Related
Looks like the streak might have usb host... if you look in the sdcard settings it has the option to unmount ums (usb mass storage) devices and the option to format them.
Im on the 8105 2.1 o2 rom on a us att dell streak.
Ill make a cable soon to test but was wondering if anyone else tried th already
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
If the option can be found in 1.6, I may already have the hardware to test it.
This would be a beautiful thing!
I just so happened to have the correct hardware on hand to try this so I gave it a go, looks like it does! I'm actually typing this message with a USB keyboard- I can't get it to mount a USB drive yet, but I intend to brush up on my Linux commands and syntax tomorrow and try again- if I can get it to mount external storage, all of my dreams have officially come true (minus the Froyo, that is).
Edit: I'm on the MoDaCo custom ROM r2, 2.1 build 8105, for those interested.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
Hey there, real interested in what you did to mod your cable to handle this. Was it a matter of tying the OTG pin to ground?
Did the streak supply power over usb? Many android devices cant, but I believe given the right cable mod the streak can.
I didn't have to do any mods on mine, I have the home dock (which converts the Streak's port to miniUSB) and a dongle that has male miniUSB on one end and female standard USB on the other. Streak on the dock, dongle in the back of the dock, and keyboard into the dongle.
I don't know if it supplied power or not, what would be the best way to check? Multimeter across the power/gnd should give 5V regardless of if it's powered, do I need to check the amperage as well? I was thinking I might just try firing up the ol' G1 and plugging it in, to see if it charges.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
A good test would be to not have the dock plugged in to any power source. Dock your Streak, then use your adaptor with USB keyboard. Does it work? if so, the power is being supplied by the Streak.
If not, it doesn't prove that there is no way to get powered USB host out of the Streak, it would just show that it may require different connections (a modded cable or dock).
Then yes, it supplies power, my dock was unplugged the whole time. Rejoice! I foresee emulators with a USB gamepad in my near future...
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
That's great to hear! Game controller for EMU's is what I'm looking to do with it as well
Funny though, I tried the same with a gender changer a week or so ago and it didn't work for me. I think the difference must be that the cable you're plugging in to the dock must ground the OTG pin.
Unfortunately that probably means I'd either have to get a dock, or dissect and solder my USB cable to get the same.
Glad to see it works as i suspected. now all we need is some to make it mirror the display over the hdmi out
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
Ah, I wondered what that meant. I have the home dock and saw Win7 did something funny... it's all a bit beyond my abilities so I look forward to someone doing interesting things with it
how can we make a usb cable with "usb host" feature ?
mrmrmrmr said:
how can we make a usb cable with "usb host" feature ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EiHter using the media dock with a male mini usb to female usb adapter, or i think using the standard usb cable with a female to female adapter placed on the end should work too.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
keatonreckard said:
EiHter using the media dock with a male mini usb to female usb adapter, or i think using the standard usb cable with a female to female adapter placed on the end should work too.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately I don't think a female to female adaptor alone will do the trick with the Streak USB Cable. I have one here, and it's not working.
I believe the reason is the USB OTG pin needs to be grounded to identify that we are in USB OTG mode (pin 4 as identified here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDMI).
I think the reason it's working with the dock for that person is because the dock exposes that pin at the mini B port and the cable adaptor he's using is an OTG cable that grounds the pin.
I haven't tried modding my cable for this yet, but will soon. My soldering iron is in storage right now unfortunately.
Ok; I understand that we have to connect OTG pin (no 4 on PDMI) to GND (no 2 on PDMI)
Is that correct ?
Is there a way to do it on the other end (not the PDMI side but USB side) ?
Because I don't want to break my only Dell Streak data cable...
Unfortunately, no. only 4 wires run through the cable and are exposed at the other end. You would need a 5th (the USB ID, aka OTG lead).
So I just finished creating my own modded cable and it is working great.
I've attached pictures of the build here. I found that this only works in Android 2.1 (8150 build for me, may work with other 2.1 builds). 1.6 seems like it doesn't have the drivers for this.
