[Kent Walters]

Ohh Kaaay, responding to scotsman;

1. The male connector for the Function Extension Slot has been identified; Cypres Industries A21-567-2001, a 20 pin solder type connector. The part number and a source are posted in the Mobileread forum somewhere—I’ll look it up later, and give kudos here. The iPod connector is the same except that the two slots in the top of the metal shell are a diferent distance from center, (I will use a Dremel w/a diamond saw to hack one, but I don’t recommend this, as it will still fit an iPod). I think the iliad’s travel hub is a cheap enough source, but be sure to remove all the wires from the plug (including and especially any jumpers under the shell) before inserting it into the DR.

Everyone, Please Note: In one of the forums, someone said that he tried to force an iPod connector into his DR--this is a BAD IDEA; the iPod (and possibly the iliad and DR) use jumpers inside of the connectors to signal the device as to the type of connection being made: on the iPod, for example, whether it is connecting to USB or FireWire. (The use of connectors with many more pins than a user can use also suggests that the same port on the device is also used for service testing, and it is not unlikely that a battery hot (+) is there.) Fitting a plug configured for another device might easily ruin something. (Stepping off the pulpit, and back on topic)

2, 3. iRex said that the DR’s mini USB port is ‘hardware limited’ to peripheral only. Freescale’s tech spec says, “Freescale’s i.MX31 and i.MX31L integrate one High-Speed USB On-The-Go port for connection to a PC or PC peripherals without PC involvement, plus one high-speed USB host and one full-speed USB host for interfacing with peripherals such as Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth® and cellular baseband.” (Italics added) If Freescale’s On-The-Go Port is the DR’s mini USB (most likely), then iRex’s claim is accurate, and that port cannot be Host enabled. It is no help that nobody seems to use the same language to describe their hardware, or the same language that the USB spec uses.

I had thought to use usbview, on the iRex (it would have to be compiled for the Freescale chip), but I don’t know if it would even run on the DR? Might we be better off going to OpenInkpot to do all of this?

Magic is afoot,
(I heard that somewhere, butI don’t think they meant my feet.)

Have fun,
Kent Walters