Ah… you have the bluetooth style.
Mine is a SIM card model… way different beastie.
I see what you mean about the inter digit time. That wasn’t on my radar…
But that is what R&D is all about.
Volkemon,
I’ve used the GM862 extensively in other projects, so I could probably help you there once my Bluetooth version is working! That version is a bit more flexible, IMHO!
Can you look at the PCB in the POR and see what the voltage regulators are? They are presumably 3.3V, but the schematics don’t show a P/N.
Thanks,
John
Will do, John!
I will not be back at home until 8PM EDT, so it will be a while.
After doing some research into LiON chargers, I decided against directly connecting the nokia charger… maybe cannibalizing a cheap Lion battery charger and devoting it to the project…
But I will wait until I am further educated on the charger chip in there already…news to me, but I will learn.
Ok…my education continues…
Here you go, John!
It appears that the Microchip MCP7384’x’ series of Lion battery charging chips is used in my POR.
MCP73843 in 8-pin MSOP package (I am guessing) from markings on the chip itself (738432 )
Using information in the MCP7384X Evaluation Kit
User’s Guide found here-
http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/D … 51424a.pdf
"The MCP73843 is equipped with all the features of the MCP73841 and
MCP73842, with the exception of the cell temperature monitor."
-Which is supported by the two-wire battery connection to the 2000mAh 3.7V pack in my POR. :idea:
A Fairchild NDS8434 is used as an external pass transistor… and I an NOT going to pretend I understand what that is…yet…found that info here:
http://powerelectronics.com/mag/504PET23.pdf
Ext. pass transistor…bet it will be obvious soon…
This is SOOOOOOO much fun… I am learning like crazy here. Glad I didnt just hook up the nokia wall wart knowing what I do now about the demands of Lion battery charging… But hey…mebbie some of the necessary circuits are already present in there…time to dissect one I guess :twisted:
(Hm…just looked into the bin of old nokia chargers…5V, 5.3V, 3.7V…all with the same plug, and all seem to charge my old 1100 just fine…I am gonna do MUCH more research before ripping things apart…)
Reading into the evaluation kit PDF as I type this post…The function of the External Pass transistor is becoming obvious…DUH…pin8-DRV evidently tells the transistor to go ahead and pump the current through…pin7-VBat-monitors the voltage on the battery as it charges…
Well, gonna finally post this, and go on my way learning more. I am NOT going to edit out my ignorance from earlier, it may help others along…
Might be a microchip MCP73843-4.2 … Would explain the 738432 number on the package…
http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/D … 21823c.pdf
is the data sheet for the chip. I posted the Evaluation kit PDF before out of ignorance…
Maybe the POR turns off while charging to prevent the charge circuit from detecting improper voltage readings, and thus improperly charging the battery. MAYBE even preventing overheating of the battery and mayhem resulting…just guessing again…
cant get the values of the resistors and caps used yet…but working on it…
Hm…looking at John’s last post…you did ask about the voltage regulator, and I have been spouting about the charging circuit… :oops:
Back to the drawing board…
Volkemon.
Yes, I was curious what voltage regulators are being used on the POR. With the bluetooth version there are two - one for the WT32, and one for everything else. The MCP73843 is the battery charger IC. Interestingly, the WT32 has a Li-Po battery charger circuit in it, but I haven’t looked into whether it can be used or not, or why Sparkfun didn’t implement it?
I made lots of outgoing calls this weekend, and received quite a few incoming calls, all with excellent results. Everything is lashed together with clip leads and such, and I’ve taken it as far as I can without making a PCB. That’s going to be job #1 this week, and then I’ll start looking at how to best implement the DTMF stuff!
John
Volkemon,
I got shipping confirmation today from my PCB vendor (Alberta Circuits) that my custom POR circuit boards have shipped! I should have them by 10AM on Monday, and if all goes well (doen’t it always???), a solid, working unit by lunch time!
BTW, I’ve got the DTMF generation stuff working about 90% in some tests. Unfortunately, it will require a minor amount of surgery to my new board, but that is what Rev. 1 boards are all about!!
John
Sweeeeeeeeet.
I failed in my votage regulator task. If they are there, I am unable to identify them.
Glad you are doing so well in your POR project. Is it something that I will be able to use existing parts off my current POR to build?
If not, it is ok. I have a rotary phone that has history with me, from the early 80’s to its “parked in a box” status in '94. It would be a good base for the POR-II. Once you get to a finished (ha!) version, or if you need another test subject (please please) I would like to use that one.
Glad to hear of your succes!
Volkemon,
Sorry for the delayed status report as I’ve been away for a week on vacation.
Anyway, my bluetooth rotary phone is working great including the DTMF generation for voicemail access! I’m still playing around with the way that DTMF strings are stored (remember that the interdigit time required by my cell carrier would not allow me to use the rotary dial to select DTMF digits), and then recalled. I should have that coded this week, and then I’ll make a final PCB (the original has a lot of ECO wires on it for the DTMF function…!)
