Well, I finally finished it!
My goal is to create a webpad type device using the I-opener. I have accomplished everything except for the pop-up keyboard and a battery pack. Anyways, here is what I used:
1) Touchscreen: I got this component from a company who is doing a web pad device. I used to work for this company so they allowed me to have one of the screens that they decided not to use. An interesting side note is that this company is working w/ Quanta on a web pad reference design. The screen size is 10.4" active. It is a resistive screen (more on this below). the interesting thing to note is that the glass fits exactly into the cavity for the touchscreen on the I-opener.
2) controller: The touchscreen requires a controller to translate the 4 (or 5) touch wires into serial data for the controller. Again, I got this part free. It is a Berquist (www.bergquistcompany.com) controller. An interesting note is that it has a serial port and a direct 5v UART connection. It requires 3 signals. +5v, TX, and GND.
3) connectors:
3a) The I-opener MB 2nd serial connector uses a 2mm pitch connector type (such as the hard drive controller. I took an extra 2mm hard drive connector and broke it to make a 10 pin connector. I also bent out the motherboard pins to make it stay in place (the pin size seems smaller than the hard drive pins and it has a tendency to slip off)
3b) Berquist connector: in the fashion of hacking, I found that a broken 40 pin hard drive connector fit the pins on the controller.
4) More power: I needed a second power source for my 5v Fan on the processor (You will NOT! get the controller and hard drive into the case w/ the stock heatsink.) I did a quick connectivty test w/ the modem conector (I'm a broadband user, so the modem was the first to go :) and found pin 1 was +5 and the adjacent pin (pin 2?) was ground.
Mounting the glass:
1) Gut the case!
2) The two rivets on the bottom of the case need to be trimmed slightly to get the glass in.
3) This step depends on the screen. If you are using a capacitive screen, then no trimming is required (I believe), if not, then get out the exacto knife. Look at the inner grey plastic. You will notice that there is a smaller and larger lip around the open edge. At first I thought you only needed to trim the inner lip, but this is not so. you need to trim the whole edge flat. Your goal is to raise the outer portion where the resistive cover doesn't touch. If any part of the edge presses against the resistive coating, you wil get spurious touches, or it will fail completely. The controllers all come w/ LED's on them. When you light up the I-opener, watch the LED. If it stays on, then you need to trim more. Also try pressing the sides of the case when shut. See if the edges make contact w/ the screen. If they do, trim more!
4) Connect up the cables as follows for the bergquist controller:
I-opener controller
10 1
9 5(and or 6)
2 2
Make sure you hook it up right, or you can fry the I-opener or the controller or both!
For mounting the controller, I electrical-taped the backside thoroughly and screwed one corner to a modem mounting post.
Thats it! If done correctly, you shoud (barely) be able to get the connector on, and should get no spurious touches! I would install the software and calibrate prior to closing to make sure that it is in OK. Closing it up does suck as there is a lot more in the case than was meant to be! If there is a large demand, I'll try to post pictures, but I am wary of opening it up as it is working.
Someone posted pop-up keyboard pointers before, so I won't repeat (plus I don't remember where they were :)
As for the final step: Battery. My birthday is fast approaching and I'm asking my wife to get one. I found a lead-acid battery pack on the web for $199. If I get it I'll post how it works!. This is really a cool toy using it like a pad!
Final note: This is an expensive option to buy. Touchscreens and controllers run $200+ in single unit quantities. The two places that sell them are:
www.microtouch.com
www.bergquistcompany.com
Good luck and happy hacking!