DISCLAIMER: If you try to duplicate what I did here, you're taking the risk of damaging your cable beyond repair, and if you do something incorrectly and plug the cable in to your Streak, there is a definite possibility you will damage your streak permanently. So anything you do, do so carefully and at your own risk!
I will say this; this cable is HARD to de-shield! It has metal shield all around the parts we need to get to, and I had to cut with metal clippers and desolder parts of it to get the shielding off. Not pretty, and pretty risky for damaging the cable. I would advise you buy an extra cable before trying this. I didn't have an extra, but I was really risking not being able to charge my device or something if I broke my cable.
After removing the shielding you can see that there is a small PCB with traces marked 1 3 on the left, and then 2 5 on the right. These correspond to the PDMI specification at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDMI .
For my build, I chose to solder a switch to bridge the OTG pin 4 to GND pin 2. This way, my cable can still be used as a normal USB cable as well. In one image I have flipped the opened PDMI connector over and you can see an orange wire I have soldered on to pin4. (One side of the PDMI connector has ODD pins, like 1,3,5,7... the other side has EVEN 2,4,6,8...). Pin 2 is the first pin on the right on the EVEN side, and pin 4 is the second.
As was stated in earlier posts, you can use a female to female gender changer for the other end of the USB cable, rather than soldering on your own connector or something.
Note that having the cable in OTG mode when plugging your streak in to your computer or power adapter over USB could damage something because OTG mode will start outputting power over the same pins that it's usually inputting from!!!
0TheRain0,
This is great !
Thanks for sharing your findings.
I sent you a PM; please check it when you have time...
When I built my Dell Streak Mini USB adapter, I brought out PDMI pin 4 to the OTG pin on the Mini USB.
I tried it with 2 different cheap Mini USB to Standard USB ("A") female adapters, and tried several devices including a Apple Mini Keyboard/Hub, and USB Flash drives.
I also tried the same components on the Dell Home Dock.
They did not work, but I suspect that the Mini USB to Standard USB female adapters do not short the OTG pin to ground.
What we need is some that do. Then it would be plug and play at least for dock owners.
Edit:
These claim to enable USB host mode when Connected to a N800:
http://www.electronicproductonline.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2043
Therefore Should require no modification to use with the dock, as long as the dock brings out pin 4, which as far as I remember, my testing said it did.
This thread is currently of great interest. Should it, in theory, be possible to hook up my Canon digi SLRs as mass storage devices then?
Sometimes being able to get the image onto a bigger screen has it's benefits. The Streak's screen is actually very well calibrated as well, compared to my hardware calibrated monitor!
In the ideal world i'd be able to tether and shoot using the streak (like I can with my laptop) but I'm realistic and know that's not likely to happen!
What I DON'T get is why Dell have put in USB host functionality without implementing it in the lead?
Well, I was going to hold off on cutting up a cable to try something, but I just had a cable go through the washer and dryer... and it was looking pretty bad and actually cut through the jacket and shielding on the wire... so I cut off the PDMI lead and about 3" of cable (right before the break).
Inside the jacket are 4 wires. Black, White, Green, Red. Obviously they correspond to the USB 2.0 spec... so I guess in some way, VDC, Ground, Data+, Data-... but no OTG wire.
Would anyone that opened up the connector know how these wire colors correspond?
What I really want is for my 80GB iPod to have it's music available to the Streak in my car, so here's what I was planning:
1) Cut up the Dell PDMI cable (done).
2) Cut up an old iPod to Firewire cable I have laying around
3) Splice VDC+ and Ground on the iPod and PDMI to the corresponding VDC+/Ground USB end of the original Dell Cable. This will plug into a 12V->USB Adapter (probably the Dell one) to power and charge both devices.
4) Splice the corresponding PDMI and iPod data transfer wires.
5) Ground OTG on Streak side and add a micro switch, like TheRain did...
I can then wrap this up in some custom cable thing shround thing that I'll figure out.
