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Fresh update of USB Host Library 2.0 has just been posted to GitHub. The primary purpose of this release is to maintain compatibility with Arduino releases – the USB Host Library is now compiles in 1.0 as well as pre-1.0 versions of Arduino IDE. Enjoy!
Several important changes have been made to the code, some related to 1.0 compatibility and some not. The library examples were all tested and corrected, the information below is intended for developers using the library in their own projects:
- PL2302 driver.
Arduino 1.0 defines PL symbol internally (thank you, Paul for finding this out!), therefore, I needed to change name of Prolific class driver. The new name is PL2302; I updated library examples to compile correctly, if someone uses this class in their own development, the right way to define an instance of Prolific device is now PL2303 Pl(&Usb, &AsyncOper);
- NAK handling.
A bug preventing long polls of an endpoint has been fixed. Previously, if bmNakPower member of epInfo structure was left unitialized the transfer to this endpoint would stop after receiving a single NAK. With current version, the endpoint would be polled for up to 5 seconds. This is rarely desirable, so please initialize bmNakPower with USB_NAK_DEFAULT or USB_NAK_MAX_POWER. If a single poll is desired, as is often the case with interrupt endpoints, specify USB_NAK_NOWAIT and if more than maximum number of NAKs (up to 5 seconds) is necessary, specify USB_NAK_NONAK.
- Code speed.
An unnecessary delay of 20ms has been found (thank you, Alex for discovering this!) and removed from USB::setAddress() member function. As a result, every USB transfer is now 20ms faster. While generally a good thing, it could inadvertently affect data exchanges with slow endpoints. If after upgrading to the current version you start seeing more NAKs, that’s probably why.
One nice thing about Arduino 1.0 is built-in PROGMEM support for strings. It is now possible to free about 300-400 bytes of RAM by redefining USBTRACE and USBTRACE2 macros used in debugging output (thank you, John, for the tip!). For example, USBTRACE (Serial.print(F(s))) will move all USBTRACE strings to PROGMEM. The code size will increase so be careful with this feature if your code size is close to the limit for your Arduino board.
This is the end of announcement – download the code, play with it and if you have any issues please share your findings in the comments.
Oleg.
 ND-100S GPS receiver connected to USB Host shield After posting an article about interfacing USB GPS receiver to Arduino I started receiving e-mails from people asking about a decent inexpensive GPS receiver compatible with USB Host library. After some research and testing I finally found a device which I really like.
ND-100S from USGlobalsat is small, inexpensive (less than $30 shipped at DealExtreme) GPS receiver with excellent characteristics. Below are some bullet points:
- Lightweight – my scale shows 19g for the dongle without connector cover. It is possible to get weight close to 15g by removing the case, USB connector and hardwiring the module to USB Host shield.
- Sensitive – SiRF Star III high sensitivity GPS chip allows this module to lock in less than a minute from my basement (!). Outdoor performance is simply amazing while power consumption stays around 50ma.
- Easy to use – the module uses Prolific PL2303 USB to serial converter supported by USB Host library 2.0 and the sketch from the previous article works without any modifications. Also, the module has status LED showing when GPS position is fixed – comes in handy during field tests when serial console is not available. The dongle ships with semi-rigid USB cable which can be used as a raiser.
Overall, ND-100S is very small, sensitive and inexpensive GPS receiver. It can be used with USB Host shield using PL2303 USB to serial converter support in USB Host library rev.2.0. I have a couple of projects in mind which would use this receiver – will post as soon as I have more information about it.
Oleg.
 CueCat connected to Android phone Today, I’d like to show how to exchange data between USB device and ADK-capable Android phone. I will be using CueCat barcode scanner as source device; the data will be received by the phone and displayed on a screen using Arduino Terminal Android application.
A phone is USB device, too, and since two USB devices are unable to communicate to each other directly, I’m using Arduino board equipped with USB Host shield to relay data between devices. The sketch which runs on Arduino is a mix of two other pieces of code, one from ADK terminal emulator article and another one from an article explaining interfacing with a barcode scanner. Refer to these articles if you have questions about a specific piece.
