Pyra-news June 2014

pyra-news@pyra-handheld.com

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Some PCBs, holidays, a new case revision and a theme
by Michael Mrozek 17 Jun '14

17 Jun '14

Some PCBs --------- Nikolaus grabbed some partly-populated PCBs last week (we had an automatic assembly for the parts that couldn't have been hand-soldererd easily). (Note: Please visit the link to the boards if you want to see the pictures) We've got a PCB which can be connected to the OMAP5 EVM. It has a connector for a touchscreen and two different displays (the two 720p ones I have here for testing). It also has the Rotator chip from Solomon Technologies installed. We also got a display PCB which connects the LG FullHD LCD to the OMAP5 EVM. This is basically just for testing that the PCB works (as we got the driver for the FullHD one already). And finally, we also got a very very very first version of the CPU PCB. You can see the two connectors for the main PCB already and also pads where the parts will be later. Additionally, there's a third connector (on the right side) where we can connect the OMAP5 EVM to. So with that board, we can already test that we got enough space and that the connectors basically work and are reliable, even though it's not yet populated but used the OMAP5 EVM as CPU :) Once that PCB is fully finished... well, then the hardware part of the Pyra will be mostly done :) Nikolaus already finished populating the PCBs and made some quick hardware checks. The hardware seems to be fine, now he needs to code the drivers. As he is on a (well-deserved) holiday until next Saturday, nothing will happen this week, but hopefully we've got the LCDs working next week. A new case revision ------------------- The designers finished a new case revision. They added the transparent Pyra logo to the back of the lid and also a first version of four shoulder buttons (which I'd probably like to tweak a bit). I've already ordered new 3D prints which I should receive within the next 10 days. A new theme ----------- Not sure if anyone already found out - but if you'd like the boards with a nice Pyra-themed look, you can use "Change Theme" on the bottom of the page and change it to "Pyra". If you find any errors or have ideas for improved colors on the boards, let me know here :) What's next? ------------ Well, Nikolaus will work on the displays so I can test them and finally choose the best one. After that, Nikolaus needs to finish the main PCB and work on the CPU and LCD PCB. The display we choose needs to get a touchscreen as well, so I'll have to take care of that. Testing the shoulder buttons and improving them will be another thing I have to do, as well as discuss the keymat with the two companies I narrowed down. And I need to figure out where to best fit the LCD Cable. Of course, the new battery is something we need to evaluate as well... A lot of things happening at the same time, but slowly coming together. Exciting times :) As usual, you can discuss about that here: http://boards.openpandora.org/topic/16499-some-pcbs-holidays-a-new-case-rev… -- Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Michael Mrozek ----------------------- OpenPandora GmbH Geschäftsführer: Michael Mrozek Schäffbräustr. 11 85049 Ingolstadt Deutschland Tel.: 0841 / 13 177 33 http://www.openpandora.de/ HRB 4879, Amtsgericht Ingolstadt ----------------------- ICQ: 15691903 MSN: EvilDragon1717(a)hotmail.com eMail: info(a)openpandora.de

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Nothing to show, but a lot happened.
by Michael Mrozek 07 Jun '14

07 Jun '14

The last week has been another really busy week - not much to show though, mostly organisational but really important work. Keymats ------- We made a huge leap forward finding a keymat manufacturer. Thanks to you guys and your great findings of keymat manufacturers, we found a few suitable ones and I'm currently in contact with them to narrow things down. I've actually sent out a request to all of them but only three replied back yet, and one of them can't offer what we need. However, one the ones who replied (from UK) is especially interesting. Besides only doing the production, they also offer their knowledge and tweak the design so the keys will feel as good and tactile as possible. Of course, DPad and buttons will especially be taken care of. They will be extensively tested. Their keymat would be of a silicon material with hard-plastic caps for the buttons. Yep, not simply an epoxy coating like we have right now, but real flat plastic. This should improve the look and feel as well as the usability a lot :) The keymat will be a bit more expensive than the Pandora keymat, but still less than 10 USD. This is a nice example how the community can help us out creating the Pyra :) Fatih is also working on finding a keymat manufacturer, and there are also a few suitable ones. However, they will only produce them according to our design (which is normal for most asian companies). They don't offer us their knowledge to improve the design. Well, we'll still keep an eye on them, it's better to have multiple companies at hand in case it doesn't work out as planned with one. I'll also have a meeting with a german company on Tuesday about keymat production. We'll see which one is best. :) LCD testing PCB --------------- Nikolaus also was mostly doing organisational stuff instead of designing. It turned out that the design of the LCD test pcb was already pretty complex so that it couldn't be populated with the small machine at GC. Using the big machine needs a more complex process and would need 3 weeks to get things started. He is thinking about getting a small prototype machine for his company (so future boards could be soldered without using an external company), but he also found one company in Munich that is capable of populating the boards for us pretty fast. The test boards will be populated next week and then - hopefully - it won't take too much time to get the LCDs working. Shoulder Buttons ---------------- For the case design, we're mostly working on the shoulder buttons together. It's not possible stacking them virtually - for various reasons. It'd be very complex and almost impossible with that small space we got in the hinge area, and on the other hand, it would be very uncomfortable for most users. I tried out Askarus mod (he modded a Pandora to have four shoulder buttons stacked up like that) and wasn't really able to push them without pushing the other ones as well. If you got a Pandora, try yourself: Open the lid fully and put your fingers where the shoulder buttons are. Can you think of a comfortable way stacking two shoulder buttons on top of each other? I can't - seriously. Unless you have very thin fingers (like Askarus does). The best solution seems to be stacking them horizontally, beneath each other. The NeoGeoX has a nice solution for that, but the inner buttons are too hard to push. I think the inner buttons need a tad lighter push and it should also have a bit of a concave blob so the finger reaches it easily. Of course, that's something we need to test, but it seems like a good solution to me. Pheeew, long post with nothing to show this time. But quite a few topics have moved further along the road and that's important :) As usual, you can discuss about that here: http://boards.openpandora.org/topic/16449-nothing-to-show-but-a-lot-happene… -- Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Michael Mrozek ----------------------- OpenPandora GmbH Geschäftsführer: Michael Mrozek Schäffbräustr. 11 85049 Ingolstadt Deutschland Tel.: 0841 / 13 177 33 http://www.openpandora.de/ HRB 4879, Amtsgericht Ingolstadt ----------------------- ICQ: 15691903 MSN: EvilDragon1717(a)hotmail.com eMail: info(a)openpandora.de

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Pyra-news June 2014