Inside Manufactured Products

Acer AP13B3K Laptop Battery

Please be very careful if you attempt to disassemble any type of laptop battery.

Before I start I just want to remind you that you must be very careful when handling batteries, especially if you plan to take one apart.

The AP13B3K is a rechargeable Li-polymer battery pack for Acer laptops and is rated at 15V @ 3560mAh/53Wh and has a charging voltage of 17.2V @ 1.78A. Before I even disassembled the battery pack I could see there were 4 large sections that I guessed each contained a battery which you'll see from the photo that follows is correct:

As you can see, there are 2 batteries to the left, 2 batteries to the right, and a controller board in the middle to which a cable is attached of which the other end goes to the mother board. Each battery is rated at 3.75V/13.1Wh so 4 batteries in series gives us 15V and each battery works out to be 3493mAh. By using a number of individual rechargeable batteries the cost is lowered as a larger, higher capacity battery in place of the 4 discrete ones would cost more.

Each battery has a rectangular white component connected in series which is possibly some form of safety switch. The controller board in the middle of the battery pack handles charging and communicates with the laptop. There are 8 wires that run to the controller board, 2 of which are red, 2 are black, and the rest are coloured white, blue, green and yellow. The red and black wires are for +15V and GND respectively and the reason there are 2 groups of 2 wires is most likely to split the high current over 2 wires rather than use single thick wires. I found the yellow wire to be the battery enable wire which, when taken to GND, causes a voltage to appear across the red and black wires. Note: if you are working out a laptop battery pinout and you are trying to find an enable line it's best to use a low value resistor (I used 330R) to test the pins which will limit the current should you accidentally connect an output to GND.

Two of the other connections are likely for communication between the battery pack and the laptop, and the remaining wire should be connected to a temperature sensor (commonly a thermistor) but I was unable to confirm that. If you look in the photo above you should see a grey rectangular object in the middle, to the right of the second battery from the left. I desoldered it and found it to be an NTC thermistor as its resistance dropped when heated and its resistance increased when left to return to room temperature.

Each of the batteries in a pair are connected in series but with a middle connection such that I got readings of 3.8V between the common and the second connection and 7.6V between the common and the third connection. In this way the controller board can monitor the batteries on an individual level. After very carefully desoldering one of the battery pairs I then removed the common of the second pair and measured the current between the common and where it was connected to the control board and got a reading of 5mA.

The connections between the batteries are welded together but if you were to remove them you could use the batteries separately but then you would need a charging board for each battery. Fortunately, you can buy charging solutions for 3.7V rechargeable batteries at a very reasonable price.

Apple MacBook Pro Laptop Battery A1382

Please be very careful if you attempt to disassemble any type of laptop battery.

Found in Apple MacBook Pro 15" laptops from 2011-2012 the battery pack has the code A1382 and is of type Li-ion Polymer with a rating of 10.95V / 77.5Wh which translates to 7077mAh. I found the battery pack very difficult to take apart and had to very cautiously break the plastic shell around the individual batteries and control board. Take a gander at the guts of the battery pack:

There are actually 6 cells, as there are 3 pairs, and 2 of the pairs have what appear to be a thermistor attached to sense temperature changes (if a battery gets very hot it could be an indication of a fault) and each pair also appears to have an inline surface mount component which most likely is a type of fuse. The cell pairs are very well stuck together so I could not separate them without risk of damage and there are no indications of the individual battery rating. However, using my multimeter I read 3.8V across one battery so likely they are the typical 3.7V type. You can view the cell arrangement I drew out here:

Two very thick wires, one red and one black, are connected from the battery to the control board (at the very right in the photo at the start of this section), and they give a reading of 11.3V. Additionally, there are 2 thinner, green wires running from the battery pairs which is possibly for the control board to monitor a few of the batteries independently and for charging.

The battery pack connector is marked as 'FX 1BHDBD' and has 9 connections; on one side of the connector the positive and negative of the battery pack are labelled either end. Because the connector wires are so thin the positive and negative have three wires each so they can carry a much larger current between them. The only other connection I was able to identify was an enable signal which when taken low puts the full voltage across the positive and negative connections although oddly even with the enable line floating I was getting 0.25V. The remaining 2 connections are likely for communication between the battery pack and the laptop.

Here is the pinout:

1, 2, 3 negative

4,6 unknown

5 enable

7, 8, 9 positive

One particular IC I was able to read the part number of on the control board is BQ20Z451 from Texas Instruments but finding information on it was difficult especially as a lot of people refer to the battery pack as BQ20Z451. There is a BQ20Z45 chip from TI which is an IC designed to measure and log battery stats:

http://www.ti.com/product/BQ20Z45-R1

From information I did find online the BQ20Z451 could be a special version of the BQ20Z45.

Amiga Genlock

A Genlock was generally used to overlay computer graphics onto a video source such as from a camera, and then the combined video stream could be recorded to tape. The Genlock we will be looking at was designed for the Amiga 500, 1000 and 2000 (PAL version), but in theory it could be used with any Amiga with the standard video connector. The following site has an image of what appears to be a newer version of the Genlock in question as my one doesn't have the control unit seen on the right in the top photo:

http://www.bigbookofamigahardware.com/bboah/product.aspx?id=1923

The site does mention that the video connector (on the ribbon cable) is a 25 pin connector cut down to 23 pin which is also the case for the Genlock I have.

There was no name or model on the box that the Genlock came in or the unit itself but inside on the circuit board there is the matkings 'Rendale LTD A8802_b CLEO Rev 3'. The unit has CVBS in and out BNC connectors, and Amiga video in and out (RGBa) D-type connectors. The RGBa connector is labelled as Monitor+control so it's possible a control unit could be connected to this port but also apparently outputs the original Amiga video output. The Appears Genlock runs off the power provided by Amiga's video port by making use of a 7805 voltage regulator in the unit.

The Genlock supports different modes which replace an Amiga colour with the video input from the external source. All that the software does that came with the Genlock is to let you switch between the different modes. From the little information I could find out online it turns out that for the Genlock to be able to be used you have to wire up a cable that connects the Amiga's parallel port to the Genlock's monitor+control socket so that the mode can be set. It seems that you could, however, buy a control unit to do the same thing or make up your own control unit. The monitor+control has analog RGB connected but but because of the control connections you wouldn't be able to connect the A520 adapter.

I connected up the Genlock to my A500 and used an N64 as a test video input. When I turned on the N64 I got the Amiga output overlayed on the N64 video with one colour acting as transparent. However, each time I turned on the N64 the Amiga graphics would appear at a different place on the screen vertically. I also found the Genlock software had stopped working (not needed to actually have the Genlock mix the video signals but allows control of the different Genlock modes via the Amiga's parallel port). Now the Amiga's output was scrolling vertically as if it were a Genlock mode.

Looking inside the Genlock I could see that there were 4 control lines via the video out connector and 2 of them went to a data selector so that would give 4 modes from 2 lines. Through binary combinations I was able to get Amiga only, external video only and one colour transparent. One of the other inputs goes to a 4-bit magnitude comparator and if taken low while the other 2 inputs are low it makes one colour transparent instead of showing Amiga video only. A fourth control signal is actually an output that comes from an NPN transistor pulled high to +5V via a resistor but was not able to find out what it was for.

Based on information I found online the modes are supposed to be:

Background: colour 0 is transparent.

Foreground 1: colours other than 0 become transparent.

Foreground 2: restores opaqueness to colours used in foreground mode 1.

Video: shows external video only.

Amiga: displays Amiga video only.

Here is what the circuit looks like:

There is a large chip toward the top right of the circuit with a label on it that reads 'CLEO 9/87 REV 3.0' but unfortunately the part number under the label has been scratched off. The 7805 voltage regulator can be seen at top left and at bottom left there is a small daughter board with wires going off to various chips as well as the supports providing connections to the main circuit. Inside there are a number of potentiometers with various markings such as P, B, R and V and you'll see that some of them have gone bad. I did try adjusting the potentiometers and one of them did alter the position of the Amiga video vertically but after switching off the N64 and back on the position would be wrong again. When I have more time I can diagnose the issue more which will involve replacing the potentiometers.

CHDD-8C 1x8 HDTV distribution amplifier

This product from CYP lets you connect a single SD or HD (1080p/UXGA compatible) source to multiple outputs while isolating the input from the outputs. The amp supports component, composite and RGB video as well as audio (analogue via L and R connectors or digital through coaxial connector).

I found a page for the amp here:

http://www.lektropacks.co.uk/main/store/app/product/CHDD-8C/1%3A8-YUV-%2B-Audio-Distribution-Amplifier

The page includes a link to the manual on the Downloads tab.

There is a single power LED on the front and on the back is a socket for the DC 5V (1A) power supply as well as the one set of A/V connectors for the input and the eight set of connectors for the A/V outputs. For a look inside the amp see the photo below:

Inside there is one main board and a smaller board for the power LED which was broken off from the main board.

These are the chips used (all on the main board):

74HC04 hex inverter

8092AR dual high speed rail-to-rail amplifier

LT6555CGN 650MHz gain of 2 triple 2:1 video multiplexer

ADM8660 CMOS switched-capacitor voltage converters

All-in-all, a relatively simple circuit laid out neatly with plenty of free space inside the unit.

Dinamap Compact T

One of my first pieces of medical equipment, the Dinamap Compact T by Johnson & Johnson Medical Ltd is a vital signs monitor from 1996. You can read more about it in the operation manual:

http://integratedmedsys.com/customer/inmesy/manuals/Critikon-Dinamap-Compact-Op-Manual.pdf

And the service manual is also a very good read although lacking circuit diagrams even though 'service diagrams' are mentioned in the index:

http://www.frankshospitalworkshop.com/equipment/documents/ecg/service_manuals/Critikon_Dinamap_Compact_-_Service_Manual_1.pdf

I bought 2 of the Dinamap Compact T units from ebay for £18, both sold as non-working. Neither came with the battery (which would be 12V rechargeable), power supply or anything else. The unit can be run from 12V-30V DC supply, centre negative (I used 12V 2A for testing). One of units powers up with the menu on the LCD and the LED displays lit, the other has no output on the LED displays and random black lines on the LCD. I swapped the LCD into the working unit and it displays fine so that suggests the main board is faulty; the LCD controller data sheets says it powers up in a random state until initialised so that further indicates a faulty main board.

To open the unit there are 2 screws towards the top at the back that need removing and then the unit comes apart. The are a number of boards; LED display board, LCD board, switches board, main board and power board. The main board connects to the switches board which in turn connects to the LCD board, LED board, rotary encoder. The LCD backlight connects to the LED board.

Some of the connectors are glued in, likely to reduce the chance of vibrations knocking them out. The cable that connects to LED board has a cable tie around in to keep it in. There is some heavy interference filtering on the input cables. The GND connections of the battery, DC input and connector to the power board are connected by conductive tape possibly to help isolate the battery and DC input GND. There is a fuse, rated at 3.15A 250V, in series with the DC input socket.

Powered off a 12V 2A DC supply I measured a current draw of about 33mA in standby which goes up to 1.3A when the system is powered on and the pump motor is running before dropping to 365mA with the motor off but the LCD and LED displays on.

Now to look at the various boards and modules individually and some of the chips that have been used.

LED board

Has markings 8630AB03 and 8630BS03.

Based around x3 Maxim max7219c:

https://datasheets.maximintegrated.com/en/ds/MAX7219-MAX7221.pdf

Has 12 medium size LED displays, HDSP-H153 and HDSP-H5703. 7 smaller LED displays, hp HDSP-A153, 3 of which are on female headers. There are also 3 LED's.

LCD module

MGLS-24064

http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/86183.pdf

The LCD has a resolution of 240 x 64, is monochrome with a yellow-green LED backlight.

Based around the Toshiba T6963C, T6A39 and T6A40 with 8KB display RAM.

For communication with a processor the LCD module has a 10x2 connector, and a 2-pin connector for the backlight. While the system was on I measured 4.8V between VDD and VSS; -9.5V between VO and VSS; 3.8V across the LED contacts.

For my Arduino project that makes use of the LCD module please click here.

Switches board

8640AB

4 switches. 2 LED's. 1 LDR for ambient light sensing to control LED display brightness.

HC541, octal buffer/line driver, 3 state, possibly to handle switches.

You can see the LCD, LED board and switches board below:

Main board

8610BS02. 8610AB AP370 Main PCB. Issue 1.

Large cable from switches board. Person alarm connector from front.

LK1, link, perhaps for option select.

Large black component, 633148 A OJTF9-9738, possibly a transformer.

MC68302FC20C 'integrated multiprotocol processor':

https://www.nxp.com/docs/en/reference-manual/MC68302UM.pdf

TC551001BFL 1Mb SRAM:

http://pdf.datasheetcatalog.com/datasheets2/59/598246_1.pdf

Buzzer/speaker (note that there is also a loudspeaker hidden by the printer which connects to the power board).

AM29F040 in chip holder with 'ICT passed' on sticker. 4Mb CMOS 5V flash memory:

http://robotics.ee.uwa.edu.au/eyebot/doc/DataSheets/29F040.pdf

The flash chip seems to not be write protected and looking through it I came across a lot of ASCII text. At 0x3FA8F and 0x3FF0A it has what appears to be error messages. At 0x3FE44 there is the company name and product name. There are possibly status messages at 0x40610 and the says/months in different languages at 0x41690. Those are just a few examples of the text that can be found in the flash ROM.