Below is a full text of an Arduino sketch. It can be pasted from this page in Arduino IDE, compiled, and loaded into the board. It is also included in the examples section of USB Host library rev.2.0 distribution on gitHub. The library itself shall be installed in Arduino IDE tree as well.
To receive data from Arduino you’ll need Arduino Terminal application installed on your phone. The source code of application is also available – it is released under GPL2, if you make modifications to the code, please make them available for other people!
Finally, we will need some hardware – an Arduino board, USB Host shield, a USB hub, “declawed” CueCat or any other HID boot barcode scanner, as well as ADK-compatible Android phone. We will also need a 5V power supply capable of providing ~700ma of electrical current. I will show arrangement of all necessary pieces after explaining the sketch code.
Continue reading Exchanging data between USB devices and Android phone using Arduino and USB Host shield
 CueCat meets Arduino
Soon after posting Arduino barcode scanner article I started receiving questions about CueCat. Many of these cat-shaped devices were distributed free of charge in the US at the end of the dot com craze and even though company which developed and distributed them went out of business long time ago, the USB CueCats are still available for very reasonable price. Declawed CueCat with USB interface can be purchased for as little as $13 total in the US and non-modified ones for even less; at the same time, typical no-name handheld barcode scanner goes for around $25 on eBay and will be shipped from China.
I tested “declawed” USB CueCat with my code – it initializes as HID boot keyboard and works very well. No modifications are needed to the sketch from the previous article – just plug in the device and start scanning. CueCat reads many different barcode systems, including UPC and ISBN. Since CueCat is in constant scanning mode (no button needs to be pressed to initiate a scan), it can be used for applications like automated inventory control or as a part of a motion feedback circuit in CNC/robotics project.
One last advantage of CueCat I’d like to point out is low power consumption. As can be seen on a title picture, an Arduino, USB Host Shield, CueCat and HD44780-compatible LCD display can be run from a small LiPo boosted to 5V by Mintyboost from Adafruit Industries with its output connected to Arduino USB port.
CueCat is compact and inexpensive barcode scanner still available for sale despite being discontinued many years ago. It is implemented as USB HID boot device and supported by USB Host library. If you were living in the US in 2000, chances are you already have one or even several of these cat-shaped devices laying around – try it with my code and let me know if you have any issues.
Oleg.
 Cheap GPRS modem from Dealextreme
Some time ago I started writing about connecting Arduino to cellular network. Using standard GSM AT commands, a program running on Arduino can place and take calls, send and receive SMS, shoot pictures, access the Internet while monitoring phone’s battery level, signal strength and connection status. For many of these tasks any old phone works quite well, however, there are times when a specialized piece of hardware is desired. Today I’m going to talk about one such piece of hardware which can be connected to Arduino board using USB Host Shield.
USB Tri-band GPRS Modem from DealExtreme is just an ordinary GSM cell phone minus keyboard, display, battery, and built-in microphone/speaker. What is left makes inexpensive (~$25), lightweight (25 grams) and compact (see title picture) GSM/GPRS module to use in DIY projects. It supports a standard subset of GSM commands as well as some proprietary ones. The modem is built around BenQ M23 GSM/GPRS Wireless module and uses Prolific PL-2303 USB-to-serial converter. As explained on this page, the PL-2303 in the modem uses non-default USB PID; make sure to grab the latest version of my library, which transparently supports both PIDs.
To explore the functionality of this device I wrote a simple program which is based on Xbee terminal. The program initializes the PL-2303 and waits for user input passing keystrokes to the modem and displaying replies to the screen. Let’s run it and see what this little modem is capable of.
