Samstag, 16. April 2011

Palm IIIc Disassembled

I've got a Palm IIIc to save from the waste basket. The device is somewhat outdated compared to common smart phones, but its hardware might be used for some project. Therefore I've disassembled it and took some photos for documentation and now posted online.

The most interesting part is probably the main board.
     
It shows the high voltage inverter for the CCFL background light, the display controller, the DragonBall MC68EZ328 microcontroller, 8 MB GM71VS65163CL DRAM and the 2 MB AM29LV160DB Flash.

How to use this for own projects?
  • The easiest option is to write a program which is then run by normal application by the Palm operating system. It should be possible to use the whole screen with its touch screen for a custom GUI. The real device is then connected via RS232.
  • It would be way more interesting to use one's own firmware for the DragonBall microcontroller. This is quite complicated, because the development tools are only available at the original construction office.

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