[TriEmbed] (Amazon) Dash FCC info and model corrections

[Pete Soper]

(excuse the repetition, but this will avoid complete bewilderment if 
somebody starts reading about the subject at this point)

The rev 2 Dash button labeled "JK29LP" on the back has a replaceable 
battery if the bottom piece of plastic is cut off. It's in a dead-plain 
battery holder (AAA alkaline). It has Atmel MCU and radio, and is 
currently opaque with respect to redoing it's firmware. The rev 1 one 
labeled "JK76PL" has a lithium battery that is welded to PCB 
connections, with ST MCU and Broadcom radio that is as easy to program 
as an EMW3162 ('cause the hardware is identical!). Instructions for the 
firmware programming of a rev 1 are on Adafruit 
<https://learn.adafruit.com/dash-hacking-bare-metal-stm32-programming/overview>. 
IMO it would be close to trivial to replace the welded on lithium 
battery with a connector for an alternative battery. As Shane pointed 
out, the rev 2 is more power efficient to compensate for the wimpier 
battery.

Unless I'm mistaken the IoT button won't be shipped until August 23rd. 
I'd bet a box of donuts it's based on, if not the same rev 2 Dash guts, 
something very very close. The AWS web page 
<https://aws.amazon.com/iot/button/> describing it says this and the 
picture makes it seem identical on the outside, but looking closely at 
the picture I see where the removable bottom piece allows getting to the 
battery holder. This convenience is not worth $15. :-) It makes perfect 
sense for the Dash buttons, which would ordinarily be used at most a 
couple dozen times a YEAR, to have the bottom sealed. But with an app 
that calls for multiple button pushes a day there may be an issue. If 
the guys doing the Dash teardowns can figure out how to swap the IoT 
button firmware into a rev 2 Dash button, they'll no doubt publish that. 
In the meantime, my wagon is hitched to the rev 2 Dash buttons with the 
intention of replacing the top layer of firmware while also playing with 
the ARP-detection angle for simple functionality.

One specific goal is to get arpalert installed on the Splatspace server 
and  donate a button or two for experimentation there. I can think of 
multiple immediate uses for these buttons at Splatspace, but also think 
blocking their access to Amazon will be desirable.

-Pete

On 07/26/2016 12:39 PM, Michael Monaghan wrote:
> Shane,
>
> If I understand correctly the Amazon IoT button has different hardware 
> than the Dash button, including a "user replaceable" battery.  The 
> firmware is a bit different as well.  Of course at $20 a pop, one has 
> a little different expectations.
>
> Mike
>

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