Possible Source For Wi-fi/bluetooth Cf Card

[wsuetholz]

Hello,
  Here is a link Embedded Systems to a manufacturer that has a combined 802.11g and Bluetooth module that they say is ready to be packaged as a CF card.  The one really big problem with it is, that it uses the Marvell chip, there is the start of a native driver for it at Marvell 8k Driver that was added to the Linux kernel in version 2.6.15 and removed in version 2.6.18 because as the maintainer said, it doesn't work...  There really hasn't been any work done since last year on the driver.  But, there has been reports of it working...  Embedded systems indicates that there is linux support for the card, but, I haven't had a response yet to my inquiries.

  I have asked them if they can package it in a CF card, since they have done that for their 802.11g card already, and pricing for that solution.  Presently the module is priced at $99 qty 1.

  Any thoughts about this, could any of the hardware knowledgeable folks tell me how hard it would be to package this with the CF interface if they come back with some outrageous figure for doing that..  I mean $99 is close to being reasonable for this right now, too much more would make this unreasonable.  They do discount some for quantity purchases, and they start at qty 10.

Bill Suetholz

[adf]

It could be really convenient, assuming the driver isues aren't maddening and the price doesn't soar.

[Da_Blitz]

what you want to do is ask for a CF card refrence design, and see what they do. alot of companies give away thier plans for refrence designs on the understanding that they are not sutible for production and need tweaking, there is another camp of manufacturers thogh that treat that stuff as a "trade secret" and wont give away refrence designs until you start forking over cash and commiting to volume quantities

but if they have done it then i would say its only really the RF design and power supply as these things tend to be single chip and all in one. and after looking at the pictures it looks easy enogh

but if you scroll down a bit they offer a fully packeged solution without bluetooth for $99 which would be ideal for those looking for 802.11G (you know who you are)

[wsuetholz]

but if you scroll down a bit they offer a fully packeged solution without bluetooth for $99 which would be ideal for those looking for 802.11G (you know who you are)
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Thanks for the reply,  That card also doesn't use the Marvell chipset, instead it uses a Broadcom chipset.  This also would answer some peoples questions about being able to plug in an antenna.

Bill

[wsuetholz]

I just noticed that the "One Laptop per Child" design is using the Marvell chipset..  And they seem to have it working for them.   Their driver name is "libertas" not "mrv8k".  I see it being commited to the Redhat linux source tree, but I don't see it in my checkout of 2.6.18.

  In looking at the README and sources, it looks very complete.  It also looks like the source originated from Marvell, and is GNU licensed.

Bill

[Da_Blitz]

is it the same chipset?, if so it should be easy enogh to get the patch from redhat, if it isnt then there is no point

[wsuetholz]

Well, here is the reply, not really much help.

The EW-WMBGMR01 module is strictly a radio module with the CF and PCMCIA
interface available.  It is not a Compact Flash end-user card to plug into a
PDA.

It is normally used to embed the WiFi and BT capability into any widget or
box.  It does have available a Linux driver for a X86 processor so it was
developed for a specific processor and is not compatible with the Zaurus.

Under our licensing agreement with Marvell, we cannot give our their source
code.

Looks like you need two specific items:

1) Embedding the EW-WMBGMR01 into a CF card format
2) Porting the Linux driver to the PXA255 and PXA270 CPU.

We can help you with creating the CF card and also porting the drivers but
it would require NRE (approximately $10K-20K) for the development and also a
minimum purchase of he finished CF cards of around 1K units.

  So, people, how hard would it be to put a CF interface on this "radio" card?

  Regarding the OLPC drivers, it looks like they are working with Marvell, and possibly licensing the firmware code from them, since they are working with special "mesh" mode firmware.  
I have the source for the drivers, and haven't noticed any X86 asm code, so hopefully the drivers will work on the ARM without major modifications.  I would need to see if this is doable or not..

  On another note, I got one of those TrendNet Bluetooth/WiFI USB Combo devices to work, the major problem there is power needs, since I need a powered hub.  The device is around $30 after rebate, and the CyberPower battery powered USB Hub is $20 so it's still cheaper than this thing, I don't really like all the wires though...  And, I haven't been able to get WPA-Supplicant to work yet.  Haven't cracked the USB device open yet to see how big the card really is...  

