标签: card

Inspired from Charlieb000 : http://icrontic.com/discussion/93568/reusing-card-reader-from-mp180-cannon-printer One of my friends had a Canon inkjet printer which was out of order. Due to the very high cost of inks, he decided not to repair it but to take the parts apart...   Fig. Disassembling the printer, plastics and metals would be dumped into recycle areas There was a card reader module which I thought it might be re-used. Fig. The card reader module, which used to read SD card, CF card, etc. (Edges of the PCB were already cut by me) Looking for information on the Internet, I found Charlieb000's post. In the post, the pins had been identified mostly so it made me more confident of modifying the module... A plastic case were drawn by Autodesk Inventor, and made by 3D printing. Fig. The case and cover drawn in Inventor Fig. The printed case and cover (I forgot to draw screw mounts, anyway the PCB could be fixed by heat glue) I did not like the 3mm green LED, so I would replace it. I found that there was already a transistor Q2 with resistor R31 for driving the LED, so I would desolder the LED and replace the resistor. Fig. The 3mm status LED, driving transistor Q2 and resistor R31. Fig. Basic components needed PCB: for mounting the AMS1117-3.3 regulator USB Cable: for connecting to PC LED and 100 Ohm resistor: replace signal LED 10uF Cap: decoupling cap for regulator Fig. The torn USB wire and cut PCB (only one small piece would be enough) Fig. Soldered wire for LED and components on PCB After soldering all the parts (according to the pin assignments from Charlieb000), I connected to the computer via a USB hub (Controller is GL850G), see my machine configuration below. Fig. My machine USB configuration To my surprise, the card reader could sometime be recognised, but sometimes could not... I guessed it was a 'startup' problem... Since from Charlieb000, the read cable had to be connected to 3.25V (or 3.3V), so it was guessed to be an 'Enable' or a 'reset' pin which was ACTIVE HIGH. Then a 10K resistor and a 10uF pull-down capacitor was connected. Afterwards, every time the card reader connected to the usb hub were successfully recognised However, when it is connected directly to the Intel's or TI's root hub, it could not be recognised... Nothing happened, sometimes a message box showing 'USB device not recognised' appeared. After struggling for some time, the terminating resistors, R1 and R2, were checked to be 100-Ohm. From my memory, usually USB signals were not terminated with such 'large' resistance. Hence, they were replaced by two 22-Ohm resistors. Fig. Resistors R1 and R2 were both changed to be 22-Ohm (I did not have such small resistors, so the outlook was not good) And... everything worked! The card reader could be detected when connected to any ports (Intel, TI's root hub or via GL850G) Below shows the schematic. Fig. Connection of card reader to PC Fig. The card reader was fixed into the case by heat glue and the case was sealed by strong instant glue. Fig. New USB card reader from old parts! Fig. USB Hub connected to a smart phone via OTG The white LED was so bright! I felt I was so lucky to have the problems solved... just by luck! 1. The reader could sometimes be recognised - solved by using a RC circuit to delay the startup 2. The reader could not recognised by some USB host controller - replaced the USB signal termination resistors Cheers.

This time I would like to share a few recently-drawn Altium libraries. They are (1) Micro SD Card Slot (SMT) (2) MiniUSB Socket (SMT) (3) FPC 20-pin, 1mm pitch Socket (SMT)   Important note: The schematic symbols or footprints of (1), (2) and (3) may vary due to different manufacturers and different batches. Double check the suitability before use.   (1) Micro SD Card Slot The footprint was created for a surface-mount micro SD Card slot from Taobao. This slot is one with spring inside. When the micro SD card is inside the slot, press it again will release the card. (自彈) Fig. The micro SD card slot from Taobao   Since SD cards can be accessed through SPI or SDIO protocols, the symbol was created with marked to the pin names. Fig. The schematic symbol   There is a pin, this pin will be shorted to the casing when the card is inserted. So an external pull-up resistor and connecting the casing with Ground(VSS) are suggested to detect the card by I/O input with MCU.   Fig. Footprint for the micro SD slot   (2) MiniUSB Socket This is a simple mini USB socket Fig. The mini USB Socket   Fig. Mini USB symbol   Fig. mini USB Socket footprint   (3) FPC 20-pin side-mount socket FPC Cable is widely used to connect PCBs on movable mechanical parts, like scanner and printers. Fig. A scanner using FPC cable to link the scan sensor (Source: www.truetex.com)   Fig. The 20-pin, 1mm pitch FPC sockets (side mount)   Fig. 20-pin, 1mm pitch FPC Cable Fig. The FPC 20-pin symbol   Fig. The FPC 20-pin, 1mm pitch side-mount socket   Although the above symbols and footprints are not complicated to draw, I would like to share them here because I think sometimes it is quite time-consuming to draw the footprint of a new component, especially without the CAD dimension drawings on hand. In that case, we have to measure the dimensions first and then draw the footprint carefully. But if there is libraries of similar parts, simple modifications on the existing libraries (like modifying the number of pins in the above FPC socket) would fit the new component - need to draw from zero. So it could be very helpful to others if we draw the libraries and then share them to others :)