Maxim max163bcwg 12-bit ADC:

https://datasheets.maximintegrated.com/en/ds/MAX163-MAX167.pdf

Test points TP8, 2, 3, 6, 7, 4, 9, 8

The board attaches to the power board underneath via 40-way connector and a 2-way connector.

MPX7050GP pressure sensor to detect air flow from pump:

http://pdf.datasheetcatalog.com/datasheet/motorola/MPX7050GSX.pdf

Also has airflow sensor from pump connected to this board.

Power board

8620BS03. 8620AB04.

Varta 110mAh 3.6V battery which has leaked and is most likely the cause of the non-working unit. Even in the working unit the battery has leaked somewhat.

PIC16LC74A in socket with sticker '8621 V3.1'. 8-bit Microcontroller, 2.5V to 6V, 7KB EPROM OTP program memory:

http://www.mouser.com/ds/2/268/30390e-80840.pdf

L4960H 2.5A power switching regulator:

http://www.st.com/content/ccc/resource/technical/document/datasheet/3d/1a/a7/51/61/29/43/25/CD00000075.pdf/files/CD00000075.pdf/jcr:content/translations/en.CD00000075.pdf

Maxim max232acwe Multichannel RS-232 driver/receiver:

https://datasheets.maximintegrated.com/en/ds/MAX220-MAX249.pdf

Maxim max758acwe Adjustable, step-down, current-mode PWM regulator:

https://datasheets.maximintegrated.com/en/ds/MAX750A-MAX758A.pdf

Maxim max744acwe Step-down, current-mode PWM DC-DC converter

https://datasheets.maximintegrated.com/en/ds/MAX730A-MAX744A.pdf

LT1086 ct-12 1.5A low dropout positive regulator:

http://cds.linear.com/docs/en/datasheet/1086ffs.pdf

lm2577t step-up voltage regulator:

http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/lm2577.pdf

GAL16V8D with sticker 'JJM LTD 1996 8666 UA V1.8':

http://www.mouser.com/ds/2/225/16v8-1174490.pdf

The board connects to the battery contacts, DC in socket, printer, RS232 connector, alarm connector, and pump motor.

Here are the main board (left) and power board (right):

You may just be able to make out in the image above where the battery has leaked on the connector pins on the far right and the LT1086 regulator just below the battery and slightly to the right.

Pump

ANR 80039002 ASF THOMAS

Enclosed in felt, likely to reduce vibration and sound when operated.

Contains a motor, pneutronics 990-000317-006 valve (12VDC) x2, and a pressure sensor. The motor has what looks to be dual capacitors (2.2nF) on both motor terminals.

The outlet pipe connects to the pump unit.

Printer unit

The printer is marked as 'HTP-4050 B' and the printer board as '8650BS01' with 'Printer PCB issue 1' and also '8650AB04' written on the board.

Maxim max758acwe. Adjustable step-down current-mode PWM regulators:

https://datasheets.maximintegrated.com/en/ds/MAX750A-MAX758A.pdf

L293ddwp quadruple half H-drivers:

http://pdf.datasheetcatalog.com/datasheet2/f/0xt5w1akzx8dd88ewqdxi35wa9py.pdf

2 large capacitors, 10V 10000uf each.

The printer connects to this board via 2 connectors, one for the motor and the other for the print head.

Here is a photo of the pump with the felt removed (left), and the printer (right) in which I have lifted up the actual printer mechanism:

Doseleader 2610C

I bought the Doseleader model 2610C from ebay for £20 and although the only electrical accessory it came with was the mains lead it did also come with a printed manual which includes circuit diagrams, mechanical diagrams and lots of other technical information. The 2610C is a Dosimetry electrometer that was made by Nuclear enterprises (Reading, UK) and to quote the manual the device is "intended for making measurements of Dose and Doserate from ionising radiation using a remote, cable connected, air filled ionisation chamber." It is a rare piece of equipment - I cannot find anything about it online - and the serial number of my unit is 147, showing perhaps how few were made.

I've scanned in the manual which you can view with the following link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tkm98j0FH8hxXMYPV0okBJeGhpcrwf8T/view?usp=sharing

Note that where there are missing pages they are actually blank pages that I didn't include to cut down on scanning.

There 2610 weighs 7.5kg and there are 3 models of the 2610 which the manual explains: model A has no external interface circuitry, model B has just the centronics and serial I/O fitted, and model C has the extra features of model B plus the analog output. As for the date of the 2610; the manual is dated 1991 but I did find a chip inside with a date of 1983 and one of the dates on one of the circuit diagrams is from '84.

Taking a look at the front of the 2610C you can see that it wouldn't look out of place in a 70's or 80's home with it's microcomputer-like appearance:

At the front there are 2 LCD's with a backlight on/off switch nearby and 4 sets of buttons split into 3 colour coded columns, which separates them into numeric, function and control (each control button has its own green LED). The value and units of the dose quantity measured are shown on the 1x16 character LCD (the top LCD) and on the second LCD, which is 4x20 characters, the elapsed time of measurement and other information is displayed; both LCD's are hd44780 compatible.

Next, let's look at what can be found at the back of the unit:

We have the ionisation chamber input, desiccator with cover, V (voltage zero) and I (current zero) zero adjust (both are recessed), mains on/off switch, mains input socket including fuse (500mA for 110V/250mA for 220V) and voltage selection (110-120V/220-240V); you have to pull out the fuse holder block, rotate it and put it back in to change the input voltage. There is also an analog output socket whose output is proportional to the Dose/Doserate reading and separate GND socket, a serial I/O (RS423) socket, and a centronics style parallel printer port to print out measurement results, stored calibration data, etc. There is a calibration sticker with a date of 5/2/96 on the back and a 'tested for electrical safety' sticker with the date 9/5/01 on one side.

The internals are very pleasing to the eye as you will see:

It's neat and most of the chips are on holders, making it easier to fix the unit, modify it or re-use the parts.

To disassemble: remove the 4 screws; 2 either side, then the top cover can be taken off. There is a large main board, a PSU board and the expansion board.

Expansion board: I/O board type 5412/B D37362/4B issue 3.

To remove: I had to take off the back panel and then unscrew the 3 screws holding the board by the 3 posts and also take out the 2 screws at the back of the unit. Need to also remove the connector that goes to the PSU board.

Some chips of interest:

AM26LS32 Quad differential line receivers. Used for the serial port.

7660 Voltage converter. Generates -5V from 5V.

7805 +5V regulator. Regulates 12V to 5V.

BB 3656HG transformer coupled isolation amplifier. Used for the analog O/P.

HP 2731 Dual-channel opto-coupler. For isolating the printer and serial ports.

DG303A Analog switches. Used for the analog O/P.

INA105 Precision unity gain differential amp. Used for the analog O/P.

R6551 Asynchronous communications interface adapter. Used for serial I/O.

R6522 Versatile interface adapter. Used for printer port.

There is additionally a very large quartz crystal (1.8432 MHz) for the R6551.

PSU and HV board: type 5411A D37218 3. ISS. 3.

According to the seller when he powered it up it smoked but worked fine. The only thing I can see suspect on the board is that C14 is missing but its legs remain as if it blew off/was broken off. It looks to have been a tantalum capacitor judging by other polarised capacitors on the board.

To take out the board remove the 4 screws holding the board to the metal box (1 of them is a plastic screw), then take out the 4 screws from the metal box which should then let you lift off the top of the metal box. To actually get the PSU board out you'll need to take out the 3 screws holding the large capacitor in (C3) on the other side of the metal box you just lifted off.

Chips:

LM7915 -15V regulator

7815 +15V regulator

78T05 3A 5V regulator

AD7548 8-bit microprocessor compatible 12-bit DAC. Used in HV control.

4013 Dual D-type F/F.

7555 Low current 555 compatible timer. Generates high frequency signal as part of the DC to DC converter.

4093 Quad 2-input NAND Schmitt triggers. Used as part of the DC to DC converter to switch between 2 voltages.

OPO7 Ultralow offset voltage Op-Amp.

NEL-D32-46 Inverter, 5V to unknown voltage, possibly 60V. Use for LCD backlights.

Has LCD backlight switch, LCD backlight connectors, HV control, main board power connector, I/O board connector.

Under the metal box is the mains input socket/switch/fuse combo (built-in filtering), transformer (x2 12V 2A outputs) and common earth point.

Main board: type 5406.

Chips:

uln2803a Darlington transistor array.

ad7537 (8+4) Loading dual 12-bit DAC.

r6522 Versatile Interface Adapter. Interfaces with the 2 LCD's and the keyboard.

hd6809 8-bit microprocessor running at 4MHz.

adg526 16-channel analog multiplexer.

gr881 8KB non volatile RAM with built-in lithium cell. Stores user's settings.

2764 'A34381/A ISS4 IC14' 8KB ROM

27128 'A34381/B ISS4 IC17' 16KB ROM

27256 'A34381/C ISS4 IC18' 32KB ROM

DG211 Quad SPST analog switch.

X2816BP-25 2KB EEPROM. Stores calibration data.

TSC 800CPL ADC

Head amplifier module 5363a based around a high open-loop gain Op-amp with an FET input stage.

Lithium battery, unknown model number and hasn't leaked. Used to generate a reference voltage.

Keyboard interface board: type 5405A C37033/3 issue 1.

Has a serial number of 146. There are 23 switches (5 of which have green LED's), a few resistors and capacitors, and two chips:

IC1 D8279C programmable keyboard/display interface which is used to scan the keys arranged in a matrix.

IC2 74ls373 octal transparent latch with 3-state outputs which handles the LED's in the switches and the buzzer, (type AI-250K), attached using plug PL2.

Edward Thompson Group 7-segment LED display

I'm always on the lookout for anything to do with opto-electronics and on ebay I came across a set of vintage 7-segment LED displays going for cheap, that were removed from a larger display. There were 2 types of display, one of which features 2 digits using the classic 7-segment formation with a single digit being 70 x 123 mm and the overall dimensions of the display are 160 x 210 mm. There was also included the other type of display, a so-called decimal point display made up of 4 red LEDs but as the LEDs are in the middle it doesn't seem suitable for a decimal point which typically would be quite low down compared to the digits. The decimal point display measures 50 x 160 mm overall and the LEDs take up a 15 x 15 mm space.

In the photo follows it can be seen the 2 digit display on the left and the decimal point display on the right:

Each segment of the 2 digit display is made up of 6 LEDs wired in series.

Next, we can see the underside of the decimal point display:

The PCB is labelled as 'Edward Thompson Group 220 issue B copyright 1990' and 'Decimal point'. There are 4 LEDs wired in series with a 680R limiting resistor (I measured 10mA draw) but there is provision for 2 additional LEDs to make a 3x2 formation (jumpered out in this version, as can be seen toward the bottom of the board).

To provide power to the board the attached cable connects to J3 of of the 7-segment board (see below). The decimal point display board has the power polarity marked on the board with pen. When I received the display the negative wire had broken off the board taking the pad with it so I soldered a wire to bypass the PCB track. The positive power connection has a short wire suggesting a similar repair had be done previously.

Now for the main display, with the PCB as seen in the next photo:

The PCB is labelled as 'Edward Thompson Group wearside electronics' and '262B 1991'. There is a 'tested' sticker marked with 050891 (most likely 05/08/1991). One of the digits is labelled as 'unit', and the other as 'tens'.

Each display can be daisy chained using a ribbon cable (not provided) running between the unpopulated chip holder (J2, also marked as 'stripe') on the back of each display. Using a chip holder as a connector was probably done to save money but makes it difficult for us to make up our own cable.

I put together a circuit diagram of the display, which I've tried to do as accurately as possible:

Power and interface is provided to the display via the chip holder J2 (I've used the usual numbering for an IC) and since there is a 7815 regulator (U2) the power supply V+ can be anything from 18VDC to 35VDC but should be as close as possible to 18VDC to keep the regulator cool. The reason why 15V is used for the circuit is because each display segment is made up of 6 LEDs in series with a limiting resistor and the 4511 ICs will happily run at 15V.

Each digit has a 4511 BCD to 7-segment decoder, U3 and U4 respectively for unit and tens, which takes a BCD value (Units A to D/Tens A to D) and displays the corresponding value. The LT and BL of both 4511 ICs are tied high and cannot be activated without modifying the circuit. The BCD inputs A to D are tied high so without any input to the display it will be blank. To display a number, set A to D as needed for tens and units and then take LE/STROBE (J1; both pins connected together) low for the display you want to update. Put LE/STROBE high again and then you can update another display if you have one using its J1 connector.

Note that each BCD input and LE/STROBE have 47K series resistors so make sure you provide enough current to drive the input low.

To test the display I put together a circuit using a 4029 counter and 555 timer acting as an astable oscillator so that the numbers 0 to 9 are displayed in turn. In addition, I did some simple tests too: running the board off 19V with all segments on for just the units I measured 88mA, with all segments on for both digits I measured 168mA and with all segments off I measured 8mA.

equitrac PC1CFMEO PageCounter

I picked up three of these PageCounters for a small price from ebay, reasoning that for the displays alone it would be worth the money. From the manual, which I've linked below, it tells us that a PageCouter is an expense recovery device (it tracks the use of office equipment). So, for example, only someone with ID and credit in their account can use the office printer.

http://www.equitrac.com/docs/terminalCD/PageCounter_UsageGuide-200610.pdf

Take a look at the front of the unit:

It features a 4x20 LCD character display with backlight, various buttons including a numeric keypad, 2 ethernet sockets, a copy control connector, a serial port and a 5V DC 3A connector. There is a swipe card slot at the side and a key switch (for bypassing the need for ID) on the other side. A panel at the back can be unscrewed revealling a 128MB compact flash card (the manual mentions using it to store validation codes and transactions), and some kind of expansion connector. When power is connected, a message says it's loading the firmware, followed by a message that says it's sending the boot message and after that it asks for you to swipe a card or enter ID.

