My Damaged CCFL Inverter: Repair

It's Wednesday, and I am thinking of what to do today. My damaged CCFL inverter at my motorcycle just popped into my mind. I quickly went out and took the CCFL inverter circuit on my bench.

Upon opening, I saw a busted transistor.



Upon checking the other transistor using the E-gizmo's DMM transistor testing feature (this is a very affordable DMM from E-Gizmo), I was able to say that the other transistor is also damaged.



I replaced the two transistors and a diode with a crack(?).



All in all, three components are damaged but they are easily identified and replaced. I hope that this guide may help solve those who have similar CCFL inverter problems.

Renesas RX62N's uIP TCP/IP Stack

The sample code provided by Renesas on their HEW IDE is a very good example on how to connect via Ethernet. It uses the web browser to control the RX62N. I modified the sample project and created a Python script on the Android to be able to control the demo kit via Wifi.

Android Communication via Wifi -- router --- Ethernet of RX62N using uIP TCP/IP Stack

Renesas RX62N Demonstration Kit

At last, I was able to get my free Renesas RX62N Demo Kit.



Through visual inspection, I could see that this board has so things in it:
- J-link
- Ethernet
- USB Host/OTG
- CAN
- LCD
- Microphone
- Speaker
- Audio Out
- Micro SD
- Com Port
- Temperature Sensor
- 3-axis accelerometer

All the informations and downloads can be acquired on Renesas website.

Here are the application notes.

VirtualBox TCP/IP Communication (Host and Guest)

I want to experiment with C# and Python's socket programming. I don't want to use 127.0.0.1 anymore in my sample program as I want to have a simulation of like two computers sending and receive data via TCP/IP.

My solution is to use a VirtualBox with another Windows OS in it.

I am struggling with this since yesterday but I was able to get it by today. Here is a video procedure.
(The video lagged a lot because my PC is too slow to record and run the virtualbox at the same time. The mouse pointer is also not visible on the video, maybe it is because of the Guest Additions on the VirtualBox).

Here are the procedures:

1. On Host and Guest: Turn off the firewall. My preliminary setting: firewall turned off and No connection to the internet.
2. On Host: Bridge a LAN connection and the VirtualBox Host-Only Network. Then assign an IP on it. (On the example, 192.168.70.4)
3. On Guest: Go to network settings, Choose a network adapter, choose "Attached to Bridge Adapter" and choose the name "MAC Bridge Miniport".
4. On Guest: Run the Virtual OS.
5. On Guest: Set the IP Address of the Ethernet Adapter. (On the example, 192.168.70.5).
6. On Host and Guest: Ping both the address to be able to confirm that there is a connectivity.

Additional test: Hyperterminal was used to test if handshaking will occur and if messages can be sent.

On Future: I will be replacing the Virtual OS with an Ubuntu and use python for socket programming.

Arduino Meets Android (via WiFi)

Here's another simple project for Android control of Gizduino. TCP/IP shield using ATC1000M was used.



Here's a short video of LED Blinker Control of Gizduino via Android.

Arduino Simple Source Code

Python for Android Source Code

ATC-1000M (TCP/IP to UART) Step by Step Guide -- (a Gizduino TCP/IP Shield)

Here is a E-Gizmo TCP/IP Shield which is powered by ATC-1000M, which will be covered in this post.



(the green circle shows that the RX and TX are shorted, for loopback testing)

Here is the procedure from setting the static IP up to hyperterminal loopback testing. (Connection: PC —LAN cable–ATC1000M)

ATC-1000M Loopback Setup and Test Video


Here is a C# test program:



Here is the complete source code in C#.

If the ATC-1000M is planned to be used over wifi, check the IP Address and Gateway of the ATC-1000M via the web configuration and make the necessary adjustments (if needed).

E-Gizmo's Sim900D Modem

This is a very nice product from E-Gizmo.

Some GSM modems doesn't have a Sim Toolkit Command which is used to access the Sim Menu. This is one of its major selling point + it's easiness to connect with a microcontroller.

You can also hook-up earphone and microphone to be able to send/receive calls.

The serial output is TTL-level of near 3V. This can be interfaced to a microcontroller directly (with consideration to the TTL voltages). And all transactions are done via AT command.

All documents can be downloaded from SimCom.