Comments on: Reverse Boonjaneering http://mrspeaker.webeisteddfod.com/2006/02/02/reverse-boonjaneering/ Questions, music, noise, and computer nerditry. Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:23:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=1.5 by: David (Boon) Tenace http://mrspeaker.webeisteddfod.com/2006/02/02/reverse-boonjaneering/#comment-2358 Thu, 02 Feb 2006 09:54:24 +1100 http://mrspeaker.webeisteddfod.com/2006/02/02/reverse-boonjaneering/#comment-2358 My Boony seemed to be a talk-on-timer Boony; he only talked once every hour and never responded to the beeps on TV. I followed the Project 2 and soldered some wires with a switch on his base, and now during a talk window I have Boony talking on demand! I love it! Except I have to wait for a talk window... or do I? I noticed the "See when Boony is awake" project shows when the Boony talk circuit goes "Live" (ie. when the point in the photo jumps to ~5v). If we run a link from the 5v source (+ end of the batteries) to this "Boony Live" point, wouldn't that keep Boonys talk window open all the time? I know the batteries would die quicker but he wouldnt be that hard to run from a 5v AC adapter... I'm gonna try it, let ya'll know. My Boony seemed to be a talk-on-timer Boony; he only talked once every hour and never responded to the beeps on TV. I followed the Project 2 and soldered some wires with a switch on his base, and now during a talk window I have Boony talking on demand! I love it! Except I have to wait for a talk window… or do I?

I noticed the “See when Boony is awake” project shows when the Boony talk circuit goes “Live” (ie. when the point in the photo jumps to ~5v). If we run a link from the 5v source (+ end of the batteries) to this “Boony Live” point, wouldn’t that keep Boonys talk window open all the time? I know the batteries would die quicker but he wouldnt be that hard to run from a 5v AC adapter…

I’m gonna try it, let ya’ll know.

]]> by: Tim http://mrspeaker.webeisteddfod.com/2006/02/02/reverse-boonjaneering/#comment-2362 Thu, 02 Feb 2006 10:51:58 +1100 http://mrspeaker.webeisteddfod.com/2006/02/02/reverse-boonjaneering/#comment-2362 David, The "forcing" of the talk window will not work as the CPU (black blob) has to power up this point on it's own. Thus, any signal processed by the audio stage (right hand side of the board) will be ignored. This was the first thing I tried. The secrets of Boon are revealing themselves to me, gradually. Mr Speaker will be the first to find out ('cept for my street when I run down it naked shouting "EUREKA" - Archimedes and boyancy - when I know the answer) I am very close to decoding the program code. I should be able to code him to think that it a match day of my choice, but any major mods will require an additional controller. I'll keep you all posted. David,

The “forcing” of the talk window will not work as the CPU (black blob) has to power up this point on it’s own. Thus, any signal processed by the audio stage (right hand side of the board) will be ignored.

This was the first thing I tried.

The secrets of Boon are revealing themselves to me, gradually. Mr Speaker will be the first to find out (’cept for my street when I run down it naked shouting “EUREKA” - Archimedes and boyancy - when I know the answer)

I am very close to decoding the program code. I should be able to code him to think that it a match day of my choice, but any major mods will require an additional controller.

I’ll keep you all posted.

]]> by: David (Boon) Tenace http://mrspeaker.webeisteddfod.com/2006/02/02/reverse-boonjaneering/#comment-2364 Thu, 02 Feb 2006 12:09:54 +1100 http://mrspeaker.webeisteddfod.com/2006/02/02/reverse-boonjaneering/#comment-2364 Doh! Doh!

