AMiLDA FORUM

MrZack · 2006-03-05 21:32:04

Hi to all
This is the first Hardware MOD for AMiLDA... and it's also my first doc

OK, let's start.
First, something about this MOD.
It's just a simple Comm port add on for the ADM5120 based routers.

This is the schematic we will be using:

This is the PCB:

To use, or print this, you can download and install a free PCB program i used to make this. It's called ExpressPCB and can be downloaded here.
Or you can use this pdf file.
If you have a laser printer you will have to print more then one PCB on your transparency sheet. Otherwise the UV light will get through the black print and you can start all over again ...i had to learn by doing that a few times
I have made a pdf with 6 PCBs so you can use this instead.

I will not get into how to make the PCBs here, that is a stand alone tutorial. But this is what you should get at the end

Now we have to cut it

And then we have to prepair the router board for soldering.
I am installing this on a 6104KP board, but 6104K is almost the same.
Front:

Back:

I salvaged this connector from a defect cd rom drive and used it in this MOD (never throw anything away...you never know when you'll need it )

And soldered it in place:

Now it's time to make the RS232 board
It should look something like this
Front:

Back:

For C4 you can use a non SMT/SMD cap if it get's to hard to soder, because of the connecting lines that go under it. You have to be really carefull not to make a short here...or the 78M05 will get really hot like hell ...I almost burned my finger on it testing
Also be very carefull when soldering the pins 9 and 10 of MAX232. They are very close to the VCC line and if you make a short here...there go's the HOT 78M05 again
I wanted to use the SMT/SMD version of MAX232, but after i asked how much i had to pay for it, i decided to go with the DIP16 version.

Tip: You can test if all is working like it should by holding your finger on the 78M05 and turning the router on (pluging the 12V connector into the router). If the 78M05 gets HOT in about 2-4sec, turn the router off (unplug the 12V connector) and start looking for the soldering short or it may be a broke cap. In normal working condition the 78M05 never gets hot!!

Now to put/solder the RS232 board in place:

And finally lets take a look at our RS232 MOD

That cable is made out of an old (not working) MS Mouse.

Now you can use the UART0 port of the ADM5120 just as easy as using you'r walkman

That's it......I hope you like it

HH · 2006-03-06 23:06:02

Very impressive, MrZack! I wish I had a drill press. My JTAG project would be so much simpler if I had one. I have read that PCB boards are made out of fiberglass and drilling holes in them is one of the hardest things to do.

How do you take the closeup pictures of your board? My camera has a macro setting for closeups but it also has autofocus that cannot be turned off, and it is very difficult to get good shots.

I like the AMiLDA logo etched on your PCB

Last edited by HH (2006-03-06 23:08:36)

MrZack · 2006-03-07 00:21:57

HH wrote:
Very impressive, MrZack! I wish I had a drill press....

it's not a drill press, it's a saw.
This is my drill press

My camera has preset-macro with 2cm, 5cm, 10cm, 15cm, 30cm, ....
so i use 2, 5, and 10cm to take the macro shots.
And i don't use the flash! Just a neon lamp
And i use the 2sec self trigger timer

rizzow · 2006-03-13 21:28:53

In addition to the DIY-solution posted here, I would like to post my experiences with getting serial IO to work. After reading several router-modding sites, I decided to use a Siemens serial data cable with built-in level converter I still had laying around from one of my former phones. Unfortunately, I could not get them to work (I tried two) until I read that the 'black Siemens cables' are not powered by the serial port. At first, I had only the Tx/Rx and GND lines connected (which gave no sign of life). After soldering the 3.3v line to pin 2 of JP2, I finally could access the router through my serial port. Ole!

Probably my next mod will be fiddling around with the GPIO-lines and soldering a USB port to the thing.

HH · 2006-03-14 02:25:16

My own serial cable was nothing but trouble to get going. Here in the U.S. the cell phones are not GSM and I don't even think Siemens sells their phones here. The cables are really hard to get. I ordered one from England for a Nokia phone (don't remember the model). Nokia uses 2 different serial types, FBUS and MBUS if I remember corretly. In order to use it in the right mode the serial port on my PC had to do unusual things with the RTS and DTR signals. I finally had to hack Windows' HyperTerminal's DLL to get it to work. It was a major hassle. It took 3 weeks between the time I received the calbe and when I finally made it work.

Now I see I have another problem. I already drilled the holes for 2 USB sockets, just like MrZack's picture, but where one would protrude out of the back of the case I already added a 3-wire jack there for my serial cable. There's no room for the USB socket anymore! Oops.

rizzow · 2006-03-14 09:15:35

That's too bad. I bought an original Siemens cable at a corner shop here in NL for 10 EUR (non-original cables for Siemens phones are even cheaper). I know about some internet shops that sell these things for a few euro's, maybe they ship to the US as well. At least I wanted to share my experiences with all those lucky Europeans

Uwe · 2006-03-18 18:53:52

Some thought for the DIY RS232 connection

Connecting the MAX232 R2Out direct to ADM5120 RxD might damage the ADM. The MAX232 will deliver true 5V CMOS levels, while the ADM5120 has a supply of 3.3V and input are not explicit marked "5-Volt tolerant". This will forward bias input protection diodes in the ADM5120. This bias should be limited well below 10 mA. A 250 Ohm resistor between MAX232 R2Out and ADM5120 RxD will perfectly fit this purpose.

