« previous next »
Pages: [1] 2 3   Go Down

Author Topic: TI-Nspire USB serial breakout boards  (Read 29886 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline tangrs

  • LV5 Advanced (Next: 300)
  • *****
  • Posts: 229
  • Rating: +98/-0
    • View Profile
    • tangrs blog
TI-Nspire USB serial breakout boards
« on: November 22, 2014, 06:35:06 am »
Hey guys, it's tangrs.

Just want to announce something I've been working on over the past few weeks. It's a USB serial adapter that plugs right into the TI-Nspire dock connector.











The one shown in the pictures above is a very early prototype. The PCB is a hacked up home-made one (holy crap, DIY reflow soldering is a pain in the ass without solder mask) and the 3D printed bracket that goes with it is still in its early designs. The prototype works though :) I've already ordered some professionally made PCBs for the connector part.


So, my question to all of you guys, how many would be interested in buying one of these once I've got a decent design up and running? I'm deciding whether to mass produce a small batch of these once I'm finished with the design :)


Logged
+1/-0 karm for this message

Offline Vogtinator

  • LV9 Veteran (Next: 1337)
  • *********
  • Posts: 1193
  • Rating: +108/-5
  • Instruction counter
    • View Profile
Re: TI-Nspire USB serial breakout boards
« Reply #1 on: November 22, 2014, 07:41:37 am »
Hi, nice to see you here again :D
I'd definitely order one.

Is is possible to connect the rest of the dock connector pins to some 0.1 inch headers? That could be very useful for some experiments with SDIO, SPI and such.
Some easily accessable traces to solder on would be nice, too.

Logged

Offline Hooloovoo

  • LV5 Advanced (Next: 300)
  • *****
  • Posts: 225
  • Rating: +22/-0
    • View Profile
Re: TI-Nspire USB serial breakout boards
« Reply #2 on: November 22, 2014, 05:02:21 pm »
Yes, I'd get one! You should also attach the power pins on the nspire to the power pins of the USB so you don't have to plug in the nspire while working on it. Will it be compatible with the b/w models?
Logged
"My world is Black & White. But if I blink fast enough, I see it in Grayscale." -tr1p1ea
Spoiler For some of the calcs I own:



(actually I have quite a few more than this, but I don't feel like making bars for them all.)

Offline Keoni29

  • LV11 Super Veteran (Next: 3000)
  • ***********
  • Posts: 2466
  • Rating: +291/-16
    • View Profile
    • My electronics projects at 8times8
Re: TI-Nspire USB serial breakout boards
« Reply #3 on: November 22, 2014, 05:08:03 pm »
This looks really nice. Did you consider selling these on tindie?
Logged
If you like my work: why not give me an internet?







Offline Adriweb

  • Editor
  • LV10 31337 u53r (Next: 2000)
  • **********
  • Posts: 1708
  • Rating: +229/-17
    • View Profile
    • TI-Planet.org
Re: TI-Nspire USB serial breakout boards
« Reply #4 on: November 22, 2014, 05:11:57 pm »
Looks nice, I may buy one too :)
Logged
My calculator programs
TI-Planet.org co-admin.
TI-Nspire Lua programming : Tutorials  |  API Documentation

Offline bb010g

  • LV6 Super Member (Next: 500)
  • ******
  • Posts: 428
  • Rating: +22/-1
  • I do stuff
    • View Profile
    • elsewhere on the net
Re: TI-Nspire USB serial breakout boards
« Reply #5 on: November 22, 2014, 06:01:32 pm »
What's the benefit to having another USB port through serial?
Logged
Arch Linux user
Haskell newbie | Warming up to Lua | Being dragged into C++
Calculators: HP 50g, HP 35s, Casio Prizm, TI-Nspire CX CAS, HP 28s, HP Prime, Mathematica 9 (if that counts)
π: 3.14...; l: 108; i: 105; e: 101; l+i+e: 314
THE CAKE IS A LIE IS A PIE

Offline Vogtinator

  • LV9 Veteran (Next: 1337)
  • *********
  • Posts: 1193
  • Rating: +108/-5
  • Instruction counter
    • View Profile
Re: TI-Nspire USB serial breakout boards
« Reply #6 on: November 22, 2014, 06:06:16 pm »
Why "another"? Serial is only accessible via the dock connector.
Logged

Offline bb010g

  • LV6 Super Member (Next: 500)
  • ******
  • Posts: 428
  • Rating: +22/-1
  • I do stuff
    • View Profile
    • elsewhere on the net
Re: TI-Nspire USB serial breakout boards
« Reply #7 on: November 22, 2014, 06:08:42 pm »
Quote from: Vogtinator on November 22, 2014, 06:06:16 pm
Why "another"? Serial is only accessible via the dock connector.
So it's a nice way to use serial via USB?
Logged
Arch Linux user
Haskell newbie | Warming up to Lua | Being dragged into C++
Calculators: HP 50g, HP 35s, Casio Prizm, TI-Nspire CX CAS, HP 28s, HP Prime, Mathematica 9 (if that counts)
π: 3.14...; l: 108; i: 105; e: 101; l+i+e: 314
THE CAKE IS A LIE IS A PIE

