The Wand Company TOS Tricorder is coming!

[2vix]

I think the next step is making sure (somehow) that my backup can be successfully reinstalled on my tricorder. Then I can try adding custom firmware to it without worrying about how to get it back to normal. (i will still worry lol)
I found THIS on youtube. Guys home-made firmware plays video from SD on a Cortex M3 STM32 microcontroller, and our chip is a far better Cortex M7 STM32.

 

[2vix]

A 24pin ribbon doesn’t mean all 24 lines are used…

I spent some time trying to follow the pins around the board last night, and some of them seem to go nowhere, others go off and disappear under a connector etc. its a mess.

I don't want to take it apart. But I need to take it apart. I'm probably going to take it apart.

 

[FANATICO]

Ahhhh….Nostalgia from back in the day…..you got to love the effort..two different builders…two Brian’s no less

 

[FANATICO]

I spent some time trying to follow the pins around the board last night, and some of them seem to go nowhere, others go off and disappear under a connector etc. its a mess.
View attachment 1955762
View attachment 1955763


I don't want to take it apart. But I need to take it apart. I'm probably going to take it apart.

At your own risk….

Its a multilayer board and connections to other traces are probably on other layers you can’t see.

Edit: it’s a 4 layer board….

Plane layer assignments are not given that I could discern…. But.. one of them will be a power VCC plane layer, another Ground plane layer, another analog Signals plane layer, finally a Digital data plane layer…in my opinion.

 

[Number 6]

I managed to get into the tricorder and i now have a copy of the firmware that i can view. I dont know what good it is yet, but im currently perusing thru it... wish i knew more about this stuff

here it is if anyone wants to check it out:
*EDIT - I removed it because i suddenly realized it might be illegal to share?
This is the freeware im using to view it:

HxD - Freeware Hex Editor and Disk Editor | mh-nexus

pretty boring stuff. looks like this:
View attachment 1955737

From the little I can see it looks like it has the comments for the code. Maybe a good disassembler could decompile it into some understandable assembly language or maybe even into the C++ it was written in.

 

[CessnaDriver]

I spent some time trying to follow the pins around the board last night, and some of them seem to go nowhere, others go off and disappear under a connector etc. its a mess.
View attachment 1955762
View attachment 1955763


I don't want to take it apart. But I need to take it apart. I'm probably going to take it apart.

Multilayered CCA as we would expect, looking at the side might be able to tell how many layers . Not going to know where a lot actually goes without the layout diagrams showing all the traces and vias on each layer. One could use a multi meter to probe around doing continuity checks but that sounds like a horrible way to spend the day trying to map that out. But you could probably find a few that way if it was clear some where critical to know.


EDIT, I see i'ts found it's 4 layered. That's about one more than I expected. This thing is quite the design.

 

[FANATICO]

Multilayered CCA as we would expect, looking at the side might be able to tell how many layers . Not going to know where a lot actually goes without the layout diagrams showing all the traces and vias on each layer. One could use a multi meter to probe around doing continuity checks but that sounds like a horrible way to spend the day trying to map that out. But you could probably find a few that way if it was clear some where critical to know.

I edited my previous post about the layers….

 

[CessnaDriver]

I edited my previous post about the layers….

Sometimes you can shine bright light and if there is enough transparency see traces, but if there is a full on ground layer probably not and you can't see through chips.

 

[Treadwell]

Me coming down from the tower and reading this thread:

If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.

 

[FANATICO]

We need the language provided by the schematics!

 

[CessnaDriver]

Ahh the good ol days with the Diamond Select tricorders, just a few jumper settings to get other model's sounds.

 

[PhantomForge]

Only recently remembered about this in the last few days as I rewatch TOS for the first time since I was a teen— I was debating with myself if I really had the funds to get in on this, but having realized it's too late to order one (or at least I think I am, correct me if I'm wrong) I am both relieved to have the choice made for me and disappointed I didn't remind myself of this sooner haha.

Maybe if/when they do another run...