OESF Portables Forum

Everything Else => General Support and Discussion => Zaurus General Forums => Archived Forums => Accessories => Topic started by: prensing on November 11, 2004, 02:15:08 pm

Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: prensing on November 11, 2004, 02:15:08 pm
I have been thinking about buying a Zaurus as a replacement for my older Visor, but also as an MP-3 player. However, one thing I would lose by not getting a dedicated MP3 unit is the FM tuner. Note that I am not talking about an FM transmitter; I want tune in broadcast radio stations.

I have found a few models of FM tuner CF cards, but I have not found any reference to Zaurus drivers. The common one I found is the Ambicom card (Ambicom FM-CF (http://www.ambicom.com/products/multimed/fm-cf.html)), but there are a few others.

Does anyone know whether someone has attempted to get one of these working on a Zaurus?

Thanks in advance.
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: maslovsky on November 12, 2004, 01:41:54 am
I have this device and planning to write drivers for it some day... Have no idea when
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: grog on February 04, 2005, 02:00:46 pm
This would be one of the cool things I love to add to my Z. Any updates? thks
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: maslovsky on February 04, 2005, 04:54:39 pm
Quote
This would be one of the cool things I love to add to my Z. Any updates? thks
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=65599\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

Not yet, but I still have the card, so I will write a driver some day...
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: grog on February 05, 2005, 10:41:46 am
Quote
Quote
This would be one of the cool things I love to add to my Z. Any updates?
Not yet, but I still have the card, so I will write a driver some day...
[div align=\"right\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div] (http://index.php?act=findpost&pid=65616\")
Great. If that's the case, I'm thinking I should pick one up while they're still available. I found them [a href=\"http://www.techforless.com/cgi-bin/tech4less/FM-CF?mv_pc=nextag]here[/url].  Does anybody have experience with these guys (techforless)? Especially shipping to Canada. thks
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: maslovsky on February 06, 2005, 05:03:46 am
Quote
Quote
Quote
This would be one of the cool things I love to add to my Z. Any updates?
Not yet, but I still have the card, so I will write a driver some day...
[div align=\"right\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div] (http://index.php?act=findpost&pid=65616\")
Great. If that's the case, I'm thinking I should pick one up while they're still available. I found them [a href=\"http://www.techforless.com/cgi-bin/tech4less/FM-CF?mv_pc=nextag]here[/url].  Does anybody have experience with these guys (techforless)? Especially shipping to Canada. thks
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=65703\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

I bought Casio E-125 from them at a very good price years ago. No problems. It was US shipping though.
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: tinyrooster on February 07, 2005, 02:07:36 pm
I would love to see a driver for this!
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: Zeke on May 04, 2005, 04:07:28 pm
Definitely would like drivers for this!   I bought mine two years ago only to learn it would not work in the Z.
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: sds on May 26, 2005, 07:47:08 pm
Quote
Definitely would like drivers for this!   I bought mine two years ago only to learn it would not work in the Z.

Well, if you guys want a driver (and I want one too) then why don't we sponsor it?

Maslovsky, are you still interested in writing it?
If so -- do you have a rough estimate how long it will take to develop it, probably along with some GUI?

I would like to sponsor it via Paypal, if these minimal conditions hold:
1. Released under GPL-compatible license (of course).
2. Works with both Cacko and OZ on the 5x00 models (yes, both 5500 and 5600).

Any other takers or opinions?
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: offroadgeek on May 26, 2005, 10:26:41 pm
Quote
Quote
Definitely would like drivers for this!   I bought mine two years ago only to learn it would not work in the Z.

Well, if you guys want a driver (and I want one too) then why don't we sponsor it?

Maslovsky, are you still interested in writing it?
If so -- do you have a rough estimate how long it will take to develop it, probably along with some GUI?

I would like to sponsor it via Paypal, if these minimal conditions hold:
1. Released under GPL-compatible license (of course).
2. Works with both Cacko and OZ on the 5x00 models (yes, both 5500 and 5600).

