Kindle USB Audio Adapter

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by encol

@geekmaster, when you tested the dongle on the PW3, what was your USBNET status?

I just tested this now. The USB sound dongle is ONLY detected when USBnet is DISABLED.

Perhaps that also interfered with my PW3 testing last night (well, besides that little missing kernel module problem from running old firmware).

So if you want sound and a remote shell, time to install wifi SSH access in the firewall (and figure out your root password with kindletool and your kindle serial number). Or use an onscreen terminal app (KUAL extension).

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by bogfrog

looks like this guy has done it
http://allesebook.de/anleitung/anlei...eo-demo-69667/

I've ordered that hardware to give it a try

The price is so close to Amazon's price, it's not worth it. I'd go for the really cheap stuff to try.

[geekmaster]

I still have not installed the TTS voice pack on my PW3. After all, I am going deaf, not blind. Apparently, deafness is not peaceful silence. I have lawnmowers and whistles and vacuum cleaners and sirens all blaring in my head all the time (making peaceful sleep difficult to acquire). Not that imaginary noise keeping me awake at night matters that much, when I have to get up and pee every half hour. Getting old sucks -- avoid it if you can.

Originally Posted by Was Beethoven really deaf when he wrote all his music?

For the last three years my hearing has grown steadily weaker . . . I can give you some idea of this peculiar deafness when I must tell you that in the theatre I have to get very close to the orchestra to understand the performers, and that from a distance I do not hear the high notes of the instruments and the singers’ voices. . . Sometimes too I hardly hear people who speak softly. The sound I can hear it is true, but not the words. And yet if anyone shouts I can’t bear it.

Yeah, that, only worse than Beethoven described. I still love my music, but some notes cause pain and others I cannot hear, and I cannot tell the difference between high-end audio gear and dollar store headphones. And the difference between hearing threshold and pain threshold is nonexistant for many frequencies, making listening to music something I like to save for concert-going these days.

USB audio for sound-deficient kindles? Great! But not all that useful for me, other than a technical curiousity.

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by knc1

... The more important thing you have shown, is that the provided USB-OTG module is not anything special built for the Amazon Dongle.

Load it, plug in keyboard, it should "just work".

Although we may have to diddle u-dev rules and notification messages ourselves a bit.

I plugged in a keyboard. It just DIDN'T work. USBnet off. No power to the USB keyboard. Perhaps a powered hub (though really, no more power needed than the USB sound dongle). Perhaps dancing with u-dev is in order. Perhaps dmesg can give us a clue, or perhaps not. Not sure yet... But at least we know cheap-ass sound sticks work just fine.

EDIT: Though really, what I want is a mouse, because of my flaky PW3 touchscreen. With a mouse, I could use the onscreen keyboard. But then I need to figure out how to implement a mouse cursor, or I would just be poking around blindly in the dark (even with the frontlight on), eh?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by geekmaster

I plugged in a keyboard. It just DIDN'T work. USBnet off. No power to the USB keyboard. Perhaps a powered hub (though really, no more power needed than the USB sound dongle). Perhaps dancing with u-dev is in order. Perhaps dmesg can give us a clue, or perhaps not. Not sure yet... But at least we know cheap-ass sound sticks work just fine.

My guess is the Amazon sound thingy is a cheap-ass sound card build onto a cheap-ass USB host cable.

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

My guess is the Amazon sound thingy is a cheap-ass sound card build onto a cheap-ass USB host cable.

Well, my cheap-ass USB sound thingy AND my cheap-ass USB host cable cost me a miserly total of $1.48 USD, for BOTH, including shipping, shipped in two separate packages. If amazon makes theirs in China too, that gives them like a thousand-percent price markup, eh?

At least there is not (yet) a firmware update to make the kindles REJECT sound thingies with "unapproved" USB VID/PID. But who knows what the future holds for those who leave their kindle backdoor unlocked with airplane mode "accidentally" turned off?

