Hi!
I'm new on this forum, and really happy to join the community.
I bought a Galaxy Tab A SM-T550 for my daughter, and I discover that there is no gyro/compass/magnetometer sensor that prevent using some apps.
After some cry, I decided to look for a DIY solution.
After some research, I found that some Android compass sensors have a I2C interface (e.g. AK8975) (sorry I can't post links yet).
I also found Android linux kernel drivers for this sensor.
As I have professional soldering skills/tool (even for BGA), and good Linux / kernel / driver skills, but nothing on Android (except modifying small programs and follow tutorial to install custom roms), I'm wondering if it is feasible to simply solder this sensor to the Galaxy Tab Mother board and directly have the compass feature in Android apps.
The requested actions I identified:
1. identify and order the sensor
2. Identify the I2C bus on Galaxy Tab A motherboard, plus power and ground signals
3. Identify a place to solder the sensor without risk to prevent casing mounting
4. Solder
5. be sure that the stock kernel supports this driver
6. Be sure that the driver is embedded in the kernel or the module is loaded
I'm wondering if someone with android and hardware experiences could help me to:
- tell me if this idea is totally crazy or seem feasible
- tell me if I identify the good tasks
- to find informations for some of the tasks (specially locate the I2C bus on motherboard)
- maybe propose another solution.
Thanks a lot!
Laurent.
In two years I have been the only other person sufficiently annoyed to look up something along these lines. I don't have your level of skill so I guess it would be pretty crazy for me to attempt this. I really wish they would have done something about this though, they have them in all phones so why not put them in tablets? They have more space to fit them in and I don't think they are hugely expensive.
Related
Hi,
A friend wants to put together a device combining an Android OS and a CO2 (and possibly others) sensor. He knows a bit about mechanical design, I know abit about Android (been playing with Linux for years). we lack electrical engineering skills (may need to find a friend to help).
He found a relatively cheap CO2 sensor device ($100) that may potentially be wired to get the reading into an Android phone. I own a rooted MyTouch that we can use for the prototype. The goal is to get a reading and send it using cell or data signal to another computer.
Here are the docs on the CO2 sensor.
https://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=123abb92b11f7ce2&mt=application/pdf
https://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.2&thid=123abb92b11f7ce2&mt=application/pdf
Any tips on how to go about this project are very welcome!
Here are the correct links to docs on the CO2 sensor.
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/1015331/android/sensor project/I2C comm guide 2_1031.pdf
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/1015331/android/sensor project/Senseair CO2 Sensor.pdf
the link is not active.. can you repost?
has there been any updates?
Hi folks,
after some years of extensive usage my Milestone needs a companion
I'm new to the xperia 2011 platform and bought myself a Xperia Pro some days ago.
Right now i'm in the process of fixing the backlight, but in a few days i'm ready to rock...
I really like devices with a hardware keyboard and it's a shame that these devices leave the scene (even more in the EU).
Anyway enough talking...
I'm not the guy who ignores the search function, but i got some specific questions and hopefully someone will put some light on that.
I know as well that we are nearly in the year 2013 and these devices are not up to date, but it's O.K. for me.
In fact there are enough features on this phone and i don't need a heater in my pocket
SoC:
As i looked everywhere there's still no datasheet or register manual floating around...
Apart from the architecture is the MSM8255 comparable to the old MSM7200 if you look at the basic function?
In short:
- memory map ?
- booting scenario: arm9 boots first then armV7 comes up?
EDIT:
It seems these questions are little bit to deep... just asked for curiosity though.
I guess i'll step through kernel code and compare some of the offsets with MSM7200 (we got register manual here).
The background is that i'd like to check some register contents for debugging at a later point...
CWM:
If i got it right there's no true CWM recovery.img for the Pro, if i got it right the CWM is part of the system and loaded to RAM by helpers.
Right or wrong?
How does the partition scheme look like?
Kernel 3.x:
I realized there'd been some attempts to get a 3.x kernels running on these devices, as far as i could conclude from what i read, the situation is as follows...
- SE left the path of standard kernel API, that's why some proprietary libs will always be required (and won't fit 3.x kernel). Right or wrong?
- HDMI part seems to be a problem... but what exactely... kernel driver is missing parts or system lib?
EDIT:
O.K. no answer here from the experts right now...
BTW, just saw the FreeXperia team has opened up a new project for porting 3.4 kernel to 2011 devices
See:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2044262
Guess i'll ask some techie stuff over there :angel:
USB host function:
AFAIK there's no 5V power at the the OTG, but there are drivers for mouse and keyboard etc.
