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old hp printer controller board with surface mount agilent microproccessor

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mrn

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i was just wondering if it would be possible to somehow flash or program this board to use for other things.

it has a usb slot however im guessing its not as simple as plugging it in and using some software to program it?


yes I know i've been asking alot of diffrent questions on this forum :)
 
what are you trying to do?
 
What microprocessor was that used in the printer? Do you have the datasheet of that mpu?

When you used the word "old", most probably the micro is not flash based. It could be ROM based with internal or external ROM. I have a canon laser printer which uses 68000 MPU and plenty of external ROM and RAM. I scrapped the board and kept the 68000 for future project.

If the MPU ia actually a MCU and one that you're familiar with (e.g. PIC) there's a big chance you might be able to program it onboard and make use of the surrounding chips. But you need to get hold of the schematics of the board first....

Allen
 
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Not worth the effort. Instead just get something like a PIC, Arduino or Raspberry Pi depending on your needs if you want to learn about microcontrollers.
 
@absf: im looking at the biggest square on the chip it says its a Agilent 2BB3-0003 i've tried looking it up but i've got nothing.

i guess its not that old of a printer it uses usb if that says anything.
 
@absf: im looking at the biggest square on the chip it says its a Agilent 2BB3-0003 i've tried looking it up but i've got nothing.

i guess its not that old of a printer it uses usb if that says anything.

Most commercial equipment uses mask programmed processors, simply for cost reasons - not worth bothering with.
 
I guess they're right...

If you have a micro with mask rom inside. There's nothing you can do about it. Same go with the bubble-jet printers or the musical keyboards. I have plenty of out-dated line-interface-cards from an Ericsson telephone exchange with a 68HC05 (PDIP) mpu built-in. They are all using mask rom and I asked in another forum whether they can be used like 8052 with the internal rom disabled, so I can use them with external rom and ram. Most people said "NO" so I just have to scrap the idea.....

But at least you can use the surrounding logic chips for projects.

Allen
 
Maybe this could give you an idea:

Two years ago I did some reverse engineering on a LX850 Epson printer in working condition.

Once I learnt the necessary I took out the micro in charge and a chip implementing the "glue" logic (a LOT of it, in fact).

I simply replaced the whole with a PIC micro (18F452) with my own software and got both steppers working as I liked.

BTW, I was impressed by the design of the electronics inside.

Newer EPSON models are much more difficult to dealt with.

The biggest problem: getting a clear schematic (never could) hence the reverse job.

If yours is still able to carry a self test, disassemble the necessary to see how it works. Learnt a lot from that myself.
 
i was just wondering if it would be possible to somehow flash or program this board to use for other things.

it has a usb slot however i'm guessing its not as simple as plugging it in and using some software to program it?
if you have the item w with you, you could well indicate the model number and support by a main board photograph , even.

simply the people who have to think like helping you, have to imagine , some old HP printer..... don't you feel the approach is vague?

yes I know i've been asking alot of diffrent questions on this forum :)

However
perhaps , you may stop all these reverse engineering and use latest chips sold in the market make your fresh designs as there is LOT of support from the manufacturers like Microchip, and out ETI forum offers plenty of support once you start writing the code.
 
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