Blue_Remote

The Prototype – Results Of The First Tests

blueremote — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 09:21:02 +0000

The past days i had to learn for an examen i had today. So now iÍ have the time to tell you what happend the last days. On thursday a Prototype of Limpkin’s Bluetooth Remote arrived. He sent me this one because of my problems to get all parts (LMX9838, W681310). Now I have the ability to test other components for compatibility (especially to replace the Codec). So special thanks to Limpkin for sending me the prototype. Click the Likn on the right to see this project and other nice things on his blog.

I tested the function of the device. Here I sum up my results.

Hardware:

The device came in a CNC made plastic housing. There are 4 holes to fix the board and a deepening for the LiIon accumulator
The board is fully assembled and everything seems to work
I placed some corrugated cardboard between board and accumulator and fixed it with double-faced adhesive tape so it can’t move arround anymore
Four screws were found to attach the board to the case
A pice of a rubber glove was between the buttons and the top of case so i have rubber buttons . I have to find a way to make them a little bit higher because of the thickness of the case
I temporary closed the case with adhesive tape
The microcontroller seems to be read/write locked, so that it seems like my plans to use the prototype as a development platform are not possible
TODO: a black (plastic) shield for the jacks, A transparent shield for Screen, improve the buttons, finding a way to fix the top of case (I think there is a mechanism, but I can’t figure it out yet)

Software Client:

pressing the reset button bricks the device. I can only bring it back to live, by using Atmels FLIP tool. After connecting I deselect “reset” and press “Start Application”. Now the device is running
The following menu items are displayed:
- Pin number (works, shows BT pin)
- Bluetooth name (works, shows BT device name)
- Battery voltage (works, shows current battery charging)
- Act/Dis USB keys (seems to work, don’t know what it’s doing, have to figure this out)
- Go to sleep mode (works, power down display and bluetooth/codec [if not connected, have to figure that out])
- Reset BT defaults (seems to work, don’t know what it exactly is doing)
- Automatic Op. mode (shows operation mode, can’t change it [initialized at first boot, have to figure out what it's for)
- Dis/En BT power save (seems to work, can't figure out a difference)
- Display incoming data (displays data sent trough BT serial interface)
- Display list inc data (seems to display responses from Winamp plugin, have to figure out that)
- Write using USB keyb. (when I choose this with out USB connection to PC, the device bricks, otherwise it sends the string "hello esiee-[ENTER]” (<- this string was entered into the post by the device ), had to figure out the function of this)
- Sometimes one more menu item appears called ’go to bootloader’ but when I try to select it, it disappears
Battery symbol works (showing current charging, animated when charger is connected)
All buttons are doing what they are meant for
Sometimes the device running time is not displayed correctly

Software Host:

I compiled the Winamp-Plugin after setting the correct COM port for the BT serial interface (thats the only change i made)
Compiling throws 16 warnings
Winamp shows no errors
Can’t choose ‘Plugin configuration’ in Winamp settings. Have to figure out whether there are any options

Connecting the device:

This was not easy and it isn’t working correctly yet
Had to install Skype to get the plugin running. It caused Winamp to crash without Skype installed.
Plugin doesn’t work without Skype running
Installed actual driver for bluetooth (Broadcom)
I can connect to the device to use it as a headset trough the WIN system settings
When starting Winamp the remote is working, tracks are displayed, everything is fine
When I connect to headset mode after starting Winamp, the track list can’t be shown correctly, the remote-functions are working correctly
When I connect to headset mode before starting Winamp, the plugin can’t establish a connection to the device
Sometimes Winamp can’t connect after shutting it down and restart
Sometimes Winamp gets a runtime error when the playlist is cleared
Sometimes the device bricks when the playlist is modified

So after this first tests, the biggest problems are: the brick after reset, the connection problems and the locked microcontroller. So my next steps are to go through the whole source code to understand it (what a great amusement ) and to see, if I can fix any of the problem. Further I have to figure out, whether I can erase the read/write protection of the microcontroller (I read something about that for ATmega controllers). I think I will also search the board for any mistakes, when I’m back at the institute where I can use a microscope. This is just to make sure every problem is cuased by software.