Offline pimathbrainiac

  • Occasionally I make projects
  • Members
  • LV10 31337 u53r (Next: 2000)
  • **********
  • Posts: 1731
  • Rating: +136/-23
  • dagaem
    • View Profile
Re: TI-Nspire USB serial breakout boards
« Reply #8 on: November 22, 2014, 06:26:23 pm »
I need to show epic7 this because his normal charging port is broken.
* pimathbrainiac mutters something about wanting his old buddy back.
Logged
I am Bach.

Offline Adriweb

  • Editor
  • LV10 31337 u53r (Next: 2000)
  • **********
  • Posts: 1708
  • Rating: +229/-17
    • View Profile
    • TI-Planet.org
Re: TI-Nspire USB serial breakout boards
« Reply #9 on: November 22, 2014, 07:09:15 pm »
note : it would have been nice too to have the 2nd USB (the dock one) made available as well through this interface.
Although that may be more difficult.

(documented here : http://hackspire.unsads.com/wiki/index.php/Hardware#Connector_J01_-_Dock_connector )
Logged
My calculator programs
TI-Planet.org co-admin.
TI-Nspire Lua programming : Tutorials  |  API Documentation

Offline Hooloovoo

  • LV5 Advanced (Next: 300)
  • *****
  • Posts: 225
  • Rating: +22/-0
    • View Profile
Re: TI-Nspire USB serial breakout boards
« Reply #10 on: November 22, 2014, 07:10:55 pm »
It would also be good to figure out how that dock works because I don't think anyone figured it out yet. Also could you make this like a slide case which fits over the calc? that way it would be easy to carry with the calc.
Logged
"My world is Black & White. But if I blink fast enough, I see it in Grayscale." -tr1p1ea
Spoiler For some of the calcs I own:



(actually I have quite a few more than this, but I don't feel like making bars for them all.)

Offline tangrs

  • LV5 Advanced (Next: 300)
  • *****
  • Posts: 229
  • Rating: +98/-0
    • View Profile
    • tangrs blog
Re: TI-Nspire USB serial breakout boards
« Reply #11 on: November 23, 2014, 06:30:19 am »
Just to clear up some misunderstandings, the dock connector has serial UART pins that can be used to get diagnostic information during boot up, in Ndless programs and Linux boot logs. This is a connector that slides into the dock connector and connects the pins to a USB-to-serial converter chip. I'm hoping it will be a replacement for some of the (admittedly very creative) home made dock connectors I've seen floating around.

From some of the feedback, I'll be also adding a possibility to break out the pads to normal header pins for GPIO hacking and adding a USB port for the second USB host pins too - though I may have to design these separately. However, I am not familiar with the possibility of powering the Nspire via the dock connector though. I will have to look in the hackspire documentation to see if this is a possibility.

The design is not finalised yet. I am trying to figure out a good way to clip these onto the calculator while also being compatible with all models.
Logged

Offline Streetwalrus

  • LV12 Extreme Poster (Next: 5000)
  • ************
  • Posts: 3821
  • Rating: +80/-8
    • View Profile
Re: TI-Nspire USB serial breakout boards
« Reply #12 on: November 23, 2014, 07:35:48 am »
This is the holy grail of Nspire dev. O.O Do want.
* Streetwalrus drools

And yes, the Nspire can charge via the dock as shown by the mutli calc docking station. I have no idea how it works though.
Logged

Offline gudenau

  • LV1 Newcomer (Next: 20)
  • *
  • Posts: 18
  • Rating: +0/-0
    • View Profile
Re: TI-Nspire USB serial breakout boards
« Reply #13 on: November 30, 2014, 05:05:40 pm »
I would like one of these! How much would it cost?
Logged

Offline DJ Omnimaga

  • Clacualters are teh gr33t
  • CoT Emeritus
  • LV15 Omnimagician (Next: --)
  • *
  • Posts: 55943
  • Rating: +3154/-232
  • CodeWalrus founder & retired Omnimaga founder
    • View Profile
    • Dream of Omnimaga Music
Re: TI-Nspire USB serial breakout boards
« Reply #14 on: December 01, 2014, 09:04:50 pm »
Wow that looks even nicer than the previous one now. I am curious about how much this would cost?

Also make sure to keep this maintained, because we never know if TI might perform slight changes on Nspire cases to make sure that this connector no longer fits. :P
Logged
Pages: [1] 2 3   Go Up
« previous next »