e3-hacking

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Cheap PL2303 cable @ Ebuyer
by Rahim Nathwani 07 Jul '05

07 Jul '05

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?product_uid=51518 It's USB at one end, and Nokia pop-port at the other. It doesn't play nicely with current versions of Nokia PC Suite, but might be a good alternative to a home-made MAX232 (which would probably work out around the same price). Rahim.

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[E2 monitor] v0.25
by Matt Evans 07 Jul '05

07 Jul '05

Hello, OK I've /finally/ scraped this off my harddisc and uploaded it... http://axio.ms/projects/e2/e2-monitor-0.25.tgz The main changes are improvements/bugfixes to the XMODEM code (particularly in cancelling the transfer if an error is detected), avoiding using the wrong signed type which makes stuff break every 256 blocks... and some much nicer exception debug output. (The register dump provided when an exception is taken should now be accurate for all running modes.) A couple of people have reported 115200 being flaky for them; the baud rate divisor could be 1 off for them. It's spot on for my cable - but then my cable could just be clocking itself a little slower than normal ;) In uart.S:setup_uart try using 27 instead of 26 for the divisor if you are having problems at 115200. No 'fire' optimisation yet ;) -- Does anyone have any explanations for why the pixels are in the strange order in memory? (They are not in increasing-nybble address, or big-endian nybble address in little endian words.. etc. See cons.c) Also does anyone know whether SPI is used for anything on the E2? (The pins are wired - somewhere - but they could just be in GPIO mode.) I'd like to add an MMC card to rapidly download/prototype code... Cheers, Matt

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DC adaptor?
by David Given 06 Jul '05

06 Jul '05

Okay, this is slightly embarassing... I've just dug my E2 out of storage, wanting to set it up again. I've found the E2, the TTL line converter, but I've also found my very large box full of dozens of miscellaneous DC adaptors. I have no idea which one of them works with the E2. The manual doesn't say what voltage or polarity to use. I've found an FP branded 12V positive-tip adaptor with a connector that fits --- does this sound familiar? -- "Curses! Foiled by the chilled dairy treats of righteousness!" --- Earthworm Jim (evil)

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RE: [E3-hacking] DC adaptor?
by Cliff Lawson 06 Jul '05

06 Jul '05

Don't know if this'll help y'all but in house we use little boxes with a bit of veroboard on which sits a MAX232 (and some TTL inversion if being used for E3). To power it we generally just use the 5V on USB and either stick this into the E2/E3's own USB (except that they don't have the 5V enabled until boot has finished) or (more usually) stick it into the USB on a nearby PC. You don't even need a fancy USB plug to do this - the copper "fingers" on a piece of veroboard are the same pitch as USB pins anyway so a "4 wide" bit of veroboard stuffed into a USB is an easy way to get 5V to power a MAX232. Alternatively you can power the boxes with a 5V "wall wart" or even a bench PSU but, on the whole, the USB power route is the easy solution. Cliff > -----Original Message----- > From: en4rab [mailto:en4rab@yahoo.com] > Sent: 03 July 2005 04:51 > To: Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer hardware/software > Subject: Re: [E3-hacking] DC adaptor? > > > Im afraid I dont know anywhere that sells a finished product in a nice > box but I have a couple of ideas. > The first idea which im fairly sure will work ok is to buy a max232 > interface from either here: > http://www.tailor-madecircuits.com/rs232_max.htm > or here: > http://shop.jabsplace.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&c > Path=11&products_id=8 > > These are meant to draw their power from the target device so > they have > a pin for 5v to be applied to, since the E2 doesnt have an easily > accessable supply, unless you dragged the jtag port out to a connector > on the back :), It would probably be possible to power the interface > with a 4.5v cmos backup battery such as this one from maplin: > http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=22787&doy=3m7D > connect the battery accross vcc and gnd, and then make a lead to take > rxd txd and gnd to the exp port. > Just be sure to disconnect the battery when the interface isnt in use. > This is just an idea off the top of my head and it hasnt been tested, > the only issue i can think of is if 4.5v is enough for the > max 232 which > is a 5v part i think. > > Im still not 100% sure what voltage the exp port is supposed > to work at, > from reading other arm documentation i was under the > impression that arm > devices I/O was 3.3v or there abouts so when i built my > interface I used > a max3232 which is designed for operation from about 3v to 5v > and i took > my supply from the the same point I used for Vref for the jtag, but > others on this list are using 5v so i guess that is ok. > (I must read the docs sometime lol) > > A slightly more off the wall idea might be to sacrifice a > datacable for > a nokia phone, i *think* that would work, and as a bonus > should draw its > power from the PC's serial port, but i would have to look into it some > more. > The 2 shops above are selling the max232 interfaces because they are > being used by people to communicate with a pace set top box, > but others > have used nokia data cables with the ends chopped off to achieve the > same results. > Im off work on monday if i get a chance i wiil have a root > about and see > if i can find a data cable to try it. > If you wanted to have a go, try to find the oldest nokia cable you can > and preferably an fbus only type (or one you can switch > between f and m > bus) > The F bus type has txd rxd and gnd (mbus has rxd and txd as one wire i > think) I think a 3210 cable should work ok but other types should too. > > This is all untested though so dont hold me responsible if > your E2 blows > up or it doesnt work. > your mileage will vary. > en4rab > > --- David Given <dg(a)cowlark.com> wrote: > > > Now I've discovered that my TTL line level converter board seems to > > have died. > > Given that I had endless grief getting this to work in the first > > place, does > > anyone know where I can get a ready-made converter that comes in, > > like, a > > box? I know that the radio HAM community uses these things a lot, so > > they > > might be a good source --- any suggestions? > > > > -- > > "Curses! Foiled by the chilled dairy treats of righteousness!" --- > > Earthworm > > Jim (evil) > > > _______________________________________________ > > e3-hacking mailing list > > e3-hacking(a)earth.li > > http://www.earth.li/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/e3-hacking > > > > > -- > | .-. en4rab(a)yahoo.com > | / \ .-. > | / \ / \ .-. .-. _ _ > +--/-------\-----/-----\-----/---\---/---\---/-\-/-\/\/--- > | / \ / \ / '-' '-' > |/ '-' '-' -END OF TRANSMISSION- > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > > _______________________________________________ > e3-hacking mailing list > e3-hacking(a)earth.li > http://www.earth.li/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/e3-hacking > This e-mail and any attachments are confidential and intended exclusively for the addressee. If you are not the intended recipient please delete it from your system and notify the sender immediately. This message is attributed to the sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of Amstrad Plc or its subsidiaries. For further information on Amstrad Plc please visit our website: www.amstrad.com Amstrad Plc. Brentwood House 169 Kings Road Brentwood Essex CM14 4EF Registered in England : No. 955321