Any other takers or opinions?
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=81699\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
I'm interested.  I would be willing to help facilitate this via the OESF.  This is one of the reasons why we founded the OESF, but as we're still getting things off the ground, larger development efforts sponsored by the OESF will have to hold off.

That said, the OESF can match all donations 2 to 1, and possibly more depending on the total bounty needed.

Does that help?
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: maslovsky on May 27, 2005, 03:50:43 am
Guys, I will have a look at what it will take me to write a driver for the card (I never wrote a linux driver yet) and will let you know some time next week.
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: offroadgeek on June 02, 2005, 05:31:49 pm
I just got three of these cards, so if there's a developer out there that wants to hack together  a driver for he Z I'd be happy to send you a card.
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: sds on June 03, 2005, 04:37:00 pm
Quote
I just got three of these cards, so if there's a developer out there that wants to hack together  a driver for he Z I'd be happy to send you a card.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=82553\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

Much appreciated.

I'll donate $50.00 (yes, fifty bucks) through Paypal toward the development of a driver.
I am willing to be a beta tester for a 3.10 Sharp-based ROM on the 5500 (I am using Cacko/Crow) and for OZ 3.5.3 on the 5600.

Additionally, I may debug and/or help with the development of a Java-based GUI/frontend.
I'll setup a CVS or SVN repository for the source control and will host a feed site/mirror.

Having in mind offroadgeek's and OESF pledged support I doubt there were _ever_ better conditions for development of a small-scale OSS driver.


Takers?
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: offroadgeek on June 03, 2005, 09:01:28 pm
Quote
Quote
I just got three of these cards, so if there's a developer out there that wants to hack together  a driver for he Z I'd be happy to send you a card.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=82553\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

Much appreciated.

I'll donate $50.00 (yes, fifty bucks) through Paypal toward the development of a driver.[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=82689\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
Great!  That's $150 so far (your $50 + $100 OESF match).

I will PM you with my paypal address.

Thanks!
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: chyang on June 04, 2005, 02:51:55 am
Is there any good deal on the FM cf card? I'm interested to get one and hack for driver. Thanks.
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: offroadgeek on June 04, 2005, 10:22:22 am
Quote
Is there any good deal on the FM cf card? I'm interested to get one and hack for driver. Thanks.
[div align=\"right\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div] (http://index.php?act=findpost&pid=82739\")
I got mine on [a href=\"http://www.provantage.com/buy-22085821-ambicom-radio-compactflash-card-shopping.htm]provantage[/url]

I've you're seriously going to hack together a driver for this, I can send you one of my cards...
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: kahm on June 04, 2005, 05:54:33 pm
Quote
Quote
Is there any good deal on the FM cf card? I'm interested to get one and hack for driver. Thanks.
[div align=\"right\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div] (http://index.php?act=findpost&pid=82739\")
I got mine on [a href=\"http://www.provantage.com/buy-22085821-ambicom-radio-compactflash-card-shopping.htm]provantage[/url]

I've you're seriously going to hack together a driver for this, I can send you one of my cards...
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=82773\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

I'd consider taking a crack at writing a driver for one. It looks like all the audio is handled through a headphone jack on the card itself (likely to simplify the interface and use the headphone cord as an antenna), so the "driver" for the card is purely for tuning and volume.

What does the card get recognized as when it's inserted?
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: chyang on June 06, 2005, 12:15:56 pm
I am also attempting writing a driver for it. I have bought one card from local dealer, the price seems to be acceptable so I just bought it. Don't know the difference between mine ProLink FM201 and the Ambicom one, they look identical, so may use the same chip or pcb. It will make us a little happier.
    In fact, a little surfing, I got a better price from buy.com: $31.25
    http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=...hdwt=22114&sp=1 (http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10358717&loc=101&hdwt=22114&sp=1)
    Mine from local dealer was even lower than this price, which made me happy.
 
