USB concerns - waste of space?


YourAverageJoe

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Does the Pyra really need 3 USB ports, and do those ports all need to come in different sizes? It seems a bit wasteful, don't those ports take up space on the board? Now, I'm mostly concerned about the Mini-USB port, because Mini-USB is dead. Nothing uses Mini-USB anymore, phones and cameras all have Micro-USB (or Lightning) and everything else uses full-size USB. So, I suggest removing the Mini-USB port, replace it with a second Micro-USB port if you really want to have 3 ports.
 
We already did follow your suggestion a while ago. There will be no Mini-USB on the Pyra.

According to the latest plans there will be:

1. 1 Micro-USB-3.0-OTG (charging/client/host)

2. 1 Standard-USB-2.0-A (host only)

3. 1 Standard-USB-2.0-A + eSATA (host only)

4. 1 Micro-USB-2.0-B (client only - for alternate charging and system console - can not be used simultaneously with 2. for mechanical overlap unless there are very flat plugs)
 
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Who was suggesting that it should have a miniUSB port?

I though the plan was to have a µUSB3.0otg port, and two fullUSB2.0 ports?

Edit wait, ninja'd. Ignore me.

Edit2 That sounds awesome, gta04. I'm amazed all that will fit in on the PCB!
 
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We already did follow your suggestion a while ago. There will be no Mini-USB on the Pyra.


According to the latest plans there will be:


1. 1 Micro-USB-3.0-OTG (charging/client/host)


2. 1 Standard-USB-2.0-A (host only)


3. 1 Standard-USB-2.0-A + eSATA (host only)


4. 1 Micro-USB-2.0-A (client only - for alternate charging and system console - can not be used simultaneously with 2. for mechanical overlap unless there are very flat plugs)
Does all of that fit? Wow, that is pretty nice!

Can you charge through a micro-USB-A 2.0 port? I thought you needed either a B-type port or USB 3.0 for that?
 
A µUSB dedicated for charging? ;_;

I guess the first thing I'll do it ripping that port off the board and modding in a barrel jack :|
 
Can you charge through a micro-USB-A 2.0 port? I thought you needed either a B-type port or USB 3.0 for that?
Sorry, it is a typo. It should be Micro-USB-B of course... Have edited the original post.
A µUSB dedicated for charging? ;_;

I guess the first thing I'll do it ripping that port off the board and modding in a barrel jack :|
Yes there are plenty of standard Micro-USB chargers from 500mA to 2A (maybe even more). You will be able to get it at every corner. And the good thing (reliability) is that the polarity, dimensions and voltage are well defined (which isn't the case for barrel jacks).
 
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We already did follow your suggestion a while ago. There will be no Mini-USB on the Pyra.


According to the latest plans there will be:


1. 1 Micro-USB-3.0-OTG (charging/client/host)


2. 1 Standard-USB-2.0-A (host only)


3. 1 Standard-USB-2.0-A + eSATA (host only)


4. 1 Micro-USB-2.0-B (client only - for alternate charging and system console - can not be used simultaneously with 2. for mechanical overlap unless there are very flat plugs)
Will there still be an external microHDMI port and internal Wifi?
 
We already did follow your suggestion a while ago. There will be no Mini-USB on the Pyra.

According to the latest plans there will be:

1. 1 Micro-USB-3.0-OTG (charging/client/host)

2. 1 Standard-USB-2.0-A (host only)

3. 1 Standard-USB-2.0-A + eSATA (host only)

4. 1 Micro-USB-2.0-B (client only - for alternate charging and system console - can not be used simultaneously with 2. for mechanical overlap unless there are very flat plugs)
Will there still be an external microHDMI port and internal Wifi?
Why wouldn't there be? EvilDragon would not put this device out without some HD TVout, as far as I understand. And internal WiFi has nothing to do w/ this. Because it is internal, it doesn't need board space at the edge, and it doesn't use USB, it uses SDIO.

-God Ginrai
 
We already did follow your suggestion a while ago. There will be no Mini-USB on the Pyra.


According to the latest plans there will be:


1. 1 Micro-USB-3.0-OTG (charging/client/host)


2. 1 Standard-USB-2.0-A (host only)


3. 1 Standard-USB-2.0-A + eSATA (host only)


4. 1 Micro-USB-2.0-B (client only - for alternate charging and system console - can not be used simultaneously with 2. for mechanical overlap unless there are very flat plugs)
Will there still be an external microHDMI port and internal Wifi?
Why wouldn't there be? EvilDragon would not put this device out without some HD TVout, as far as I understand. And internal WiFi has nothing to do w/ this. Because it is internal, it doesn't need board space at the edge, and it doesn't use USB, it uses SDIO.

-God Ginrai
With all those ports on the back and only so many "connections" available on the board, I thought I'd save presumption for another time and ask gta04 or ED directly, since HDMI wasn't on the list and Nikolaus mentioned he was playing with the idea of making the Pyra dongle Wifi only a while back due to lack of, again, board "connections".

If you don't miind, I hope to have confirmation from them.

For the record, I do believe there will be internal(integrated) WiFi. It's the HDMI port I'm unsure about.
 
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Could somebody please update the Pyra specs page to reflect this discussion?


On http://www.pyra-handheld.com/specs.html, both in the specs at the top and in the section below titled Connectivity, there are references to Mini-USB ports.


Very much looking forward to the Pyra. Thanks.


Pete
 
That reference is qualified by an asterisk, so it's subject to change and evidently already has. But the specs can't be updated with every idea that ED and gta04 have, or in other words, keep your hair on!
 
That reference is qualified by an asterisk, so it's subject to change
Which is exactly why I made this thread in the first place. I tried looking through this forum for info on the matter, but found none.
But the specs can't be updated with every idea that ED and gta04 have, or in other words, keep your hair on!
I'd like it if they could be updated with the more definite stuff, like, say, whether the thing will waste time, space and resources on an obsolete standard nobody cares about.
 
Mini-USB-B is not outdated though; there are still plenty of devices like external hard drives that use that connector on their eind. I wouldn't be opposed to having one of those as a back-up charging option, and it would give a method to charge both Pandora and Pyra with the same cable.

But I guess there is no room for it, since it looks like the plan is to stack a full-USB on top of a micro-USB, which is already nearly impossible.
 
Mini usb B is taken out of the USB charging spec, so you cant advertize that even. Also, external harddrives are usb3 now, and use the wonky-usb to full.
 
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For the record, I do believe there will be internal(integrated) WiFi. It's the HDMI port I'm unsure about.
The specs page has "HDMI video out" without an asterisk, if that helps with the uncertainty.
 
We already did follow your suggestion a while ago. There will be no Mini-USB on the Pyra.


According to the latest plans there will be:


1. 1 Micro-USB-3.0-OTG (charging/client/host)


2. 1 Standard-USB-2.0-A (host only)


3. 1 Standard-USB-2.0-A + eSATA (host only)


4. 1 Micro-USB-2.0-B (client only - for alternate charging and system console - can not be used simultaneously with 2. for mechanical overlap unless there are very flat plugs)
No standard USB 3 ? We're losing a big feature here :/ .
 
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