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FTDI USB Breakout board

Reinoudz — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 08:21:54 GMT

Reinoudz: Created page with "The UM232R FTDI chip is a well known USB to serial converter and outputs its levels on TTL level. Since (allmost all) soldered connections on NASs are TTL level this makes it exc…"

The UM232R FTDI chip is a well known USB to serial converter and outputs its levels on TTL level. Since (allmost all) soldered connections on NASs are TTL level this makes it excellent or it. The [http://www.ftdichip.com/Products/ICs/FT232R.htm FTDI FT232R] chip is reporting itself as a serial port to USB and should be auto-recognized by allmost all operating systems (Windows/Mac/Linux/*BSD). If you want to breadboard it, you can get it [http://uk.farnell.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?sku=1146036 here at Farnell].

There are also complete breakout boards available for just a few dollars/euros:

[[File:Bhasha FTDI USB breakout board.jpg]]

You can order this specific one at [http://www.bhasha.co.cc Bhasha technologies] at this link [http://www.bhasha.co.cc/product.php?id_product=23 FTDI USB Breakout board page].

LG-N2B1D Disassembly Part 3

Timtim — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 21:50:49 GMT

Timtim:

This is part 3 of the N2B1D disassembly. The main page of the disassembly that links to this and the other pages can be found [[LG-N2B1D_Disassembly|here]] and part 2 of the guide can be found [[LG-N2B1D_Disassembly_Part_2|here]].

We have also removed the bottom white plastic bit. This was as simple as removing 4 screws and sliding it off. Now to remove the PCB at the top for soldering disconnect the two cables connected at the back of the PCB, remove the screws and pull it upwards as there is a connector (think like a PCI connector only smaller, not a ribbon cable) in the bottom connecting it to the SATA backplane. Pulling it upwards will safely disconnect it. Now you can slide the board out '''carefully''' forwards towards you.

[[File:DSC01133.JPG|600px]]

A quick look inside the device where the drive bays are. Not much to see here...

[[File:DSC01136.JPG|600px]]

Closeup of the top of the main PCB.

[[File:DSC01137.JPG|600px]]

...and a closeup of the bottom of the main PCB. If you look closely you can see numerous pins labeled. There are JTAG related pins labeled and LED pins too if you look closely. These might be of use to someone!

[[File:DSC01148.JPG|600px]]

If you choose to remove the back of the device be careful again as there is a cable connecting the fan to the SATA backplane. There is nothing exciting to see here really.

[[File:DSC01161.JPG|600px]]

All done... now put it back together!

[[Category:LG-N2B1D]]

LG-N2B1D Disassembly Part 2

Timtim — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 21:50:38 GMT

Timtim:

This is part 2 of the N2B1D disassembly. The main page of the disassembly that links to this and the other pages can be found [[LG-N2B1D_Disassembly|here]] and part 1 of the guide can be found [[LG-N2B1D_Disassembly_Part_1|here]].

Here is the device with the side panels removed as per the previous page.

[[File:DSC01118.JPG|600px]]

As you can see there are screws on each side holding on the top and bottom panels. We remove the top next. If you are doing this yourself be careful removing the top part as there is a cable connecting the USB and memory card slot to the PCB in the top of the device. Slide if off carefully and disconnect the cable before removing it fully.

[[File:DSC01122.JPG|600px]]

Here we can see the device with the top removed and the PCB underneath. Exciting, eh.

[[File:DSC01123.JPG|600px]]

A closer look at the PCB of the device. Note the ribbon cable in the top of the picture. If you want to remove the front panel of the device you will need to disconnect this cable first.

[[File:DSC01124.JPG|600px]]

A picture of all the parts that we removed so far. These should be enough to remove the PCB so you can solder up the serial port if you want to.

[[File:DSC01132.JPG|600px]]

The final part of the disassembly can be found [[LG-N2B1D_Disassembly_Part_3|here]].

[[Category:LG-N2B1D]]

LG-N2B1D Disassembly Part 1

Timtim — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 21:50:25 GMT

Timtim:

This is part 1 of the N2B1D disassembly. The main page of the disassembly that links to this and the other pages can be found [[LG-N2B1D_Disassembly|here]].

Here is the LG N2B1D fully intact. Pretty, isn't it.

[[File:DSC01101.JPG|600px]]

The front of the device pulls open easily and you can press the pop-up area on the top to reveal a USB and memory card interface.

