TomTom 5 with Kirrio GPS Cradle - NO SOUND

MisterToad · Occasional Visitor Joined: Mar 28, 2007 Posts: 6

I am looking to work with other developers on a solution to this problem. I just bought the rx1950 with the Kirrio and ViaMichelin. Tomtom 6 is way better and bought myself a copy, but it doesn't 'drive' the speaker on the Kirrio.

I have a couple of theories here. Firstly lets tackle the blue LED issue. The LED is 'driven' by the ViaMichelin software and you can see an executable that sits in the \Program Files\ViaMichelin folder. If you run it, it lights the LED... I think this is just a cosmetic thing, but it could be 'powering' the speaker, although I think it's unlikely and it's purely a cosmetic indicator.

I suspect ViaMichelin is enabling the audio line out, which sends the audio via the expansion connector, into the speaker which is already powered by your 12v battery in the car.

Same problem here - RX1955 and Kirrio cradle. ViaMichelin own Kirrio so absolutely no chance of getting any info on how to get this to work with TomTom from them.

I've just had my cradle apart to try and hack it at the hardware level using a makeshift signal injector and tracer but with absolutely no joy with anything at all. There are inputs labelled Mic1 and Mic2 but no such thing as a conventional audio amplifier stage, although two of the (hideously complex) chips could be configured as such.

Attacking from another direction, I've tried to find pinouts for the RX1955 connector but again, no joy. Strangely enough, none of the other IPAQs I've found pinouts for have audio on the connector.

Would someone please send me the GPSUTILITY.EXE file as I 'filed' my ViaMichelin disk suppplied with the RX1955 nav pack when I started using TomTom and now can't find the CD. I want to trace the signal path when running the Michelin software with the blue led and speaker active.
E-mail address is (delete the xx) xxandy.stansfieldxx@bigfoot.com )

Andy.

PS Gadget - I read somewhere that the blue led flashes when searching and goes steady on a position fix.

MisterToad · Occasional Visitor Joined: Mar 28, 2007 Posts: 6

Would someone please send me the GPSUTILITY.EXE file

Excellent! Many thanks Judy. I'll be posting back here if I manage to crack the problem.

Andy.

MisterToad · Occasional Visitor Joined: Mar 28, 2007 Posts: 6

I've found my CD and done some poking into this and things aren't too hopeful so far. The GPSUTIL.EXE and the other promising file NVBPOWER.EXE aren't actually needed when Michelin Navigator is running.
The blue LED definitely pulses when external power applied, and goes steady on a positon fix.
Navigator tries to stop you accessing other programs when it's running but I managed to get a Navigator voice test with an MP3 playing and the Michelin message came from the cradle speaker, the MP3 from the PPC speaker. This is not good news as it shows that Navigator does not use the normal audio channel, and must be driving the cradle with a digital signal, possibly using the D to A chip on the cradle PCB. This is supported by the fact that other PPC pinouts I've seen do not carry audio on the connector.

Next step is to take the cradle apart again to trace the audio from Navigator and try to confirm this, and to find what conditions are necessary to power the audio amplifier stage . . .

Andy.

MisterToad · Occasional Visitor Joined: Mar 28, 2007 Posts: 6

. . . and just for anyone who hasn't worked it out yet, you do not need any bits from ViaMichelin to get the GPS side working with TomTom.

1) Select SETTINGS then GPS SETTINGS then CONFIGURE.
2) Select "Other NMEA GPS Receiver".
3) Set GPS baud rate to 19200.
4) Select "Serial cable on COM1".
5) WAIT and watch the pretty blue bars appear.

(The sound will, of course, be through the tinny Pocket PC speaker. Grrrrr.)

Andy.

MisterToad · Occasional Visitor Joined: Mar 28, 2007 Posts: 6

OK - I've identified the audio amplifier (TPA6211 - even though it doesn't say so) and I am tracing the circuitry around it. I've cracked the amplifier enabling so can activate the speaker and have had audio (albiet very distorted) playing through it from the PPC headphone socket.

I was hoping that this could be a normal user type hack on the side connector sockets, but it's looking like there's going to be some track cutting and patching involved which is no joke on a surface mount assembly. Last time I did anything like this, everything was ten times bigger.

Andy.

judydye · Occasional Visitor Joined: Mar 02, 2006 Posts: 5

Glad you know what you're talking about Andy! I certainly don't. I am using the Tomtom 5 on a Palm T5 with the Kirrio cradle. (pinout diagram here if it's any help... http://pinouts.ru/PDA/palm_treo650_pinout.shtml )
I had a few problems with it freezing the pda at the weekend though - had to clear the cache to get it going again. still it's miles better than ViaMichelin.
However, I did have a sound problem prviously with the ViaMichelin which I asked for help with here and got the answer that it was a known problem - that is that the pda lost sound after having run ViaMichelin and had to be reset to get the sound back.

Anyway just a few thoughts to encourage you in finding a fix!

Judy

MisterToad · Occasional Visitor Joined: Mar 28, 2007 Posts: 6

I make it up as I go along, Judy #;¬)

Interesting - I didn't realise that there were different models of the Kirrio cradle. Your connector is different to mine (to fit an HP rx1955) and does present the audio output on the pins, although I'm pretty certain that ViaMichelin does not use this. The connector on the cradle is just a push fit onto a header inside so that is probably the only difference.

Andy.

judydye · Occasional Visitor Joined: Mar 02, 2006 Posts: 5

I think its the same cradle with different adapters. In fact I had to ask Kirrio for an adapter for the T5. As it stands, I have several different adapters left over in the box so if you find you can't put yours back together, just shout!

Happy fiddling

Judy

joker7 · Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 7:28 pm Post subject:

Any up-dates on a work round with this problem?

I must say TomTom is 100% better Via Michelin, wish I had gone with a TomTom set-up in the first place -but just don't have the cash to replace now.

Chris
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codem0nkey · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jul 14, 2007 Posts: 1

Hey, MisterToad, nice work Smile

I just wanted to let you know that Linux was ported to the RX1950 series and it apparently has working serial IO. So, we know where the serial port is and how it works...with that knowledge and a decent disassembler, we could be able to reverse engineer Viamichelin to find out how it's driving the DAC. Although...it would seem that Viamichelin is driving the chip itself and not using an external driver...and TomTom, I'm guessing, doesn't let you. TomTom also won't have the ability to drive the chip like ViaMichelin does, obviously, and adding that functionality to TomTom is clearly off limits. So I figure even if someone were to reverse Viamichelin's built in audio driver, a new audio driver would need to be coded and it would need to replace the existing PPC audio driver, I guess. Replacing the 1955 audio driver, every app would be able to communicate with the new driver just fine.

However, we'd need the PPC DDK, and we'd need to care Smile

and do you? because I really don't Smile

I've learnt my lesson - steer the hell away from ViaMichelin/Kirrio.

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