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Post by flylear45 on Nov 13, 2017 8:14:10 GMT -5
Too bad about the Panda. It's an interesting SBC, but sounds like it has some drawbacks.
I don't know a thing about Arduino or CAN controls, so can't be any help there. I am watching, though!
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Post by jhornbr225 on Nov 13, 2017 23:02:44 GMT -5
Yeah, just soldering on the power switch looks hazardous. What am I saying? I soldered on a new touchscreen connector, but alas, it didn't work. I know there is a bios that makes it boot on power up, but then how do you shut it down?
I was inspired my Mickz's experiences with the little Ainol PC. The one he has is not readily available anymore, but they have a second version without a battery. Looking at it, it's obviously a clone, but I don't know who is cloning who. There are many manufacturers with the exact same footprint and case layout, just with a different name. This Beelink looked OK at $119 for a 4GB/64GB version. The other were all $150 and up for the 4GB/64GB version. This one also looked to have a really nice heatsink inside. I'm sure I can rig up a fan if I need to. Also from the pics of the board the power button looks much easier to solder to.
One thing that I have to think about now is that fact that this one takes a 12VDC adapter, not 5V. I might still use my 5V/5A supplies that I am building for the USB Hubs. Now I'm thinking that I could actually use one of those spare M2-ATX power supplies that I have laying around. Maybe add a little extra filtering and shielding to minimize any noise, to see if it helps. I'll also need a good 5V supply for the Panda still when I put it in the Double DIN case for the Tacoma.
Don't be scared to try an Arduino or (GASP), a clone. There are many resources online, and they are kind fun. Yeah, the tutorials where you blink an LED are kinda dumb, but they do get you started. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a software guy. I do find that if you know a few basics, and can copy and paste stuff out of example code, you can really make something useful. The Arduino nano clones are less than $3 on ebay, and you can talk to them with a standard micro USB cable. You can't discount buying a real Arduino though. Those guys have done great work, and then they open-sourced it to the world. Yes, they have had their little tiff with the name in the last year or so, but don't hold that against them. The community is huge with great resources and examples. If you know any programming at all, it's a small jump to get into the Arduino IDE. Just install an example, then mod it to make it how you want. Just mind your logic, order of code, scope of variables, and variable types. There is no wrong way to write a program, as long as you get it to work and have some fun and learn a little in the process.
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Post by revheadkev on Nov 14, 2017 17:47:59 GMT -5
I have a Beelink AP34 which needs 12V so I got a Mini-Box DCDC-USB which gives me the startup/shutdown capability on my 12V. Then I have added a couple os 12/5V 5A converters for the USB hubs. The Beelink is small and boots and runs nice and quick
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Post by jhornbr225 on Nov 14, 2017 20:17:53 GMT -5
The AP34 looks like a little bit of an upgrade compared to the BT3 Pro. I based my decision on two things. The price was $40 cheaper, and Mickz seems plenty happy with his Ainol, which has the older N3735. And according to the specs I saw the 8300 and 8350 are almost the same, so it should be similar to the LattePanda. And I don't think I really have any complaints about the Panda's performance, other than boot time, and the difficulty with the power switch.
The DCDC-USB looks cool, except for the fact it's only got one output voltage. I have a couple of the M2-ATX's laying around, so those give me the 12V for both the PC and the screen, and the 5V for the hubs. Also, bonus, I get 3.3V as well, although I don't at the present see a need for 3.3V in the Accord. And the M2 also has the startup/shutdown controller like the DCDC-USB. The DCDC-USB does give a little more amps to the one voltage you decide to use though. But I think 8A at 12VDC on the M2 is plenty for the PC and the screen. I then also have 8A at 5VDC available.
I got a shipment of parts from Arrow last week including some opto-isolators, 7805 5V regulators, 7809 9V regulators. The linear regulators are what I'll use in the optical to analog converter. It takes 5V and the electronic volume control circuit I plan to build takes 9V. Both those circuits only take milliamps to work, so the linear regulators will be fine. Linear regulators are actually preferred over switching regulators in the audio circuit.
revheadkev: Did you solder on to the power button in your Beelink AP34? If so, how hard was it?
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Post by revheadkev on Nov 29, 2017 18:08:56 GMT -5
Soldering onto the power button is very easy as the contacts are exposed. on Flickr Power socket is on the left, power button on the right in the pic. The only thing to do is drill a small hole in the case for the power button wires to enter. For the power supply I'll just use the same plug and a dab of silicone to hold it from slipping out from vibrations. As you can see in the pic, there are no easy exposed contacts to solder the power supply wires onto.
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Post by jhornbr225 on Nov 29, 2017 21:10:21 GMT -5
Thanks! From the pics on the Gearbest website, the power switch looks the same. And it looks easy to solder to. My Beelink is scheduled to arrive next Wednesday, but hopefully it will beat that estimate.
Now I need to figure out the exact method that the M2-ATX uses to press the power button on those ATX motherboards. I'm not sure if it's a mosfet switching, or if it is getting some voltage from the M2. The ATX power supply is well defined, and I don't want to accidentally mix some voltage and current sources up and burn anything on the Beelink.
And I did order some SOP8 to DIP adapters on Ebay today. From China, it says they will be here in December sometime. It will make interfacing to my Digital Volume control much easier.
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Post by jhornbr225 on Dec 8, 2017 18:04:04 GMT -5
The Beelink BT3 Pro arrived yesterday. I was trying to link to a Photo, but I'm still doing something wrong, it does not show up, even though if I click on the BBCode, I can see the link. Ugg! Here it is inserted the old fashioned way. I was a little confused at first, as this Desktop is the exact same as my laptop's, which just happens to be an ASUS Transformer Book.... Hmmm, I wonder where Beelink got the desktop from?