Continue reading Interfacing Arduino to USB GPRS modem
 Scanning barcodes using Arduino and USB Host Shield An addition of Human Input Device Class support to USB Host Shield library 2.0, announced several days ago allows using powerful and inexpensive input devices with USB interface in Arduino projects. Sample sketches demonstrating sending and receiving data to one of the most useful HID device types – boot keyboard/mouse, has been released along with the library. The beauty of boot protocol lies in the simplicity of device report – a data packet containing information about button presses and mouse movements. However, samples were designed to demonstrate all features of the class and because of that, they are somewhat heavy. In real-life applications, it is often not necessary to implement each and every virtual function – only what is needed. In today’s article I will show practical application of HID boot device building a simple gadget.
Originally, HID boot protocol was meant to be used with keyboards and mice. When USB became popular, other keyboard-emulating devices, such as barcode scanners and magnetic card readers have been migrated from PS/2 standard to USB while keeping their keyboard-emulating property. As a result, many modern “not-so-human” input devices behave exactly like a keyboard including boot protocol support. A gadget that I demonstrate today is portable autonomous barcode scanner built using Arduino board, USB Host shield, handheld USB barcode scanner and LCD display (see title picture). The operation is simple – when handheld scanner button is pressed, it scans the barcode and sends it to Arduino symbol by symbol. Arduino then outputs these symbols on LCD display. LCD is erased before outputting each new barcode by tracking time between arrival of two consecutive symbols. To keep the code simple, I intentionally did not implement any data processing, however, since Arduino sketch for the gadget compiles in just a little over 14K, there is plenty of memory space left for expansion.
Continue reading Connecting barcode scanner to Arduino using USB Host Shield
 HID r.2.0 released I pleased to announce that after a long and difficult development period Human Input Device AKA HID class support has been added to USB Host Shield Library r.2.0 and is available on gitHub – I suggest downloading the whole directory, since some modifications has been also made to core files to accommodate a new class. HID devices include popular devices like keyboards, mice, joysticks, game controllers, bar code scanners, RFID and magnetic card readers, digital scales and UPSes, to name a few.
I previously wrote about interfacing to HID devices here, here, and here. The code examples in these articles were written for legacy USB Host Shield library and can’t be compiled with current revision, however, the basic principles are the same – the device is periodically polled by the host and sends back data block called report containing changes in device controls (buttons, switches, jog dials etc.) since the last poll. Even though different devices have different report formats, for a certain device, report format is stored in the device in data structure called report descriptor. Therefore, it is possible to learn about device controls from the device itself by parsing its report descriptor.
There is one special case where report format is known in advance. Almost all HID keyboards and mice support so-called boot protocol intended for communication to very simple systems like PC configuration screen when computer runs from BIOS. Keyboard boot protocol report consists of 8 bytes containing state of modifier keys (CTRL, SHIFT,etc.) in the first byte, second byte being reserved, and up to 6 key scan codes in the rest of the report. Mouse boot protocol report consists of 3 bytes, first of which contains state of left, right and middle buttons and other 2 store X and Y travel since last poll.
In many cases boot protocol capabilities are more than enough for an Arduino project; for this reason, boot protocol class is the first to be released. To demonstrate operations of this class, 2 simple sketches has been developed, one for mouse, another for keyboard.
Continue reading HID support for USB Host Shield Library 2.0 released
 Navibee GM720 connected to Arduino
Here is another quick demonstration of USB Host Shield 2.0 Library. This article describes how to communicate to Navibee GM720 GPS receiver based on SiRF Star III chipset and PL2303 USB to serial converter. This GPS device is available on eBay for around $25 new, used units can sometimes be found for $10 or even less. The receiver has waterproof case, magnet mount and comes with 6 foot cable. Another nice feature of this device is its 40mA current consumption. Here are some pictures of the unit – PCB, internal antenna, as well as front and back of the original packaging.
“Classic” GPS receiver sends and receives NMEA 0183 messages via serial port at 4800 bps. Modern GPS units often support faster speeds and vendor-specific messages. However, they mimic classic GPS unit behavior – at power-on they start sending basic navigation messages at 4800 bps. The following sketch outputs messages, received from Navibee GM720 GPS unit via its built-in PL2303 USB to serial converter connected to USB Host Shield. Full text of the sketch is available on gitHub, below is just a fragment where speed is set to 4800.
