iAUDIO U3 (formerly New hardware--scans...)

[CatBus]

Please excuse the newbie questions, I really have looked around.

I'm looking to see what I can do to get hardware support for the Cowon iAudio U3 (flash DAP).  I hate to crack the thing open myself (me+tools=bad idea), but I've found some pretty extensive photos and schematics of the internals here:

(3 pages, definitely not English)
http://www.imp3.net/article/article.php?articleid=6959

(Referral link in English)
http://www.themp3players.com/archives/2005/11/cowon-iaudio-u3-cracked/

Where is the best place to start?

[keytotime]

I'll help ID the stuff. Looks like another vantronix lcd.

    * System on Chip: Telechips TCC770
    * FM Chip: Philips TEA5767 (H3XX)
    * Power Management Unit: Philips PCF50606HN (O2B/N1Y) (Common)
    * Flash Memory: K9K4G08U0M
    * Audio codec:  CS42L51
    * WB1 Used by the D&A FM Chip's also
    * D125 (Blacklight)
    * LCD Vantronix

[JdGordon]

catbus: i tihnk e first step is either reverse engineering the firmware, or figuring out how to get it to run your own code... then u just play till it works

[LinusN]

I tried your links, but I couldn't find any schematics, but that info was nevertheless extensive. Now you need to do at least one of two things:

1) Use a multimeter to trace the connections on the PCB to find out how the chips are interconnected

2) Disassemble the firmware to find out how to communicate with the chips

Good luck!

[CatBus]

Zoiks!

Both of those are well beyond my capacity.  Not that this is terribly likely anytime soon, but is there a "buy an MP3 player and mail it to someone who knows what they're doing" service?

Maybe I'll win the lottery or something.

[LinusN]

Make that "who knows what they're doing, and have an infinite amount of spare time, possibly because they are living in a black hole or something." :-)

[CatBus]

Fair enough.  I'd hoped I'd found enough so that somehow enough work had already been done for other players that this could be applied to this player with a few tweaks (perhaps losing some functionality in the process).  I'm fully willing to install test firmwares and report what happens when I press button X.  Beyond that, I'm lucky to know the right end of a screwdriver.

I understand this project could always use a few more hackers.  I'm just not that person.  Sorry!  And thanks!

[keytotime]

The major problem for this one is the Telechip risc cpu :'(

[markun]

Doesn't look like a problem to me as it looks like it's just another ARM target:

http://news.apacsource.com/doc/dochtmshow.aspx?systemid=4333&type=3.

[Bagder]

I've created this wiki page for iAudio U2 info:

http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/IaudioU2Info

Feel free to edit it, correct it or add missing details.

[CatBus]

The U3 and U2 are different models, and I suspect very different despite the names.  I don't mind having a U2 wiki page too, but the info above is for the U3.

[markun]

renamed to http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/IaudioU3Info

[nkh]

Zoiks!

Both of those are well beyond my capacity.  Not that this is terribly likely anytime soon, but is there a "buy an MP3 player and mail it to someone who knows what they're doing" service?

Maybe I'll win the lottery or something.

I wouldn't mind chipping in for a 512mb U3 for someone who can make Rockbox run on it   

It's a great little player with it's sound quality, joystick and colour screen, it just needs some better firmware.

[disasterpiece]

THE U3

I wonder when there will be a Rockbox for the iAUDIO U3... Is it that hard to make it?

[disasterpiece]

Someone make a place for donations for buying a U3 to make a Rockbox for it! I would chip in a few bucks but I live in Iran and also bought my U3 here and it's not possible to make money tranactions over Internet here.