Little bit of research led me to the micro-AB receptacle that basically determines if a device is acting as a host or slave. So, I would say the preferred way to do this, instead of wiring in a switch, would be to find a receptacle and hack into it... so here's one you can get cheap:
http://www.retractablecables.com/US...ro_AB_Female_Adapter_for_USB_OTG_Devices.html
This should be able to wire up something that basically puts the device into OTG mode when you connect a micro-A cable to the device, and a slave device when you connect a micro-B cable.
So solder/wire that up.. connect the Streak with a micro-A cable to a powered USB hub, connect the peripherals to the hub, and you should be good to go without a micro switch.
On an edit note, I also found a bare micro-AB female that you can buy... but it's more expensive than the previous adapter, so uh I guess it depends on how much time you want to spend tearing the adapter apart.
http://ntcdistributing.com/products/usb-connectors.htm
Hi,
I made my own usb otg adapter from a plain usb a to micro b adapter. You have to connect pin 4 /which is not connected/ to ground to fire up host mode.
Edit: It is not easy to dismantle a usb connector or adapter and it requires soldering. So I guess anybody with the necessary skills will find the pin on his own. I will not post photos because my solution is far from being pretty.
For everybody else: the nokia USB OTG cable is wired the same way so it is very likely that it will work. (on Hungarian forums I saw references that it works, but I can not guaratee it.)
Tommorow I will go buy one and report.
USB Host mode will allow to connect USB pendrive, mouse, keyboard etc. to the SGS II.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
richyy74 said:
Hi,
I made my own usb otg adapter from a plain usb a to micro b adapter. You have to connect pin 4 /which is not connected/ to ground to fire up host mode.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is very useful for people like me who knows how to solder things, but for the people who have absolutly no Idea what you are talking about, you should add more details/pictures to the OP so the people who doesen't know much about electronics know what you are talking about, and what benefits it brings for them.
I myself will probably make one or more, so I don't have to always take my USB OTG with me all the time.
kaukassus said:
this is very useful for people like me who knows how to solder things, but for the people who have absolutly no Idea what you are talking about, you should add more details/pictures to the OP so the people who doesen't know much about electronics know what you are talking about, and what benefits it brings for them.
I myself will probably make one or more, so I don't have to always take my USB OTG with me all the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
May be you dint know about this thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1092493
This was explained with pics a long time ago
Yeah sorry. I never saw that. Thanks.
richyy74 said:
Yeah sorry. I never saw that. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why be sorry. This forum is to help each other out.
OTG Cable USB (B) to Micro USB (A) Powered with AAA batteries
As one knows, Samsung has promised a HMI Cable
You noticed it is not only a cable but a box out of which you may plug in an extra power supply.
The obvious reason is if the passive monitor does not furnish 5V, the phone will rapidly be out of power.
Now you know that to obtain video rather than anything less, Pin 4 (sense) and 5 (Ground) of micro USB (male A) must be connected with a 365K resistance.
I suppose the dock Samsung is selling for I9100 (yes, I have it) is grounded at 1000K as it provides audio with remote, and yes, the dock provides power supply via extra micro USB as well.
I come to my point: If I want to access any USB data On the Go, I need a cable OTG with 2 ports: USB 2.0/3.0 (female, B sided) to a micro USB (male, A sided, grounded but with no resistance = 0K). Many of them exist on the market out there.
But it is quite impossible to use because of lack of power supply in the passive device (let’s say a handy 1T HDD usually powered via Host connexion !
Would it be possible to insert some sort of receptacle for AAA battery in the middle of such a cable to provide for power while you are for a long time out of access to an electric plug ? Does such a cable exist somewhere to buy ? What would be the sheme to mount this ? HELP !
Instead of shorting pin 4 and 5 from within the cable head, would it also be viable to short them from within the device itself? Say if I disassembled the phone to access the back of the female usb micro connector and soldered the pins. Would there be any damage caused if the permanently shorted pins 4 and 5 (within the device) is connected to a charging adapter/PC?
I have an otg cable, yet none of my accessories work with it and my RAZR MAXX. My question is whether or not I need a powered hub when using the OTG cable. I have seen set ups of other android models using a SIXAXIS controller and otg cable, yet no hub. In this case, it the powered hub not needed since the controller itself is supplying its own power?
