Lets connect the Palm with the mic for free!
Here is how we build one:First some research...
Palm Tx uses, what it calls, Palm Multi-Connector. This is also known as Athena connector. The speciality of these Connectors is that they can be used to charge the device, transfer data to a computer, HotSync, and play audio. It is the new standard to replace the previous Palm Universal Connector, which performed similar functions but did not have an audio output capability.
NB- Some of these connections are completely backward/reversed. I have used more than one site to collect all these information and before using this document, one needs to compare the pinouts.
Join the Palm's own Access Developer Network (no cost) to gain access to the pinout diagram. ACCESS Developer Network (I can email you the pdf : gmail-document)
The information is listed in Wikipedia- Link
Copy Pasting the same-
Apart from audio output, these connectors can also be used to connect to an external microphone or to GPS units
The connector is divided in two sections: the longer one has thirteen pins numbered from right to left (5 to 17); the shorter one has three pins, on the left (3), top (2) and right (1). The cable shield connectors (4,18) are located on each side of the thirteen pins.
Pins 10 and 11 have TTL levels and can't be directly connected to the RS232 port.
The Multi-Connector has received criticism from users who were familiar with previous connectors such as the Universal Connector. Users have been frustrated with the requirement to update their Universal Connector cables, cradles, keyboards, sleds, and attachments as they are incompatible. Another criticism is that the connector is fiddly, harder to remove and feels fragile.
All that is needed to charge the Treo is to connect +5 V to VDOCK and 0 V (negative) to VDOCK_RTN.
Wikipedia displays the following pic saying:
Close view of Palm Multi-Connector, Pin 1 on the right.
More information is needed on these connectors. The following forum gives somemore:
link- http://forum.brighthand.com/showpost.php?p=538797&postcount=7
The above link has the following info- (It takes about bridging Universal connector with Multi connector
bridging UC to MC
The following are the pins that the UC (universal connector) palm keyboard pictured above has on it. Each is followed by a possible corresponding MC (multi-connector) pin. At the bottom, view excerpts from the Palm Dev Guide (for MC) and the from the pinout link above (for UC). More will come later.
14 RTS out Request to send: hardware flow control handshake signalconnects to U11 pin-16, drives 3K ohms to +-5volts(when not active the transciever pin is in tristate)
13 CTS inclear to send: hardware flow control handshake signalconnects to U11 pin 14. Load resistance 3K - 7K(when not active the transciever pin is in tristate)I'm thinking there will be no comprable pin for these two flow control pins. Either this is handled in conjunction with other fuctions, or it is completely superfluous with the more up-to-date MC.
12 DETECT
Peripheral atach/detach detectiona peripheral must tie this pin to Pin-7also unsure. A section in the PDG states that MC peripheral detection involves use of TX or RX. The section describes it in more detail, more later.Regarding ADAPTER_ID
10 RXD
Reveive Data: from peripheral to handheldConnects to U11 pin-13 Load resistance 3K-7K ohms(when not active the transceiver pin is in tristate)corresponds to MC pin 11 (RXD)?
9 VOUT
Regulated voltage out: 3.3 V+-0.2 at 100mAFrom VCC U12 Note that it is the responsibility of the peripheral attachment to manage the following: never draw more than 100mA (exceeding this may damage the Palm handheld), drawing 100mA continously significantly shortens the handheld's working time, and do not draw current while the Palm handheld is in a low battery condition.corresponds to MC 13 (POWER_OUT)?
8 ID
(see photo for description)corresponds to MC 2 (Adpapter_ID)?
7 SG
Signal ground (internally connected to pin-1) no clue. Corresponds to MC 16 (AGND)? Or possibly both 4 and 18?Under shielding, Palm Dev Guide says"On all peripheral devices, the shield pins 4 and 18 should be grounded with any available shielding system ground. For example, on a USB cable these pins should be connected to USB cable outer shield, which in turn connects to the shield on the USB connector at the other end of the cable.Where no external shielded ground is available peripherals should connect pins 4 and 18 to the peripherals system ground.
5 HS_IRQ
wakes handheld. The Hotsync button momentarilly connects this pin to pin-9. Produces a hotsync interrupt notification in the Palm OS 4.0 for applications to use to detect the presence of their peripheral. Load resistance range 104,500-115,500 ohms corresponds to MC 12 (HOTSYNC)?
More information and diagram from a third site-
http://pinouts.ru/PDA/palm_treo650_pinout.shtml
(This also goes for PalmOne Treo 650, Treo 700w, 750v, Tungsten T5, E2, TX, 680, LifeDrive)
It also adds: Please note, that as of the 3rd of August 2006 all the Palm documents number the pins in the opposite direction.
Then it goes on to give USB pinout
Note: http://pinouts.ru/ is a very good site for any kind of pinouts.
That is substantial bit of information. Now you need to buy the Athena connector. It is being sold by the guy in the previous post-
"I sell them also wolf_759!My best deal is 5 for $5 -- a buck a piece. I really hate to sell fewer than that, and this way you can either screw up one or two before perfecting whatever you make, or you can make an extra few to sell to friends! PM me if interested.
WyreNut
__________________WyreNut's External Microphone"
Note: http://www.gomadic.com/ sells the multiconnector for the Palm TX. They are way costlier than what WyreNut used to sell (yes I emailed him and he says that he has sold all of the 1000 he had ordered from a Taiwan based company. If someone wants to order a 1000, please let me know ;=D
posted by Surinder Rinku @ 2:28 PM
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