]]> by: Wal http://mrspeaker.webeisteddfod.com/2006/02/02/reverse-boonjaneering/#comment-2377 Fri, 03 Feb 2006 09:57:42 +1100 http://mrspeaker.webeisteddfod.com/2006/02/02/reverse-boonjaneering/#comment-2377 Tim: I probly should have put this here first... Tim: Did you say you have a seperate MCU connected to your boonie? From what I can work out after removing the epoxy (and sacrificing the micro underneath) the chip must have an onboard DAC as the speaker is driven directly from the chip. You’d have to assume that the 24C01 would hold all of boonies quotes, when read it would provide a digital form of his quote to the processor which then runs it through a DAC to the speaker. My plan is to connect a PIC to the EEPROM and read and store its data so we can then feed this through our own DAC, allowing us to have Boony speak all his quotes. From there the possibilities are endless! I can’t see a lot of point in keeping the analogue circuitry for the “beep” drive, as once the cricket is finished I doubt we’ll hear those tones again. We just need a reasonable input trigger and we can resurect our boonies for ever! Tim: I probly should have put this here first…

Tim: Did you say you have a seperate MCU connected to your boonie? From what I can work out after removing the epoxy (and sacrificing the micro underneath) the chip must have an onboard DAC as the speaker is driven directly from the chip. You’d have to assume that the 24C01 would hold all of boonies quotes, when read it would provide a digital form of his quote to the processor which then runs it through a DAC to the speaker. My plan is to connect a PIC to the EEPROM and read and store its data so we can then feed this through our own DAC, allowing us to have Boony speak all his quotes. From there the possibilities are endless! I can’t see a lot of point in keeping the analogue circuitry for the “beep” drive, as once the cricket is finished I doubt we’ll hear those tones again. We just need a reasonable input trigger and we can resurect our boonies for ever!

]]> by: Mr. Speaker http://mrspeaker.webeisteddfod.com/2006/02/02/reverse-boonjaneering/#comment-2378 Fri, 03 Feb 2006 10:03:16 +1100 http://mrspeaker.webeisteddfod.com/2006/02/02/reverse-boonjaneering/#comment-2378 Are the boony sounds stored in the EEPROM? According to the specs for the <a href="http://mrspeaker.webeisteddfod.com/files/BoonyChip_24c01a.pdf" rel="nofollow">24C01 chip</a> it only has 1, 2, or 4K storage - That wouldn't be enough to store all those quotes even in 8bit crunchy goodness - would it? I thought that his words must have been under the epoxy. How are samples usually stored in these sorts of gadgets? Are the boony sounds stored in the EEPROM? According to the specs for the 24C01 chip it only has 1, 2, or 4K storage - That wouldn’t be enough to store all those quotes even in 8bit crunchy goodness - would it? I thought that his words must have been under the epoxy. How are samples usually stored in these sorts of gadgets?

]]> by: Wal http://mrspeaker.webeisteddfod.com/2006/02/02/reverse-boonjaneering/#comment-2379 Fri, 03 Feb 2006 10:24:15 +1100 http://mrspeaker.webeisteddfod.com/2006/02/02/reverse-boonjaneering/#comment-2379 Not definite, but I'd reckon they would be, couldn't see much other need for the EEPROM otherwise, you'd assume the chip itself would have enough memory to run it's program being a pretty basic program. Could be wrong though, it happened once before ha ha. Did my Boony "talk on demand" and "display talk window" mods, now just waiting for the cricket to start!! Bring it on!! Not definite, but I’d reckon they would be, couldn’t see much other need for the EEPROM otherwise, you’d assume the chip itself would have enough memory to run it’s program being a pretty basic program. Could be wrong though, it happened once before ha ha.
Did my Boony “talk on demand” and “display talk window” mods, now just waiting for the cricket to start!! Bring it on!!

]]> by: Tim http://mrspeaker.webeisteddfod.com/2006/02/02/reverse-boonjaneering/#comment-2381 Fri, 03 Feb 2006 12:52:05 +1100 http://mrspeaker.webeisteddfod.com/2006/02/02/reverse-boonjaneering/#comment-2381 Wal, I've just removed the EEPROM from the board, the left side is shorted (A0, A1, A2 and GND) to the WE pin (write protect). When the WE pin is connected to GND, the array can be read from and written to. I have examined the initial data signals after powerup and determined that it is trying to WRITE to the EEPROM. The bitstream is as follows: START, 1010000 (according to the Device address, Figure 7 for 1K) then a ZERO = write. The data stream then slowly rises (representing a release to read ACK bit) then repeats as my EEPROM is removed. I will now read the EEPROM and see what it contains. Wal,

I’ve just removed the EEPROM from the board, the left side is shorted (A0, A1, A2 and GND) to the WE pin (write protect). When the WE pin is connected to GND, the array can be read from and written to. I have examined the initial data signals after powerup and determined that it is trying to WRITE to the EEPROM. The bitstream is as follows:
START, 1010000 (according to the Device address, Figure 7 for 1K) then a ZERO = write. The data stream then slowly rises (representing a release to read ACK bit) then repeats as my EEPROM is removed.