Now for the insides:

There is a buzzer on the same side as the LCD.

The expansion ethernet connector is on its own board containing a H1053NL IC, a quad port transformer module.

On the main board there these IC's:

LAN91C111-NS 10/100 non-PCI ethernet single chip MAC+PHY

XC9572XL High performance CPLD

K4S643232H 2MX32 SDRAM

6417709AF RISC processor

MAX3233 dual RS-232 transceivers

LM1085 3A low dropout voltage regulator. LM317 compatible.

LT1963 1.5A fast transient response LDO regulators (1.21V to 20V)

P174LPT fast CMOS 16-bit transparent latch x3

JS28F320 flash memory (seems to be 32mb)

The LCD has 16 pins and is HD44780 compatible.

On the compact flash card are various files and folders including boot and error logs, a config text file and a couple of applications. There do not appear to be any O/S files so the firmware is likely to be in the flash memory chip perhaps updatable by putting a file on the CF card. There was a sticker on the back of one of the three PageCounters that mentions the use of a Windows CE runtime.

Note that CF card in the photo above is 64MB whereas in one of the other PageCounters I found a 128MB CF card.

I did try connecting a PageCounter to my network through ethernet and waited for it to boot but I couldn't see its ip address using Advanced IP scanner.

Game Gear Cartridges

The advantage that game cartridges have over CD's or DVD's is that they are actual electronic circuits which can expand a system beyond what was originally intended. By salvaging an unwanted cartridge you could make use of the connector and put in your own circuit-this is how people have made their own games for the Game Gear and other consoles.

All Game Gear cartridges are held together with a single security screw; once removed slide something between the two plastic parts at the side while pulling apart. Repeat for the other side and you should be able to separate the plastic pieces. Below you can see five different Game Gear cartridges I've taken apart:

Starting with Mortal Kombat (1992) on the left the game uses two Chip On Board (COB) IC's and a couple of decoupling capacitors. World class leaderboard golf (1991) to the right has just one COB chip; the extra chip in Mortal Kombat could be for the extra memory needed for the 'photo' graphics. The middle game, Super kick off (1991), use a Surface-Mount Device (SMD) IC made by Sega having the code MPR-14672.

More interesting are the two Terminator games 'Robocop Vs. Terminator' (1993) next in line and The Terminator (1992) at far right. Robocop Vs. Terminator uses two SMD chips, 315-5426 memory paging chip and MPR-16049, both by Sega. The Terminator, however, has three SMD chips which are KM6264BLG-10L 8Kx8 low power CMOS SRAM, MPR-15134-S by Sega, and 27526B which is likely some form of controller for the battery which is referenced on the board but not added. It's possible that the same board layout was used for multiple games and the battery was added as needed.

Harman Kardon drive + Play DP1EU

This iPod controller with display is designed for use in a car and included with the kit is the drive+play main unit, a graphic (dot matrix LCD), a joystick-like control input, FM transmitter, and a number of cables. The main unit runs off 12V (500mA with iPod connected, stated by the manual). You can either use the provided cigarette lighter connector or a cable designed to be hard wired into the car. For the hard wired option, there are three wires: yellow for +12V, black for gnd and red to detect the car's ignition switch; there is a 2A in-line fuse. To bypass the ignition switch you can wire red to +12V which is what the cigarette lighter option does.

Let's look at the individual parts more closely:

Control input knob

This part has 4 buttons at N, E, S, W, a large middle button, and the unit also turns left/right to make selections. There is also a ring of blue LED's at the top.

To disassemble: twist enough in one direction for the base to come off to reveal two screws which you need to remove. You should then be able to push the remaining parts apart. There are another 2 screws that need to be taken out on one of the pieces. Next, you need to remove the top pieces with the push buttons that is held in with 4 tabs. The only way I could remove it was to place a screwdriver between the two top plastic pieces to prise it off. There are then another 2 screws that hold in the circuit board which when removed completes the disassembly.

The 4 surface mount LED's are on the bottom. The main chip is a F300 8051 based MCU. It seems a variable resistor is used for the turning part of the control knob. There are 4 coloured wires on the input cable; black (appears to be UART RX), blue (appears to be UART TX), white (GND) and red (+V). I could not easily trace the UART connections so I instead matched TX of display unit to RX of control knob using my logic analyser since they should be the same data.

I measured 4.04V between GND and +V while the unit was on.

Main unit

Consists of 2 boards, one of which has a BH1415F IC which is an FM stereo transmitter IC. There is also a HJ4053 which may be a 74HC4053 analog multiplexer/demultiplexer. Another chip is the SIL F330, which is possibly a C8051F330 mixed-signal ISP flash MCU. Also, a LMV324I IC, a low-voltage rail-to-rail output op-amp.

The board that has most of the inputs on has an unused 2-way IDC connector labelled J26.

There are 2 test points on the board that has the MCU; TP1 & TP2. TP1: MCU C2CK; TP2: C2D.

It seems the MCU's TX/RX (P0.4 & P0.5) are connected to the iPod connector.

Display unit

To disassemble: first prise off the harman/kardon panel which reveals a small gap in which you can use a screwdriver to remove the bottom piece; be very careful as the LCD flat cable is within reach. You also need to prise off the piece similar to that which has the company name on. This will allow you to get a screwdriver in the rectangular slots to push open the unit.

There is a main board which connects to the LCD and also has a connector for the input cable which has four wires coloured yellow (outer shield) GND, black (Sleeve) UART TX, blue (Ring) UART RX & red (Tip) +V. I figured they were TX and RX since they were connected to the TX and RX pins on the MCU.

I measured 3.9V between GND and +V while the unit was on. The display unit MCU has a supply voltage range of 2.7 to 3.6V as does the flash chip. The MCU has 5V tolerant I/O.

There is a silabs F311 8051 based ISP flash MCU. There is also 25P40VP IC: 4Mbit serial flash memory (SPI)-this may be used for storage of the fonts.

On the board are two unpopulated connectors; J201 which is 3-way and could be debug control Silicon labs 2-wire (C2) for the F311 and J202 which is 5-way and could be programming input for 25P40VP. The 3-way connector starting with the square connection as pin 1 is GND, 2 is C2CK, pin 3 C2D.

Both the control input and display use TRS connectors with an extra outer shield part to connect to the main unit. It seems the main unit is aware whether the display unit is connected. Without the display unit connected the LED ring on the control input will turn off after a few seconds when power is connected. If the display unit is connected then the control input LED ring will stay on when power is connected.

If power on with display connected but no control input a 'please wait' message is displayed along with O2,1. This also happens if power on without control input and without the display unit RX (blue) or TX (black) wire connected; in this scenario no data is sent on RX if disconnected nor on TX if disconnected.

I tried looking at the data on the TX and RX connections of the display unit using my logic analyser but got lots of framing errors. I was hoping to see ASCII values for the menu text but I had at the back of my mind that the menus could be built in to the MCU in the display unit. It then dawned on me that the display unit MCU could actually be the main MCU not the one in the main unit, which would explain why the display unit MCU has the debug/programming connections. However, the main unit also has programming connections; also the display unit and control knob RX lines are connected together as are their TX lines, suggesting they are slaves and the main unit MCU is the master. It seems no data is outputted on the TX/RX lines unless at least the display unit's connected.

Next, I looked at interfacing with the display MCU using the C2 interface. Linux has support for the C2 interface but I figured it would be easier to write my own code for the Arduino, after having had checked no-one had already done so themselves.

I followed the guidelines at:

http://www.silabs.com/Support%20Documents/TechnicalDocs/an127.pdf

As a simple test I tried to read in the MCU device ID from the display unit MCU. However, I was only getting 0xFF back (it should be 0x08). So I used my logic analyser to check the timing of the clock and data that go to the MCU as part of the C2 interface. I guessed that the MCU was wrongly being reset as the display was acting as if so (note that I tested without the display unit TX/RX connected to the main unit which causes the display to reset but slower than through using my Arduino).

The C2 spec says that if C2CK is held for at least 20us the MCU will reset. After making sure this wasn't the problem I found that the fault was that during the clock pulse C2CK musn't be held longer than 5us so I altered my code to change C2CK quicker but still within the limits. I was now reading in the correct device ID of 0x08.

To read the device ID you have to send the address value 0 as part of the instruction which is the default address when the MCU is reset. To read the revision ID it needs the address 1 so I had to write a function to write the address before reading the device ID or revision ID. This is where I got more problems as after a number of times reading the device ID and revision ID I would get back a different value although it was always the same values. I found that using my logic analyser the low time for the clock pulse was still too long so instead of using digitalWrite I wrote direct to the ports and that reduced the clock low time which seemed to fix the problem. So, originally I had:

digitalWrite(C2CK_pin,LOW);

delayMicroseconds(1);

digitalWrite(C2CK_pin,HIGH);

And changed to the quicker:

PORTD = PORTD & C2CK_neg_val; //Set C2CK low

delayMicroseconds(1);

PORTD = PORTD | C2CK_val; //Set C2CK high

What I figured was happening was that in the original code the second digitalWrite() was keeping the clock low for too long as digitalWrite() is a 'slow' function and thus the clock wasn't changing to high quick enough.

But if I then read the device ID and then revision ID repeatedly after a few times the values would be incorrect. I found that by putting a 1ms delay between outputting the device ID and the revision ID I was now getting the correct values every time.

Hitachi VCR VT-FX440E

The Hitachi VT-FX440E(UK) Video Cassette Recorder (VCR) boasts 6 heads, NICAM sound, NTSC playback, VHS PAL digital auto tracking, Video Plus+ and supports both SP and LP playback. It runs off 220-240VAC @ 50Hz, with a 25W rating and in terms of I/O it has 2 SCART sockets (TV/decoder), RF out and aerial input. I could not find a date for the VCR but the service manual has a date of April 2004.

Take a look at the innards of the VCR:

What dominates the VCR is the mechanisms that operate the video cassette; if you are not familiar with how VCR machines work I highly recommend you read up on them as they use some clever technology. At bottom left there is a motor for ejecting the cassette, as well as another motor for turning the cassette wheel (underneath), a cassette erase/control head near the visible motor and the video head drum which from the top looks like a bunch of coils. It contains 4 video heads as well as 2 audio heads which are spun by the motor within the video head drum.

The main board contains the user switches for operating the VCR, an LED display with 33 segments, the IR receiver for use with the remote control, and a TV tuner; the SCART sockets are held on a separate board. The main circuit board has sections labelled such as 'Audio block' and 'Syscon/timer servo block' and although there is no date it does have written 'Ver. 08'. The circuit employs a mixture of through hole components which are on the top of the board and the bottom side is dominated by surface mount parts, as to be expected of when the VCR was made. In the middle of the main circuit board and toward the front of the VCR there is an LED which is used with an infra-red LED located either side of the tape drive to detect when the tape either reaches the start or end as the cassette is fitted with clear tape each end which will allow the light to one of the sensors. The power supply is a switched-mode type (as seen above top left) and looks to be well designed; it has cut-outs in the board for the incoming live and neutral as well as a cut-out for one of the filter capacitors and the opto-coupler, to increase safety.

Looking at the LED display in more detail it has the part number LFU-4421-2003A and is common cathode, having essentially 4 digits each with 10 segments: a-g to form numbers, h-j for the special symbols. The number segments are green as well as the separator ':' and the tape symbol, all other segments (power, timer and record) are red. The pinout of the display is provided in the service manual but I'll reproduce it here:

1 j

2 i

3 h

4 g

5 f

6 e

7 d

8 c

9 b

10 a

11 c.c. 1

12 c.c. 2

13 c.c. 3

14 c.c. 4

With the display facing you pin 1 is on the left and pin 14 is on the right. Starting on t he left c.c. 1 is for the first digit and c.c. 4 is for the fourth digit.

The mapping of the segments for each digit is as follows:

c.c. 1 c.c. 2 c.c. 3 c.c. 4

a a a a a

b b b b b

c c c c c

d d d d d

e e e e e

f f f f f

g g g g g

h REC

i PWR TAPE

j TIMER :

Notes: a-g are the usual segments that you would find on a 7-segment display. The TIMER mode is represented by a tick in a box.

As is typical of a VCR there is a rotating switch on the main circuit board known as the mode switch which is used to detect whether a tape have been loaded or unloaded or if the tape is in some other state. At the front of the circuit board there is space for 3 sockets labelled VIDEO, AUDIO-L and AUDIO-R so perhaps the board is based on a model that has phono sockets for A/V instead of SCART. There is also a large switch located at the front of the circuit board which detects if a tape has been write protected, which is done by removing a tab on the video cassette.

The service manual can be downloaded from:

https://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=hu&u=https://elektrotanya.com/hitachi_vt-fx440e_fx540e_mx410e_sm.pdf/download.html&prev=search

It has been written very well, it details precautions, repairs, it has some component pinouts and has the full circuit diagrams which includes pinouts of the various modules. The circuit diagram reveals that the mode switch position and user button presses are detected based on a certain resistance, cutting down on the number of wires needed.