Just in short how does it work?
External Hub?
EDIT:
O.k. i missed some thing... datasheet of BQ24185 (connected to MicroUSB VBUS signal) gave the answer:
Code:
VBUS A1, A2 I/O Charger Input Voltage. Connect to an input supply up to 16V. Bypass VBUS to PGND with a 1μF ceramic
capacitor. [I][B]During boost mode, VBUS is regulated to 5V at up to 300mA to power USB OTG peripherals[/B][/I].
In other words, while in OTG host mode the charger is run in boost mode (could be found in the kernel board file as well).
For the peripheral drivers...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1224676
Debug UART3:
Does anyone know anything about UART3 testpoints on the mainboard?
Code:
static struct msm_gpio uart3_config_data[] = {
{GPIO_CFG(53, 1, GPIO_CFG_INPUT, GPIO_CFG_PULL_UP, GPIO_CFG_2MA),
"UART3_Rx"},
{GPIO_CFG(54, 1, GPIO_CFG_OUTPUT, GPIO_CFG_NO_PULL, GPIO_CFG_4MA),
"UART3_Tx"},
};
EDIT:
Mmmmh still unsolved... though that these signals were routed to the testpoint area as well.
After doing some measurements this could not be confirmed right now.
Background here:
Would be nice to get serial console with a nice little adaptor for low level kernel debugging.
If someone knows...
ROMs:
Same as usual... but maybe you could give some advice...
I'd like to try a stripped down stock ICS first... don't need all these visual effects but a stable system and using the HDMI would be nice as well.
Any suggestions here?
EDIT:
O.k. i'm little impatient... so i need to look for a light ROM myself
O.k. that might be it at the first sight. I guess i'll need to play around with the device a little bit, when it's functional again.
Thank's a lot for your patience and have fun!
scholbert
I have an idea for a project that requires a large panel to be attached to a small phone, does any one know if this is possible.
I know from previous projects that the galaxy line phones seem to have similar cables and connectors but , for example, could I plug a note screen into a GS2? I know the ribbons wont be in the right place and it will be bodged together but that isn't important. What is important is will they physically connect??
My hardware knowledge is good but by software side not so good. I know that android is capable of adapting to different resolutions but will this work "out the box" or will the resolution need changing in the build,prop, or maybe more??
any ideas on this please share, I think this is quite an exciting project that I will share and colabarate with if it is feasable. Its still at the rough concept stage at the moment and I am just checking out the theory behind it so please share your knolage and experience
Possible, but not easy
add.thebad said:
I have an idea for a project that requires a large panel to be attached to a small phone, does any one know if this is possible.
I know from previous projects that the galaxy line phones seem to have similar cables and connectors but , for example, could I plug a note screen into a GS2? I know the ribbons wont be in the right place and it will be bodged together but that isn't important. What is important is will they physically connect??
My hardware knowledge is good but by software side not so good. I know that android is capable of adapting to different resolutions but will this work "out the box" or will the resolution need changing in the build,prop, or maybe more??
any ideas on this please share, I think this is quite an exciting project that I will share and colabarate with if it is feasable. Its still at the rough concept stage at the moment and I am just checking out the theory behind it so please share your knolage and experience
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is feasible, lots of screens use similar interfaces (parallel TTL, MIPI, LVDS, etc.) so the trick is finding a display with the same interface as your phone already has. You will then need to make a board to adapt from the flex cable you have to the flex cable on your new screen. On that board you will probably also need to provide power since the new screen will consume more power. You will then need to modify the kernel, bootloader and Android to set the correct timing and resolution. (Timing, pinout and resolution for Linux kernel and U-Boot and resolution and DPI for Android) Shoot me a PM, I do this kind of stuff as a consultant and I am happy to give you some pointers!
Foreigner here, please be kind =)
Hello everyone, good morning, good afternoon and good night!
Recently I have received some orders for laboratory supplies accompanied by a temperature Datalogger that performs the recording and storage of the temperature history for 11 days.
I've been researching the model and it is for single use and disposable (TempTale 4 USB - Dry Ice version by Sensitech)
I also discovered on some foreign websites that although there is software from the manufacturer to "unlock" the device for later reuse, the acquisition is not compensated due to the low value and the existence of other reusable models of the brand itself (Sensitech).