  I did crack open the Zaurus, and look at the free USB solder pads, and they are WAY to small for me to touch :-(  My hand isn't steady enough for that.  So I quickly put it all back together.

Bill

[Lurker]

Gumstix offers the Wifistix   based on the Marvel 88W8385 chipset with "an open source driver available under GPL".  Perhaps someone more technically inclined than myself can dig up the driver from their site (start here).


As for the TrendNet TBW-103UB, the FCC filing is here.  I find it interesting that the module is split in two, the larger board being wifi and the smaller being bluetooth. The wifi board plugs into a header on the bluetooth board, which appears to have a usb hub built into it (the blutooth module is labeled as "BTHub_v2"). The bluetooth board has a ceramic antenna, and what looks to be an empty pad for an aux antenna; both should be easy to modify for external antennas. The wifi board is even more convenient with a u.fl plug. However, I seriously doubt that either of these modules would fit easily inside the Zaurus casing, at least not without some modification. Next time I open my c3000 I will be taking many measurements with this in mind.

[speculatrix]

Next time I open my c3000 I will be taking many measurements with this in mind.
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when you open up your Z and take photos, rest a ruler across it for some pictures so that you can get a calibrated picture and thus can measure *any* distance, not just the ones you choose to measure!

[Da_Blitz]

just a quick note, the x30 (dell) has a bluetooth module and wifi on a seperate card, the wifi sits on the CF interface and the bluetooth on the serial. if only i had a pinout as it would just about fit in a cf slot

[kurochka]

just a quick note, the x30 (dell) has a bluetooth module and wifi on a seperate card, the wifi sits on the CF interface and the bluetooth on the serial. if only i had a pinout as it would just about fit in a cf slot
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This morning my x30's screen was smashed when it fell.  I took apart the unit and the bluetooth/wifi combo module is really really small - 22mm x 29mm x 3mm (let me know if you want pictures).  Smashed x30 (did x3 have the same module?) could be a great source of these modules if somebody figures out if they can work in Zaurus.  They have a nice neat connector that could be used to make everything neat.  Can the module's connector pins be traced on the x30 motherboard?


Below is all the info that I could find for this module (I don't understand what it means but maybe it would be helpful to somebody):




Both wireless modules are built into the one pcb (removable) P/N:COMBO SIP 6325-600026-02 is a USI COMBO Sip

SiP
           >>>>802.11B+Bluetooth COMBO SiP module  (WM-BB-AG-01)
   
Introduction
The USI 802.11 SiP Wireless module WM-BB-AG-01 which refers as “COMBO-SIP module” is the smallest wireless module in the world with full function 802.11b and Bluetooth class 2 on a 22* 29 mm tiny module. This multi- functionality and board to board physical interface provide system users the maximum flexibility including system feature and system integration.
 

WM-BB-AG-01 is approved as one of USI embedded Wi-Fi module product lines. There are two product variants of WM-BB-AG-01 by de-populating either 802.11b or Bluetooth to be a single module which provided better cost-feature on system with single design-in effort.
The small size design (22*29*3.5 mm), low power consumption (Typical 340 mA) and excellent radio performance make it the best solution which is suitable for OEM customers who require embedded 802.11b Wi-Fi plus BlueTooth features, such as, Wireless PDA, Barcode scanner, mini-Printer, VoIP phone etc.
For the hardware features, Agere “802.11” chipset solution is adopted for 802.11b, and CSR BlueCore 02 for 802.15. Two antenna connectors provide antenna connectivity for each function.
In additional to the classic radio design, physical signaling between Bluetooth and 802.11b functional block and channel skipping technology from CSR provides the best performance when Bluetooth and 802.11b function at the same time.
For the software and driver development, USI provides extensive technical document and reference software code for system integration. Hardware evaluation kit and development utility will be released base on listed OS and processors to OEM customers under agreement for development.
Features
•   Small size suitable for low volume system integration.
•   Low power consumption, extend battery life.
•   2.412~2.484 GHz frequency band.
•   Support hardware signaling and channel skipping for co-existence scheme.
•   Easy for integration into mobile and handheld device with flexible system configuration and antenna design.