    What astonished myself is the driver part, mine comes with a floppy disk, thanks to my desktop, it can still handle it.  Search from web returns the identical driver. I'm now turning to Ambicom's driver for more information.
   
    I would like to discuss with you guys on the right approach for hacking a working driver for CF devices with only CE driver.
    Both CE driver and Linux driver may rely on the underline PCMCIA controller, which encapulates some PCMCIA support, so we may only need to hack the layer above this.
    The CE driver itself exports several routines, which seems to be the
INIT/READ/WRITE/SEEK driver part, we can rely on these routines for more information.
     On linux part, it seems that we may program in the V4L way. More work needs to be done for me.
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: chyang on June 06, 2005, 12:21:13 pm
New Driver pack:
http://www.ambicom.com/support/driverdownload/FM-CF.zip (http://www.ambicom.com/support/driverdownload/FM-CF.zip)

It is quite huge compared with my driver from the floppy disk.
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: chyang on June 06, 2005, 01:25:35 pm
Oops, It seems that my hardware is different from the Ambicom's one, in spite of they do come from the same designer: ProLink, but it seems that mine is FM201, while the Ambicom's is FM203.
  Any WinXP usage report? Can you guys use Ambicom's card function correctly? Even after hack the inf part, which made the driver work with my FM201, it seems that it doesn't function correctly.
  It seems that I need to buy a new one in US.
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: sds on June 06, 2005, 09:16:38 pm
Quote
Great!  That's $150 so far (your $50 + $100 OESF match).

I will PM you with my paypal address.

Thanks!
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=82723\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

I just donated an initial installment of $25 to your account to get started. I rely on you to match the donation, coordinate the effort and keep us informed.

The other $25 I will donate as soon as I test the driver+GUI on the hardware in my sig.

Quote
I'd consider taking a crack at writing a driver for one. It looks like all the audio is handled through a headphone jack on the card itself (likely to simplify the interface and use the headphone cord as an antenna), so the "driver" for the card is purely for tuning and volume.

What does the card get recognized as when it's inserted?
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=82802\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

Well, I am happy things might be easier than expected.
I do hope, however, that any option to use the speaker of the 5600 will be pursued -- I am ready to be tester for this along with anything else.

I would expect the GUI to have (some of) these controls:
* a Power-On/Off button
* a Mute button
* Automatic/Manual Tuning start-button
* a Volume button
* a couple of Presets buttons and an option to store presets
* an option to set the frequency (range) for the US/Europe/Japan
A sliding ruler to visualize the tuning and allow for manual adjustment might be nice, but in no way mandatory. A digital-clock-type frequency counter might be enough.

cardctl ident returns on 5600 with OZ-3.5.3
Code: [Select]
Socket 0:
 Product info: "Stereo", "FM Card", "Demo"
 Manfid: 0x02c1, 0x2000
 Function: 254 ((null))

Quote
Oops, It seems that my hardware is different from the Ambicom's one, in spite of they do come from the same designer: ProLink, but it seems that mine is FM201, while the Ambicom's is FM203.
  Any WinXP usage report? Can you guys use Ambicom's card function correctly? Even after hack the inf part, which made the driver work with my FM201, it seems that it doesn't function correctly.
  It seems that I need to buy a new one in US.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=83035\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

I don't know about the differences with the Prolink Card, and I do not have XP.
However under Win2K with the drivers on the enclosed CD the card works well (only the sensitivity is a bit low and the GUI is quite ugly.)

I bought mine new and unopened on EBay for about $25. Unfortunately, currently there are no offerings. I'd suggest you ask offroadgeek to send you one of his as he kindly offered.