The OnInit() member function is called to change serial parameters after initialization. A lc structure of type LINE_CODING is declared on line 14. It is filled with baud rate (line 15) and number of data bits per byte (line 18) and then sent to Pl instance in line 20.
Compile the sketch, load and run. The output is depicted on a screenshot after the code fragment.
Continue reading Communicating to GPS Receiver using USB Host Shield
 Motorola RAZR talks to Arduino
One of the main motivations for adding asynchronous CDC support code to rev.2.0 of USB Host Library was to be able to use cell phones in Arduino projects – establish simple data exchange via SMS, take pictures or connect to the Internet. Second hand phones are inexpensive yet quite capable. Also, m2m (machine to machine) SIM cards start at $4-$6/mo, some even allow for free incoming SMS. All that makes a cell phone an attractive communication option for hobby projects. In this post, I will be talking about basics of cell phone control using data port and AT commands. I will also present simple terminal emulator sketch – to use the code you will need an Arduino board, USB Host Shield, as well as USB Host Shield 2.0 library.
Modern (<10 year old) phones have standard GSM chip interface implemented and accessible via so-called “data port”. The oldest phones implement TTL level asynchronous serial interface by means of “custom” USB data cable, which is just proprietary connector on one end, standard USB connector on the other end, and USB-to-serial converter chip (almost always Prolific PL2303) between them. Newer cell phones have USB-to-serial converter built-in. Motorola phones usually terminate data port on standard mini-USB connector, others, like Samsung and Sony Ericsson, use proprietary cable. The USB-to-serial converter in these phones is almost always standard CDC ACM type.
Many functions of the phone can be accessed by AT commands, similar to commands used to control Hayes phone modems. Standard GSM commands are defined in 3GPP TS 07.07 (look for the latest version, which is 7.8.0). Cell phone manufacturers also define their own AT commands. In documentation AT commands are usually presented in uppercase, however, most phones accept lowercase just as well. A command shall be followed by CR,LF (usually Enter key). If a command is accepted, OK is returned, along with response. If command is not recognized, ERROR is returned. Some commands will be accepted in certain phone states and rejected in others.
Continue reading Interfacing Arduino to a Cellular Phone
 Hub demo
What started as a quick re-factoring effort transformed to a major redevelopment, but finally all pieces fit together tightly and I am pleased to announce that initial release of USB Host Shield library ver.2.0 has been posted to github. This new version contains several major improvements:
- Only 5 Arduino pins are now required for USB Host Shield to function – 3 standard SPI pins (SCK, MISO, MOSI) and 2 remappable pins (SS and INT).
- The low-level interface to MAX3421E has been re-designed. Arduino pin manipulation routines has been replaced with mechanism inspired by Konstantin Chizhov’s C++ AVR pin templates. As a result, low-level transfers became approximately 3.5 times faster. Also, pin reassignment can be done much easier by passing pin numbers into MAX3421E template during instantiation.
- The high-level interface to USB devices has been re-designed as well. It is now possible to connect USB hub to the shield and have many devices on USB bus, up to 7 daisy-chained 8-port hubs plus up to 44 devices connected to hub ports left after daisy-chaining, memory permitting. Also, a standard mechanism of device initialization/polling/releasing has been added to enumeration.
Several minor code improvements has also been made. NAK_LIMIT is now tied to an endpoint – it is now possible to have NAK_LIMIT set to 1 for interrupt endpoint and 32000 for bulk endpoint of the same device simultaneously. Control transfer function now accepts callback in order to split long chunks of data, if necessary. inTranser() function now is able to return actual number of bytes received.
Support for several popular device classes has been added. Device initialization and event handling is now moved to a library specific to device class, therefore user application does’n need to do this and only needs to process actual device data. The following devices are now supported by the library code:
Continue reading USB Host Shield library Version 2.0 released.
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