From online reviews I have read of the VT-FX440E the VCR was a cheap model and in turn was badly made, having a display that did not give enough information and a 6 head video drum that recorded poorly. Nonetheless, we can appreciate the inner workings of the unit and certainly there are a good number of parts that can be re-used.

imerge soundserver S3000

I picked up this soundserver for free and from testing it the main functions appear to be working. The idea is that you have all your music in one place stored on the internal hard drive. You can also play music from a CD and rip the music from the CD onto the hard drive. The S3000 (released 2008) can be connected to a network and accessed via the web. In addition, it has independent audio outputs for multiple rooms. It can also display images on a TV/monitor while the music is playing although I could not get the VGA output to work but composite did work.

You can read more about it here:

http://www.imerge.co.uk/products/s3000/s3000_home.php

You can also view a video I did which includes the imerge soundserver:

https://youtu.be/Wgp13YMRlpo

The model number of my unit is actually S3004-160. The '4' refers to the number of stereo outputs and the '160' is the HDD capacity (160GB).

By looking at the image below you can see the internals of the soundserver:

The connectors that go to the main board have glue around them and even the feet underneath the unit, which can be unscrewed, have some kind of adhesive under them.

Note how modular the system is and how much like a PC it is. The CD-ROM drive (bottom left) is an IDE PC drive by Lite-On, model SOHR-5239V, which is a CD RW drive. The hard drive (bottom right) is also IDE and is a Hitachi HCS721616PLAT80 164GB drive even though it's supposed to be 160GB which is also what online information says for the drive.

The power supply board (top left) has 6 coloured output wires in a number of groups, which could possibly be as follows: black for GND, red for +5V, yellow +12V, and blue +5V standby. Then there is what could be some kind of sound card (top middle) made by imerge which has the 4 audio outputs and single audio input.

What is likely the motherboard (top right) takes up most of the room and features most of the connections at the back of the unit (digital audio I/O, video output, etc.). There is what appears to be a modem card sitting on top of the motherboard as the modem connector is attached to it. Held in a chip holder on the motherboard is a Phoenix BIOS chip E686 (a SST39SF020A 4Mbit flash IC) and there is a typical CR2032 'coin' cell which probably retains the BIOS settings. Also of interest is what looks like an empty PCI slot on the motherboard and an unused RAM socket.

The front panel is connected to the motherboard by what seems to be an IDE connector but with about half the wires unused; the IR receiver is also connected to this board via a separate cable as well as a power cable coming from the power supply. There is a Microchip PIC16F874 8-bit microcontroller on the front panel which possibly handles the LCD and buttons. Also on the front panel is an unpopulated 5-way connector which could be an ICSP programming/debugging interface for the microcontroller. The LCD looks to be a standard HD44780 character LCD having 16 pins (2 for the backlight).

There are 4 cutouts in the metal for possibly VGA connectors, situated above the audio I/O connectors, possibly to output video to separate rooms in a different model.

It takes some time for the unit to power up during which the message 'Powered by XiVA' is displayed; XiVA is the motherboard manufacturer. There is a sticker on the back of the unit that says 'Windows XP embedded'-the server does indeed run that O/S.

By connecting a USB keyboard and powering up you can press the Delete key during the first XiVA screen to enter the BIOS setup. However, the setup is very minimal; you can't change the boot sequence. The setup does reveal, however, that there are 4 IDE channels and the total RAM is about 122MB. If you press F8 as the unit starts up it will display the boot options. However, safe mode causes a blue screen but the debugging option doesn't.

You can force the system to boot off CD by disconnecting the harddrive and then powering on with a CD in the drive (note you must boot off the harddrive to be able to insert/eject a CD once you get into the soundserver main screen). I was unable to boot off a Linux mint CD but the system did boot from a Caine live CD, however the display was messed up. An Ubuntu rescue remix CD was better but was so slow to load so I gave up.

I removed the hard drive and connected it to my PC via an IDE to USB converter. It revealed that there are 4 partitions:

'Xiva' 2GB NTFS This appears to have the main Windows folders.

'Config' 1GB NTFS This has registry entries, logs and other related files

(Unused) 2GB

'Media' 148.37GB NTFS This has the music-both WAV and MP3 files, as well as the images that are displayed with the music.

On the root of the Xiva partition is the boot.ini file which identifies Microsoft Windows XP Embedded as the O/S along with the following options:

fastdetect

noguiboot

bootlogo

Note: to see the boot.ini file in Windows Explorer uncheck 'Hide protected operating system files' and make sure 'Show hidden files, folders, and drives' is selected, both of which can be found in Tools->Folder options: View tab.

I removed the noguiboot option, saved and booted the soundserver. It then displayed the Windows XP loading screen.

By looking at the registry entries I discovered that the normal Windows shell explorer.exe isn't loaded but instead Shell.exe is loaded, which is possibly imerge's own shell. The registry entry is:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

And the key is 'Shell' with the value 'C:\WINDOWS\system32\Shell.exe' so I changed it to 'C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe' to use the default Windows explorer shell-always make backup copies before modifying! Then, when I booted the sounderserver it setup Windows as if starting for the first time. I now had access to Windows XP with the imerge desktop background. The start menu shows no installed programs but it was a simple matter of right-clicking the desktop to show the icons. I could now gather more information about the system: the O/S is Windows XP embedded as we know but it is version 2002 service pack 2. The processor is a VIA Nehemiah, an Intel compatible 32-bit processor running at 1GHz. The display adapter is a VIA/S3G UniChrome IGP running at a resolution of 800x600.

I had been unable to get the soundserver to output video using VGA even though there was supposed to be an option to change display settings; I was having to use composite which makes reading text difficult. However, now that I have access to Windows XP on the soundserver I was able to get output on through VGA. To do this you need to:

Right-click on the desktop, choose Properties, select the Settings tab and click second monitor icon (clearly the PC is already set up to support two monitors). Check 'Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor' and then when you switch to VGA on your screen you should get the main screen (the extended screen gets moved to the composite output). You can also up the resolution for VGA but the higher resolution for composite has no effect.

KS 108 KVM Switch

A KVM Keyboard Video Mouse switch is useful for when you want to use a single keyboard, monitor and mouse on multiple computers, switching between them as needed. The KS 108 has 8 ports, runs off 12V external supply and supports VGA and PS/2 keyboard and mouse.

You can view the manual at:

http://www.gefen.com/pdf/KS-Manual.pdf

The device has VGA and PS/2 keyboard/ mouse ports at the back; lot of 8 for the computers, 1 for input and also 1 for 'console'. At the front are the box and port selection switches, a 3 digit 7 segment LED display (for indicating current port/box number) and a power switch.

Inside there are 3 circuit boards; two main boards and one for the front panel. The boards are connected using ribbon cables although for the two main boards they could have just used a connector to interface with each other. You can see the inside below:

(The board with the VGA connectors was originally on top of the other main board.)

One notable thing about the front panel is that the LED displays are on chip holders which is very unusual to see.

The top maim board has an unused male connector. Also, there are outlines for two unused connectors one of which looks to be VGA.

It has these chips:

HC244 Octal buffer/line driver X4

74HC4051 8-channel analog multiplexer x4

74HC251 8-input multiplexer x2

74HC126 Quad buffer/line driver x2

P15V330Q Wideband/video quad 2-channel mux/demux

MYSON MTV021N-26 Enhanced super on-screen display. Datasheet:

http://pdf.datasheetcatalog.com/datasheets2/21/210888_1.pdf

The bottom main board has an unused male connector. There are outlines for four unused connectors one of which looks to be a power connector. In addition, there is an outline for what looks to be for a voltage regulator or transistor which connects to the soldered points for an unused connector which also has the power switch soldered to it.

The chips used on the bottom board:

7805 +5V voltage regulator

74HC14 Hex inverter

74HC374 Octal D-type flip-flop X7

74HC74 Dual D-type flip-flop

HC244 Octal buffer/line driver X2

Microchip CF775 04/P Label: OSD KVM 1.0 PIC16F57?

CAT28C64BP Label: ROM_KVM 1.0 64Kb CMOS parallel EEPROM

Microchip CF775 Label: C108O 1.4 04/P PIC16F57?

Microchip CF775 Label: M108O/1160 1.3 PIC16F57?

Microchip CF775 Label: K108O/1160 1.4 PIC16F57?

Microchip CF745 04/P Label: CVT 1.1 PIC16F54?

74HC4051 8-channel multiplexer X12

The Microchip CFXXX chips are apparently clones of PIC chips.

As you can see there is a lot involved in this KVM switch and the fact that a good number of the chips have been socketed (perhaps to allow for re-programming which is suggested up by the version numbers on the labels) means it's possible to re-use those parts.

MX-3141HDA HDTV switch

This piece of equipment by tvone lets you switch one of four inputs to a single output (PC/HDTV) with support of up to 1080p but SD video can also be used. On the front is a power LED and switch, a remote control sensor and four switches each matched with an LED for choosing one of four input sources. As for the back of the unit there is a RS232 connector for computer control as well as one set of A/V connectors for the output and four sets of A/V connectors for the inputs. There is also a power supply input connector at the back; the unit runs off DC 5V 2A.

For more information about the HDTV switch you can visit this site:

http://www.tvone.com/component-video-switcher-with-stereo-4x1

On the site you will also find a link to the manual which details the RS232 commands amongst other things.

The unit is internally made up of three boards which are the main board, the RS232 board and the front panel board (LED's, switches and infra-red sensor). You can view these in the image below:

The main board chips are:

P06P03LVG P-channel FET

ADM8660 CMOS switched-capacitor voltage converters

4052 Dual 4-channel analogue multiplexer/demultiplexer

LT6555CGN 650MHz gain of 2 triple 2:1 video multiplexer

74HC04 hex inverter

4558 op-amp

Syncmos SM8952A 8-bit microcontroller with embedded flash

24LC08 8K-bit serial EEPROM

On the main board are two labelled test points, and an unpopulated 4-way connector that looks to be an interface to the 24LC08 EEPROM. The RS232 board has a single IC, an ADM232 high speed RS-232 driver/receiver.

This unit looks to be a re-branding of CYP's CHDD-41AR component switch-the main board even has the model number CHDD-41AR on it.

Rotel RSDX-02E

This DVD receiver from 2006 plays DVD's, is a radio tuner and also can be used as a general purpose amplifier. I acquired the unit for free and after testing I found that it did at least play DVD's. I was unable to find information about the DVD player on the manufacturer's website other than a link to the manual:

http://www.rotel.com/content/manuals_archived/rsdx02.pdf

The manual linked above is actually for a different version to the one I have which has SCART sockets instead of component.

Why not check out a video I did that includes the Rotel DVD receiver:

https://youtu.be/Wgp13YMRlpo

You can view the internals of the DVD receiver in the following photo (there were a number of boards facing different directions that I removed and placed on top of the others):

The front panel, LVA10432, has a number of LED's on the front which are connected using push fit connectors, which didn't seem very good-they could be removed quite easily. There is a vacuum fluorescent display, a remote sensor, and a variable resistor used for the volume control but is the type that you can continually turn. The main chip for the front panel, which the manufacturer has tried to hide by putting a substance on the chip, is a Panasonic MN101C350KF or something like that, an 8-bit microcontroller.

A flat cable connects the main front panel board to the largest of the boards. This cable has 13 connections, but the pin numbering conflicts on the main board with the display board. Using the numbering on the main board:

1 M CLK

2 M COMMAND

3 M STATUS

4 M CS

5 M BUSY

6 M RESET

7 STD LED

8 D. GND

9 F1

10 F2

11 -VPP

12 D+5V

13 CH. GND

The 'M' connects are probably for the microcontroller. D. GND appears to be digital ground. STD LED is probably the standby LED.With the unit on I measured 5.04V between D. GND and D+5V; -28.8V between D.GND and -VPP which is likely for the VFD.

On the Scart board, which is marked LVA10359, it has 2 SCART sockers. One of the chips on the board is a BA7625 which is a Video signal switcher for AV amplifiers. The pinouts for this board are:

CN401

1 VCRL

2 A GND

3 VCRR

4 VCRL OUT

5 A GND

6 VCR OUT

7 STB L

8 A GND

9 STBR

10 V+12V

11 V+5V

12 STB SLOW

13 VCR SLOW

14 VSW1

15 VSW2

16 VSW3

17 VSW4

CN402

1 VGND

2 TV L LINK

3 TV YS

4 TV V/Y IN

5 V GND

6 TV V/Y OUT

7 TV RED OUT

8 TV GREEN OUT

9 TV BLUE OUT

10 V GND

11 Y/CMS OUT

12 R/C OUT

13 G OUT

14 B OUT

15 V GND

16 V+12V

The board which has the digital audio connections, LVA10334, has the following IC's:

LP61L1024S-12 128K CMOS SRAM

TC9446F-025 Audio digital processor for decoding MPEG2 audio

784215A 16-bit microcontroller

AK4527BVQ Multi-channel audio CODEC

The pinouts are (using the main board labels):

CN601

1 MP3

2 958IN

3 GND

4 D+5V

5 DSP CLK

6 DSP STAT

7 DSP COM

8 DSP ROY

9 DSP RST

10 A+12V

11 A-12V

12 A+5V

13 GND

CN602

1 DSPSW

2 GND

3 DSPC

4 DSPSL

5 GND

6 DSPSR

7 DSPFR

8 GND

9 DSPFL

10 INR

11 GND

12 INL

All the boards connect to the main board, LVA10430, which has the pinouts of most of the smaller boards. The main board has a SCART connector and a number of audio connectors. Some of the chips on the main board I was unable to read because they had been obscured by a substance but these are the ones I was able to read:

SAA6588 RDS/RBDS pre-processor (radio processing)

MN101C49 Microcontroller

LA73054 Video signal driver for DVD player

Some of the smaller boards connect to the main board using a vertical board with a connector each end that swaps over the connections.