Tin-Coated Board

blueremote — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 23:07:02 +0000

Today I was back at e-lab to tin-coat my board. After 3 Minutes in the bath it was already finished. So I drilled some holes for the buttons and the positioning holes for the jacks. Enough work for today

Thin-Coated Board

I still didn’t find the W681310, but contacted the manufacturer of this part for samples (officially the don’t send samples of this device). Also Mathieu (creator of this project) contacted me. He will have a look for some chips that maybe are left after finishing his project. Hopefully he will find a W681310!

(Nearly) All Parts Are Ordered

blueremote — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 02:05:22 +0000

AT90USB1287 , MAX5026, LCD

Like said in opening post, I ordered samples of AT90USB1287 and MAX5026. The display and its connector are found at ebay.

LMX9838

I figured out, that arrownac.com will take about $40 to $50 for shipping. So i have to buy theLMX9838 and the W681310 anywhere else. I found the LMX at futureelectronics.com with moderate shipping coasts.

W681310

I can’t find the W681310 anywhere else than on arrownac.com (digikey is the only other shop, but says “call for this item” and “not in stock”).

So I looked for a replacement of W681310. National Semiconductor has some PCM-Codec-Chips (TP3054/57 and TP3070/71), but they need +5V and -5V. The remote has only 3,3V, so this won’t work for me.

Some other chips can be found at Texas Instruments:

TLV320AIC1106 (I think this one is the best for replacement)
TLV320AIC1103
TLV320AIC1110

I ordered some samples of this chips for tests. I hope they will work as replacement. But in the end I hope I can find the W681310 anywhere. According to LMX data sheet its the best compatible chip.

All other parts…

…are ordered at hbe-shop.de , a German Farnell distributor. I hat to do some changes in the part-list:

47uH inductor can’t be found with 1210 packaging, so I had to order an other one (it easily fits to the original pads)
same for 32,768kHz oscillator, had to take a smaller one
MAX1555 wasn’t in stock, so I choose the MAX1551. It’s the same chip. Only thing is, that he has a POK-pin instead of the CHG-pin. This pin isn’t connected in any useful way, so i don’t care about that.

Further info: see RESOURCES

Testing the Board

blueremote — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 01:10:02 +0000

Today I tested the board at work at my institute (Institute of Data Systems Technology and Communication Networks). There I have the ability to use a microscope (and many other professional equipment, I’m working at board building lab). I only found one little short between two contacts of the LCD connector. Everything else was etched perfectly. Afterwards I tested the contacts between the layers. They all work fine. Now I’m waiting for the parts to put everything together.

Let’s start!

blueremote — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 22:38:49 +0000

I just started to rebuild the following project by limpkin: http://www.limpkin.fr/index.php?post/2008/11/12/The-Bluetooth-Remote-Control

http://www.limpkin.fr

This evening i visited the e-lab. This is a project from students for students at or university. There are all facilities for etching double layer boards. I had to clinch the contacts trough the bord by hand, but i got a petty good result.

Now i have to order the parts. Some are hard to get (LMX9838, W681310,AT90USB1287, MAX5026). I can’t find the MAX5026 in my favorite shop, so iordered some samples at maxim-ic.com. My roommate had good experiences with this. I also ordered some samples of AT90USB1287 at atmel.com. I hope they will arrive soon.

The LMX9838 ant the W681310 will be ordered at arrwonac.com. This is the only shop where i found the LMX available (Digikey will not ship this part outside US). Sadly i have to pay $24,75 for this part. And the shipping coasts to Germany are arround $30. But i hope that the samples will arrive and i can save money this way.

The display can be found on ebay for 7,90€ with free shipping. The display connector also comes from ebay for 4.90€ with free shiping. Don’t know where else.