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RE: [E3-hacking] Making life easy for you
by Cliff Lawson 22 Jun '05

22 Jun '05

But the board we have working (as anyone who's "broken in" to an E3 will know) is the 5910. We're not going to make a board specially for this but will simply re-use E3 boards but will probably go the trouble of making some form of case to house the board and the display. Cliff > -----Original Message----- > From: jasmine(a)electronpusher.org [mailto:jasmine@electronpusher.org] > Sent: 15 June 2005 18:15 > To: cliff(a)ourcottage.plus.com; Discussion of the Amstrad E3 emailer > hardware/software > Subject: Re: [E3-hacking] Making life easy for you > > > > Hi Cliff, > > On Wed, 15 Jun 2005, Cliff wrote: > > > You'd basically get an OMAP 5910 board > > (150MHz ARM925T + 150MHz C55x DSP) > > ...this is a shame. Couldn't we have a newer OMAP? Even > 1623, with its > stacked DDR part, would be a major improvement over 5910. > > 2420 would, of course, be a killer part :-) > > -J., > ex-TI > > _______________________________________________ > e3-hacking mailing list > e3-hacking(a)earth.li > http://www.earth.li/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/e3-hacking > This e-mail and any attachments are confidential and intended exclusively for the addressee. If you are not the intended recipient please delete it from your system and notify the sender immediately. This message is attributed to the sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of Amstrad Plc or its subsidiaries. For further information on Amstrad Plc please visit our website: www.amstrad.com Amstrad Plc. Brentwood House 169 Kings Road Brentwood Essex CM14 4EF Registered in England : No. 955321

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RE: [E3-hacking] Ever turning
by Cliff Lawson 21 Jun '05

21 Jun '05

> -----Original Message----- > From: linux(a)things.org.uk [mailto:linux@things.org.uk] > > So what thinkest? I was kind of assuming the purchaser was going to know most of the gcc command line options myself :-) Course there'd be nothing to stop an entrepreneur from first buying one £100 box, developing a "flashing light" system writing python scripts or whatever, then OEMing some more boxes at £100 and retailing their "programming system" at £150 and walking away with £50 per sale ;-) Cliff This e-mail and any attachments are confidential and intended exclusively for the addressee. If you are not the intended recipient please delete it from your system and notify the sender immediately. This message is attributed to the sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of Amstrad Plc or its subsidiaries. For further information on Amstrad Plc please visit our website: www.amstrad.com Amstrad Plc. Brentwood House 169 Kings Road Brentwood Essex CM14 4EF Registered in England : No. 955321

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RE: [E3-hacking] Making life easy for you
by Cliff Lawson 21 Jun '05