The tuner has no number on it but going by what's written on the main board that it's connected to this is the pinout:

1 GND

2 RDS DATA

3 NC

4 TUNER R

5 TV +9V

6 TUNRE L

7 GND

8 TUDATA IN

9 TUCLK

10 TUDATA OUT

11 TULE

For power, there is a large transformer which connects to a small board labelled LVB10431-01A which has a fuse. This smaller board is connected to the main power supply board, LVB10431-001A, which has its own fuse. The power supply appears to be a typical switched-mode power supply and it uses a power relay, Omron G5PA-1, which is possibly for surge protection. There are another two power relays, both Omi-SS-224L, which may have been used to switch on or off the main power to the other boards.

There is a lot of processing done on the DVD board, LVB10298, which is part of the DVD unit that contains the motors, laser, and so on. The board uses the following chips:

MN103S26EGA ?

BA5983FM Motor driver

SST 39VF160 Flash memory

K4S643232A DRAM

MN102C62GLF3 ?

NDV8611VWAT DVD processor

BA6679FM ?

AN8703FH ?

There is an unpopulated connector on the DVD board (which may be used in a more advance version) and lots of labelled test points. There are no pinouts for the 2 main connectors either on the DVD board or the main board it connects to. However, the motor and laser connections do have their connections written on the DVD board although I've left off the laser unit as the test points are labelled rather than the individual connections.

CN202 (motor and switches)

1 SWGND

2 SWGND

3 SWGND

4 SWGND

5 UD/DET

6 OC/DET

CN201 (motors)

1 FM+

2 FM-

3 TRVSW

4 DGND

5 SPDM1

6 SPDM2

7 SPDM3

8 VC+

9 H1-

10 H1+

11 H2-

12 H2+

13 H3-

14 H3+

15 VC-

The main amp board, LVA10431-A4, contains a JCV8007 (L/R channel power amp) and JCV8008 (surround sound power amp) IC's. I couldn't find a datasheet for either IC nor the service manual for the DVD receiver but I did find a service manual for the JVC RX-DV3SL, which seems similar:

http://support.karat-service.net/Unsorted/service-manuals-datasheets-2/schematics-21/info-219/JVC%20DVD%20CD%20RX-DV3SL(2).pdf

From research it has become clear that some Rotel equipment was based on JVC A/V players.

The pinouts of the JCV8007 and JCV8008 with the voltages as written in the PDF linked above:

JCV8007

1. +HV (51.7V)

2. +VL (27.5V)

3. +COMPARATOR (13V)

4. -COMPARATOR (-12.7V)

5. -VL (-27.4V)

6. -VH (-56.9V)

7. SUB GND (OV)

8. Rch +OUT (OV)

9. Rch -OUT (OV)

10. Lch -OUT (OV)

11. Lch +OUT (OV)

12. -PRE (-56.4V)

13. +PRE (57.1V)

14. Rch IN (OV)

15. Rch NF (OV)

16. BIAS (-55.5V)

17. Lch NF (0V)

18, Lch IN (OV)

JCV8008

1. +VH (57.1V)

2. +VL (27.5V)

3. +COMPARATOR (13V)

4. -COMPARATOR (-12.7V)

5. -VL (-27.4V)

6. -VH (-56.9V)

7. SUB GND (0V)

8. SRch +OUT (0V)

9. SRch -OUT (0V)

10. SLch -OUT (0V)

11. SLch +OUT (0V)

12. -PRE (-56.4V)

13. +PRE (57.1V)

14. SRch IN (0V)

15. SRch NF (0V)

16. BIAS (-55.4V)

17. SLch NF (0V)

18. SLch IN (0V)

19. Cch IN (0V)

20. Cch NF 0V)

21. Cch +OUT (0V)

22. Cch -OUT (0V)

Not surprisingly, the amp board is home to four high quality electrolytic capacitors designed for audio applications. There are a couple of small vertical boards that contain only passive components probably for filtering. Other than that there are four relays most likely for switching the audio outputs.

LCD Monitor MW19E-AAA

There is nothing fancy about this LCD monitor by PGE Corp. but it's a good example of a typical monitor featuring VGA and audio inputs. Have a look at the inside of the monitor below of which I have labelled the internals:

The power supply, which is contained inside a metal case, directly powers the main board and the CCFL bulb (although the main board can turn the CCFL on/off via the power supply). Of the 9 power supply connections that go to the main board only 6 of them are used (-8V, 12V and 24V are unused which possibly may be used in a different monitor made by the same company). There is a 5V connection which most likely powers the main board and as well as the already mentioned CCFL input there is another input called 'BL-ADJ' on the main board which could be the brightness setting.

As stated on the power supply board the following outputs are available:

24VDC (0.05A)

12VDC (0.2A)

5VDC (2.5A)

-8VDC (0.1A)

On the power supply board there are a number of jumper settings which pick a current selection (possibly for the CCFL) and they are 6.5mA, 7mA and 7.5mA. Speaking of the CCFL, there are actually 4 lamps, two at the top behind the LCD and two at the bottom, which connect to the power supply using 8 wires which you can see to the right of the power supply in the photo above.

The speakers were connected to the connector on the main board which in the photo has nothing plugged into it. Oddly, I could never get the sound working on this monitor.

The control board simply consists of 5 microswitches and a tri-colour LED all of which are connected to the main board using an 8-way flat cable. These input/output boards are very useful for use in hobby projects when some form of interface is needed. Other useful parts are a number of sheets of plastic and a glass or plastic panel; to get to these pieces you must completely disassemble the monitor which you must do very carefully.

Nikkai MG002R TV

Sure LCD TV's are very common today and we enjoy the HD pictures they offer but back in the day CRT TV's were more common, like the Nikkai MG002R CRT colour TV. It only has an RF input for connecting an antenna and also features a single digit LED 7-segment display for showing the currently selected channel. As well as the usual controls there are also various controls for fine tuning hidden under a panel at the back of the TV.

Let's have a look at a close up of the main board (note that I've already cut some of the wires):

I couldn't find any information about the TV but thought it was from the '80s; from looking at the IC's it appears the TV could be from 1988. The circuit boards use through-hole only components and some wires are wire wrapped on posts for some large components not mounted on the circuit boards, even though connectors have also been used. Some of the IC's are socketed, which may have helped with servicing, and parts of the boards are labelled, which also helps with repair.

There is a plug-in card that handles chroma and features a Toshiba TA7193 IC which is a TV chroma processor (TA7193.pdf). It also has a SDL145 which appears to be a delay line.

On the TV controls board there are the following:

M54836 IC: Channel selector, LED decoder, I2L (Integrated injection logic)

M58487 IC: 24 functions infra-red remote control receiving circuit

Also has some power supply circuitry on the board including the mains switch.

On the main board, all but one of the IC's are on chip holders. They are:

TDA1904 4W audio amp

TBA 120 Sound IF amp/demodulator

TA7609 Vert/Horiz osc

TA7611 FM IF/AM tuner system

There are a couple of large transistors mounted separate from the boards:

BU326 High voltage power NPN transistor

2SD870 NPN power transistor

There are a good number of components that could be re-used from the TV, even just the wiring, an advantage that older electronics have more components that can be re-used compared to more modern devices. But as always, be very careful to not hurt yourself from the sharp pieces of metal and be cautious of high voltages that may still be stored in the circuits, especially the large capacitors.

Video Game Hardware Exposed

Please go to Video Game Hardware Exposed.

Novametrix 515C Pulse Oximeter

I bought from ebay 2 of the 515C pulse oximeter units for £20 including shipping as not working and they both had damage to the plastic casing. Going from the manual (linked below) the 515C is from around 1996 but one of my units has a date of 1999. Made in Wallingford, CT USA the 515C measures, displays and provides alerts based on the oxygen saturation (SpO2) and pulse rate of a patient using an attached finger sensor. The Oximeter can be powered from the mains or the internal rechargeable battery; unfortunately I was not able to get either of mine to do anything more than light up the mains indicator light. There are other versions of the Oximeter: model 515B lacks the waveform display that the 515C has.

The manual can be found at:

http://www.frankshospitalworkshop.com/equipment/documents/pulse_oximeter/user_manuals/Novametrix_515_-_User_manual.pdf

For the service manual you can click here:

http://www.frankshospitalworkshop.com/equipment/documents/pulse_oximeter/service_manuals/Novametrix_515_-_Service_manual.pdf

The above linked service manual has the circuit diagrams missing, however, I also found the following service manual which covers all models of the 515:

http://www.frankshospitalworkshop.com/equipment/documents/pulse_oximeter/service_manuals/Novametrix_515_Pulse_Oximeter_-_Service_manual.pdf

Unfortunately, the text is somewhat cut off on each page but it does have circuit diagrams even for different versions of the same Oximeter model.

Here we can have a look at the front (note: the left side is broken somewhat):

At the front are the saturation, pulse rate and signal bar displays, the audio, pulse, SpO2, and up/down buttons, as well as the AC, battery, finger probe, hand, audio disabled, and silence indicators. The alert bar (the red strip to the right) can also be seen with the sensor input and handle even further to the right. You can also see the instructions on the top of the device.

Now we move on to the back:

Not as interesting: there is the mains socket with integrated fuse, power switch, and ground stud. There is also an option for RS232C/analog out which hasn't been fitted - only one of my units mentions the RS232C/analog out options.

With the top part of the case removed and the front panel containing the switches lifted up we can view the internals:

The battery was not present in the unit photographed above but from my other 515C I can tell you it is a Power Sonic PS-1220 12V 2.5Ahr.

We will now look at the circuit boards individually:

Main board (System board 27230200)

Sensor input connector attached as well as membrane button inputs, speaker, power supply board, and battery.

The board has of interest x2 SMD fuses, 12 LED's, x3 large 7-seg displays, x3 small 7-seg displays, x2 large square LED's, and x1 bargraph LED display. All displays are on headers so they easy to remove; most likely they are on headers so the displays are raised above the board.

Various test points.

Some notable chips:

HD64180RCP6X 8-bit MPU running at 12.2MHz.

27C010A-10 with sticker '(c) Novametrix 1997 IC3 6410-07-07' (ROM from other unit has 'Novametrix 1998 IC3 6410-07-08'.) Contains system program. Looking at the ROM it has a (c) date 1986-9, contains mentions of a 'Pulse Oximeter - Serial interface', as well as diagnostics tests, and error messages. The ROM with the later date has text at different addresses, mentions printing and has a (c) date of 1986-1996.

max7219cwg 8-digit LED display driver with serial interface. Handles the 7-segment displays, and some of the other LED's.

pcd3311ct tone generator whose o/p amplified to drive the speaker for the alarm.

34119 (mc34119) low power audio amp which drives the speaker.

w24257as-35 32KB SRAM, used as the main system RAM.

ami 18cv825 label '5965 01' PLD acts as Clocked Serial Input/Output Controller.

ami 18cv825 label '5966 01' PLD used as a data sampling controller.

dg444dy quad SPST analog switches.

ad7703br 20-bit ADC.

pm7524fs 8-bit DAC.

One of my units has a board marked as 'VBACK PULLUP VBATT' on top of the HD64180RCP6X (not used on board in photo above) and is present in the earlier version of the oximeter.

The LCD is an optrex DMF-50427N 128 x 64 monochrome LCD module with LED backlight placed on a header and uses chips hd61202tfia, hd61203tfia, and c324g. The LCD's VLC input is controlled by digital potentiometer IC34 X9C1035 and Op-amp IC35 AD820 in 1 version of the Oximeter and in the other by IC34 and transistor MMBT3906T Q16, allowing the contrast to be changed digitally.

The LCD module datasheet can be found at:

http://www.datasheetcatalog.com/datasheets_pdf/D/M/F/-/DMF-50427NYJ-SLY.shtml

You can read about how to interface to the LCD by following this link:

https://sites.google.com/site/jamesskingdom/Home/electronics-by-james-s/led-and-lcd-modules#TOC-Novametrix-515C-Graphic-LCD

The main board has unused connectors J405 and J406. J406 is a configuration header and the config is read at power up. J405 is an interface header, which, looking at the circuit diagram, is possibly for the RS232 expansion but looks like it could also be for a parallel interface.

Power supply board (27250201)

There is a large transformer soldered directly to the board and can just about be seen in the photo above at the back, sandwiched between the board and the metal back. The mains input socket, which has built-in filtering and the switch inline, connects to the power supply board. Another SMD fuse can be found on the board.

A few other components to mention:

LT1076CT 2A step-down switching regulator, which is used for charging the battery.

lm393d dual differential comparators, which monitors the battery charge current.

The board has unused pads 'E302' labelled 1 to 4, which the service manual says are for testing various voltages.

Poundworld Selfie Remote

Selfies may be all the rage right now so it's not surprising that Poundworld wanted another selfie oriented product to sell, considering they already offer a selfie stick for purchase. This selfie remote I picked up from Poundworld allows control of your phone's camera which it claims it does through a bluetooth connection and a dedicated app for Android and ios. That, however, isn't quite the truth as we shall see.

