How to search for open source hardware gadgets?

AJ ONeal

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Jul 12, 2011, 7:47:59 PM7/12/11

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I'm starting to get into hardware and I'm wondering what the buzzwords are for "Open Source" hardware.

More specifically, I'm looking for examples of things like usb hubs, sd card readers, magnetometers, and other gadgets and devices with schematic files that can be viewed in Eagle or other FOSS software.

It seems with card readers and usb hubs being a dime a dozen there would be a way to get schematics for them pretty easily, but I'm not sure how to phrase my searches.

AJ ONeal

Levi Pearson

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Jul 13, 2011, 11:44:09 AM7/13/11

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Heh, the keyword for open source hardware is "arduino", because it seems to have completely taken over the "I want to make a smart gadget but I'm not an EE" space. No one makes stuff that's just a USB hub or card reader because those are a dime a dozen, as you say, and you couldn't make your own anywhere near as cheap. I've seen lots of cards soldered to Arduinos, though, so apparently it's not very difficult to read from them.

AJ ONeal

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Jul 13, 2011, 12:27:28 PM7/13/11

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Add these terms to your list: "diy electronics"

Here are some sites to check out:

http://www.instructables.com/
http://makezine.com/
http://hacknmod.com/
http://thetransistor.com/
http://www.sparkfun.com/tutorials/
http://www.adafruit.com/

I've come across instructables before and found some interesting stuff - like how to build a li-ion battery charger.

Also I had a friend refer me to adafruit about the mp3 palyer.

Thanks for the links!

AJ ONeal

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Jul 13, 2011, 12:35:59 PM7/13/11

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On Wed, Jul 13, 2011 at 9:44 AM, Levi Pearson <levip...@gmail.com> wrote:

Heh, the keyword for open source hardware is "arduino", because it seems to have completely taken over the "I want to make a smart gadget but I'm not an EE" space. No one makes stuff that's just a USB hub or card reader because those are a dime a dozen, as you say, and you couldn't make your own anywhere near as cheap. I've seen lots of cards soldered to Arduinos, though, so apparently it's not very difficult to read from them.

Even though I can't build a usb hub or card-reader cheaper, I could make my device smaller:

http://hphotos-snc6.fbcdn.net/278601_10150247408205502_723670501_7254858_3420305_o.jpg

I've buying buying and ripping apart various usb hubs, card readers, and sata-usb adapters in order to find the smallest and easiest to reverse engineer.

If I could get a case designed for it, it would be fine to just order the parts, rip them apart, and reassemble them, but that's not a long term solution since most of these companies are little chinese shops that shoot up, produce 10,000 units, and go out of business.

I guess it's putting the cart before the horse a little bit, but reducing the size of MediaBox from 5 inches to 3 inches and knowing that I can get it down to an inch and a half with just my bare hands and a soldering iron is really motivating.

AJ ONeal

Levi Pearson

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Jul 13, 2011, 2:04:40 PM7/13/11

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On Wed, Jul 13, 2011 at 10:35 AM, AJ ONeal <cool...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Even though I can't build a usb hub or card-reader cheaper, I could make my
> device smaller:
> http://hphotos-snc6.fbcdn.net/278601_10150247408205502_723670501_7254858_3420305_o.jpg
> I've buying buying and ripping apart various usb hubs, card readers, and
> sata-usb adapters in order to find the smallest and easiest to reverse
> engineer.
> If I could get a case designed for it, it would be fine to just order the
> parts, rip them apart, and reassemble them, but that's not a long term
> solution since most of these companies are little chinese shops that shoot
> up, produce 10,000 units, and go out of business.
> I guess it's putting the cart before the horse a little bit, but reducing
> the size of MediaBox from 5 inches to 3 inches and knowing that I can get it
> down to an inch and a half with just my bare hands and a soldering iron is
> really motivating.

OK, I see where you're coming from now.

The reason there aren't any 'open source hardware' schematics for
devices like that is that pretty much any dirt cheap device that
performs some common function is built around some specialized ASIC
that performs all the functions of the device and just needs power, a
clock, and some connectors. And the datasheet for the ASIC, which is
freely available from the part designer, tells you exactly what you
need to hook up to it and usually even has a sample schematic or at
least a block diagram.

So if you search for 'USB hub ASIC' you find a page like this:
http://focus.ti.com/docs/prod/folders/print/tusb2077a.html

And then you find the datasheet link (In this case, it's
http://focus.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/tusb2077a.pdf ) and you get all the
information you need to use it. Then you just need to buy one (or get
a sample sent to you) and design it into whatever you're making.

--Levi