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Post by jhornbr225 on Dec 16, 2017 17:28:12 GMT -5
Opened up the BT3 Pro today. Looks like soldering to the power switch will be even easier than I thought. It appears there is a unpopulated place on the board, next to the existing power switch that looks like a place for a switch. Looking at the traces and confirming with an ohmmeter, I see that the pads are in parallel with the existing power switch. It appears the switch is a momentary connection to ground. Pin 3 and 4 on both switches is ground, and Pin 2 is the + side. I have not checked it with a voltmeter while powered up yet, but it looks like momentarily touching Pin 2 to ground will turn it on/off. So it looks like I can solder a pair of wires to that empty Pin 2 and ground, and it should work.
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Post by SNOtwistR on Dec 16, 2017 19:17:58 GMT -5
that's how power switches work just a momentary pulse. you got this ! SNO
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Post by jhornbr225 on Dec 17, 2017 14:06:10 GMT -5
Well, yeah, I knew it was a momentary pulse, I just didn't think it would be to ground. It's also nice that there is an area on the board that does not have a switch on it, that is in parallel to the power switch. It will be easier to solder onto it without having to worry about touching the back of the switch with the iron. Also soldering to the ground will be much easier since there is all sorts of open space around there.
To use the M2-ATX with this though, I'll just have to set the jumpers to make it a dumb supply. I'm sure in order for the power switch in the Beelink to work, there will have to be 12V to the DC input jack. Unlike a regular PC where there is always a standby voltage present to the power switch. So I'll have to make the M2-ATX come on with the key, then make an output from the Arduino seal in a relay to keep constant power to the M2-ATX. The Arduino will then wait for the power antenna signal from the factory radio. I don't mind having to turn on the factory stereo every time I want the PC on. If it sees that, it can provide a momentary pulse to a FET or NPN transistor to "push" the power button on the Beelink. Another input to the Arduino will be the state of the ignition. If either the power antenna signal or ignition go away, the Arduino can pulse the power button to shut down the Beelink. When the ignition goes away, it will start a timer, (allowing time for the Beelink to shut down). After that expires, it will de-energize the seal in relay providing power to the M2-ATX, and shut that down. I can even use the 5V from the M2-ATX to power the Arduino.
Since the program running in the Arduino to control this power on/off sequence is so small, I think I'll be able to use the same Arduino to run the steering wheel buttons and the electronic volume control.
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Post by jhornbr225 on Dec 17, 2017 17:40:53 GMT -5
OK, I did some testing on the M2-ATX. If I put in Jumper "A" to put it in P1 mode, it is supposed to give me 5 second start-up, and 60 seconds shut-down. I have found that I have to do the green wire to black wire hack to get the supply to turn on. So if I jumper green to black, then attach 12V to the ignition wire, after about 5 seconds, I get both 5V and 12V supplies turning on. They stay on for as long as the ignition is on, and turn off about 60-70 seconds after I remove the ignition wire.
So it looks as this will work fine, as long as I jumper the green to the black. I won't have to use the Arduino to do any external control of the M2-ATX.
After the ignition is turned on, I will have a timer in the Arduino. It seems that when power is first applied to the Beelink, the LED turns on for about 7 seconds then goes out. It seems to ignore power button presses during that 7 seconds. I will watch for the power antenna input to go on, but I won't send the PC power button press until after the timer expires. I can make it so that the Arduino has to see a rising edge on the power antenna signal. That way if I left the stereo on in the car when I got out, when I turn the key on again, I still have to push the button on the stereo to turn it off, then turn it back on to get the PC to boot. When the ignition is turned off, I'll wait 5 seconds, then send another power button press. That way if I shut the engine off, but want to keep the computer on, if I turn the ignition back on in < 5 seconds, the PC will stay on. If the ignition stays off, one minute later, the M2-ATX will completely shut off. So at minimum, it's going to be about 12 seconds after turning on the key that I can start booting the PC, and I think I'm OK with that.
I also found that I have the proper DC jack to plug into the Beelink that I can solder wires from the M2-ATX to power it.
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Post by revheadkev on Dec 17, 2017 18:56:04 GMT -5
Soldered the wires from the MiniBox DCDC-USB powersupply onto the BeeLink AP34. With a fine tip on the soldering iron it was very easy. on Flickr Also drilled a small hole in the case for the wires to exit for connection onto the powersupply board. on Flickr Then just plugged onto the PSw pins of the powersupply board and the PC starts and shuts off with the ignition.
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Post by jhornbr225 on Dec 17, 2017 19:55:42 GMT -5
I looked through the manual for the DCDC-USB, and didn't see any timing diagrams. I'm assuming you have it in automotive mode? In that case, applying ignition must immediately turn on the 12V, then a prescribed amount of time later it sends the power button signal? Without the 12V on, the power button signal would not do anything, as the board would not have power yet.
Does your Beelink turn on the LED for 7 seconds when you first supply power?
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Post by revheadkev on Dec 18, 2017 0:15:31 GMT -5
I don't have an LED on my Beelink which I can see from the outside of the case. Which LED were you referring to ?
Yes I have it in Automotive mode, and the 12V from the DCDC-USB is not output until the IGN is seen. Jumpered for 5s Off + 60s HardOff.
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Post by jhornbr225 on Dec 18, 2017 12:29:54 GMT -5
Mine has a Blue LED almost directly opposite of the power switch. There is a very tiny hole in the case that it shines through. See it on the bottom left corner of the board in this picture. And it lights up for 7 seconds on first applying power, during which time you can't do anything else.
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