Tympan Hardware

#21

Is it possible to order a Typman Rev. E for me?

While I am still some distance away from retirement, today my doctor advised me to consider using hearing aids, especially in specific environments like restaurants and meetings. How well does Typman perform in these situations?

By the other side, I am an electronic engineer from Spain who is passionate about the open-source philosophy, and I would be proud to contribute to this project in some way. If there’s a way to view ongoing discussions, perhaps I can choose a topic to get involved with.

On another note, I’ve been researching hearing aids in the market and I’m quite surprised by their high prices, making them inaccessible to a significant portion of the population. Supporting the development of such equipment or making them affordable for everyone would be a meaningful project for me.

#22

@Serdark Welcome to the Tympan forum.
Super excited that you want to use Tympan to educate.
Where are you teaching?
We are targeting this fall for initiating a production run. I should know more about timing in October.
Any new product that we will have will be the Rev E version.

@Pepe
We hope to have Rev E for sale this Fall.
Please note that the Tympan is what is known as a ‘Master Hearing Aid’, which is a hardware platform for research and development of audio algorithms for hearing aids. Tympan is not an actual hearing aid, per se.

#23

Hi Biomurph and all,

I teach Medtech -1 and -2 classes at a major university on the east coast. I plan to use the RevE for a special hearing aid for people with selective frequency hearing loss. A simple amplifier would not work for them.

Please updste me on the availability of the boards as I will need at least 10 boards and more in time.

Regards,
S.

#24

Dear all,

Any update on the status of the Rev E platform availability? Just to let you know, my application does not need the 3D printed enclosure; all I need sre the assembled boards loaded with firmware.

Please provide a tentative plan as to when you expect to have the boards available.

Kindest regards,
Serdar

#25

@Serdark
Sorry for the delay in reply.
First, we don’t have any Rev E in stock. Sorry about that.

Good news!
We are going to be running a production of Tympan Rev E this fall.
Part of what we are doing is updating the hardware to make it more robust, along with moving to a new Bluetooth module. There are other changes to make it more compatible with parallel projects, but that is something that you would not notice for your application.
I am noting your request for 10 Tympan Rev E.
When you say you would be interested in ‘more in time’, what do you mean? Do you have a timeline and quantity?

#26

Hi Bio,

I surely will start with 10 platforms, to be used by the people/learners in a small group. In time we would need more as the interest grows, but I am unable to state a definite number. Just as a guesstimate I would say about 10 more in 1Q24. Also, one of the revD platforms I have died recently. So I would buy 12 as the initial purchase, instead of 10 to keep 2 as spares.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Serdar

P.S. I can live without BLE for now. The immediate app will be shifting a frequency band for those who have selective frequency hearing loss.

#27

Sorry, one more note: I will be happy to acquire the platforms without the 3D printed plastic enclosures. They will be used in a lab environment on ESD protected benches.

Regards,
S.

#28

@Serdark
OK, this is good information.
All the Tympans will ship in cases with batteries, as that is the workflow that we have here.

I am sorry to hear that your Rev D is not working.
Do you have any insight or thoughts as to why it may not be working?

#29

I did not take the time to troubleshoot but the trouble started as the platform not booting (randomly). Then a second issue popped up and the platform decided not to load the code. Eventually the PC was unable to recognize it. In the meantime a different revD continued to operate with the same PC and USB cord normally.

Sorry, do not have more data to share.

Best,
S.

#30

Hi biomuph,

Thanks for your answer, just for my understanding…

Which level of development has Rev E? Is there any firmware already? Should it be program in low level like C? I mean, it is still needed to define the compression algorithm and the configuration for each user? If this is the case, I guess there are also open libraries, isn’t it?

Kind regards,
Pepe

#31

Hello Biomurph,

Any updates on the availability of Rev E platforms?

Thanks,
S.

#32

Hi, hope you’re doing well
@Pepe We have an extensive library with tested and working examples that range from simple to complex to give you a lift starting your own projects. Start here Getting Started – Tympan to find software resources.

@Serdark I would be interested in retrieving the bricked RevD to try and troubleshoot the fault.