[geekmaster]

I will eventually install the voice files, if only to make my kindle stop verbally abusing me about missing voice files EVERY TIME that I plug in my USB sound thingy... I wonder if I can get away with shrunken versions (or place holders) instead -- they are HUGE.

[geekmaster]

I just discovered that after upgrading my PW3 firmware to 5.7.4, and then testing my USB audio dongle (which works), my USBnet no longer works.

Also, turning OFF usbnet with KUAL does NOT make my kindle appear as a storage device on my PC either. In fact, NO USB devices are detected as plugged in (because they are both in USB host mode).

Perhaps the OTG gadget is still loaded, and is interfering with other USB non-host modes. But you would think amazon/lab126 would have figured this out by now...

After reboot, my PW3 shows up as a storage device. Eject, KUAL, usbnet on (well, eventually, when I am done fighting with this flaky touchscreen). NOW usbnet on... Except I can only telnet in on my PW3, sshd always fails to start (before and after the firmware update). But SSH works on my PW2 and earlier kindles.

Anyway, if your kindle USB is funky (stuck in USB OTG host mode) after using the sound dongle, just reboot the kindle. We need a KUAL app to unload the OTG kernel module, apparently. I wonder if this is only a problem on the PW3?

[knc1]

Say what?
Lab126 did not maintain compatibility with our (Mobileread) USBnetworking add-in?
Shame on them.

= = = =

I don't think NiLuJe has a PW-3 - -
We need to start a collection for him, for a PW-3/VV dongle so he can look at the problem.

@NiLuJe: Do you have a paypal address for donations?

[geekmaster]

Last time I just shippedd NiLuJe a box of kindles (including a fresh new PW1 not yet available outside the USA) back when the PW1 was brand-spanking-new (before amazon imposed a one-per-customer order limit). I sent a box with PW1 and other models to ixtab too. They reimbursed me for my costs. I do not recall if I sent any to twobob, but I saw posts sort of implying that I had... But donations work too.

The usbnet startup needs to unload *ALL* usb gadgets, not just mass storage, before loading the usb ethernet gadget. It should be a simple fix. Even a newbie like me could probably do it.

I think that is called "software rot" (or "bit rot") when software upgrades make old software senile or dead (which really sucks when such old apps no longer have source code anywhere to be found, or a ton of dependencies that cannot be satisfied any longer)...

EDIT: However, that does not explain why USB mass storage did not work until a restart. It acts like it was stuck in USB host mode.

[knc1]

Hmm...
We probably need to buy him a serial port adapter also.

@NiLuJe: How are your soldering skills?
Or do you need a PW-3 model with pre-installed serial port?

[encol]

Originally Posted by geekmaster

I just discovered that after upgrading my PW3 firmware to 5.7.4, and then testing my USB audio dongle (which works), my USBnet no longer works.

You have to reinstall usbnet after the upgrade. Then it will work again

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by encol

You have to reinstall usbnet after the upgrade. Then it will work again

I reinstalled usbnet now, using MRPI. It acts no different. Toggling usbnet from KUAL alway says ssshd failed to start (on this device only), just like it always did, regardless of firmware version.

Needing to unplug the USB cable to toggle usbnet is a pain because unpugging the USB cable almost ALWAYS makes my touchscreen stop working. I am lucky if half a dozen power button presses restores touchscreen functionality.

Anyway, usbnet status says "USBNetwork: enabled (usbnet, sshd down?)". And only telnet works (which makes getting files in and out awkward, involving "nc" and such, when SCP is so much easier).

[encol]

It worked to me, but i tested without usb cable plugged in

[knc1]

Originally Posted by encol

It worked to me, but i tested without usb cable plugged in

The results and behaviors across Kindle models and firmware versions was getting to be so unstable that NiLuJe had to put that "must remove cable" check into starting/stopping USBnetworking.

= = = =

Time for ssh over wifi?
The USBnetworking package is setup for that (and deals with the firewall for you).

Give yourself a break and setup public key auth first.