This is what the remote looks like:

The device has a button to take a picture, another to switch cameras, a power switch and an LED indicator, and is powered off a single CR2032 battery, of which 2 were supplied. I actually bought the selfie remote for the bluetooth circuit but this was not the first time I was duped by a discount store. The first indication that the remote doesn't use bluetooth is that the app (at least the Android version) says it doesn't support bluetooth remotes and then if you look inside you'll see no signs of bluetooth support:

Instead of bluetooth, the remote controls your phone's camera through sound, as evidenced by the piezo speaker seen to the right in the photo above. This is further backed up by a YouTube user that did his own investigations:

https://youtu.be/5AUypR7xWxY

Remington shaver R-91

After buying a new electric shaver I wondered what was inside my previous shaver-the Remington R-91-and if I could use it for something else as the electronic parts were still working. After much struggling I found that the front panel (with the switch and light) has to be removed first, exposing a screw. There are also two hidden screws in opposite corners in the area that becomes accessible when the top is removed.

You can see the inside of the shaver below:

The shaver charges from the mains and is rated at 220-240VAC 50/60Hz 2W. Since the shaver's case is plastic and completely sealed there is no need for an earth connection. However, the mains connections are exposed once the case has been opened.

It seems that the lnk302pn IC (visible in the photo above) which is an off-line switcher IC is most likely used as a buck converter to take the high voltage input from the mains (after being rectified) and step it down while boosting the current to charge the rechargeable battery.

The battery (the green cylindrical object above) is a rechargeable battery soldered to the circuit board and is labelled as Suppo HSY-AAA650. Suppo is the company that makes the battery and we can guess that AAA is the battery size and 650 is the battery capacity (650mAh). The battery, when charged, has a voltage of 1.3V when the motor is off and 1.28V when the motor is on.

The motor is labelled as FF-180PA-3827V, which according to a datasheet for a similar motor, runs at 1-3V with typical voltage of 2.4V. When the motor is on there is 1.25V across the motor. By disconnecting the motor and placing my multimeter between the motor and the rest of the circuit I

measured 280mA. With the motor disconnected I get 1.28V across the wires that were connected to the motor. It appears the motor is driven by a simple transistor switch with protective diode in conjunction with the push button on/off switch.

Samsung CLP-670ND laser printer

Most printers have a good number of motors and sensors as well as a reusable power supply but this Samsung CLP-670ND colour laser printer has a lot more useful parts and by taking the printer apart you can appreciate the complexity of putting 'ink' (toner) to paper. You can view more information about the printer at:

http://www.samsung.com/uk/support/model/CLP-670ND/SEE

A word of warning if you do take apart a laser printer or something similar: be very careful not to cut yourself on metal parts and be aware of large capacitors that can hold a powerful charge even after power has been removed. Should you spill toner DO NOT vacuum it up and only use cold water when washing toner off yourself or other things such as clothing.

One of the main boards looks to be very much like a computer motherboard and even has a slot for possibly a RAM stick:

Some of the chips on the board are:

K4T16164QF x2 1Gbit DDR2 SDRAM

S29GL256P 256Mbit flash

S4LD171-R unknown

ISP1761BE USB interface IC

Another large board seemed to be some kind of power supply board with repeated sections:

On this board are four red LED's and there were also four individual red LED's in a similar position to the lights on the board. It seems odd that there would be LED's that emit visible light but it is possible that they were used as indicators for an engineer.

There were also two much smaller power supply boards right where the mains power connected, some kind of switched-mode power supply.

The control panel has a number of switches, lights and what looks to be an HD44780 compatible LCD module. On the board is a HT48C50 8-bit microcontroller for interfacing with the I/O and a chip marked as 'HC14' which is likely to be a 74HC14 hex inverting Schmitt trigger.

As for the motors, I came across 4 motor modules, three of which had an on-board driver and control circuits and of those 3 two of them were the same, requiring both a +24V and +25V supply whereas the other one needed just a +24V supply. What is very helpful is that some of the boards have the pinouts of the connectors written out which saves time with reverse engineering.

Samsung SVP-5500DX Video presenter

The SVP-5500DX from Samsung is an appliance that is ideal for showing items to a large audience by displaying on a screen the images that the SVP-5500DX's camera picks up. To help illuminate what is being shown, the video presenter has a lightbox and two head lamps that can be adjusted into position. The colour camera can be moved up and down, and rotated on one axis so the image can be rotated by turning the camera for up to 180 degrees rotation. The product appears to be from around 2003 going by the dates on the circuit boards that were used.

I bought the video presenter from ebay for about £23 with no cables or remote and although it supposedly was working the CCD was faulty as a green blob would always show up on the images - no amount of cleaning will fix that.

Let's start with a look at the video presenter:

http://www.touchboards.com/samsung/samsung_svp-5500dx.asp

Even the Samsung site still has a downloads section for the manual and software:

https://www.samsungpresenterusa.com/intro/download.asp

Go to the analog section and you will see the SVP-5500DX. I did try the software on my Windows 7 desktop but the driver would not work; Windows reported that it failed to install the driver for NET2888 USB interface controller. This is most likely because my Windows is 64-bit and needs a 64-bit driver but only a 32-bit driver was ever made for NET2888.

The SVP-5500DX is an enhanced version of the SVP-5500, adding USB support, freeze frame, VGA in (so you can switch between a laptop and video presenter output, for e.g.) and save/recall 8 images as well as customized settings to internal memory.

On the front of the SVP-5500DX are the following controls: power, zoom, iris, int/ext, af, lamp, nega/posi, awc, and freeze. These functions are also available on the remote which in addition has extra control buttons. The ports at the back are: 3-pin power 'kettle' 100-240VAC 2A, RS-232C, VGA IN, USB 2.0 TYPE B, LCD. SUB CAMERA, S-VIDEO, MIC, VIDEO IN 1/2, AUDIO IN 1/2, VIDEO OUT 1/2, and AUDIO OUT 1/2. It's not made clear in the manual but the duplicate A/V inputs and outputs which are identical are probably for convenience so that, for e.g., you can easily connect a capture device and a TV to the video presenter.

For a look at the internals of the SVP-5500DX please view the following photos which show the upper and lower portions:

In the top photo we can see the main board and the add-on board (lowest part of the photo). The power supply circuits and IR sensor board are viewable in the bottom photo.

I have put together a very simple block diagram to give an idea of how the various circuit boards are connected together:

Note that the blocks are not to scale and some connectors were not labelled on a number of boards so that is reflected in the block diagram.

Now for information about the various circuit boards:

Main board (labelled: SVP5500M(PAL) 2003.09.09).

Has local regulation (7812 x3, 7805 x2, LM350T adjustable regulator x1). 2A 250V standard fuse.

Home to the I/O connections: RS232, VGA, etc.

Some of the chips on the board:

ADM232AARN RS-232 drivers/receivers

LC74772 Display drivers

74HC74D Dual D-type flip-flop

74HC14D Hex inverting Schmitt trigger

HD49811TFA Video camera signal processor

CXD1250 Vertical clock driver for CCD image sensor

74HC00D Quad 2-input NAND gate

A2006Q Digital CCD camera head amplifier

D2311AR 10-bit 20MSPS video A/D converter

MM1024A Video amplifier

NJU4053B Triple 2-channel multiplier

Add-on board (SVP-5500 OPTION. 2000.8.8. Z4104-0181-02A).

Connects to the main board using 2 connectors (CON121/CON123 and CON 122/CON124). This board likely handles the SVP-5500DX specific features(freeze frame, etc.) which is evidenced by the NET2888 USB interface controller. This means that even if the USB connector was soldered on the main board you would still need the add-on board to be able to use USB.

A selection of the chips:

AIT2138KL video signal processor (converts VGA to NTSC/PAL S-video/composite)

K4S161622H 16Mb SDRAM

K4S641632E 64Mb SDRAM

NET2888 USB interface controller

XCS40XL Spartan FPGA

17S40LPC PROM for Spartan FPGA

Note that CON601 (6-way) is unpopulated; seems to be interface for FPGA PROM

IR receiver on its own board (5528-8108-02A). Connects to the main board (CON401).

Largest power supply board (SVP-5500: Z4401001006A).

Receives mains in and has a small fan located nearby nearest to the transformers which is powered by the PSU board (CN5); the fan only comes on when the head lamps are on. The 2 head lamps connect to this board, which are lamp type FPL11EX-W 11W (CFL). The power supply board has a 3-way connection to the main board (CN4/CON402) which is to turn the lamps on/off. There is no numbering on either the power supply board or the main board for the input connector but if we label the green wire as pin 3 and the end yellow wire as pin 1 then we have the following voltages (pin 1 is ground):

Lamps on

2=3V

3=4.8V

Lamps off

2=0V

3=4.8V

Unit in standby

2=0V

3=0.13V

Pin 2 controls the base of a transistor on the power supply board which turns on the diode of a photocoupler whose anode is connected to pin 3 via a resistor.

The next largest power supply board is labelled as AD-39N AC ADAPTER 2002.01.10 under the plastic secured to the board. The circuit takes the mains from the biggest PSU board and has an output connector labelled 'Vout' which goes to the second smallest power supply board (CON104 on SVP-5500 POW). AD-39N outputs under 15VDC (14.86V) and has a 3.15A 250V soldered fuse fitted.

Second smallest power supply board (SVP-5500 POW 2001.06.08).

When the power switch it pressed it activates the relay on this board. The board has a 10-way connection (DCON1/CON502) to the main board and a second connector to the AD-39N board.

Smallest power supply board (P-1056).

It has a 2-way connection from the main board (CON103) which goes to a 3-pin connector on this board (CN1). The yellow wire is 0V and the green wire is 13.27V when the light box is on and draws 653mA. The other connector on this board goes to light box light (2 fluorescent lamps with 1 common wire). No markings on the board that reference the SVP-5500 so the board may be used in multiple products.

Control panel (SVP-5500 KEY 2000.05.93).

This board contains the buttons and power light and connects to the main board via 10-way connector (CN901). The power light is a tri-colour LED but only red for standby and green for on are the colours used.

The IC's include:

74HC148 8-line to 3-line priority encodes

74HC00 Quad 2-input NAND gate

The camera unit appears to have no markings on it and can be seen below disassembled:

The CCD board is removable (far right, above) and has MN37140FP and 5528-8101-03A(CCD) written on the board along with Jul-09'97. It has these chips:

0238W unknown

2160cs 180MHz current feedback amplifier

There is a 15-way connector for the wiring that goes to the main board.

The camera has a second board which connects to the camera motors using a 22-way flex cable. This board has the following chips:

TB6504F PWM chopper type bipolar stepping motor driver

3414A Dual high-output-current op-amp

A 12-way connector allows the main board to communicate with it.

You can have the head lamps and/or light box on by pressing the LAMP button to cycle through the options. There is a delay before the head lamps turn on which Samsung attribute to the built-in protection circuitry; the light box, however, turns on instantly. You cannot turn the lights on/off if the camera is not connected, most likely as that is seen as an error, so all but the power button is disabled.

As the camera is faulty I scrapped the video presenter for parts and as I did so I tested the lightbox section which consists of the two bulbs and the power supply board (P-1056). Although it normally receives about 13V at its input I supplied 12V (yellow wire 0V, green wire +12V) and the bulbs came on no problems. If you plan to do something similar do be very careful around the power supply board and the bulbs as they use very high voltage.

Sonos controller CR100

The Digital music system controller 'CR100' from Sonos was designed to give the owner control of their music systems located in different rooms in a house. It became available around 2004 and is a battery operated unit featuring an LCD, wireless control, and compatibility with the ZonePlayer ZP100. I could not find a page about the CR100 on the official Sonos website but I did find a link to the manual:

https://www.manualslib.com/products/Sonos-Controller-Cr100-2052503.html

The controller can be charged from either the charging cradle or the cradle's power supply using the DC socket at the top of the controller; the charger is rated at DC in 6V 3.8A. It is claimed that the battery is fully charged in 2 hours and the controller can be used while charging. The cradle is rated at 6V 4A and can be opened by first removing the blue rubber on the bottom side, then taking out the screws before unclipping the unit. Unsurprising there is very little inside, only the DC socket connected to the charging contacts by way of a couple of thick wires.

To disassemble the controller: at the back side pull off the rubber matting which will expose a number of screws. Remove those screws so that you can take apart the 2 halves of the plastic casing. Then it is a matter of unscrewing some more screws so that you can separate the 2 main boards which are attached by a connector so you will need to pull apart the boards. Be aware that there are 2 wires for the wireless board antenna and the touch dial connects to the top board via a small 4-way connector.

The two main boards can be seen below, showing on the left the LCD, switches and LED's. On the right the battery can be seen with its lead removed from the board and the power circuitry is visible on the left.

The bottom board, which features the battery, is mainly for power control. The top board on one side has the buttons, the backlit colour LCD (LQ035Q7DB03F, TFT LCD, 3.5", 240 X 320, 262,144 colours), a number of LED's, what is possibly a buzzer/speaker (kstg 931 - the system bleeps at startup if running off the battery), and the touch dial connector. On the other side is the main processor (6417751R SH-4 32-bit RISC processor), its datasheet is at:

http://pdf1.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/view/132633/RENESAS/HD6417751RBP200.html

There are also on the board 2 connectors for the LCD (bigger connector for data, small connector for backlight), an unused flat flex connector (J8004), the connector to the bottom board (J8005), a wireless card (possibly SBVCR002, mini PCI 802.11b/g) in socket, OTP 64K x 8 ROM (AT27LV512A) with 'EHA11331MBMF 0D79 170206 controller' on a label on the chip, and 16-BIT microcomputer (0262F3, possibly M30262F3. Has 'EHA09761MBMF D628 110506 controller' written on a sticker). Note that if you remove the wireless card and then power on the controller still tries to search for available devices.

