HQCT Module (new thread following HU RDS/RDBS)

[antimatter]

I never said to send units to everybody. I said to send units to the top most popular frontends to hit the majority of the people while minimizing the cost.

If they were smart they would just get the hardware out there to the frontend software developers so it would be worth buying.

If the sellers want to recoup any losses they could lend the hardware out. or sell it at a discount (at cost) to the developers. The sales generated by software support is more than adequite to warrent this.

This is not a home brew project, this is a full blown commercial product. Therefore it should be treated like one

Quote: Originally Posted by lchatela

We have to undestand that this is a project and not a true commercial product (perhaps later but not now). The delivery of the hardware is a step of the implementation. Then we will have to wait for software or better: work on it.
At the end of march we won't have a plug'n'play solution, we will have to wait further software implementation to have full support in all front ends.

If people wants to have support for a particular front end, they have to pay a unit and send it to the developpers of the front end. The original team can't send free unit to everybody (unless they have a serious business plan and think that the units will be sold at high volume but I am not sure that is the case).

That means 2 things:
- we have to work on the sotware part to add support for frontends
- the price of the first units should be adapted to all this things (strong hard testing will be made by first users and software will be at a beta state) (and that's perhaps why it's is hard for them to give us a price now).

This project is a great improvement for the community so we have to support them for this step.

[TheLlama]

Quote: Originally Posted by antimatter

I never said to send units to everybody. I said to send units to the top most popular frontends to hit the majority of the people while minimizing the cost.

If they were smart they would just get the hardware out there to the frontend software developers so it would be worth buying.

Yeah, but where do you draw this line? I have a frontend used by one person, does that mean I should get a free one? I hope so

Quote: Originally Posted by Diogenes

Quick answer,

30 mm deep (100 long and 56 wide)

mounting holes are 49 mm apart on short side and 93 on long side and have 3.5 mm diameter.

great. Is that depth (30mm) the height of that transistor? How deep is the unit where the shielded box is? Sorry about the questions, I'm designing a case and need to squeeze the unit into my design and I'm down to the last few millimeters.

[antimatter]

Quote: Originally Posted by TheLlama

Yeah, but where do you draw this line? I have a frontend used by one person, does that mean I should get a free one? I hope so



great. Is that depth (30mm) the height of that transistor? How deep is the unit where the shielded box is? Sorry about the questions, I'm designing a case and need to squeeze the unit into my design and I'm down to the last few millimeters.

Its not up to me to draw the line. But in your case if it was me, giving a module to you or the developer wouldn't be worth it becasue we both know that your going to buy one anyways and right there thats 50% saturation.

Come on get with the program

[jcdillin]

It's absolutely essential to get these units to the front-end people, or it's going to end up just like Sirius. We have the units, we have the adapters, but only one front-end supports the unit. If more of the adapters made it out all the front ends would support Sirius.

But at the same time you don't have to be a rocket scientist to tell who the big players are in the front-end arena.

[Diogenes]

Hi, very welcome to ask questions,

the highest part is indeed the transistor (its a voltage regulator as a matter of fact and it is 28 mm high ), the shielding box is 40 by 63 by 23.

diogenes

[Vish]

Any new updates on this?

[TheLlama]

do you see any?

[antimatter]

Quote: Originally Posted by TheLlama

do you see any?

I think he is asking for an update

[TheLlama]

Quote: Originally Posted by antimatter

I think he is asking for an update

Yeah, and I thought the maintainers are posting all the updates to the first post.

[Vish]

Quote: Originally Posted by TheLlama

do you see any?

i just asked the question because last update from them was like 20 days ago.

[emumanXM]

Because it's another software option. For you saps that'll complain about the software for some reason, the Philips software pretty much does everything this radio can do. It has a fully functional RDS/RBDS decoder to display all the RDS/RBDS data you want, fully configurable audio, radio, and RDS/RBDS parameters for the TEF6892 and fully configurable parameters for the tuner. Real time IF readout, Field strength level, Wideband AM on the MPX signal, and ultrasonic noise is all read from the i2c bus, as well as the fully decoded RDS data. Weak signal performance can be tuned and adjusted on the fly if you want. Again, it's just another software option. It's does fit in with most carputer software packages, but it's honest great software. And for a radio geek like me is the coolest thing in the world to play with.

If you know how to set up a carputer then setting up this software with an i2c to parallel port interface should not be difficult. Designing the hardware of this radio is tons more easier than designing software because the tuner is ready made and the audio processor is easy to interface. The philips software is fairly easy to use, but the datasheet will help with anything that you don't understand. It should get you started until software frontends are available.

Jonathan

[Diogenes]

Right

our firmware allows doing just the same over the USB port, it's a matter of adding the buttons and functions to the PC programme, our HQCT software has the basics and is setting the parameters for the tuner module and for the TEF, in the very same way the Philips software does, he who wants can simply add functions to it ...

diogenes

[FMode]

Quote: Originally Posted by jcdillin

It's absolutely essential to get these units to the front-end people, or it's going to end up just like Sirius. We have the units, we have the adapters, but only one front-end supports the unit. If more of the adapters made it out all the front ends would support Sirius.

But at the same time you don't have to be a rocket scientist to tell who the big players are in the front-end arena.

People want it to use with Roadrunner:
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/show...highlight=HQCT
...and with Centrafuse:
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/show...highlight=HQCT

if the Radiosolutions currently build in the frontends would use something extern, a driver, or my proposal - a standard - you would just download the driver from http://www.xtronic.be/ - and it works !

...as done nearly 1000000 times a day round the world if a printer - not tested by Microsoft, nor touched by any Word programmer - is used to print from Microsoft Word.

Bill Gates is a rich man and he could buy every printer in the world to include a driver for it inside his Word but he is not doing it because it's STUPID
(yes - critics at frontends !!!)

My proposal for a standard's targets the frontend programmers as it gives a "radio-object" - no fiddling around with interface (COM1, COM2, USB, LPT or I2C Port of VIA ITX boards) just tuning, RDS, field strength, ... (which has every Radio) and this is the reason why this standardisation is possible.
The frontend doesn't have any control about the Radiator-Path - or has a HQCT module a parameter: "Radiator-Path" ? but my implementation for Radiator needs this path to start Radiator and a Implementation for the HQCT needs a COM Port, doesn't it ? So this paramters are hidden from the frontend and reside in a config-file.
And yes I can do a implementation for the HQCT but I am not doing it just to waste time

[Frankino]

exactly my points.. The only thing a programmer needs to control an hardware is a drivers which allows every function to be used properly from EVERY application. it's very easy. once you have the drivers and the "sdk" you can make it work everywhere, directly in a frontend or using an external app...

[antimatter]

I dont give a crap how it works or how the front end developers choose to integrate it... as long as they do. And for them to do that it is pretty typical to have a test unit hence my original statement.

ultimately it is up to raciemer and co