SamyGO

Does anybody know whether the Samsung LE40B650 can be switched on using ex-link. The codes for switching it off and for switching inputs work flawlessly, yet it seems that I am unable to switch it on when it's on standby using the power on code (082200000002d6 / 082200000002d4). Could this be an energy saving option switching off the interface when the television is in standby? I also read that there might be different off states for samsung televisions (maybe I need to use a special standby state to be able to wake it up again). Why the television should respond to the power on command with a success packet when it is on, but doesn't react when it's off is beyond me...

I contacted Samsung support and they said they didn't know what I was talking about and that they couldn't help me (figures...).

This is definitely something I am going to pay attention to while buying my next tv, any good 40" models with either working ex-link or rs232 out there? Does anybody know of televisions that are similar to mine with respect to age and capabilities, but have working switch on from ex-link capability so I can trade with someone who isn't using that capability without having to pay extra?

By the way, other means of powering up are also welcome. My TV does Anynet which is some sort of HDMI CEC as far as I understand but I haven't been able to use it in combination with my Marantz SR-7005. Maybe it can wake-on-lan? Maybe I can short some pins. I read something about the VGA/PC port being able to wake up a tv... Anything, really.

I heard it is possible to power TV on trough Exlink.
rs232 set to UART (yes, yes, uart)
Key P should power tv on/off.

I personally can`t confirm if it works...

juuso wrote:I heard it is possible to power TV on trough Exlink.
rs232 set to UART (yes, yes, uart)
Key P should power tv on/off.

I personally can`t confirm if it works...

As far as I can see it works on some models but not on others. RS-232 is set to UART by default on this model. Should I send the "P" without quotes as ASCII? I will try this at home tonight and report back

Bitshifter wrote:Does anybody know whether the Samsung LE40B650 can be switched on using ex-link. The codes for switching it off and for switching inputs work flawlessly, yet it seems that I am unable to switch it on when it's on standby using the power on code (082200000002d6 / 082200000002d4). Could this be an energy saving option switching off the interface when the television is in standby? I also read that there might be different off states for samsung televisions (maybe I need to use a special standby state to be able to wake it up again). Why the television should respond to the power on command with a success packet when it is on, but doesn't react when it's off is beyond me...

In B-series models (B6XX, B7XX, B7XXX, B8XXX) ex-link codes are generally handled by main SoC (Chelsea/SDP83). However, this particular chip is not powered on at all while TV is standby mode. In standby mode, only small subset of mainboard components are powered up (from dedicated A5V standby power line and 5V->3.3V DC/DC converter). So, the power-on ex-link code is special - it needs to be handled differently, by rerouting external RS232 I/F to secondary Weltrend microcontroller (standby-micom, sub-micom or just micom in Samsung terms) while TV is in standby mode. Problem is, in LE*B650 models (well - at least in my LE37B650 T2W) apparently this functionality is not implemented properly on hardware level. AFAIRC, the onboard serial port multiplexer and/or serial level converter chip[s] - I don't remembar all the details - are powered from main B5V power line, and not from the A5V standby power like they should.

This situation may be different (or not: there are conflicting reports regarding this subject) with B7XXX/B8XXX models. Note, there may be some differences between EU and US B650/B750 models as well.

By the way, other means of powering up are also welcome. My TV does Anynet which is some sort of HDMI CEC as far as I understand but I haven't been able to use it in combination with my Marantz SR-7005.

It should be possible to power up LE*B650 via CEC (I actually did some tests using Raspberry Pi - seems to work as expected).

Maybe it can wake-on-lan?

Nope, wake-on-lan wouldn't work either (for similar reasons: there is no power on Ethernet controller chip / circuits at all while TV is in standby mode).

Maybe I can short some pins.

Shorting KEY1 (KEY2?) signal available on IR & function <-> mainboard connector to GND (with some small resistor?) will most likely do the trick, hopefully without frying anything important .

I read something about the VGA/PC port being able to wake up a tv...

Yes, I can confirm it works with LE37B650, but that's rather complicated/inconvenient approach.

Thank you for your very detailed reply. I have tried to send P and J codes in ASCII and HEX and can confirm that the TV does not respond. Too bad the chips are switched off on standby, I guess it's all in the name of energy saving / low standby consumption. They should have made an option to disable such energy savers though.

Are you saying that, with a bit of guts, you could solder a power line to the serial chip and make it active while in standby? The only alternative then is to use an Arduino (or something smaller like a JeeNode) to short the KEY1 right? I will try to configure CEC in such a way that the TV powers on upon receiving a signal first though. Switching my receiver to HDMI output 1 (on which the television is connected) should provide such a signal I guess.

For my next TV I will definitely pay more attention to the availability of a serial interface. Do the new models have such an interface that you know of, or did they drop the rs232/ex-link completely?

Thanks again.

Bitshifter wrote: Are you saying that, with a bit of guts, you could solder a power line to the serial chip and make it active while in standby?

Sort of. I can confirm that Weltrend WT61P8 standby MCU used in B650 mainboard does indeed recognize & respond to power-on ex-link code (\x08,\x22,\x00,\x00,\x00,\x02,\xd4) just fine while in standby mode, the only (?) problem being: lack of voltage[s] for certain chips in standby mode. So it is possible, at least in theory.
Not an easy mod, though; for it to work, you'll need to provide/reroute 3.3V standby voltage to serial transceiver/level converter chip (MAX3232 == SIPEX 3232EC in my B650 mainboard), and also (most likely - I'm not 100% sure about this one) standby 5V/A5V to the 74HC4052D analog multiplexer chip. Lots and lots of re-/desoldering, track cutting etc. required. Probably not worth it.