I'm sad to admit that the older I become, the more disillusioned I get. For example, you wouldn't believe how many calls I receive asking me to contribute to some charity or other. Seriously, I must get at least one such call each and every day. I used to contribute to a lot of things, but then I read an article saying how many of these calls are scams in all but name. For example, there's the "Support your local police benevolent fund" type, where the person on the other end of the phone is actually calling you from Colorado or somewhere, and where your "local police benevolent fund" receives only about 3 cents out of each dollar that's raised (the remaining 97 cents goes to cover "administrative overhead" – including the call that prompts you to contribute in the first place). So then I started checking them out on the Better Business Bureau, but I really don't have the time to do in-depth checks every day, so it's got to the stage where I now simply say "I'm sorry, I just don't do anything like this over the phone." Instead, I prefer to contribute to charities in which I have total confidence, like our local Downtown Rescue Mission and the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Operation Smile . Why am I waffling on about this? Well, as you can imagine, I also receive a humongous amount of emails each day. I try to at least skim through each one, just to make sure I don't miss something relevant. I just glanced at one titled "Five things you need to know before you buy a gift card," then I automatically hit the delete button while muttering under my breath "Why are you wasting my time with this stuff?" But then – while I was looking at the next email – I thought to myself "Hang on, I do buy quite a lot of gift cards during the holiday season ... maybe this is something I should take a look at." So I bounced over to my "Deleted" folder and gave this message a more thorough read through. This is what I saw: Gift cards may be the easiest option for gift giving this holiday season, but they are not the safest and carry complicated penalties. Stores are secretly making a profit off of your thoughtful gifts and causing many problems for consumers. Before you buy those gift cards, educate yourself on some of the issues. Pissed Consumer , the most popular product review and complaint website, shares 5 tips that every gift card purchaser should know. 1. THE DOLLAR AMOUNT IS A LIE – The amount on the card will slowly dwindle as the company will charge you interest on the card. This will range anywhere between 5-10% of what you purchased. In addition to this, you pay a fee to activate the card, so the amount of money for both you and the recipient adds up. 2. GIFT CARDS EXPIRE—Many gift cards only last for 12 months—or even worse, less than that. To prevent all the money from disappearing read your gift card closely to see if there is an expiration date. If there is, alert the recipient to spend the gift card as soon as possible. 3. STORES LOCK YOU IN—Gift cards require you to spend the set amount of money at that particular store, yet the recipient of the gift may wish to spend the gift funds somewhere else. 4. YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION IS BEING RE-SOLD—Often the store that you purchase the gift card from will collect your personal information and use it for their marketing purposes. Some companies will even go as far as selling your information to other marketers. 5. SPECIAL DEALS WITH GIFT CARDS—Remember that special deals with gift card are too good to be true. For example, two massages for the price of one may be the rate for the introductory massage only. If you are purchasing the card for a regular customer they will not be able to take advantage of the introductory rate which was what the card was intended for. Remember this holiday season to read all the fine print associated with the gift card to avoid these headaches. About PissedConsumer.com PissedConsumer.com is a premier consumer advocacy group, featuring consumer reviews and complaints in a social networking environment. The company uses online tools to publicise reviews and complaints filed by consumers on the Internet. In addition, the site offers a set of free tools necessary to bring the dispute to a fast and successful resolution, including a consumer complaint letter generator and collection of consumer tips and advice in the site's consumer advocacy section. Well, some of this was new to me, and it's certainly given me something to think about. I'm not sure if all of these issues are true in every case, but you can bet your little cotton socks that I will absolutely be reading the fine print in the future before shelling out any more of my hard-earned cash.