
I made a cell phone [video] - luu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlRa-iH7PGw
======
lynaghk
I gave this talk. Slides are here:
[https://keminglabs.com/talks/#bangbangcon2015](https://keminglabs.com/talks/#bangbangcon2015)

I'll post some photos of the current version and more details on my twitter
(@lynaghk) tomorrow (in 10 hours).

Software is all on an 8-bit Atmel microcontroller, written in C in the style
of Harel Statecharts
([http://www.inf.ed.ac.uk/teaching/courses/seoc/2005_2006/reso...](http://www.inf.ed.ac.uk/teaching/courses/seoc/2005_2006/resources/statecharts.pdf)).

~~~
lynaghk
Photos of two current phone designs and PCBs are here:
[https://twitter.com/lynaghk/status/632937349458956288](https://twitter.com/lynaghk/status/632937349458956288)

~~~
abetusk
This is fantastic, good job! Any chance on making the source and design files
available, maybe even through a libre license?

------
UnoriginalGuy
I wish the audience's audio wasn't much MUCH louder than the speaker. I had to
turn the audio up to hear him, but the laughing was so loud I had to turn it
down every few seconds.

Also a fun video to watch, but he kind of skips over some of the most
interesting technical details (like writing the software).

~~~
revx
Hi! I shot the video. We had some problems with the mic hookup on stage so I
was using a mic all the way back at the camera that wasn't nearly as
directional as I hoped. Apologies to everyone's eardrums !

~~~
Radle
You could have also run a noise filter over it I believe, the quality wasn't
good even when the crowd was quit.

~~~
noobie
Well, you have the video now, you can download it and run said noise filter
over it yourself..

------
listic
I thought cell phone companies don't appear from nowhere because governments
and/or organizations like FCC in the USA are not allowing just anyone to sell
radio communication equipment (is that why cellular modems are _never_ open
sourced, right?)

Is it because of the regulations that we don't see lots of cell phone
manufacturers? If it wasn't for that, from this presentation I get the feeling
that cellphones could be made to spec quite easily, say, by your regular
hardware Kickstarter campaign: at least, the cellular modem shown in the
presentation looks really self-contained.

~~~
posborne
I work for a wireless design services company. There is a large divide between
using a Cellular module (e.g. Telit LE910) versus doing a chip-down Cellular
design (e.g. Qualcomm/Infineon). This design has a module at its core.

Modules are based around the chipsets but they do the most expensive
certification (both FCC and Carrier) work for you. As a purchaser of the
module, you pay for this on each module.

Certifying a cellular end device is usually <$50K (depending on number of
bands, # of carriers, fallback, etc.). Certifying a new chip-down cellular
design can easily exceed $1-2M in just certification and testing costs.
Development costs and complexity will also be increased.

~~~
nmrm2
_> Certifying a cellular end device is usually <$50K_

Suppose the author wants to (completely legally) use the phone he just built.

Does he have to go through this "end device" certification? Or does "end
device" mean something else here?

what if he wanted to sell the phone?

I was wondering what the regulatory landscape looks like during the last
portion of the talk -- it'd be a real shame if he put all this time into
designing a beautiful phone and couldn't (legally) use it!

~~~
pmorici
Sparkfun has a reasonable run down of FCC rules.

[https://www.sparkfun.com/tutorials/398](https://www.sparkfun.com/tutorials/398)

In this guys case there is an FCC allowance that you can build up to five
devices for personal use that this cellphone project might fall under.
Building a bunch to sell is a different matter though, especially since this
is an intentional radiator vs. a unintentional one.

I get the sense that it's a bit of a taboo topic to talk about publicly in the
opensource / hobbyist world. Adafruit and Sparkfun, the two major outlets for
hobby electronics in the USA, for example generally won't discuss publicly
what the companies stance on their FCC rules compliance obligation is.

My feeling based on reading a bit about it is that until you reach a certain
scale the cost of FCC testing is prohibitive. So when companies like Sparkfun
and Adafruit were starting out they simply followed best design practices and
fudged a little on the FCC side of things by saying that their products fell
under one of the exceptions or that they use a pre-certified module. Now that
they are bigger it seems a small number of their products actually do get
certified. It's a mess for sure.

------
mkoryak
He mentioned that he bought that cnc machine like it was no big deal. I looked
them[1] up, the cheapest one was 6 grand!!

Does there exist a sub 500$ cnc router that you can actually build interesting
stuff with and interface with a computer?

[1][http://www.shopbottools.com/mProducts/basicPRSsystems.htm](http://www.shopbottools.com/mProducts/basicPRSsystems.htm)

~~~
Ardren
There are some cheap CNC routers. They often require a bit of setup (i.e. sold
as kits) or have questionable quality (3020). I'm not sure you'll find a high
quality solution under $500 though.

Shapeoko 3[1] is $1000 USD

X-Carve[2] kits are $800 (upgrade to the Shapeoko2)

3020 Clones[3] are around $500-800 (all over ebay)

[1][http://www.shapeoko.com](http://www.shapeoko.com)

[2][https://www.inventables.com/technologies/x-carve](https://www.inventables.com/technologies/x-carve)

[3][http://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=3020+cnc+rout...](http://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=3020+cnc+router)

------
ghostbrainalpha
That guy is smarter than me, funnier than me, and most importantly works
harder than me.... but I have an iPhone.

