USB port inside the lid - possible?


N3Cr0

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Mar 22, 2013
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We all know about the camera discussion and it seems like there will be no camera in the Pyra.

However, there are lots of cheap USB cams from broken laptops on ebay. It would be nice to attach one to the lid.

This leads me to the idea of a USB port (just the solder pads) inside the lid. it would be a great goody for modders.

I ask myself if this is even possible and if it would be easy to implement. I know there are still issues with the Pandora LCD cable.
 
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All USB ports on the OMAP5 are accounted for. In order to put one in the lid they'd have to remove one from the back, or install a hub circuit, neither of which I believe is desirable but you're free to try and convince EvilDragon otherwise.
 
All USB ports on the OMAP5 are accounted for. In order to put one in the lid they'd have to remove one from the back, or install a hub circuit, neither of which I believe is desirable but you're free to try and convince EvilDragon otherwise.
Right. I just forgot about that fact. 

So that means the Pyra could use an internal hub... sounds like even more possible usb ports than we would ever need. xD
 
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I'd also be concerned with radiation when we send such a high-speed signal through the LCD cable...
 
medscaleRadiation-Suit-1dsuef4.jpg
 
^ Shall I go on a long rant about the difference between radioactive material and electromagnetic radiation?

What about the difference bettween ionising and non-ionising radiation?
 
Please don't. The ones that would be swayed already know and the ones who don't know can't be swayed.
 
 (Real physicists of a delicate disposition may with to skip this post, as it contains some extreme mutilation of some rather important science)

In this post, waves and radiation are synonymous

  1. electric fields cause magnetic fields
  2. magnetic fields cause electric fields
(These are based on two of Maxwell's four equations)​
 ​
So if you have one, you get the other, and vice-versa.

In fact, you get a self-sustaining effect where the magnetic field creates an electric field, which creates a magnetic field with creates an electric field, etc, etc.

This is called an electromagnetic wave, and the electric/magnetic field combo travels through empty space at 300,000,000m/s or so.

This wave* can have a wide range of frequencies depending on its source:

Non-Ionising radiation:

Low frequency radiation can be caused by changing currents in electric wires. The electric field from the wire can cause a magnetic field which causes an electric field around other nearby wires, disrupting any signals they may be carrying. This is what ED was worried about

At higher frequencies, the waves are great for communication. You can create and detect them with radio antennas and at higher frequencies still, see them with your eyes or a camera.

Ionising radiation:

At very high frequencies, starting with UV light, and including X-rays,  the electric field in the wave can disrupt the arrangement of electrons in the atoms in chemicals in your body, notably DNA. This means you can end up with with the wrong DNA in your cells, and  that can cause cancer. However, the chance of problems arising is small, and increases with the amount of radiation you are exposed to

---

Some elements, generally those with large atoms near the bottom of the periodic table, are unstable. They tend to fall apart into smaller atoms, and release high-frequency EM waves as they do so.

Being exposed to the waves emitted by these decaying atoms is unhealthy, but luckily, the high-frequency waves tend to be absorbed by air, or water, or metals, or pretty much anything else nearby. This is why nuclear waste is often stored underwater or underground. All the high-frequency radiation is absorbed by the water or rock.

However, the amount of radiation that hits you increases dramatically as you get closer, and so does the risk of vital chemicals in your body being  affected.

This means that almost touching it is far worse that standing near to a piece of radioactive material.

If you get a small amount stuck on your skin, or stuck in your lungs, or eat it, then it is constantly touching you and you are exposed for a very long time. The chance of your DNA being damaged and getting cancer can be very high.

---

To sum up:

Low frequency radiation --> safe as long as there isn't enough to cause heat damage. Caused by signals in wires, and for radio communication, and is light.

High frequency radiation --> pretty safe when only for a short time, very dangerous (causes cancer) when you are exposed for a long time, or at high intensities, or when you're very close to the source

Large atoms decaying into smaller ones (aka radioactive material) --> emit high-frequency radiation --> extremely dangerous when touched or stuck in your body, because you are close to the source

The hazard suits pictured above are to prevent workers getting radioactive material stuck in/on their bodies, which would result in them receiving large amounts of high-frequency radiation, which would be very likely to cause cancer by messing with their DNA.

---

* You may have heard that light is made up of particles called photons. This is kinda true too. It behaves like a wave, and a bit like a particle. Take your pick.
 
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@Binky, this is all I need to know about radiation.
spock+dying,+me+bawling.jpg

 
 
alpha and beta-radiation doesn't count? Though those aren't EM-waves :p
Hush, hush - you'll confuse him ;)

---

To be clear though, decaying nucleii can emit:

  • Groups of two protons and two neutrons (called alpha particles) (positively charged)
  • Electrons (beta particles)(negatively charged)
  • EM waves/photons (gamma radiation)(not charged)
Alpha particles have the highest tendency to interact with matter, and gamma the least. this means that gamma reaches the furthest, but alpha will have the greatest effect at close range

Also, its not just light that is sorta a wave and kinda a particle. Everything is. Esentially, the smaller or slower something is, the more wave-like it is. Read up on this properly, and you'll encounter some very clever physicists, including De Broglie, Schrodinger, Heisenberg, and some guy named Einstien.
 
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All USB ports on the OMAP5 are accounted for. In order to put one in the lid they'd have to remove one from the back, or install a hub circuit, neither of which I believe is desirable but you're free to try and convince EvilDragon otherwise.
Is the USB serial port really connected to a USB port on the OMAP? I figured it was connected to a USB to serial adapter chip that's connected to one of the OMAP5's UARTs.
 
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