prpr
Well-Known Member
You'll have to post some details of what/where if you want someone to tell you why.
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PC Construction
- Thread starter Black Hole
- Start date
OP
Black Hole
May contain traces of nut
I needed a 64GB UPD in a hurry, so I went to Tesco and found an "Integral" for £14 - not bad considering (I could have had a USB3 one for £16 - £4 off normal price until tomorrow).
Curious thing: it came preformatted as exFAT - never seen that before.
Curious thing: it came preformatted as exFAT - never seen that before.
EEPhil
Number 28
I've got 2x32GB and 1x16GB Integral devices. Can't say that I'm impressed by them - although nothing has actually gone wrong, yet. I seem to think they were preformatted but I can't remember which format. I reformatted them to NTFS.
Probably to make it compatible with Windows and MacOS without reformatting.
OP
Black Hole
May contain traces of nut
"Possibly" rather than "probably". Either way, I figured exFAT was less likely to be recognised by smart TVs and media players than NTFS, so I changed it.
If you are going to insist on "Possibly" then please offer some alternative explanations. Personally I think "Probably" is right on the money.
OP
Black Hole
May contain traces of nut
To me, "probably" implies you have some evidence that the thesis may be true, not just supposition. Or are you able to somehow divine what Integral's intentions were?
If it is just supposition, then what do you base an estimate of "probably" (ie greater than 50% likelihood) on? Plucking an idea out of the air, however sensible that idea might be, does not provide any estimate of probability. It's an idea... a possibility.
If it is just supposition, then what do you base an estimate of "probably" (ie greater than 50% likelihood) on? Plucking an idea out of the air, however sensible that idea might be, does not provide any estimate of probability. It's an idea... a possibility.
You haven't answered my question (" If you are going to insist on "Possibly" then please offer some alternative explanations."). Until you offer some alternative explanations of equal credibility then in my view "probably" is the correct answer.
everthewatcher
Forum Supporter
Just bought a SanDisk Ultra 16GB USB 3.0 drive* and it came formatted FAT32.
* Currys on eBay £5.49 delivered, same price in store. Ordered Saturday, arrived Tuesday.
EEPhil
Number 28
I know this is a PC construction thread and so the next comment may be off-topic.
It might be worth noting that I tried formatting a flash drive exFAT and a Humax 5000T couldn't recognise what USB device had been connected. Reformat as NTFS, no problem. (Clearly the Humax is neither Windows nor macOS - so I'm not surprised).
In fairness the FVP manual does list the supported file systems as "ext3, FAT or NTFS".
EEPhil
Number 28
Your weren't expecting me to RTFM were you?
OP
Black Hole
May contain traces of nut
I bought a couple of cheap wireless optical meeses to have a play with, thinking I might be able to cobble wireless charging (for a lockdown play). Item in question:
My original plan was to hack the wireless charging out of a dead electric toothbrush, but I think the coupling to the coil (in the toothbrush) might rely on that spike from the charger base having a magnetic circuit in it, and the toothbrush circuit only has to charge one NiMH cell - the mouse works from two AAAs.
Then an article in Practical Electronics came along mentioning cheap QI modules (TX and RX), which have 5V in and out, and seems to be a way forward to build into a mouse mat. So I've got stuff on order. Meanwhile, I have obtained some very small LiPos (small enough to fit in the 2xAAA battery compartment... with a little hacking) and have been investigating what is needed to charge them safely from the QI output (a "TP4056 Lithium Charger Module with Battery Protection", plus a P-MOSFET to disconnect the battery from the load when being charged).
It's been doing my nut in working out what the mouse can actually tolerate in terms of supply voltage. Even hooked up to a lab PSU it would not behave properly, even at 3.0V, and yet with batteries and connected to my PC it worked fine. Ditto No.2. Eventually the penny dropped: the USB receiver dongle is two way! I always imagined they were only receivers - but no, there must be some kind of handshaking. Just powering up the "receiver" in a USB charger is sufficient to fool the mouse that all is well, and it behaves normally again.
While it's hunting for its matching dongle (no, they do not work on each other's dongles), the mouse circuit actually consumes more mA than normally (never more then 20mA, mostly about 6mA and less than 1mA when the LED is off).
The outcome of voltage tolerance? 2-5V - which means I won't need a regulator to run it from the LiPo (via disconnect FET) or 5V (via diode).