21 Jun '05

Fair enough but shortly the job of recycling our subsidised hardware is due to get a bit trickier for you I hope.(Assuming we've implemented SHA256 hashing and MD5+RSA signing correctly ;-) This isn't an attempt to break the "fun" that you guys have been having but realistically, if some Eastern European (for example) outfit decided to use the "backdoor" technology you've come up with to then buy up 10,000 of our phones at £50 and then recycle the electronics into some completely new product with their own software or even continue to use the h/w for their own telephony then we'd make a HUGE loss. We can't afford to run that risk so have to protect our investment in the per unit subsidy. It's not the fact that 5 or 10 talented engineers in the UK have managed to "break in" - that's no real problem for us - good luck to you and your ingenuity, you got £100+ worth of electronics for £50. In fact we owe you thanks for highlighting our security shortcomings - I'd be interested if anyone can "break in" to newly protected hardware (OK, desoldering the NOR doesn't count! ;-) I know this sounds a bit heavy handed but otherwise it turns into Alan's famous "Apprentice" quote of "selling £10 notes for a fiver a time" and Amstrad as a relatively small company, just cannot afford to do that. Cliff -----Original Message----- From: Gavin Andrews [mailto:GavinAndrews@yahoo.com] Sent: 16 June 2005 22:51 To: e3-hacking(a)earth.li Subject: [E3-hacking] Making life easy for you The reason I am interested in E3 hardware recycling is that the hardware is good value. It makes no sense to be to buy something at a reasonable price! It's the subsidy that makes the E3 make sense! Just being realistic. Regards, Gavin This e-mail and any attachments are confidential and intended exclusively for the addressee. If you are not the intended recipient please delete it from your system and notify the sender immediately. This message is attributed to the sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of Amstrad Plc or its subsidiaries. For further information on Amstrad Plc please visit our website: www.amstrad.com Amstrad Plc. Brentwood House 169 Kings Road Brentwood Essex CM14 4EF Registered in England : No. 955321

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re: [E3-hacking] Making life easy for you
by Otaku 19 Jun '05

19 Jun '05

>Fair enough but shortly the job of recycling our subsidised hardware is due >to get a bit trickier for you I hope.(Assuming we've implemented SHA256 >hashing and MD5+RSA signing correctly ;-) Oooh.. When ? :D >highlighting our security shortcomings - I'd be interested if anyone can >"break in" to newly protected hardware (OK, desoldering the NOR doesn't >count! ;-) Heh.. Thats kinda an unrealistic limitation, innit ? 's like saying "Our copy protection system is unbreakable (provided no-one uses a debugger, or a dumper)" ;) Oh, btw - whats the party line on releasing the real source to the MVL distro on the E3 ? Cheers O.

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RE: [E3-hacking] Making life easy for you
by Cliff Lawson 17 Jun '05

17 Jun '05

> -----Original Message----- > From: Cliff Lawson [mailto:clawson@amstrad.com] > > Don't the public documents I posted on the net about > NC100/NC150/200 include > info about the disk firmware API then? I thought they did. > Think there's a > copy at http://web.ukonline.co.uk/cliff.lawson/files.htm Actually the document I was thinking of was the NCIOPSPEC.TXT linked from: http://web.ukonline.co.uk/cliff.lawson/notepad.htm But sadly this seems to be the NC100 only version :-( Cliff This e-mail and any attachments are confidential and intended exclusively for the addressee. If you are not the intended recipient please delete it from your system and notify the sender immediately. This message is attributed to the sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of Amstrad Plc or its subsidiaries. For further information on Amstrad Plc please visit our website: www.amstrad.com Amstrad Plc. Brentwood House 169 Kings Road Brentwood Essex CM14 4EF Registered in England : No. 955321

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RE: [E3-hacking] Making life easy for you
by Cliff Lawson 17 Jun '05

17 Jun '05

A bit like Slartiblartfast proudly announcing "I was responsible for those twiddly bits"... I was responsible for the NC200 design. :-) Don't the public documents I posted on the net about NC100/NC150/200 include info about the disk firmware API then? I thought they did. Think there's a copy at http://web.ukonline.co.uk/cliff.lawson/files.htm Sadly, if they didn't then I fear I may have lost these things about 3 hard drive crashes ago (in the un-enlightened days before I stored everything on secure network servers :-( It's just vaguely possible that I may still have a printed copy though (though the pile has been "weeded" a few times since the late 80's too!). I'll have a rummage... Cliff > -----Original Message----- > From: David Given [mailto:dg@cowlark.com] > > (Also incidentally, I own a NC200. It's a lovely piece of > hardware. I'm trying > to hack that, too --- I have my own code booting from the > SRAM card, but I > haven't deciphered the floppy disk boot code yet...) This e-mail and any attachments are confidential and intended exclusively for the addressee. If you are not the intended recipient please delete it from your system and notify the sender immediately. This message is attributed to the sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of Amstrad Plc or its subsidiaries. For further information on Amstrad Plc please visit our website: www.amstrad.com Amstrad Plc. Brentwood House 169 Kings Road Brentwood Essex CM14 4EF Registered in England : No. 955321

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