Thanks,
Neverused
USB controllers don't work?? I'm interested in this as well
Sent from my Xoom using xda app-developers app
Download USB Device Info:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=aws.apps.usbDeviceEnumerator
When you open the app you should see 0 devices under Android and Linux tabs. Now connect just your OTG cable nothing plugged into it and hit refresh, something should show up, usually under the Linux tab that identifies the USB host. Even if the USB host doesn't supply power this will still work as I have tested it on my Touchpad which has no OTG power.
If you saw something appear when you connected the OTG cable, than OTG is in the Razr M. Now try connecting your gamepad and refresh the device list. If its not showing up then there is either something wrong with OTG or you need external power. This program will ID any USB device connected, even those which Android doesn't support since its just matching the device against a list it has. Try getting a USB keyboard/mouse working ad those are universally supported on Android and would confirm if USB host works.
Questions go in the question forum too...
Here's a dumb question. I just ordered a female USB to male micro USB. I wanted to be able to yank pics off my camera and drop them on my phone. Would I need an OTG adapter or does that plane adapter work?
Sent from my XT907 using xda premium
agent888 said:
Here's a dumb question. I just ordered a female USB to male micro USB. I wanted to be able to yank pics off my camera and drop them on my phone. Would I need an OTG adapter or does that plane adapter work?
Sent from my XT907 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
An OTG cable has a extra pin in it that is tied to ground in a OTG cable which tells the hardware to switch to OTG mode. A regular USB cable will leave this pin open.
If I'm able to peel open this adapter that I got, and jump pin 4 to 5 should it work as an OTG cable?
Sent from my XT907 using xda premium
agent888 said:
If I'm able to peel open this adapter that I got, and jump pin 4 to 5 should it work as an OTG cable?
Sent from my XT907 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its possible, as shown here:
http://tech2.in.com/how-to/accessor...sb-otg-cable-for-an-android-smartphone/319982
For me I'd rather just buy an OTG cable, but if you have regular microUSB cables laying around, go for it.
Bought an OTG cable
Bought a simple OTG adapter from newegg. So far....plugged in a mouse and my camera. Both work flawlessly, my camera gives me the choice of either either MTP (?) that goes straight to gallery and image import, or Storage which prompts to a new usb mount. Have not tried a gamepad yet, I have 2 floating around somewhere but not sure what game to try.
I have an andrid. Stick mx2 imito and I have a powered USB hub but I can't configure how I am meant to to get it to read from the hub. I have 2 ports on the stick, one full sized usb and one mini usb .
And In terms of devices I have my keyboard I want to add
1 external usb hard drive
And if I can get it to work a USB wifi dongle
Huh!
Since there is only one full sized USB port, I would think that is the solution. That's how it runs on mine anyway. Connect all your devices to the powered hub. Should be straight forward
So I would need a usb cable male to make? To connect to the hub. Do they exist ? I will try find the cable .
i cantget it to work
so the large usb port. i need a cable from that to connect to the hub? usb port
but i dont have a usb port with the same end? male to male etc
Get a USB powered hib
wakkaday said:
i cantget it to work
so the large usb port. i need a cable from that to connect to the hub? usb port
but i dont have a usb port with the same end? male to male etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The hub will come with one male USB to connect to the stick.
http://gadgets.softpedia.com/images/news/How-to-Charge-your-USB-Devices-Quick-and-Easy-4.jpg
Make sure to get a powered hub so that all the devices can be supported properly.
gsurath said:
The hub will come with one male USB to connect to the stick.
http://gadgets.softpedia.com/images/news/How-to-Charge-your-USB-Devices-Quick-and-Easy-4.jpg
Make sure to get a powered hub so that all the devices can be supported properly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this was an old hub i had, i dont have that wire. its a mini usb to full usb type connection isn't it?
