Hacking 1090 Puck USB cable

[Richard Lee]

I've been seeing a USB connection failure between the BBB and the 1090 Puck lately.
The problem seems to be caused by the Puck's USB connector access hole.

It's too tight for a mini-USB plug to get in far enough to allow a solid connection.
Hence the occasional failure to communicate.

First, I replaced the 6 foot USB cable with a 16" cable. Then, I used a sharp X-acto knife
to re-shape the mini-USB plug. Making it conform to the odd shape of the recess in the 1090 Puck.

Now the connection feels solid. Now the cable doesn't pull out so easily.

Cheers,
Rich

 

[Mark Daniels]

Hi Rich,

Thank you for the feedback on this and for the photos too.
Nice work on sorting out the cable so that it makes a good connection.

I will soon have some cables with longer connectors so if anyone else has this issue using the BBB please let me know.

Cheers,
Mark
[email protected]

 

[Richard Lee]

It looks like my USB plug hack was useful to some other Puck users who were seeing USB problems..
http://radarspotting.com/forum/index.php/topic,5687.30.html