 SPECIFICATION   

Description    802.11b + Bluetooth COMBO SiP Module
WM-BB-AG-01
Network Standard    IEEE 802.11b
Frequency Band    2.402-2.484 GHz
Temperature    Operating Temperature    0 to 60 C
   Non Operating Temperature    -10 to 70 C
Humidity Range    20% to 90% (Non-condensing)
Current    Continuous Transmit    340mA (Both 802.11 and BT in transmit mode)
   Continuous Receive     230mA (Both 802.11 and BT in receive mode)
   Sleep Mode    16mA (Both 802.11 and BT in sleep mode)
Antenna Connector    2 antenna connectors Support 802.11b for each
Bluetooth   BluetoothTM 1.1
Dimensions    22mm x 29mm x 3.3mm
Coexistence   Hardware signaling
Output Power   13.5bBM +/-1.0dBm
LED Control   2
Radio   Number of Selectable Subchannel   14 channels
   Modulation   DSSS,DBPSK,DQPSK,CCK
   Antenna Connector   1 RF connector
Bluetooth Radio SPEC   Frequency Band    2.4GHz ISM Band
   Number of Channel    79 Channels
   Modulation    FHSS
   Antenna Connector    2 antenna connectors
Security   WEP 64/128
Operating System Compatibility   Windows CE 3.0/ .NET
Windows 98SE, 2000, XP



The WLAN chip set is Agere
The Bluetooth chip set is CSR Bluecore2
 
The interface to the WLAN is compatible with CompactFlash (PCMCIA)
The interface to the Bluetooth is high speed UART with RTS, CTS, TXD, and
RXD lines. Using one of the three UARTS available on the PXA270. You should
be able to a standard CSR serial driver for Blue Core 2 as a starting point
if there is currently no LINUX driver..
 
The Lattics CPL is probably used to provide the buffering between the PXA270
memory bus and the CF interface for the combo module WIFI interface, not
address decoding which is done inside the PXA270.


By the way it appears that a Chinese company HUATENG TECHNOLOGY LIMITED (http://ht.hkinventory.com) sells them.  Do you think they can also  provide documentation with it?  See their contact info here: [a href=\"http://ht.hkinventory.com/eCatalog/hisendenq.asp?cmpyid=30773&subject=HUATENG+TECHNOLOGY]http://ht.hkinventory.com/eCatalog/hisende...TENG+TECHNOLOGY[/url]
or here:
http://www.find-ic.com/cnweb/huateng/

[Da_Blitz]

actually i am the admin and starter of the axim x30 linux project

come see the wiki at handhelds.org, kernel boots but not much work has been done and a more modern kernel hasent been tried (but due to the work with other PDAs some of the hardware should "just work")

[kurochka]

actually i am the admin and starter of the axim x30 linux project

come see the wiki at handhelds.org, kernel boots but not much work has been done and a more modern kernel hasent been tried (but due to the work with other PDAs some of the hardware should "just work")
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Ahh.  I see now.  I have followed these Linux port attempts to PPC but apparently nothing will ever be close to the Zaurus experience.  Am I mistaken?  Are those ports usable by regular consumers (not Axim but something more advanced - HP?)?

[Da_Blitz]

actually i thought that the ports were great. in fact it shouldnt be to hard to boot pdaxrom or OZ on any HP PDA with a linux port. all you need is a working kernel and a mod or two to the boot up scripts so that hardware that dosent exsist dosent get initised (for the ones that need a user space helper)

handhelds.org is a scare place, it has alot of info that isnt relevent any more and is out of date and alot of good stuff that is inacseseble, most of the work is done on mailing lists and the individual wiki pages for the models

the distro for anything on handhelds.org is the "familliar" distro and is very complete, if you wanted you could run it on your Z

i have always found it starnge that the Z community and handhelds.org are not more fully intregrated but this might be because it is mainly devs on mailing lists vs users on fourms

btw i belive the x51 port is getting very mature, i know they were working on video out

[dhns]

Ahh.  I see now.  I have followed these Linux port attempts to PPC but apparently nothing will ever be close to the Zaurus experience.  Am I mistaken?  Are those ports usable by regular consumers (not Axim but something more advanced - HP?)?

There is also something GPE based for the Acer n30 on a single SD card: www.letux.org

-- hns