As this model came by surprise in my hands and no one has other uses for it, I decided to disassemble it and analyze its hardware. It has an Atmel controller that in my opinion could be reprogrammed to reset the programming or even unlock it for other uses.
If possible, I would like to count on the help of experts here on the forum for this. I believe I have come to the right place for this!
I leave some internal and external photos of the device for you guys
drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kON9AvEiRVNXjbIdCbus7JY8tHV3H36N?usp=sharing
It is worth mentioning that it has an interesting system that when connecting to the computer automatically generates a pdf report with all the data and graphs of the temperature record and another .ttx file that I still don't know what it is. Both are also in the drive folder for you to look at.
Hello there, your thread is kinda old by now but I am working on this myself.
Unfortunately I cannot provide you with the software for Sensitech dataloggers due to it being a bit risky, I do not want to get into legal trouble with Sensitech or getting fired for a hobby project. However even with the software you won't be able to reset one without somehow altering the chip contents. It will give you an error message that the dataloggers are meant for one time use only and cannot be reprogrammed.
The way to reset them is to manually erase the content of the ARM chip on the board, I don't know much about microchip programming but I have gotten it to work myself completely by accident. Probably by measuring each pin with an oscilloscope probe I have somehow corrupted/erased the programming on this chip. After that a red light started blinking and the word SET appeared on screen. After that I was able to reprogram them.
The TTX file is a more detailed database of the temperature logs, from which you can extract CSV files and do some sort of fancy graph displays and all that. The PDF is just for general overview.
You have a different model than the ones I get though. I have found that by shorting the Winbond chip and rebooting the device (shorting the battery connector briefly) it goes into some sort of error state. The screen will blink and every time you press Stop the actual temperature will be displayed on the screen. I do not know if your model has this too.
Is anyone still working on this? I have an interest in discussing repurposing a temp tale and would like to discuss
Hello folks,
I guess this is the most appropriate subforum to ask this kind of question.
I'm having a broken screen Samsung Galaxy Note 5. And instead of find a touch screen replacement, I want to just get rid of the screen entirely
and instead connect the board to external monitor via hdmi interface preferrably. I believe the part that connect the touch screen is called "LCD fpc connector", correct me if I'm wrong.
So I guess I need something like an adapter that convert "fpc connector" to "hdmi connector".
The question is, is this hack possible? can the phone board output to hdmi monitor at all?
If yes then how to do it properly.
Please englighten me, I'm a total noob on this
Many thanks!
Hey huannb,
I also wanted this badly enough to stumble upon your post. From the light research i have done so far, it seems like this is a project only for those who have well labeled board diagrams and a deep understanding of LCD driver technologies.
FPC stands for "Flexible PCB Connector" and it's usage is ubiquitous in the small form-factor electronics space. If you are working with a FPC connector, you are probably handling a one-of-a-kind engineered interface. There are some hardware hackers who have achieved great feats such as THIS JAPANESE HARDWARE HACKER who build a driver board to adapt iPad retina displays to HDMI. I haven't stumbled on a write-up depicting and FPC interface to HDMI conversion yet. If you find one, please post it here because i would like to meet the person responsible for making it.
The way i see it, we have two choices from here. Reverse engineer a device and build a snowflake adapter which only works on one device, OR recycle the device and continue to live within the realm of consumer hardware.
kipziptie said:
Hey huannb,
I also wanted this badly enough to stumble upon your post. From the light research i have done so far, it seems like this is a project only for those who have well labeled board diagrams and a deep understanding of LCD driver technologies.
FPC stands for "Flexible PCB Connector" and it's usage is ubiquitous in the small form-factor electronics space. If you are working with a FPC connector, you are probably handling a one-of-a-kind engineered interface. There are some hardware hackers who have achieved great feats such as THIS JAPANESE HARDWARE HACKER who build a driver board to adapt iPad retina displays to HDMI. I haven't stumbled on a write-up depicting and FPC interface to HDMI conversion yet. If you find one, please post it here because i would like to meet the person responsible for making it.
The way i see it, we have two choices from here. Reverse engineer a device and build a snowflake adapter which only works on one device, OR recycle the device and continue to live within the realm of consumer hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
Thank you very much for your insight, it is super helpful and somewhat deep enough for me .
It does seem to involve quite a lot of hacking and there isn't a universal approach.
For my case, it is not worth the effort anymore, I have found a way to use most android mobiles to external monitor without fixing the screen itself without much complications.
I doubt that I can find anyone competent enough to explore this realm any further .
Thank you so much again for your research. Cheers