Link to datasheet for the AT27LV512A:

http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/DeviceDoc/doc0607.pdf

Datasheet for the 0262F3:

http://pdf1.alldatasheet.net/datasheet-pdf/view/246940/RENESAS/M30262F3GP.html

As the microcomputer (0262F3) contains flash memory it could be possible to update it.

I found an IC under the LCD 50-way flat flex cable: EPSON d13a0500b2. You can view the datasheet at:

http://pdf1.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/view/545011/EPCOS/S1D13A05B00B200.html

Which appears to be the same chip but as the 'S1D13A05'. It is an LCD/USB companion chip and the datasheet mentions support for the Hitachi SH-4. This explains how the LCD is being driven rather than the SH-4 having to do the difficult job of updating the LCD. Speaking of the LCD the datasheet can be viewed at:

http://www.mouser.com/ds/2/365/LQ035Q7DB03F_SP_100505-180506.pdf

The LCD has a 50-way flat flex for driving the LCD to supply the colour information and timing, and for the LED backlight a 5-way cable is used. If you want to separate the LCD from the board then first carefully remove both FFC leads and then pull the LCD off the board (it is glued down) and be careful not to damage the FFC cables. You can read about my success in getting the LCD to work independently of the Sonos controller at:

https://sites.google.com/site/jamesskingdom/Home/electronics-by-james-s/led-and-lcd-modules#TOC-Sonos-LQ035Q7DB03F-TFT-LCD

Take a look at the other side of the battery and power supply board on the left in the image that follows with the wireless antenna boards also exposed. On the right side you can see the bottom of the LCD board which has the main system components including the wireless card (note that the labels have been removed from the ROM and microcomputer chips).

You can remove the wireless card by first unclipping it either side and then carefully lifting the card up but be warned it is attached to a chip underneath with an adhesive pad. Taking out the wireless card exposes three hidden IC's, 2 of which are each 1Mb x 16 SDRAM (IS42S16400B), the datasheet of which can be accessed at:

http://www.issiusa.com/pdf/42S16400B.pdf

The other chip is a 16Mb x 8 NAND flash IC (k9f2808) which had a label on top that reads 'EHA11211 MBMF 178D 160506 CONTROLLER'. For the datasheet click this link:

http://www.fdi.ucm.es/profesor/mendias/PSyD/docs/K9F2808Q0B.pdf

I'm guessing that the ROM (AT27LV512A) contains boot code and the main firmware is stored in the flash chip (k9f2808) whose data is loaded into RAM as needed.

There is not much you can do with the controller without connecting to other Sonos equipment but you can access the Settings menu which gives you the options to view system info, do a factory reset or turn off the controller. I selected about and it gave me some useful information:

Version 3.8 (build 19353220)

Hardware version: 1.2.3.2-2

There is a single rechargeable battery type PL-0548135, possibly compatible with E4848135, a Li-Po battery rated for 3.7V/3500mAh and measures 134.0mm X 47.0mm x 5.00mm. The battery has a small board attached to it with 5 wires coming off it; 2 red, 2 black, and 1 white; these wires have a 5-way connector on the other end that plugs into the bottom board. The red and black are doubled up most likely to increase the amount of current that can be drawn from the battery while using quite thin wires rather than having to use fewer but thicker wires The white wire is possibly for monitoring the battery.

If you disconnect and reconnect the battery by pulling out and putting back in the battery connector (without the charger plugged in), the system automatically turns on. I put my multimeter between the wall charger and the controller and measured about 2A before gradually dropping to around 1.4A. I noticed that the current draw would drop something like 300mA whenever the controller went into standby. It turns out, however, that the battery is most likely faulty as only after a few minutes of charging the battery indicator on the LCD shows the battery is almost fully charged yet within a minute it drops to almost dead if the charger is then removed.

With the battery disconnected the voltage across it is 3.8V. By putting my multimeter between the battery and the system board I found that when booting (which takes around 20 seconds) the unit draws anything from 500 to 900mA, settling on 650mA when the main screen is reached. In standby (a few seconds after the screen turns off) the current draw drops to 55mA.

As mentioned, the battery is connected to a small board and by desoldering one end I was able to lift up the board and see the components that are attached. There is an N-channel MOSFET (D2017A, probably FTD2017A), some resistors and capacitors, and a second chip that has the white wire connected to it but I can't quite make out the part number, however, is likely to be a battery monitor chip.

I've tried to work out the pinout of the power supply board connector and while I've done my best to ensure I've done it right I can't guarantee it's correct. The power supply board has the model number 'H9030AAA' and it has two large gold pads, TP9000 (GND) and TP9001 (+6V), which make contact via 2 metal strips with the charging cradle but it looks like they double up as test points too. As for the main power connector, J9002, the pinout I worked out is as follows with the voltages I measured:

1 GND 2 GND

3 +18.5V 4 GND

5 GND 6 ?

7 GND 8 GND

9 GND 10 +6.16V

11 GND 12 GND

13 +3.2V 14 GND

15 +1.96V 16 GND

17 NC? 18 +2.5v

19 +1.47V 20 NC?

21 +1V 22 GND

Pin 3 is for the LCD backlight and I have confirmed that the backlight pin is connected directly to pin 3 of the power connector with the voltage stated from measuring the pin while the power was on (without a load the pin floats to as much as 28V). Pin 13 is around 3.3V so it could be powering the ROM, SH-4, and also supplied to the LCD. The EPSON LCD controller can be run from 2V or 2.5V according to the datasheet so both pin 15 and 18 are likely candidates. I don't know what pin 19 and 21 are used for, it's very difficult to trace connections on a multilayer board, but pin 10 is the charger voltage. I thought that pin 6 was the VDD (+15V) for the LCD but I could not find a direct connection to it from the LCD and measuring it while the system was on gave around 39V but it seemed to be floating. That leaves +5V (VSHA) and -10V (VEE) needed for the LCD but had no luck finding how those voltages were produced even with assuming that 1 of the unknown pins may be an enable pin.

If the controller is powered off the mains supply only with the battery not connected the main screen still shows that the battery is 'charging'. At the main screen the system draws 375mA from the mains charger and in standby only 38mA.

Sega's Turbo Out Run Arcade Machine

In England where I live we are fortunate to have a good selection of arcade machines ranging from the classics such as Sega Rally to the more recent House of the Dead 4. But never did I expect to stumble upon Sega's Turbo Out Run at a carboot sale! It had been dumped, was in a bad state, and far too big to take home so I removed from it probably the one usable item-the mainboard.

I have memories of playing Out Run not so much at the arcades but at home on my Amiga 500; the Amiga version came on a single floppy. Not only does the game have great graphics and tunes, it allows you to select your own route unlike so many other racing games at the time. So I was delighted to see a 3D version appear recently in the arcades and on some video game consoles. Anyway, back to this classic...

There was actually two mainboards (above), one circuit board plugged into the one below it. I was amazed at just how many chips had been used especially of the memory type, with spare sockets for more but I had to remind myself that it was made before the 90's.

Corner of the top mainboard showing the Out Run sticker. The copyright date is 1986. This is because Turbo Out Run, the unoffcial sequel, runs on the same hardware as the original Out Run, explaining the earlier date of '86.

The mainboards were screwed into a large metal case with holes most likely to allow for heat to flow through. Around the top mainboard are various connectors which were fixed to a smaller board that had leads running from it at the other side rather than simply make holes in the metal casing for the wires.

Closeup of the top mainboard showing the CPU.

The Turbo Out Run machine uses a 68000 16-bit CPU, socketed on the mainboard (actually there's a second, not so obvious 68000 also). It's quite unusual to not solder the main CPU directly to the circuit board but the advantage of using a chip socket instead is that it can easily be replaced or even swapped for a better, compatible version.

An army of memory IC's.

The bottom mainboard has even more memory chips in sockets than the top mainboard, though there are some empty sockets. Some of the memory IC's are the type which can be erased by exposing the window (hidden with a sticker) to ultraviolet light; this was a popular method to program chips at the time whereas today flash memory is the norm.

The bottom mainboard.

Both of the mainboards measure at 30cm (approx. 11.625 inches) by 31cm (approx. 12.375 inches) not including the connectors sticking out.

Now for a listing of every IC that was used on both mainboards:

Number in brackets is how many pins the IC has.

CH means a chip holder was used.

N/U indicates that the chip is referenced on the board but no chip is used there.

? means the chip number cannot be read or the number is not printed on the circuit board.

Mainboard 1

IC1-IC2 74LS157N (16)

IC3 74LS151P (16)

IC4-IC6 74LS244N (20)

IC7 74LS109AP (16)

IC8 74LS273N (20)

IC9-IC10 74LS174N (16)

IC11 27C256-20JL (28) CH

IC12 PLS153N 2188L15 (20) CH

IC13-IC14 74LS174N (16)

IC15 74LS112P (16)

IC16 74LS04N (14)

IC17 74LS399N (16)

IC18-IC19 74LS245N (20)

IC20-IC21 UM6116K-2 (24)

IC22 74LS244N (20)

IC23 74LS367AN (16)

IC24 74LS244N (20)

IC25 74LS367AN (16)

IC26 CK2605 218750L (20) CH

IC27-IC28 74LS174N (16)

IC29 315-5155 8727 C49 (20)

IC30-IC32 74LS161AN (16)

IC33 74LS11P (14)

IC34 74LS399N (16)

IC35 74LS155N (16)

IC36-IC37 74LS245N (20)

IC38-IC39 UM6116K-2 (24)

IC40 74LS244N (20)

IC41 74LS367AN (16)

IC42 74LS244N (20)

IC43 74LS367AN (16)

IC44 74LS244N (20)

IC45-IC46 74LS257AN (16)

IC47 27C256-20 (28) CH

IC48 315-5155 8727 (20)

IC49-IC51 74LS161AN (16)

IC52 74LS11P (14)

IC53 74LS04N (14)

IC54-IC55 C5563APL-12L (28)

IC56 N/U 27512 (28) CH

IC57-IC58 27C512P-20 (28) CH

IC59-IC60 74LS245N (20)

IC61 SCN68000CAN64 (64) CH

IC62 AMPAL16R4APC (20) CH

IC63-IC65 74LS161AN (16)

IC66-IC71 27C512P-20 (28) CH

IC72-IC73 C5563APL-12L (28)

IC74 N/U 27512 (28) CH

IC75-IC76 27C512P-20 (28) CH

IC77-IC78 74LS244N (20)

IC79 AMPAL16R4APC (20) CH

IC80-IC82 74LS161AN (16)

IC83 74LS244N (20)

IC84 N/U ? (20)

IC85 74S04P (14)

IC86 74S112N (16)

IC87 UM6116K-2 (24)

IC88 ? (28)

IC89 D780C-1 (40)

IC90 315-5218 (100)

IC91-IC92 UM6116K-2 (24)

IC93 74LS244N (20)

IC94 74S139N (16)

IC95 74ALS138N (16)

IC96-IC98 74LS244N (20)

IC99 74LS32N (14)

IC100 74LS74AN (14)

IC101 74LS04N (14)

IC102 74LS109AP (16)

IC103 74LS00N (14)

IC104 74LS32N (14)

IC105 74LS192P (16)

IC106 MB3771 (8)

IC107 YM2151 (24)

IC108 CK2605 KFH7127 8837K (20) CH

IC109 DAC1022LCN (16)

IC110-IC111 M8848 MF6CN-50 (14)

IC112 74LS137P (16)

IC113 74LS244N (20)

IC114-IC115 C5563APL-12L (28)

IC116-IC117 ? (28) CH

IC118 D27512J-2 (28) CH

IC119-IC120 74LS245N (20)

IC121 FD1094 (64) CH

IC122 74ALS08N (14)

IC123 74LS244N (20)

IC124 YM3012 (16)

IC125 uPC804C 8843A (14)

IC126 D74HC4066C (14)

IC127-IC128 74LS245N (20)

IC129-IC130 C5563APL-12L (28)

IC131-IC132 ? (28) CH

IC133 D27512J-2 (28) CH

IC134-IC135 74LS245N (20)

IC136-IC137 74LS244N (20)

IC138 315-5195 (52)

IC139 uPC324C (14)

Mainboard 2

IC1 74LS245N (20)

IC2 74LS245P (20)

IC3 74LS373N (20)

IC4 HD74LS245P (20)

IC5 74LS245N (20)

IC6-IC8 74LS373N (20)

IC9-IC24 27C512P-20 (28) CH

IC25-IC44 N/U 27256 (27512) (28) CH

IC45 315-5211A (43)

IC46 CK2605 (20) CH

IC47 74LS08N (14)

IC48 SN74S74N (14)

IC49-IC50 74LS367AN (16)

IC51-IC52 TMM2018AP-35 (24)

IC53-IC54 74LS244N (20)

IC55-IC56 74LS245N (20)

IC57 74LS244N (20)

IC58 T74LS374B1 (20)

IC59 74LS244N (20)

IC60 T74LS374B1 (20)

IC61 74LS373N (20)

IC62 HM65256BLSP-10 (28)

IC63 UM6116K-2 (24)

IC64 HM65256BLSP-10 (28)

IC65 UM6116K-2 (24)

IC66-IC81 TC51832PL-12 (28)

IC82-IC84 SN74LS157N (16)

IC85-IC87 SN74LS399N (16)

IC88-IC90 SN74LS157N (16)

IC91 74LS125AN (14)

IC92 TMM2063P-10 (28)

IC93 74LS245N (20)

IC94 D74HC273C (20)

IC95 TMM2063P-10 (28)

IC96 74LS245N (20)

IC97 D74HC273C (20)

IC98 SN74LS241N (20)

IC99-IC101 N/U 27256 (27512) (28) CH

IC102-IC104 27C512P-20 (28) CH

IC105 T74LS374B1 (20)

IC106 315-5197 (40)

IC107 74LS161AN (16)

IC108 SN74LS138N (16)

IC109 SN74LS32N (14)

IC110 HD74S04P (14)

IC111 74LS74AN (14)

IC112 74LS273N (20)

IC113-IC114 HD74LS253P (16)

IC115 74LS273N (20)

IC116 ADC0804LCN (20)

IC117 D4051BC (16)

IC118 74LS14N (14)

IC119 D8255AC-2 (40)

IC120 uPA2003C (16)

IC121 74LS273N (20)

IC122 uPA2003C (16)

IC123 CK2605 (20) CH

IC124 uPA2003C (16)

IC125-IC126 HD74LS253P (16)

IC127-IC130 2501 835 (16)

Smirnoff MP3 Player

This Smirnoff branded MP3 player has 2GB flash storage and is packaged with user manual, driver CD, headphones and USB lead with uses the headphone socket. The player has four buttons for volume, track select and reset, and it uses a small (2.4mm) headphone socket. The only way to turn the MP3 player on is to plug it into a computer via the USB lead. It cannot be turned off manually but instead you must wait for auto power off to kick in. As soon as the driver has been installed you can transfer MP3's to the player using a computer.