~~~
lucb1e
I'm not sure what you're trying to say with the iPhone part?

~~~
StavrosK
I guess that the iPhone does more things than the phone the guy made.

------
elkhourygeorges
This is so cool. This guy kept everybody laughing and listening while
presenting how to make a cellphone :)

------
chadzawistowski
Similar project by Adafruit [https://learn.adafruit.com/arduin-o-phone-
arduino-powered-di...](https://learn.adafruit.com/arduin-o-phone-arduino-
powered-diy-cellphone/overview)

~~~
mkeeter
...and by Dave Mellis at the Media Lab:
[http://web.media.mit.edu/~mellis/cellphone/](http://web.media.mit.edu/~mellis/cellphone/)

------
carlesfe
Very nice! I've been following these tutorials in the hope of building my own
cell phone sometime soon.

If you want a more step-by-step tutorial, Ben Heck's youtube channel is a very
good source. He specifically has a DIY cellphone

Part 1:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SlcVTfP4MA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SlcVTfP4MA)

Part 2:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAbppnXpfHc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAbppnXpfHc)

------
swampthinker
Are there any pictures of the finished product? I'm intrigued.

------
cryowaffle
The audience reactions were like being at a wedding, anything you say is
hilarious.

------
owaislone
Feels like I'm watching some sitcom. Does anyone else feel the people are
laughing too much?.. or probably the microphone is very near to the audience.

~~~
shreyas056
Yup, felt the same

~~~
lucb1e
Same of course. Elsewhere in this thread (9 hours before your posts):

> Hi! I shot the video. We had some problems with the mic hookup on stage so I
> was using a mic all the way back at the camera that wasn't nearly as
> directional as I hoped. Apologies to everyone's eardrums !

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10068086](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10068086)

------
trevmckendrick
He (they?) are working on a new "luxury" phone it appears. More info here:
[https://keminglabs.com/phone](https://keminglabs.com/phone)

------
sammermpc
If folks are interested in this kind've thing, this is an interesting Arduino-
based project:
[http://web.media.mit.edu/~mellis/cellphone/](http://web.media.mit.edu/~mellis/cellphone/)

------
Shed
Kevin - what a wonderfully inspiring and HILARIOUS talk. You're fantastic! I
create products myself (but with nowhere near your level of technical talent)
- you can see some here if you want:
[http://bit.ly/shedcreations](http://bit.ly/shedcreations)). Loved your
delivery, intelligence, wit and raw perseverance. All wonderful. Please
connect with me on LinkedIn or Facebook and please also post up an image of
your finished phone - it wasn't so clear to see the finished article on your
video. "Showbiz: always leave them wanting something more!". Much love, Shed
www.ShedSimove.com

------
JackWebbHeller
Which conference is this?

I tried Googling "!!Con" and obviously the exclamation marks don't count as
part of the search term. Apparently Google doesn't know what I mean by
"exclamation mark exclamation mark con" either. There's also no link in their
YouTube channel...

~~~
kparaju
It's called BangBang Con

------
deutronium
Very impressive, I notice he's using a chip for GSM/GPRS - UC15EA.

I'm wondering if anyone's used an SDR to make a cellphone, as I've seen GSM
base stations implemented with SDR, but not cellphones before.

------
vvpan
As a person who does not use a smart phone but feels that nobody puts thought
into the dumb phones - this has crossed my mind many times. Very very
interesting.

------
sleepychu
"Don't tell the FCC kthx!"

------
sebastianavina
its the kind of project im going to play some day

------
amelius
Ok, you made a working cell phone. But are you sure you know how to do it?
What if, next time, something goes wrong, do you have the proper diagnostic
skills to figure out the problem?

~~~
morb
That's discouraging.

He pretty much admits during the whole talk that he doesn't really know what
he's doing. But he's doing it nevertheless. He's learning. And he's
encouraging others to try and do stuff they don't know much about. And to
celebrate small victories.

Also, I never ever have proper diagnostic skills to figure out the problem
when I'm doing something I've never done before.

~~~
amelius
I didn't want to be discouraging. I was just phrasing what I would think if I
just did something like he did.

~~~
morb
Yeah, but the point of the talk is the opposite. It's more of a motivational
talk than a tech talk. It was pretty good, the runtime (<15 min) and his
attitude helped. He was OK with not really being sure of himself or what he's
doing, and still he did it.

I'd bet the phone he made isn't going to be the last phone he makes. He'll
make more. He'll learn more. Maybe he'll talk more, or write something up and
then we all will know more.

Hell, after watching the video I was like "I gotta make me one of those. But
with Slackware!!!" :)

Don't feel bad about a few downvotes. I just think you missed the point.
(Also, I didn't downvote).

