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Zipit Serial Mod

Submitted by mozzwald on Tue, 05/11/2010 - 20:15
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I finally got around to actually modding my Zipit so the serial port is available without opening it up. This is based off Foxx's mod from #zipit on irc.freenode.net. The pinout of the Zipit mainboard can be found at http://zipit2system.sourceforge.net/?page_id=82. The serial interface that connects to your PC is up to you but I made the circuit in this article and installed it into a case taken from one of those hearing aid/spy listening devices. An old serial mouse provided the serial cable and all the components came from my junk box (except the circuit board which I got at radioshack). The port installed in the Zipit was a section cut off an old floppy cable. And don't forget the hot glue.
Serial AdapterSerial Adapter
Serial PortSerial Port

hi, i want to use the serial

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 09/08/2010 - 10:47.

hi,

i want to use the serial port to connect a gps-device to my zipit.
the problem is that the system uses the port too so the communication doesn't work well.
how can i unbind the system from the port?

cheap serial cable

Submitted by fanoush (not verified) on Fri, 06/04/2010 - 08:57.

One of the cheapest serial cables is getting CA-42 cable from ebay (mine was below US $3) and just cutting the phone connector. There are two variants, 3 wire and 5 wire. The 3 wire one is powered from USB port so it does not need any additional power, just rx,tx,gnd wires and it works with 3V devices. OTOH the 5 wire one works both for 3V and 5V devices depending on supplied power. See http://buffalo.nas-central.org/index.php/Use_a_Nokia_Serial_Cable_on_an_...