Hmm, let's get started then!
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: chyang on June 06, 2005, 09:52:20 pm
Quote
Quote
Oops, It seems that my hardware is different from the Ambicom's one, in spite of they do come from the same designer: ProLink, but it seems that mine is FM201, while the Ambicom's is FM203.
  Any WinXP usage report? Can you guys use Ambicom's card function correctly? Even after hack the inf part, which made the driver work with my FM201, it seems that it doesn't function correctly.
  It seems that I need to buy a new one in US.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=83035\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

I don't know about the differences with the Prolink Card, and I do not have XP.
However under Win2K with the drivers on the enclosed CD the card works well (only the sensitivity is a bit low and the GUI is quite ugly.)

I bought mine new and unopened on EBay for about $25. Unfortunately, currently there are no offerings. I'd suggest you ask offroadgeek to send you one of his as he kindly offered.

Hmm, let's get started then!
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=83099\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
Thanks. I will try to contact offroadgeek.
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: offroadgeek on June 06, 2005, 10:08:18 pm
Quote
  It seems that I need to buy a new one in US.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=83035\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
PM me your shipping address and I'll send you one.
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: chyang on June 06, 2005, 10:41:44 pm
Quote
Quote
  It seems that I need to buy a new one in US.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=83035\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
PM me your shipping address and I'll send you one.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=83104\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
Thank you very much!
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: chyang on June 26, 2005, 08:03:25 pm
Quote
Quote
Quote
  It seems that I need to buy a new one in US.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=83035\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
PM me your shipping address and I'll send you one.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=83104\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
Thank you very much!
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=83107\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
I have got the card from offroadgeek when I was visiting USA.

Here is an update:

1.Referenced the Radio TrackII driver in Linux driver for some information on FM card working model
2.Read documents on V4L for FM card control
3.Reference wireless pcmcia driver for PCMCIA service control and programming
4.Dig the internet for available information on the card
5.Disassemble the PPC and XP version drivers for more information

A little finding:
 PPC's PCMCIA interface seems to be similiar to Linux's.
 Card configuration may be available in PCMCIA Card Information Structure part. I will try to find out whether it is feasible or not.

Challenges
Reverse engineering the card control part
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: chyang on June 28, 2005, 05:08:13 am
Updated:

  Create a skeleton which can work with the CF driver to recognize the card, while no functional support.

Todo:
  Know the working flow of the CE driver based on binary and transplant it to Linux
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: speculatrix on June 28, 2005, 07:53:30 am
Quote
Updated:

  Create a skeleton which can work with the CF driver to recognize the card, while no functional support.

Todo:
  Know the working flow of the CE driver based on binary and transplant it to Linux
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=86150\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

I've been lurking for a while on this thread. Am quite interested in this idea. Is the interface to the card purely for control, or is it possible to capture audio from it?

great news and well done on progress!
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: chyang on July 04, 2005, 08:41:18 am
Update:
 
  Today, verified the chip used in the CompactFlash card, which was refused by AmbiCom's technical support to provide. The CF card itself is easy to unpack, I will attach the photo taken when it was naked.
 
   The chip used is Philips TEA5767, seems to be widely used. I will also attach the datasheet for it.

   CE's driver part seems to be endless, I was so hard at reading the code, but it seems without datasheet, it's too difficult to do reverse-engineering.
   
    A little search with Linux showed that the chip with I2C was contributed by developers and provided as patch to 2.6.12, so life seems to be a little better.

    Dawning ahead! Keep marching!
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: chyang on July 04, 2005, 08:50:41 am
 
Photo&Datasheet
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: Marty on August 15, 2005, 06:43:24 pm
Hi - read the post about the FM card for the zaurus with interest. Have you made any progress with the development of the linux driver for the Ambicom FM Radio tuner Card?

How long will it be do you think, before you have something working?
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: sds on August 31, 2005, 06:00:52 am
I still have the second $25 up for the driver.

Chyang, I think you made some very good progress.
But are you still working on this? I see you were busy lately with Bochs (which is another very interesting and important project -- also for me).

