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Unpopulated ICs

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minkanjin
Posts: 8
Joined: 04 Aug 2012, 18:41

Unpopulated ICs

Post by minkanjin »

Hi

I've noticed on my b3's board that there are two empty spaces for ICs.

The first one is by the PCIE bracket. It looks like a standard NAND flash chip could fit in there. Would I be able to solder in a flash chip there? And if so, is there anything special that I need to know (memory size limitations, manufacturer limitations, etc)?

The second one is near the front LED and has some of its pins are connected to the unused connector next to the LED. What used to go there? Also, is there anything interesting that I would have access to there (like an I2C bus)?

And with the unused front connector mentioned: is there anything interesting that I can through it?

Regards
johannes
Posts: 1470
Joined: 31 Dec 2006, 07:12
Location: Sweden
Contact:

Re: Unpopulated ICs

Post by johannes »

Hi!

Yes, the first one is for a NAND flash. We never used it, but it was ment as an alternative to boot without disk (large enough to hold a kernel and system fs), but we never persued that. Example part number that would fit: Samsung K9F5608U0D-PCB0. However the footprint and pinout is standard so there is a vast range of sizes and brands that will fit. Note that using it - especially to boot from - requires some software tinkering, including bootloader magic. Note2 - we never tested that the hw interface is working, but it probably is.

The second one - if you mean the small 8-pin package near the LED - is for an NXP PCA9901DP - a small LED blink device. It actually didn't work as specified so we decided not to use it - and this is the main reason that the B3 LED doesn't blink (as opposed to the B2 LED). On the other hand we have more colors, so it wasn't really neccessary. It isn't on I2C (it's controlled over a 1-wire proprietary control protocol).

The front card-edge connector holds the serial port and JTAG.

If you want I2C, it's available on the PCIe connector. SPI is probably also possible to find, let me know if you need it. I'd publish the schematics but I'm not sure if that OK with Rodeus, I can check if you want it.
/Johannes (Excito co-founder a long time ago, but now I'm just Johannes)
chromlech
Posts: 1
Joined: 12 Feb 2021, 04:44
Location: Germany

Re: Unpopulated ICs

Post by chromlech »

Hello,
old topic, but I think its the right place to ask for. I am interested in the entire schematic of the B3 Wi-Fi. Especially I am interested in the components necessary to populate the remaining internal 2 USB ports of the GL850G. SPI & I2C would be a nice addition too. Layout files would probably too much to ask for ;)

Thanks, C.
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