This project has been a lot of fun!
John
Hi All,
I received my new P-O-R PCB earlier this week, and I now have it built and working! The audio quality is excellent, and I now have full DTMF support for voice mail access!
It’s been a month since there was any activity in this thread, so I’m assuming that any interest has cooled on this project. As such, I’m going to archive it away and move on to my next project. If anyone is interested in the modifications I made, let me know!
John
Alright John! :mrgreen:
I always monitor this thread just in case someone wanders by…
Any insight if your mods, especially the voice quality, will work on a non-bluetooth POR?
Thanks for posting!
I’ve been using port-o-rotary daily for nearly a year now, and the battery can no longer last a full day on a single charge. After 8 hours or so, even on the first call of the day, the person on the other end reports they can barely hear me, and the ringer barely or not at all rings when it should.
So looks like I need a new battery, and I see this: http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/produc … ts_id=8484 – this would be pretty keen. Can I use this battery as-is, or do I need to make modifications, and if so, what kind?
On another note, missing DTMF is kindof a bummer, I built a nice bluebox which also does DTMF from http://www.projectmf.org/, but it is quite the task (sometimes 20+ tries) get it to go through as-is using just audio. Seems like typical cellphones do something with the carrier to get a clean DTMF tone through – have you ever had your DTMF tones misunderstood by the remote end due to poor signal? No, they just seem delayed, like a negotiation with the cell carrier is going on. So it seems like I should need to change the firmware to do the DTMF tones for me.
There is also a report that you used to be able to buy the guts of the port-o-rotary separately, but I cannot find it. I wouldn’t feel comfortable making any modifications at all unless I knew I could purchase a replacement logic board. If I screw up, I’ve got to dump $200 on another phone I don’t need… Any chance of this coming back someday?? Hell I’d buy two now for just in case, I want this phone for life.
That battery pack works fine in the POR, and is the pack they ship in the bluetooth version. I am not sure if the charge circuit is properly calibrated for that ampHour rating however.
I am still waiting for someone to address the poor vocal quality on the POR, as it is a little beyond my tech ability at this time.
Good luck in your quest, and keep posting!
another thing, I made a custom dialcard. It is made after one I found online,
http://1984.ws/~dingo/cp_cb_triangle_cab_2-2424.jpg
I was very happy with the style – the font, the color, it gives it a very new york 1971 feel. But I wasn’t happy with the quality and resolution, so I rebuilt it, trying to keep it close to the original:
and the high resolution tif (3mb!):
Have you tried finding another handset on ebay or other and re-wiring? I can’t say mine is terribly bad, people understand me fine, and the my receiver is so loud sometimes I have to plug it with a finger so my neighbors cannot hear the person on the other end!
The reason I bring it up, is because i found older (pre-Western Electric 500) schematics that indicate that the ear and mic shared ground (‘-’ on the board), it was jumped inside the phone. I tried this, and though it worked, it halved the audio levels. I found and purchased a nice cloth coiled cable, http://www.houseoftelephones.com/cord-h … tched.html but unfortunately, though it says “4 conductor” it has only 3??? So I had to wire in another line, but it is uncoiled, and I no longer have the reach I want.
Yeah…tried a few different pieces. I got much better response from another mike piece that came with the original mis-shipped POR/bluetooth order. And another one from a 80’s phone I have was no big difference. each time The other party has trouble hearing me, but yes indeed they come in loud and clear.
Thats why when I demo the POR to people I let them listen and I talk on another phone. That way they dont hear the shortcoming. Heck, the biggest thrill is when it rings with no cord attached. I hope for the day it can be a “yes, I am calling you from this phone on your cell” type of surprise.
It will happen. Sparkfun will MAKE it so… 
And…FYI-
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/produc … cts_id=286
is the original series of posts in the first few hours (!) of POR ownership- once again, BIG credit to SPARKFUN for not pulling them off the comments. Lesser, and more insecure companies would have.
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2007/1 … lectr.html
is the original post I saw on MAKE that made me NEED the POR. Neat blog, worth checking out. Wow…almost two years now…
Thanks for contributing, and here’s to MAKEing the POR GREAT!!!
I need to take it to work tomorrow…
Hi Folks!
Just kicking up the ashes…see if there are any sparks… 
Volkemon:
Hi Folks!Just kicking up the ashes…see if there are any sparks…
I’m still interested in the POR. Specifically I’d like to get a Blue Rotary board so I can modify something myself. Hey, John Morley! I’d love to see that update you made.
Has anyone thought of shoehorning in the ability to dial through a port-o-rotary using a tone dialer held to the microphone? Silly, yes, but the ability to do so shouldn’t be too hard. With John’s version, there should be plenty of room to do it.