Below left you can see the front of the MP3 player (the bright dots are the reflections of my lights) and at right you can see the inside of a second, identical MP3 player:

As you can see, the MP3 player is basically a small main board and a rechargeable battery(300mAh, 3.7V). The circuit board has the following written on the back:

MONIA M-3019_board V1.3 2009.12.08

The two chips are:

ATJ2030 Couldn't find a datasheet but appears to be a dedicated MP3 control chip. Has 40 pins.

29F16G08AAMDB 2GB NAND flash memory

There is an unused footprint for an 8-pin IC as well as other unused contacts, possibly for resistors or capacitors. There are a couple of round contacts that could be for testing but one of them goes to one of the unused IC pads.

Sony UP-21MD Colour Video Printer

The UP-21MD allows users to print high resolution images at A6 size in 20 seconds using a total of 16,700,000 colours at approx. 403 dpi from various video sources. Dated from around 2001 and designed for use in such places as hospitals for printing ultrasound images, for e.g, the UP-21MD originally sold for around $2000 (I paid about £18 for mine from ebay without any accessories and as non-working). The printer uses the Sony UP-C21L colour print pack which contains paper and ribbon.

There is some information about the printer in a brochure:

http://www.phi-med.de/files/UP-21MD.pdf

The manual can be found at:

https://www.udh.med.sa/advices/SONY_UP-21MD_OPERATORS_MANUAL.pdf

Unfortunately I couldn't find the service manual but from watching a video on YouTube I saw how to enter service mode: press both arrow left and arrow right and power on. However, I can't seem to be able to do anything useful with service mode as there isn't any paper installed.

Here is a photo of the front of the printer:

At the front are a number of indicator lights, control buttons, power switch, paper output slot, paper tray, and remote sensor.

As for the back end:

The back has both input and output connectors for RGB, SYNC, S-video and composite video. There is also the mains input connector, the equipotential ground point, NTSC/PAL switch, 2 remote connector inputs, and RS-232C connector for control by a computer.

To open up the printer you need to remove the 5 screws holding the top cover on which can then be lifted off. Inside we find that the actual power switch is located near the back and operated by a long 'arm'. There are 3 fans; at the side near the motors; on the PSU; on the printing mechanism. There is also a stepper motor, 17PM-J002-G4ST, which looks to be driving the paper. Also, there is a small DC motor, RK-370C, which determines whether the paper is driven by lifting/engaging a cog with another.

Here is a photo giving a view of the main circuit boards:

At the very top is the front panel I/O board, then bottom left the main board, the small board on the right is the motor driver board, and bottom right is the secondary board.

Main board (VPR-74 1-682-915-12)

Connects to PSU, backpanel I/O board video connectors

hynix hy57v643220 4 banks x 512K x 32-bit SDRAM

sony cxd9111r ?

hd64f2345fa20 H8S microcontroller

sony cxd88690 ?

sony cxd8932q CMOS gate array

bh7243kv Colour TV signal encoder

r27v1602e '27V1602UP21M20 48401(c)SONY02' 2MB OTP PROM

r27v401d '27V401UP21SV20 90702(c)SONY02' 0.5MB OTP PROM

sony cxa2076q Y/C/RGB/D PAL/NTSC processor

mc141627 advanced PAL comb filter-II

sony a2040aq 12C video switch

sony cxd8869q CMOS cell base IC

sony cxa1875am 8-bit DAC with I2C bus

sony d1176q 8-bit 20MSPS video ADC

Secondary board (SY-299 1-682-916-12)

Connects to main board via 2 FFC cables.

Connects to backpanel I/O board RS232, etc.

Connects to motor driver board.

sony cxd9161tq ?

sony cxd9108q ?

sony cxd8865r CMOS gate array

sony cxd8636q ?

hd64f2144fa20 H8S microcontroller

f2238bfa13v Microcontroller

Connects to front panel I/O board

Connects to secondary power board and back panel connectors.

Front panel I/O board (KEY-49 1-682-920-12)

LCD is labelled as both 4121CAA and 1-801-750-11 underneath the module and is 16x2 characters with a yellow LED backlight and uses the HD44780 standard but has 15 connections instead of 14 for the main interface and 2 separate connections for the backlight. Fortunately I was able to find out the LCD's pinout from 2 service manuals that happen to use the same LCD: the Sony SAVA-7 and Sony DPS-V55. Here is the pinout:

1-RS

2-R/W

3-E

4-D0

5-D1

6-D2

7-D3

8-D4

9-D5

10-D6

11-D7

12-VSS

13-VDD

14-V5

15-GND

Pin 1 is on the opposite side of the backlight connections which in the service manuals are referenced as pin 16 for A and 17 for K. Whereas the more usual HD44780 modules have a single GND connection Sony's version has VSS and GND which can be connected together to GND. VDD is the positive power connection and goes to +5V and V5 is the contrast connection, sometimes called Vee or V0 on other HD44780 modules.

Other items on the front panel:

15 buttons, 2 LED's, IR detector.

74Lv244a octal buffer/line driver

74Lv04a hex inverter

74lv245a octal bus transceiver

Also, connection to a switch which detects when the front panel has been pulled out.

Backpanel I/O board video connectors

46ND005-P x7 relays

Backpanel I/O board RS232, etc.

Just has connectors for PAL/NTSC switch, remote connectors, and RS232.

Motor driver board (MEC-15 1-682-919-12)

Has stepper/non-stepper motors connected, side fan, printer mechanism fan.

Connects to PSU.

sla7024m High-current PWM unipolar stepper motor controller/drivers

ta8428k DC motor H-bridge driver

m62393fp 8-bit 8 channel I2C DAC

PSU

Model no. APS-139

Part no. 1-468-611-12

Sony OEP-4 mentions PSU, may have pinout

LN mains input. 100-240V 4.5A-2.0A 50/60Hz.

O/P: 7-pin, 9-pin, 6-pin

+30V 4.5A, +29V 3A, +12V 4A, +5V 3A, +3.3V 3A (+3.3V, +5V total 3A).

Total max continuous 135W.

Tektronix TLA 510 Logic Analyzer

Although I have a USB 8-channel logic analyzer I found I needed a logic analyzer with a much higher channel count because of a computer system I was making but looking at new logic analyzers I found that even those that had a good number of channels were very expensive. I came across a TLA 510 from Tektronix and took a gamble in buying it, being second hand, very large and heavy and requiring a computer to be able to use it. Although I ended up scrapping the unit it wasn't a total waste of money considering I can at least write about it here and there were a few parts I could use from it.

The TLA 510 has 100 channels (96 actual channels and four clock signals) operating at 100MHz and the unit is based around a 40MHz 68EC030 CPU. At the front of the logic analyzer (see below) at the bottom left is the power switch which glows orange when the system is on, in the middle are the grills for the two large fans, at the top right is a PC-like floppy drive, and at the very bottom right an LED for hard disk access.

At bottom left is the mains socket, and to the right of that is the fuse holder and further along a ground screw terminal. At the top right we have the probe connectors of which there is only one board installed, providing the 100 channels. There is a discrete I/O D-type connector so that the logic analyzer can send signals to the system under test. For connecting to the network there is an AUI connector and a thinnet connector to its side-no modern ethernet connector. At the bottom there are some DIP configuration switches and to the right of that are three RS-232 serial connectors; Terminal, Host, and Auxiliary (to connect to a printer).

The power supply for the logic analyzer is contained inside a big blue box:

(You can just about see the floppy drive on the left.)

The power supply is rated as 5V @ 80A, -15V @ 9A, 15V at 9A and 2V @ 20A. There is a control connector (the pinout of which can be seen on the power supply) to adjust the 15V supply which is used for the discrete I/O.

There are a number of modules that make up the power supply internally and one large fan to cool all the components. It seems the power supply may have been custom made for Tektronix as there were a number of boards using just point-to-point construction with hand written stickers saying 'Tektronix' or 'Tek'.

The floppy looks to be a typical PC type and the hard drive is underneath and uses a 50-pin SCSI type connection; it is a Quantum Maverick ProDrive MV27S011, possibly 270MB. There is a label on the hard drive which says 'TLA500 R3-V1.60' and there is a date of 1995.

The main board can be viewed below:

On the board are, amongst other chips:

LED bargraph display, configuration switches and 6 status LED's.

Dallas DS1386 RAMified timekeeper

MC68EC030 CPU

SCC2692AC1A44 DUART (DUal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter)

CY7C342 EPLD (Erasable Programmable Logic Device)

x 36 TC514100 4Mb x 1 DRAM

As for the acquisition board, it is very big too, heavy, and crammed with components:

There are 6 cells, with 3 parallel pairs and each pair is connected in series, with a thermal cutoff component (middle of the cell pair and at the far right in the photo above) wired between the middle pair and the negative end pair. The cells are type UR18650Y and the datasheet can be read by going to this link:

https://na.industrial.panasonic.com/sites/default/pidsa/files/ur18650y.pdf

The cell is rated at 3.7V and has a minimum capacity of 1850mAh and having a typical capacity of 2000mAh. The cells are paired to give higher capacity (about 4000mAh, i.e. 2000mAh x2) and the pairs are then put in series to give a higher voltage (about 11.1V, that is, 3.7V x3).

I have drawn the cell arrangement to make it clearer how the cells are connected:

Across the two ends of the connected pairs of cells, a red wire for positive and a black wire for negative, I measured 11.37V. The pair at the positive end has a yellow wire connected to where it joins to the middle pair which is likely so the control board can monitor the end pair and to help with charging the cell pairs. One end of the thermal cutoff component which is connected to the middle cell pair is connected to the control board by extending the metal already connected to the cell pair (labelled as 'metal' on the circuit diagram above). For monitoring battery temperature there is a thermistor on 2 of the pairs.

The control board (seen at the bottom of the photo at the start of this section) has the necessary control circuitry for charging and is home to the 9-pin interface connector. The connector has 2 longer pins either end so it is clear they are for power, 2 for +V and 2 for OV, so that between each pair of pins they can carry a higher current than a single pin. I couldn't find identification for pin 1 of the connector but it was a simple matter of measuring the resistance between one of the end pins to the end negative of the cell groups to find 0V. If +V is pin 1 and 2, and 0V is pin 8 and 9, taking one of the remaining pins to 0V through a 1K resistor should put about 11V across the power pins. I found online a very useful PDF that gave the pinout for the battery pack although it gave 2 pinouts, perhaps because there are 2 variations based on the full model number.

http://doc.diytrade.com/docdvr/1687590/44875813/1458888260.pdf

Page 10/19 shows the pinout which tells us that the enable pin (referred to as 'T' in the PDF) is either pin 6 or 4 but no amount of trying, either with or without the resistor brought the battery pack to life so perhaps the control board is faulty. As well as power and enable, laptop battery packs typically have data and clock pins for communication between the laptop and battery.

Looking again at the control board it's worth briefly talking about a number of components that make the battery management work. I could not find much information about the bq8030dbt IC but it appears to be some form of EEPROM to log data about the cells. There is also a bq29330 chip which is a 'lithium-ion battery pack full-protection analog front end with I2C compatible interface to extract battery parameters'. You will find more information at:

http://www.ti.com/product/BQ29330

I disconnected the cell pairs from the control board and separated them from each other before testing the cell pairs by using a 10W 3.3R resistor in series with a multimeter set to Amp range. With a nominal cell voltage of 3.7V, Ohm's law tells us that a current of about 1.1A should flow (I=V/R I=3.7/3.3=1.1A). Actual measured current was around 0.9A as the resistor when measured out of circuit was 4R so if we re-calculate it gives us 0.9A. I did the same test on the other 2 pairs and they also happily gave near to 1A and although they weren't full tests they are a promising sign that the cells are healthy.