Plenty of such options available
Here is another on ebay. Just search for powered USB hub and choose one
http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-PORT-USB-2-0-EXTERNAL-HUB-W-POWER-ADAPTER-FOR-PC-MAC-WITH-cable-SILVER-/370772094009?pt=US_USB_Cables_Hubs_Adapters&hash=item5653bd2c39
gsurath said:
Here is another on ebay. Just search for powered USB hub and choose one
http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-PORT-USB-2-0-EXTERNAL-HUB-W-POWER-ADAPTER-FOR-PC-MAC-WITH-cable-SILVER-/370772094009?pt=US_USB_Cables_Hubs_Adapters&hash=item5653bd2c39
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok great, so the port next to the power socket, is the cable i need to attach to and from the imito android stick? so that will be the main one and any other usb devices can go on the hub.
m confused on where i need to connect from on the android stick. which has 1 full sized usb, 1 mini usb otg socket and 1 mini usb (power)
It should also be possible to modify a USB hub to back feed power to the HDMI stick.
You would then power the hub with a sufficiently large USB power supply to power both the stick and all of the USB devices. In most cases, a single 2.1 Amp USB "wall wart" would work to power everything, unless you are really running something outrageous.
My NX003 (Same as MX1) can be powered from either the dedicated USB power jack, or the MicroUSB (OTG) connector.
So to build something like this, here is what I would do:
1. Obtain a USB hub I was willing to modify (destroy, as far as any other use is concerned)
2. Disassemble it.
3. Remove the input (Host) cable or connector.
4. Attach a short cable with a MicroUSB plug. Connect all 4 wires correctly.
5. Find "The diode" - Buy "The diode" I mean the one that that allows USB power to flow from the host to the peripherals when used in non-powered mode, but prevents power from flowing upstream to the host when an external power supply is used. (see referenced link).
6. Remove this diode, and replace it with a wire, jumper, or solder bridge.
7. Ensure all power circuity in the hub can handle 2 amps. Add solder to traces, or add jumper wire if needed to beef up current capability.
8. Reassemble, and clearly mark so that this hub is never used with anything else.
If the HDMI stick were powered via a coaxial connection, but is still powered by 5 Volts, I'd add a lead and coaxial plug off of the +5 in the hub. you'll have 2 wires, but it will still work. (Watch polarity.)
I have done this successfully for a prior, similar project. Reference Here: (Scroll to section about power.)
http://linuxslate.com/N770DockingStation.html
So why don't I actually do this to power my NX003? I did it an easier way. I bought a Tronsmart Prometheus. It has 3 full USB ports built-in.
-
Linuxslate said:
It should also be possible to modify a USB hub to back feed power to the HDMI stick.
You would then power the hub with a sufficiently large USB power supply to power both the stick and all of the USB devices. In most cases, a single 2.1 Amp USB "wall wart" would work to power everything, unless you are really running something outrageous.
My NX003 (Same as MX1) can be powered from either the dedicated USB power jack, or the MicroUSB (OTG) connector.
So to build something like this, here is what I would do:
1. Obtain a USB hub I was willing to modify (destroy, as far as any other use is concerned)
2. Disassemble it.
3. Remove the input (Host) cable or connector.
4. Attach a short cable with a MicroUSB plug. Connect all 4 wires correctly.
5. Find "The diode" - Buy "The diode" I mean the one that that allows USB power to flow from the host to the peripherals when used in non-powered mode, but prevents power from flowing upstream to the host when an external power supply is used. (see referenced link).
6. Remove this diode, and replace it with a wire, jumper, or solder bridge.
7. Ensure all power circuity in the hub can handle 2 amps. Add solder to traces, or add jumper wire if needed to beef up current capability.
8. Reassemble, and clearly mark so that this hub is never used with anything else.
If the HDMI stick were powered via a coaxial connection, but is still powered by 5 Volts, I'd add a lead and coaxial plug off of the +5 in the hub. you'll have 2 wires, but it will still work. (Watch polarity.)
I have done this successfully for a prior, similar project. Reference Here: (Scroll to section about power.)
http://linuxslate.com/N770DockingStation.html
So why don't I actually do this to power my NX003? I did it an easier way. I bought a Tronsmart Prometheus. It has 3 full USB ports built-in.