Great news! A grant application that Tympan RevE is specified in has received funding that will re-stock the Tympan RevE in our store!
I don’t have a timeline set that I can predict, but I think we can say that work will start before the Thanksgiving holiday! Stay tuned for updates. I will start a new thread to follow the production progress. There is a social in the twitterverse, and it will likely get some attention, but this forum will have the most up to date information.

Thank you for your interest and support of our open-source Master Hearing-aid

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#33

Hi Bio, unfortunately I did not keep the defective unit. Removed the battery and recycled the case and electronics.

I am looking forward to acquire 10 or 12 platforms. Please ping me when they are available.

Regards,
S.

#34

Hi Bio, any update on RevE? I am all ears.
Best,
Serdar

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#35

I’ve just discovered this amazing project! I am a lifelong hearing aid wearer with some ideas that I like to explore. I plan to learn about and contribute to this project in any way that I can.

I will purchase a Rev E as soon as they become available.

I would like to get started right away so I am wondering if someone might have a spare Rev E that they would be willing to sell me?

I have some basic hardware experience. i.e. Arduino, Teensy, BeagleBone etc. I am comfortable with reading schematics, data sheets, SMD soldering, and coding in various languages.

#36

@MarcusJ
Nice to meet you! Thanks for joining the Tympan community.
Here are some resources for you, if you have not found them yet.
Tympan github with hardware design files and software library.
Getting Started, which will guide you into the library examples.
I don’t know of or have any spare Rev E available. There has been some discussion about designing a ‘light weight’ Tympan based on the Rev E. That goes something like this:
We have a Shield, or daughter-card, for the Rev E that adds a second CODEC, called the AIC Shield. The idea would be to design a PCB that bridges between a Teensy 4.1 and the AIC Shield. This would make a limited Tympan Rev E, but it would be something until we get our funding lined up. This week, I will create a branch of the Tympan Rev E repository for making necessary modifications for the design of this light-weight Tympan.

Regarding production schedule for the full-on Rev E, it looks like we won’t be able to begin until January, 2024.

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#37

Nice to meet you as well! Very happy to have found this community! :slight_smile:

I came across Zvikas’ GitHub issue request and was planning to implement your exact recommendation above. I’ve ordered the AIC Shield and a Teensy 4.1.

I reached out to Zvikas and they graciously provided me with the Gerber files for their “bridging” board. It seems like they managed to get theirs working so I figured I’d give it shot. Are there any additional changes planned other than what was discussed in the above GitHub issue request?

I am a newish Kicad user so I may try doing up a bridging PCB as a learning exercise. If it works out I will make the design available for others to use.

Very much looking forward to getting my hands on a full-on Rev E.

#38

Yeah, you can use Zvikas’ design and plan.
In that case, you can even just use some pad-per-hole perf-board to prototype the connections.
I would recommend using a reversible design, meaning, use female headers on the perf board to plug in the AIC Shield and the Teensy, so you don’t wind up embedding them too ‘hard’ if there are adjustments needed.

I will look into ways to make the Shield + Teensy system as useful as possible.

The major thing that needs replacing is the Bluetooth module that we were using. The BC127 is no longer available. Currently, we are looking at using an nRF52840 module to maintain the functionality of the Tympan App. More on that as it develops.

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#39

Hi Bio,

Thanks for the update. January is just around the corner. I would order 12 (or more) revE platforms, and I hope you will build enough as I suspect many others are also anxious to get their hands on them…

Regards,
S.

#40

Hi everyone,
Happy New Year!
As advertised, we are actively working on the production of Tympan Rev E.
Currently, we need to redesign around a new Bluetooth radio module, as the BC127 has gone EOL. You can follow (or contribute to!) our new design process in the Tympan Rev E v2 branch of our github repo. The v2 name is being used internally for differentation. I am not sure if we will progress to Rev F with this model or not. Ideally, the work that we are doing will make it so that the changes are transparent to our Tympan Library and code examples.

The funding we have will support the design of the next version (F? or v1?) which will incorporate the neccessary components of the Teensy 4.1 into our Tympan hardware design. That process will likely start this year and result in the work being available in 2025.

Thanks for your patience with us! We are as eager as you to get this tech into your paws!

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