Once complete, I will detail the whole build for anyone who wants to have a go. In case you are wondering whether this is worth it (apart from the exploration), look up the cost (and grotesque gamer styling) of a QI-charged optical mouse!
My original plan was to hack the wireless charging out of a dead electric toothbrush, but I think the coupling to the coil (in the toothbrush) might rely on that spike from the charger base having a magnetic circuit in it, and the toothbrush circuit only has to charge one NiMH cell - the mouse works from two AAAs.
Then an article in Practical Electronics came along mentioning cheap QI modules (TX and RX), which have 5V in and out, and seems to be a way forward to build into a mouse mat. So I've got stuff on order. Meanwhile, I have obtained some very small LiPos (small enough to fit in the 2xAAA battery compartment... with a little hacking) and have been investigating what is needed to charge them safely from the QI output (a "TP4056 Lithium Charger Module with Battery Protection", plus a P-MOSFET to disconnect the battery from the load when being charged).
It's been doing my nut in working out what the mouse can actually tolerate in terms of supply voltage. Even hooked up to a lab PSU it would not behave properly, even at 3.0V, and yet with batteries and connected to my PC it worked fine. Ditto No.2. Eventually the penny dropped: the USB receiver dongle is two way! I always imagined they were only receivers - but no, there must be some kind of handshaking. Just powering up the "receiver" in a USB charger is sufficient to fool the mouse that all is well, and it behaves normally again.
While it's hunting for its matching dongle (no, they do not work on each other's dongles), the mouse circuit actually consumes more mA than normally (never more then 20mA, mostly about 6mA and less than 1mA when the LED is off).
The outcome of voltage tolerance? 2-5V - which means I won't need a regulator to run it from the LiPo (via disconnect FET) or 5V (via diode).
Once complete, I will detail the whole build for anyone who wants to have a go. In case you are wondering whether this is worth it (apart from the exploration), look up the cost (and grotesque gamer styling) of a QI-charged optical mouse!
Last edited:
OP
Black Hole
May contain traces of nut
To have a useable mouse while I wait possibly another month for the QI modules to turn up, I decided to complete the first mouse as USB rechargeable. Modification required hacking out the battery compartment to make way for the LiPo and charger PCB, but the top and bottom mouldings were held together by a screw within the battery compartment...
However, conveniently there are two hollow spacer pillars near the front end, still intact, so I was able to use them as screw posts for a couple of tiny countersunk self-tappers from the underside.
The existing battery compartment cover has been welded into place. By far the best way to "glue" plastics is to weld them (I use a soldering iron although it's a bit too hot, maybe I should break out my temperature-adjustable one), and filler material comes from whatever plastic I have lying around cut into thin strips.
Using hot air to remove the micro-USB power input socket on the charger PCB, and then refit it as far off the edge of the board as possible (fiddly!), meant I could embed the PCB within the mouse body and have the input socket accessible from the outside. The surface-mount status LEDs on the PCB (separate red and blue to indicate charging and charged respectively) are brought out next to the input socket by crafting a light pipe from a clear plastic swizzle stick I have knocking about.
After that, a fairly bulky connector to the LiPo (rather than solder the LiPo leads directly to the charger board), and the LiPo itself, are just crudely stuffed into the cavity left by removing the battery compartment, and the mouse closed up. There's not enough room for them to rattle about, and once screwed together who's gonna know.
One mouse, done.
However, conveniently there are two hollow spacer pillars near the front end, still intact, so I was able to use them as screw posts for a couple of tiny countersunk self-tappers from the underside.
The existing battery compartment cover has been welded into place. By far the best way to "glue" plastics is to weld them (I use a soldering iron although it's a bit too hot, maybe I should break out my temperature-adjustable one), and filler material comes from whatever plastic I have lying around cut into thin strips.
Using hot air to remove the micro-USB power input socket on the charger PCB, and then refit it as far off the edge of the board as possible (fiddly!), meant I could embed the PCB within the mouse body and have the input socket accessible from the outside. The surface-mount status LEDs on the PCB (separate red and blue to indicate charging and charged respectively) are brought out next to the input socket by crafting a light pipe from a clear plastic swizzle stick I have knocking about.
After that, a fairly bulky connector to the LiPo (rather than solder the LiPo leads directly to the charger board), and the LiPo itself, are just crudely stuffed into the cavity left by removing the battery compartment, and the mouse closed up. There's not enough room for them to rattle about, and once screwed together who's gonna know.
One mouse, done.