-
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the informatiom, but its a bit too technical for what i want... but i appreciate you efforts in writing this.
my stick can also power via both usb ports (mini) i have connected the cable from the stick to the hub which has been powered to the mains and it works, but the problem i have is when i put another usb device in the hub, it doesnt detect it e.g. keyboard wireless and i don't think the device has enough power to run my usb 2.0 portable harddrive (not main powered) - how can i get this to work? i have tried connecting this directly to the stick, but it just makes a beep sound. im guessing its lack of power... and i was hoping a hub would help.
my hub is powered 3.5 or 4 watts i believe...
Strange
Wakkaday,
This is very strange. On my MK802III I connect the powered USB hub (4 ports) to the full USB port.
I connect my bluetooth keyboard, 1 TB HDD and USB ethernet to the hub.
I power my Android stick using the 4rth port in the USB hub.
If I want USB audio, I replace the Ethernet/HDD with a USB audio peripheral.
All my peripherals work right out of the box. The only thing I am considering now is to have a separate power supply to the Android stick so that I can use all 4 ports on my hub.
It seems your device is not supporting the peripherals? Are the working when you connect directly?
gsurath said:
Wakkaday,
This is very strange. On my MK802III I connect the powered USB hub (4 ports) to the full USB port.
I connect my bluetooth keyboard, 1 TB HDD and USB ethernet to the hub.
I power my Android stick using the 4rth port in the USB hub.
If I want USB audio, I replace the Ethernet/HDD with a USB audio peripheral.
All my peripherals work right out of the box. The only thing I am considering now is to have a separate power supply to the Android stick so that I can use all 4 ports on my hub.
It seems your device is not supporting the peripherals? Are the working when you connect directly?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm also trying to use a powered 4 port usb hub with my android stick, but it doesnot recognises the hub. Do i need to have any usb host drivers or change any setting to get it work? My stick is on Android ICS.. Thanks in advance
Is there anyway we can use camera on Nook Hd+. As Nook HD or HD+ doesnt have an inbuilt camera. SO is there any app through which we can possibly use our laptop camera or any other, connecting it to the Nook via Bluetooth or USB or Wifi, thus, able to access camera on Nook.
In short, if we can use PC webcam as a camera on Nook by connecting it over USB or any. This will leave a huge room open for accessing great applications demanding the camera.
goldenlark said:
Is there anyway we can use camera on Nook Hd+. As Nook HD or HD+ doesnt have an inbuilt camera. SO is there any app through which we can possibly use our laptop camera or any other, connecting it to the Nook via Bluetooth or USB or Wifi, thus, able to access camera on Nook.
In short, if we can use PC webcam as a camera on Nook by connecting it over USB or any. This will leave a huge room open for accessing great applications demanding the camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First possible thing is Air Cam Live Video. But this maybe have many disadvantages for you.
Second i recommend look to this external link
For third i can say that Toshiba Folio 100 can use external USB webcam, but Folio have USB port too. I'm not familiar Nook 30 pin connector pinouts, but i hope there can be used for USB host too.
Yeah and hardware possibility is using some WiFi cam / spycam. Like this one on ebay (made just quick search for item, not for best price/deal). Disadvantage is that same time you can not connect your HD+ to another wifi network.
Edit: My mistake. This cam have two modes, infrastructure mode connecting it over local WiFi network or straight mode connecting HD/HD+ directly to camera.
Ip can will turn your phone into a wifi c connected comets which you can look at on some apps from play store,
Sent from my Barnes & Noble Nook HD+ using xda app-developers app
goldenlark said:
Is there anyway we can use camera on Nook Hd+. As Nook HD or HD+ doesnt have an inbuilt camera. SO is there any app through which we can possibly use our laptop camera or any other, connecting it to the Nook via Bluetooth or USB or Wifi, thus, able to access camera on Nook.
In short, if we can use PC webcam as a camera on Nook by connecting it over USB or any. This will leave a huge room open for accessing great applications demanding the camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been working on this issue for about 2 weeks. One important question: Do you want a cam for security/surveillance/monitoring or for video conferencing/calls/Skype? The options for the former are much broader, but remember most security cams do not have voice capability. I'm in the video call camp.