If it is too hard, or you do not have the time -- no problem! -- please just let us know.
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: chyang on September 12, 2005, 09:20:46 am
Very sorry about late response. I was absorbed by bochs/C3k some time ago and will spent time in this from now on. Thanks.
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: Magellan on September 12, 2005, 01:45:21 pm
I have the iBIZ pocket radio SD FM card.  Would the same driver work on this one?
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: chyang on September 13, 2005, 01:14:49 am
Quote
I have the iBIZ pocket radio SD FM card.  Would the same driver work on this one?
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=95561\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
No idea, I may have a look after solving the CF problem.
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: chyang on September 15, 2005, 05:57:49 am
An update:
Seeking for help from TEA5767 author on the driver part.
And also I'm trying to figure out how to write the I2C driver on top of PCMCIA.
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: chyang on September 16, 2005, 08:14:48 am
Update, tried the I2C skeleton driver, and it seems to not working.
So I took the photo again to check what the chips are, here is the chips on the PCB.
It seems that the CF card is in 3-wired mode.

From top to bottom, left to right:
TEA5767  ->FM Chip
LVC125A http://focus.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/sn74lvc125a.pdf (http://focus.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/sn74lvc125a.pdf) ->QUADRUPLE BUS BUFFER GATE WITH 3-STATE OUTPUTS
LV273A   http://focus.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/sn74lv273a.pdf (http://focus.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/sn74lv273a.pdf) -> Octal D-type flip-flops with clear
LM4908A http://www.national.com/pf/LM/LM4809.html (http://www.national.com/pf/LM/LM4809.html)       ->Headphone amplifier
W39L010 http://www.chipcatalog.com/Winbond/W39L010.htm (http://www.chipcatalog.com/Winbond/W39L010.htm)  -> Flash
PT2257-S http://www.chipdocs.com/datasheets/datashe...orp/PT2257.html (http://www.chipdocs.com/datasheets/datasheet-pdf/Princeton-Technology-Corp/PT2257.html) ->Electronic volume controller IC in 8-pin SO package.
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: chyang on September 25, 2005, 07:46:51 pm
A little update:
The author hasn't responded to me.
I was a little busy these days.
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: Bane on October 19, 2005, 04:45:09 pm
Is there any word on how this is coming along?

Has anyone completed enough of this to collect the bounty yet?
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: OttoAcuna on December 05, 2005, 02:35:56 am
Any update on how this is coming along?

Regards,

Otto


Quote
Is there any word on how this is coming along?

Has anyone completed enough of this to collect the bounty yet?
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=100060\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: angom on January 31, 2006, 04:12:21 am
Well, just for the record... I am also interested in this driver, don't have any card yet but would get one if the driver comes along, and willing to donate a few bucks too.  
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: Cresho on January 31, 2006, 12:05:27 pm
you guys ever try shoutcast on the zaurus and streaming audio?  it works for me just fine.  I do it with bluetooth and a cellphone.
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: sds on January 31, 2006, 01:58:30 pm
Quote
you guys ever try shoutcast on the zaurus and streaming audio?  it works for me just fine.  I do it with bluetooth and a cellphone.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=113135\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

I guess many people like me are interested in the news/talk and other features of FM radio, hence the necessity of a FM driver.

[Edit: Edited for more polite expression of the same idea]
Title: FM Radio Tuner for Zaurus?
Post by: speculatrix on January 31, 2006, 03:28:12 pm
I wrote some instructions for Normsoft (pocket tunes on the Palm) on how to set up Winamp as a shoutcast server, so you could stream from line in on your PC, and thus listen to it on the Palm over a bluetooth connection:
http://www.mansfield.co.uk/normsoft/windows-streaming.html (http://www.mansfield.co.uk/normsoft/windows-streaming.html)

using kino/mplayer, you could also listen to the stream using a wifi or  bluetooth connection - in theory it would be better than using the Palm because the Z can do PAND rather than PPP over RFCOMM.

HTH
Paul