I have managed to mod my router to support usb devices that required high power from usb host  ... like 2,5'' harddrive's (via usb-to-ide adapters) ,and others

if u take look on bottom of wgt board u will find a small AIC 1526-1 8-pin chip . It 's "Dual USB High-Side Power Switch" . Chip is very small only 4x5 mm ! 
    _______
  -|1   U   5|-                                     the pin 4 is solder to GND ,and Pin 8 is not connected
  -|2        6|-
  -|3        7|-
  -L4____ 8|-
   
To get it done u must remove connection between pin 4 and the pad ... i use small sharp knife to cut it off from the pad . Dont mind the pad ... mind the pin !! Do the same with pin no 8 .Now take thin wire and connect pin 4 to pin 1 ,and pin 8 to the pin 5.
Also there is small black rectangular diode between chip and the netgear usb port .Connect their ends with thin wire .This will remove small voltage drop out from diode .Now u can use your 2,5 '' usb-to-ide adapter without external power source and even hide it inside the device !! The port should draw 1A current ...i think It's enough to power any decent usb device :] .The usb voltage is +5V under load without diode voltage drop out
picture:
netgear wgt634u usb power mod
kind regards

(Last edited by nicefile on 11 Feb 2012, 23:00)

cool!
I try your modification and find it quite useful, I used to plug an extra power supply for my 2.5 disk in wgt634u now the disk could run with only one USB cable!

I like it. Thanks for sharing. One question is the USB port may be able to deliver 1A of power; however, since the AC/DC power adapter can only deliver 1A, I believe you need to make additional statement to replace the original AC/DC power adapter with a bigger rating. Otherwise, this will cause some problems.

According to info @ http://www.linux-lunatix.org/index.php/WGT634U header J8 carries extra USB signals. Have any of you with the soldering skills to attempt this investigated whether it's possible to connect a second USB device here?

(Last edited by gooseye on 5 Sep 2008, 10:51)

the USB port should draw 1A (its spin up mine 0.7A rated ATA-HDD + caddy)  even if whole router is powered by 12v/1.2A power adapter.
Tip: newer drives usually uses less power
On J8 header there is USB but client mode from broadcom processor. Only usb 2.0 host port is provided by PD720101 chip.You could add external powered usb2 hub but it seems to be unstable on zd1211b + hdd + spca5xx .And again usb2.0 speed of this one is below expected ... i think to buy and mod cheap se505v2 or wl500gp

Hi, nicefile!
Could you please post some pictures of your mod here?
That would be helpful.
Thanks!

Definitely, actual pictures would be great help. Thanks!

here u go
netgear wgt634u usb power mod

(Last edited by nicefile on 22 Sep 2008, 23:02)

Thanks for the picture!
Nice and clear.

P.S.  Fxxk the Fxxking G.F.W. of China. Your site is blocked by the GFW, I had to access the picture through archorfree.

(Last edited by ElviN on 23 Sep 2008, 17:34)

Guys,

Can anyone confirm whether this mod works fine? I'm just about to get it done on my wgt634u as I am tired of weak power supply out of the USB port and I don't really want to buy powered USB hub.

What I find strange is that according to the description pin 4 (CTLA) is cut off from GND and then soldered to pin 1 (CTLB). However when you look at the picture pin 4 is not soldered directly to pin 1 but before it!? To me it would really make sense to connect CTLA with CTLB and OUTA and OUTB. Any ideas?

Anyway datasheet for AIC1526 can be found:
http://www.huandong.com.cn/pdf/200612/AIC1526.PDF

Thanks,
Stan

(Last edited by baracudaz on 12 Oct 2009, 22:34)

Hi all,

did anyone keep a copy of nicefile's photo? the link appears to be broken, and I don't dare trying out this mod with only the text to follow.

Thanks a lot in advance!

Let us know if it works - I might have to give it a try, myself!

Thanks a lot! :-D

I'll give it a try in the coming days, I'll let you know!

Just tried it but it's not working for me with a Seagate 2.5" external drive.   Can anybody supply an image of the mod?   The old ones seem to be inaccessible and I'm not completely sure I soldered the right pins (there is some discrepancy between nicefile's text instructions and the pin numbering on the chip's datasheet).