glued on to the plastic base. After you have freed the board, you can pry away the rubber shield around the mic and then pry the mic.
Step 5: Free the Speaker
The speaker is held on with a lot more glue than the Mic. However, the speaker has a nice ridge that you can pry underneath to get a fair amount of leverage.
Step 6: Test to Make Sure Headset Still Functions
I atttemped to make a call with the disassembled unit and it still functions. Woo hoo it does. Notice the placement of the led. this could come in handy when you re-appropriate the headset for one of your projects.
39 Comments
7 years ago
It would be better if we use Bluetooth headsets instead of carrying mobile every place at home no need to check for mobile in dilemma about where i left my mobile oh God! thansk to blue tooth headsets latestone.com is the recent website where i ordered one bluetooth headset very cheaply
7 years ago
It would be better if we use Bluetooth headsets instead of carrying mobile every place at home no need to check for mobile in dilemma about where i left my mobile oh God! thansk to blue tooth headsets latestone.com is the recent website where i ordered one bluetooth headset very cheaply
8 years ago
i opened an earlier model of one of these a few years ago, looking to see if i could replace the battery. when i did crack it open, there were two tiny tiny bits that flew away from the edges. there were circuit wires connected to the spots where the connector bits were, so i surmised that they were "anti-tampering" devices. if you open an older one, or maybe a modern one of a different make, go slowly, open over a white towel or cloth so you can see if any tiny bits fall out. the battery in mine was soldered to the circuit board, i couldn't find a replacement. but that was a few years ago.
13 years ago on Step 6
would it be possible to hook this up to a regular speaker (6x9) say for a garage application. I hate the ear phone but would love to answer the phone. Let me know as I have several types of speakers left over from a wall of sound project! Thanks,
Reply 9 years ago on Introduction
you would have to use an amp to drive the larger speaker
9 years ago on Introduction
usb runs on 5 volts that is plenty any usb charger that fits will work
10 years ago on Step 6
What's the output voltage from the genuine charger? I lost mine.
I often find 5V and 5,9V searching on Google.
Can I use USB to power my HS820?
11 years ago on Step 6
How do you rewire the On/Off/Call switch for easy hacking? For example, how do you wire it to a separate push button?
It just looks like a little pad - do you tear it off?
Thanks!
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
you desolder the switch and solder wires to the 2 pads
12 years ago on Step 6
i opened an much earlier model of one of these motorala jobs. there were these two tiny tiny bits, along the edge of the seam on each side that flew away. i examined the thing carefully, and decided that those were "anti-hacking" bits. if you took the thing apart - i was trying to see if the battery could be replaced - the little bits would fly off, and when you put it back together, it wouldn't work
14 years ago on Introduction
wow that took me 2 hours to try and get it open and fail .......... i envey you
14 years ago on Step 1
You were actually dead on. It is an 'ear hook.' Sometimes technology companies name things exactly after their purpose... I never thought I'd see the day either :-D
14 years ago on Step 6
hey, just found this headset and tried to charge it, but the led doesnt light up, and i opened it but couldnt find anything( in my unexisting experience ) wrong, ill try to charge it tonight and see if maybe the leds wrong, any suggestions on how to check if its still worth anything? by the way, great job
15 years ago on Introduction
I checked this out because I've wanted to build a bluetooth headset for a radio transceiver for a while now. The idea is a 3-point network: transmitter, PTT button, and headset. Any resources y'all could share for making this work would be appreciated.
Reply 15 years ago on Introduction
i'm sorry that i can't help you, but i gotta say, i'm really lking forward to seeing it come to life!
15 years ago on Introduction
i have a broken bluetooth,only mic wires are broken. i want to know how can i use it for making anything.
Reply 15 years ago on Introduction
build a computer mic and theres an instructable for having a bluetooth for ipods
15 years ago on Introduction
these headsets were on woot.com today 2 for 20 bucks. i plan on making bluetooth receiver for my handy for home/office use. with 2 of them i feel i'll have adequate room for experimentation. now...where to find an old telephone....
15 years ago on Step 6
Excellent tear-down! I put a Jabra into an old AT&T handset (see the flickr set) but destroyed a second headset-- a Motorola-- trying to solder leads to its circuit board...:( Those components are tiny!
I just w00t!'d two Jabra BT350's (and ordered tiny conical solder tips too...;) and will do an Instructable on tearing it down _and_ soldering leads to a separate board to make it easier to hack onto/into other devices.
15 years ago on Introduction
Another new idea! How about running some wires from the bluetooth headset to the line in of the PC, so as to be able to record the mobile conversation in PC? Any technical viewpoints on this?