Second: On USB Hardware like in the picture above, there already is a 5 Volt supply, so no need for the additional 5 V reglator.

Just my two cents

MrZack · 2006-03-18 21:44:51

Good thoughts Uwe
I'll look into it and make a fix patch

About the 5V from USB. This works only with 6104KP.
We could make a different MOD for every router version....hmmmm....i'll think about that

MrZack · 2006-03-24 22:05:29

Uwe wrote:
Second: On USB Hardware like in the picture above, there already is a 5 Volt supply, so no need for the additional 5 V reglator.

I tried to connect the MOD to the 5v from the USB and it's not good
When i connect to the USB 5v, the router starts to sing or it sounds more like frying. I have the feeling that somehow it dosn't have enough power . And it's also not working right. I only get fragments on my terminal. Maybe the v4.6 is not enough for the max232

I guess we'll stick to this design

I also added a 1K(102 smd) resistor to the R2Out. It's working great.

domen · 2006-03-25 08:26:29

MrZack wrote:
Maybe the v4.6 is not enough for the max232

FWIW, my max232 (and it's not the 3.3 V version, max2323) is powered by 3.3 V, and works just fine.

Uwe · 2006-03-25 15:28:27

@MrZack:
Did you recheck all connections? I guess you shorted something.

I have a Max232 Adapter, supplied with 5 Volt from the BR6104KP, successfullt working now.

MrZack · 2006-03-26 20:30:42

I don't think it's a short, because connecting the circuit to an external power supply works fine.
And adding the 5v power regulator works fine also.
And it's not like its not working at all when connected to the 5v USB, it just gives me fragments of the boot message and sounds like you'r frying eggs .

Can you post a pic of how you connected your's?

Uwe · 2006-03-28 11:46:14

How can I upload some picture?
I now have a picture of the hardware modification.

MrZack · 2006-03-30 09:30:11

For now you can send it to me and i'll put it on the downloads.amilda.org from where you can link it here
I'm working on a pic upload feature for this forum but it's not ready yet

dast · 2006-07-20 14:17:33

Hi

I have Edimax 3205U.

Your theoretical serial cable as it is at http://downloads.amilda.org/MODs/RS232_V1.0/max232.png can't work, however, you've used mouse cable and it works. It has connected RequestToSend with ClearToSend and DataTerminalReady with DataSetReady. Otherwise you'd be able to read but not write.

RTS - CTS
DTR - DSR

Thanks a lot, amilda is an outstanding work.

root666 · 2007-01-27 08:33:21

HI MrZack I will try to make the mode myself. I only need the full list of components i need to buy. I did not see such list int the Mod theme, could you provide it please?

blazejos · 2007-08-13 09:29:05

Hi New RS-232 converter project

I build a new project of RS-232 interface. First we don't need a special voltage converter all what we need for power supply Max232 is in edimax plug on pin No2 3.3V is enough for our chip.

The second thing COM2 is added to project connector JP2 need connection with pins in ADM chip see chip description in another posts. The second COM2 can be done with the same wire like COM1

I tested this project and my edimax was programmed correct with this interface

Linpincher · 2011-06-04 21:45:13

Hello everybody,

I recently asked MrZack in another thread, and I am going to step in here as well. As an individual who is interested in beginning with schematics and router components, what would be a good place to start? Right now I do have my hands on a handful of old, worthless routers that I can use for practice and I have transferred all of the working codes to data storage along with my youtube to mp3 converter media files. Should I just start tearing everything apart? I would love to have some sort of blueprint to get started with.

Last edited by Linpincher (2012-01-17 23:50:09)

sergioag · 2011-06-05 06:19:22

I can recommend that you open them and locate any unsoldered pin headers on the board. Unless you know how to use (and have) an oscilloscope or know any other means of identifying a serial port, I would suggest taking pictures of the boards and publish them here for some asistance.

AMiLDA FORUM

Announcement

#1 2006-03-05 21:32:04

RS232 MOD

#2 2006-03-06 23:06:02

Re: RS232 MOD

#3 2006-03-07 00:21:57

Re: RS232 MOD

HH wrote:

#4 2006-03-13 21:28:53

Re: RS232 MOD

#5 2006-03-14 02:25:16

Re: RS232 MOD

#6 2006-03-14 09:15:35

Re: RS232 MOD

#7 2006-03-18 18:53:52

Re: RS232 MOD

#8 2006-03-18 21:44:51

Re: RS232 MOD

#9 2006-03-24 22:05:29

Re: RS232 MOD

Uwe wrote:

#10 2006-03-25 08:26:29

Re: RS232 MOD

MrZack wrote:

#11 2006-03-25 15:28:27

Re: RS232 MOD

#12 2006-03-26 20:30:42

Re: RS232 MOD

#13 2006-03-28 11:46:14

Re: RS232 MOD

#14 2006-03-30 09:30:11

Re: RS232 MOD

#15 2006-07-20 14:17:33

Re: RS232 MOD

#16 2007-01-27 08:33:21

Re: RS232 MOD

#17 2007-08-13 09:29:05

Re: RS232 MOD

#18 2011-06-04 21:45:13

Re: RS232 MOD

#19 2011-06-05 06:19:22

Re: RS232 MOD

Board footer