DESIV - I think kutibah was confused about how the hub operated and didn't think that the batteries provided power to the ports, that's why he had the green wire. This isn't the case, the hub DOES provide power to the ports. You'll see in the picture below two points circled in white, they are both the same and are regulated 5v. One is just on the upper board, and one on the bottom board.

Also, I have an N800, so I'm not sure exactly how the 770 handles the detection of the hub. However, in the next picture you'll see a pinout of the mini-usb connector that plugs into the tablet. You'll notice there are 4 pins numbered 1 thru 4, and another pin labeled "X". The auto host mode mod connects pin 4 and pin "X" so "ECHO" commands you have aren't needed. The problem is, pin "X" doesn't have a wire coming out the other end of the cable, so you need a fine tipped soldering iron, some flux, a good eye, and solder the pins inside the connector. It's not as bad as it sounds, the flux helps the solder flow smooth and flat so you don't clog up the connector. Jolouis, in another thread pry's open the connector and solders it, and attempts to reshape correctly, which works also. If either of those ways sound like a problem, the way you mention should work too.

T3H, that's interesting about the CA-100 cable. How are you checking the 5 volts? If you're plugging it in to a USB port, that would explain the regulated 5v, but you seem to imply you are connecting somehow to a battery pack with more than 5v and still getting 5v. I'll have to hack open the connector and have a look now!

>This isn't the case, the hub DOES provide power to the ports.
So, it provides 5 volts on all USB ports, even the "feed port" (for want of a better word) that plugs into the tablet?

I was under the impression it needed 5volts from the tablet (or jumpered) to activate the hub.

If that's the case, it should work with the 770, flashed for host mode and the echo toggles, as is. That would be great. Of course, it doesn't let me use my soldering iron. :-)

I wonder if the "auto host mode" will work on a 770? That sounds like an interesting test. I'll let you know when I get my usb hub. I was planning on just using a gender bender and the standard cable, but it will be worth picking up a mini-usb cable and trying that. I take it most mini-usb cables I could find/pick up don't have 5 wires, thus the need for the mod...

Thanx,

desiv

The hub does need 5v from the tablet, that's part of the USB protocol (sometimes referred to as the Vbus signal) and the tablet provides that and has the power to activate the hub. So yes, with a gender bender and the standard cable, using the echo commands, it should work without any mods.

You are correct about most mini-usb cables not having the correct wires, they would actually need 6 wires, 4 for the pins 1 to 4, one for the "X" pin, and another for the metal shield. They must be available somewhere, but I haven't seen any yet.

T3H - Couldn't resist the curiosity, I'm sorta disappointed...

No components in my hacked up CA-100 connector.

Maybe you have a different one? Mine said CA-100 and had Nokia printed on it, but it could have been an immitation.

Anyway, here's a picture of it's remains...

.

>So yes, with a gender bender and the standard cable, using the echo commands, it should work without any mods.

OK, well, at least on the 770, it doesn't.

I think the issue is the power from the tablet to "wake up" the usb hub.

>...and the tablet provides that and has the power to activate the hub.

Possibly with the 800/810, but apprently not with the 770. So, I'll have to find 5 volts coming from the batteries somewhere that is provided while the hub isn't yet "awake" and plug that into the feed USB port. That should (I would think) wake up the hub, and power the USB circuitry on the 770, as I seem to remember reading that the 770 needed 5 volts for host mode to work.

I'll see what I can find out.

desiv

Update:

OK, I pulled power directly from the batteries, less than an inch from the USB feed power pin.

When I do that, the hub lights up.

When I hooked it up to the 770 dmesg says:

USB cable connected
usb 1-1: new full speed USB device using ohci and address 6
..etc..
(I'm not posting from the 770, so I typed that in, but I think it's right. :-)

So, it looks like it works.

For now, I just need to unplug the batteries when I'm not using it.
Also, it means that it's ON when I'm charging it.

I'm not sure what will happen if I plug it in to charge it, and the device that was expecting to SEND 5 volts will already have 5 volts on the line???

An on/off switch would be ideal, but I'm not sure where I'd put it.

I'm not that great with a solder iron and a dremel. ;-)

As for voltage, the manual says the rechargeables are 1.2V, so that should be around 4.8V if it's accurate. (Don't have my multimeter handy. :-( )


Anyway, it seems to be working, so thanx everyone for the info.

desiv

Ok, first.
In my earlier email, I had an error. To get it into slave mode, you have to echo "peripheral", not "slave". I still have to test that functionality, but it doesn't take the value if you use "slave". :-)

Second,
I'm a bit concerned about going from the power to that USB port with just a wire. That will mean that, if I plug in the hub to my computer to recharge it, my computer will send 5 volts through the hub circuitry AND directly to the battery.

I assume that means I might overcharge the batteries?

So, I probably need to put that on/off switch in there before too long. :-)

desiv

Well, it's done.
I decided to add an on/off switch to it, so I could easily set it back to regular mode, and charge it or use it anywhere.
I found a really small on/off switch, and put it on the other side of the DC plug.
There was just enough room. It's a bit askew and there's a little breathing room on the bottom, but I was never patient enough to be good with a dremel.

But I think it actually looks pretty good.

If I flip on the switch, the blue LED goes on and it's ready to go.

I don't know how often I'll really use USB Host on my 770, but it's nice to know I can.

I think I'll leave the end a full USB plug, so I can use it anywhere, and just make a short USB to mini plug adapter for it.
I looked around online and didn't see any adapters right away, so I just got a USB gender bender and I'm using my regular 770 cable for now.

desiv

Desiv, glad you found a way to get it working. Sorry I missed your posts yesterday, but it looks like you had the right idea. I am a little confused, you say "If I flip on the switch, the blue LED goes on and it's ready to go."

When my hub is functioning correctly there's also a *red* LED that comes on. I have been too busy to dig into this as much as I want to lately, but from what I've discovered, the red LED indicates the regulated 5v is on and available at the 4 slave ports.

I have a little more info, but right now I don't have time to explain.

Yes, there are 2 LEDs. The blue LED on means that the HUB has power and is running.
But by default there is no power to the 4 usb ports.

There is a switch (that came with the HUB) that I can flip that (when the HUB is ON - Blue LED lit) that will power the 4 ports, and when that's on, there's a Red LED that lights up.

The switch I was talking about was the one I added that pulls power from the battery, and sends it to the feed usb port (which sends it to my 770 and to the HUB itself to wake them both up).

I've only used it for my thumb drive so far, so I haven't needed any power on the 4 USB ports.

I found a fairly small on/off switch (about the same size as the other switch) and mounted it in the original case. It has 2 pins on it. I soldered one pin directly to the spot where the red wire from the batteries goes into the PCB, on the bottom. That's the bottom of the switch. (It's vertical)

I'll try to get a picture or two up here to show.

So, it still fits in it's case, and I can flip my switch to revert it back to "original" mode. :-)

Although, I was thinking, if I had to put it in a different case, I would probably remove one of the usb ports, and solder in a thumb drive, so there would be some storage built in. :-) And 3 ports would be plenty.

I'm thinking that I needed the power wire because the 770, from what I can tell, doesn't support USB-OTG. So, even if I built the cable to ground that 5th usb wire, it still wouldn't send power down the USB cable to wake up the hub???

desiv