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From: Brendan Gillatt on 24 Mar 2010 20:01
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D Yuniskis wrote:
> I've pulled apart some small voice recorder/MP3 player devices and
> the microphone in those was tiny -- though I could easily hold
> it in my fingers, unsolder it, etc. Most of the BT earpieces
> I've seen seemed a fair bit smaller, though. I was wondering
> if there was an even greater level of component intregration
> that would make attempts to *modify* them essentially fruitless.

Take a look at some of the newer MEMs microphone technologies, such as:
http://www.wolfsonmicro.com/productListings/truemics
They are in 3mm * 4mm packages. Good luck if you end up with one of them!

- --
Brendan Gillatt | GPG Key: 0xBF6A0D94
brendan {a} brendangillatt (dot) co (dot) uk
http://www.brendangillatt.co.uk
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From: D Yuniskis on 25 Mar 2010 04:00
Hi Brendan,

Brendan Gillatt wrote:
> D Yuniskis wrote:
>> I've pulled apart some small voice recorder/MP3 player devices and
>> the microphone in those was tiny -- though I could easily hold
>> it in my fingers, unsolder it, etc. Most of the BT earpieces
>> I've seen seemed a fair bit smaller, though. I was wondering
>> if there was an even greater level of component intregration
>> that would make attempts to *modify* them essentially fruitless.
>
> Take a look at some of the newer MEMs microphone technologies, such as:
> http://www.wolfsonmicro.com/productListings/truemics
> They are in 3mm * 4mm packages. Good luck if you end up with one of them!

Well, a package of that size wouldn't be too bad -- just like
soldering SMT components.

What I am more fearful of is this package being *integrated* into
an SoC-ish implementation -- making the connections inaccessible.
From: Robert Roland on 25 Mar 2010 05:56
On Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:36:30 -0700, D Yuniskis
<not.going.to.be(a)seen.com> wrote:

>Ah, sorry, some confusion, there. My bad. This is more
>like what I was talking about:
>
>http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.32062
>
>with the differences being:
>
>- smaller size (?)

Probably smaller. But unless size is important, the bigger ones are
probably easier to hack.

>- microphone (i.e., duplex operation)

Take a look at the pictures of the internals. You'll see the
microphone soldered directly to the board, pointing sideways.

>- not a "music player", etc.

This does both. You attach it to your shirt near your face. The mic is
built into the unit. You can choose to connect mono or stereo
earpiece, depending on wheter you want to talk on the phone or listen
to music. The included earpieces sound horrible, though.
--
RoRo
From: D Yuniskis on 26 Mar 2010 13:17
Hi Robert,

Robert Roland wrote:
> On Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:36:30 -0700, D Yuniskis
> <not.going.to.be(a)seen.com> wrote:
>
>> Ah, sorry, some confusion, there. My bad. This is more
>> like what I was talking about:
>>
>> http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.32062
>>
>> with the differences being:
>>
>> - smaller size (?)
>
> Probably smaller. But unless size is important, the bigger ones are
> probably easier to hack.

I need to put this inside an existing (small!) container
so the size of the item I cited was appealing.

>> - microphone (i.e., duplex operation)
>
> Take a look at the pictures of the internals. You'll see the
> microphone soldered directly to the board, pointing sideways.

Ah, OK. I missed that in my first glance! Points *down*
(in the photo I studied)

>> - not a "music player", etc.
>
> This does both. You attach it to your shirt near your face. The mic is
> built into the unit. You can choose to connect mono or stereo
> earpiece, depending on wheter you want to talk on the phone or listen

Do you have to press any buttons to get it to *do* something?
(i.e., can you just use it as long as power is available?)

> to music. The included earpieces sound horrible, though.

But, the *earpiece* was the problem, not the device?
(i.e., if you had replaced the "earphone" -- which I
intend -- then things would be better?

Hmmm... maybe just buy one and take it apart...

Thanks!
From: miso on 26 Mar 2010 14:39
On Mar 24, 12:18 pm, D Yuniskis <not.going.to...(a)seen.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Anyone dissected one of these?  I'm curious if it is even possible
> to do so (or if they are so highly integrated that doing so just
> results in a pile of plastic and silicon).  E.g., could you use the
> guts of the radio and interface the rest to an external mic and
> earphone?
>
> Thx,
> --don

If the product is registered with the FCC, you can often see the guts
on the FCC website. Occasionally the manufacturer requests
confidentiality, but more than often not.
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