[[File:DSC01107.JPG|600px]]

Squeeze the silver bits inwards on the drive caddies to release them from the cage and pull them outwards to remove them and put them to one side. These can feel a little stiff.

[[File:DSC01108.JPG|600px]]

Look at the back of the device. There are stickers covering the screws that remove the plastic side panels. You will need to remove these if you want to further disassemble the device. Obviously at this point you are about to void your warranty, so please consider that before proceeding!

[[File:DSC01115.JPG|600px]]

Once you have removed these screws you can remove the side panels and put them to one side. Keep the screws with them so that you know where they came from.

[[File:DSC01117.JPG|600px]]

The next part of the disassembly can be found [[LG-N2B1D_Disassembly_Part_2|here]].

[[Category:LG-N2B1D]]

LG-N2B1D Serial Port Access

Timtim — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 13:52:29 GMT

Reinoudz: Make link to the newly created FTDI USB->TTL breakout board

These are the four pins that give you TTL serial access to the device. You could attach a four pin SMD header to these pads (they are not through-hole) but as I did not have any I used some wire that I had handy. Once soldered I taped the cables down to keep them nice and tidy.

The [[LG-N2B1D_Disassembly|disassembly guide here]] may be useful for removing the board for soldering.

The pins as displayed in the picture below are in the following order:

* V+ 3.3 v
* TX
* RX
* GND

The RX and TX should be correct but, for sanity, please double check RX and TX if you don't receive characters or garbage. The other pins are definitely correct.

[[File:IMG 0145.JPG|600px]]

The easiest way to get the cables out of the device seemed to be to route them down a hole at the back of the board at the left hand side as you are looking at it from the front.

[[File:IMG 0148.JPG|600px]]

After getting the cable down the back of the device there is what appears to be a hole for a kensington lock - I put the cables through here and taped them down to the side of the device to help prevent damage in case they get yanked and through the cable tidying thing at the back of the device.

[[File:IMG 0155.JPG|600px]]

Note that this serial port we just created is using TTL levels! '''If you connect them directly to an serial cable it will most likely destroy the NAS!'''

Here is the device all hooked up and working on my Macbook Pro using minicom. The TTL -> USB serial converter I used was an UM232R (based on the [http://www.ftdichip.com/Products/ICs/FT232R.htm FTDI FT232R] which is compatible with Windows/Mac/Linux) which I got [http://uk.farnell.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?sku=1146036 here at Farnell]. This involved a little wiring from the data sheet and a breadboard! You can also buy ready-made boards; see [[FTDI_USB_Breakout_board]].

[[File:IMG 0160.JPG|600px]]

The serial port settings are by default 115200 bits, 8N1. There was nothing stopping me logging in via serial once I had connected - straight in as root! It has no password protection on this console!

[[Category:LG-N2B1D]]

LG-N2B1D Disassembly

Timtim — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 13:51:20 GMT

Timtim:

The pages below provide photos of the disassembly of the LG N2B1D NAS device. As there are quite a few large pictures I have separated them into three pages. Some pointers are included to help anyone else attempting this but as I did this some time ago a few bits may be left out.

Here are the [[LG-N2B1D_Disassembly_Part_1|Part 1]], [[LG-N2B1D_Disassembly_Part_2|Part 2]] and [[LG-N2B1D_Disassembly_Part_3|Part 3]] of the guide!

[[Category:LG-N2B1D]]

IRC Channels

Timtim — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 11:52:25 GMT

Timtim: Created page with "We currently have three channels on irc.freenode.net - one for Buffalo/Kurobox specific chat (#linkstationwiki), one for anything NAS related (#nas-central) and a channel dedicat…"

We currently have three channels on irc.freenode.net - one for Buffalo/Kurobox specific chat (#linkstationwiki), one for anything NAS related (#nas-central) and a channel dedicated to foonas development (#foonas).

If you have an IRC client installed on your computer clicking on the relevant link below should take you to the chat room:

* [irc://irc.freenode.net/foonas #foonas]
* [irc://irc.freenode.net/linkstationwiki #linkstationwiki]
* [irc://irc.freenode.net/nas-central #nas-central]

Please note the following guidelines for our IRC chat rooms:

* If you do come in for support ensure you have looked for your issue in the wiki/forums first
* When you arrive in the channel ask your question - don't ask to ask - just ask!
* Whilst there may appear to be people in the channel a lot of the time they are not actually at their keyboards
* Remember this is not a support service, but user to user chat - often people can help though!