If money is no object, I would think an IP cam with mic could do the trick, or possibly B/T, but since I'm looking for a cheaper solution and to have fun with this challenge, I'm going the USB route. For this purpose you need to make the HD plus become a USB Host just like your PC or Laptop. Not a problem, theoretically, since that capability is built into the Android OS on your device, but getting it to talk with a USB device, such as a camera, is another matter. Connecting it is the second challenge; there is no USB OTG cable (the "special" cable for USB Hosts) for the Nook. It would have a female USB connector on one end and Nook's (f**k**g) proprietary 30 pin male connector on the other, through which you'd connect your USB device. I've come up with a hardware workaround, but I'm waiting for a special connector coming on a slow boat from China. A side hardware problem is the lack of power coming into the USB Host (the Nook) and the USB Slave (the Cam), but utilizing a powered USB hub could solve it.
So, if the hardware problem is overcome, will it work? Video cam APKs are aplenty on Google Play, but I don't yet know if they will play (pun intended) well with the Nook's USB host adaptor set-up. I'll let you know. Total costs with a new cam will be less than $20; if you already have a USB cam (with built in mic), it'll be about $5. Nice.
Flamers put away your blow torches. If I really wanted or needed a cam I wouldn't have bought the Nook HD+. I know that. This is for cheap thrills.
RustedRoot said:
but I'm waiting for a special connector coming on a slow boat from China
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you share which one? I'm interested about it.
datas0ft said:
Can you share which one? I'm interested about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If anyone know something like this awesome app https://play.google.com/store/apps/...51bGwsMSwxLDMsImNvbS5waWNhZGVsaWMuZnhndXJ1Il0.
Maybe if I can use my laptop camera to be used as on Nook , I can get some nice effects and definitely skype
RustedRoot said:
I've been working on this issue for about 2 weeks. One important question: Do you want a cam for security/surveillance/monitoring or for video conferencing/calls/Skype? The options for the former are much broader, but remember most security cams do not have voice capability. I'm in the video call camp.
If money is no object, I would think an IP cam with mic could do the trick, or possibly B/T, but since I'm looking for a cheaper solution and to have fun with this challenge, I'm going the USB route. For this purpose you need to make the HD plus become a USB Host just like your PC or Laptop. Not a problem, theoretically, since that capability is built into the Android OS on your device, but getting it to talk with a USB device, such as a camera, is another matter. Connecting it is the second challenge; there is no USB OTG cable (the "special" cable for USB Hosts) for the Nook. It would have a female USB connector on one end and Nook's (f**k**g) proprietary 30 pin male connector on the other, through which you'd connect your USB device. I've come up with a hardware workaround, but I'm waiting for a special connector coming on a slow boat from China. A side hardware problem is the lack of power coming into the USB Host (the Nook) and the USB Slave (the Cam), but utilizing a powered USB hub could solve it.
So, if the hardware problem is overcome, will it work? Video cam APKs are aplenty on Google Play, but I don't yet know if they will play (pun intended) well with the Nook's USB host adaptor set-up. I'll let you know. Total costs with a new cam will be less than $20; if you already have a USB cam (with built in mic), it'll be about $5. Nice.
Flamers put away your blow torches. If I really wanted or needed a cam I wouldn't have bought the Nook HD+. I know that. This is for cheap thrills.
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Click to collapse
If anyone know something like this awesome app https://play.google.com/store/apps/...51bGwsMSwxLDMsImNvbS5waWNhZGVsaWMuZnhndXJ1Il0.
Maybe if I can use my laptop camera to be used as on Nook , I can get some nice effects and definitely skype
datas0ft said:
Can you share which one? I'm interested about it.
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Click to collapse
First, you must use a USB OTG cable with a special female USB connector (it'll look conventional) on one end which will identify the device as a USB Host. Unfortunately, most connectors on the other end are male micro usbs, or 30 pin Apple connectors, not the Nook 30-pin. I bought one with the male micro USB plug. Now I'll need a female micro USB to female USB adaptor to connect it to the Nook.. That's the special adaptor coming from China (http://www.ebay.com/itm/271094375029?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649).