I will now read the EEPROM and see what it contains.

]]> by: Shmoo http://mrspeaker.webeisteddfod.com/2006/02/02/reverse-boonjaneering/#comment-2391 Fri, 03 Feb 2006 16:13:18 +1100 http://mrspeaker.webeisteddfod.com/2006/02/02/reverse-boonjaneering/#comment-2391 It's sad because we need to do a lot of research on the noble Boonhattan Project before the VB Series is over soon. :'( It’s sad because we need to do a lot of research on the noble Boonhattan Project before the VB Series is over soon. :’(

]]> by: Mr. Speaker http://mrspeaker.webeisteddfod.com/2006/02/02/reverse-boonjaneering/#comment-2407 Sat, 04 Feb 2006 14:11:08 +1100 http://mrspeaker.webeisteddfod.com/2006/02/02/reverse-boonjaneering/#comment-2407 Hey Tim, I had tested your talk-window connectoin by manually holding the LED and resistor in place. Today I went to solder him up - I did the ground connection no problem - but the other joint seems tricky. If I solder a wire into that lil' hole next to the resistor I will surely make a blog-o-solder that will touch both components next to it (C4 and R2) - is that okay? Or do I have to a magic tiny solder? Also, what if I want to use a green or yellow led? are they the same as red (besides, you know, the colour thing...)? ' Hey Tim,

I had tested your talk-window connectoin by manually holding the LED and resistor in place. Today I went to solder him up - I did the ground connection no problem - but the other joint seems tricky. If I solder a wire into that lil’ hole next to the resistor I will surely make a blog-o-solder that will touch both components next to it (C4 and R2) - is that okay? Or do I have to a magic tiny solder?

Also, what if I want to use a green or yellow led? are they the same as red (besides, you know, the colour thing…)?
‘

]]> by: Tim http://mrspeaker.webeisteddfod.com/2006/02/02/reverse-boonjaneering/#comment-2429 Mon, 06 Feb 2006 08:21:44 +1100 http://mrspeaker.webeisteddfod.com/2006/02/02/reverse-boonjaneering/#comment-2429 The colour of the LED will change it, but RED, GREEN and YELLOW are all very similar. BLUE has a greater voltage drop (Vled) accross is when it's on, so it requires a lower resistor for the same current. Also, there are a number of other spots on the PCB you can connect it to, use your multimeter to find out, it's just that the one mentioned was the closest to the GND point I used. By the way, I made a mistake in my previuos post, the EEPROM is actually being READ FROM, using the random read. I thought that was to read a random address, but it means to read an address at a random point in time. Therefore, for some weird reason, you have to pretend to write to it, then read from it (see datasheet). The EEPROM is only 1K and therefore isn't nearly big enough to store all his quotes, even at maximum compression. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, spent some time at in on Friday, but the poopie hit the fan during the arvo and I had to leave. I'll try and get back to it tomorrow night. The colour of the LED will change it, but RED, GREEN and YELLOW are all very similar. BLUE has a greater voltage drop (Vled) accross is when it’s on, so it requires a lower resistor for the same current.

Also, there are a number of other spots on the PCB you can connect it to, use your multimeter to find out, it’s just that the one mentioned was the closest to the GND point I used.

By the way, I made a mistake in my previuos post, the EEPROM is actually being READ FROM, using the random read. I thought that was to read a random address, but it means to read an address at a random point in time. Therefore, for some weird reason, you have to pretend to write to it, then read from it (see datasheet).

The EEPROM is only 1K and therefore isn’t nearly big enough to store all his quotes, even at maximum compression.

I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, spent some time at in on Friday, but the poopie hit the fan during the arvo and I had to leave. I’ll try and get back to it tomorrow night.

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