The configuration of the set-up is this:
Plug in to a/c outlet a powered USB hub (2.0)
Connect the primary cable of the hub (i.e., the one that would go into a PC/laptop) to the hub and to the USB female end of OTG cable
Plug the OTG micro male to the like-female end of the special adaptor
Plug USB cable from the Nook into the other end of the special adaptor then into the Nook
Plug USB device you want to use with the Nook into one of the ports of the USB hub.
If all goes well the Nook should identify the device, but you'll need drivers and maybe an apk to use it. Whether the drivers load automatically or not remains to be seen.
If I get to that point I'll let you know what happens from there...
RustedRoot said:
The configuration of the set-up is this:
Plug in to a/c outlet a powered USB hub (2.0)
Connect the primary cable of the hub (i.e., the one that would go into a PC/laptop) to the hub and to the USB female end of OTG cable
Plug the OTG micro male to the like-female end of the special adaptor
Plug USB cable from the Nook into the other end of the special adaptor then into the Nook
Plug USB device you want to use with the Nook into one of the ports of the USB hub.
If all goes well the Nook should identify the device, but you'll need drivers and maybe an apk to use it. Whether the drivers load automatically or not remains to be seen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It would be surprising if this works. USB OTG cables have 5 pins; they distinguish the host side from the peripheral side by shorting the fifth pin to either ground or +5V. But the Nook's USB cable ends in a 4-pin connector. There's no way to tell it to act as a host.
On the bright side, the Nook's kernel definitely contains support for host-side USB. It has drivers for mass-storage, HID (mouse, keryboard, etc.), serial, and video devices. To use these facilities, though, it would be necessary to wire up your own 30-pin connector. As far as I know, B&N has not made the pin-outs public.
Delta^1_1 said:
It would be surprising if this works. USB OTG cables have 5 pins; they distinguish the host side from the peripheral side by shorting the fifth pin to either ground or +5V. But the Nook's USB cable ends in a 4-pin connector. There's no way to tell it to act as a host.
On the bright side, the Nook's kernel definitely contains support for host-side USB. It has drivers for mass-storage, HID (mouse, keryboard, etc.), serial, and video devices. To use these facilities, though, it would be necessary to wire up your own 30-pin connector. As far as I know, B&N has not made the pin-outs public.
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Click to collapse
I was operating on the premise that only the female end of the OTG cable required the 4-to-5 jumper. Alas, the male end also requires the same configuration. I could tackle modding the female USB end, but the 30-pin connector is another story. Thanks again to B&N for making a proprietary cable. Another smart move on its part -- limiting the inherent functionality of this device. It hasn't made an OTG cable and probably never will since it is cutting back on its Nook investment. They blew it, but that's another story...
Appreciate your comments above.
I attach us electronic mechanic to investigate my opened HD+. Maybe we can find some interesting pins.
Only one i dont want to do, this is cutting off this 30 pin plug at cable side. Its hard and over prized to buy new cable to my destination.
RustedRoot said:
I bought one with the male micro USB plug. Now I'll need a female micro USB to female USB adaptor to connect it to the Nook.. That's the special adaptor coming from China (http://www.ebay.com/itm/271094375029?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649).
The configuration of the set-up is this:
Plug in to a/c outlet a powered USB hub (2.0)
Connect the primary cable of the hub (i.e., the one that would go into a PC/laptop) to the hub and to the USB female end of OTG cable
Plug the OTG micro male to the like-female end of the special adaptor
Plug USB cable from the Nook into the other end of the special adaptor then into the Nook
Plug USB device you want to use with the Nook into one of the ports of the USB hub.
If all goes well the Nook should identify the device, but you'll need drivers and maybe an apk to use it. Whether the drivers load automatically or not remains to be seen.
If I get to that point I'll let you know what happens from there...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did this ultimately work out?
RoundSparrow said:
How did this ultimately work out?
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Click to collapse
No hardware fix, but follow this link to use a software hack which requires CM10.1 for your HD+: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2307585 That should work.
Doesn't work because we need a camera app. Any ideas for that?