Possible to connect via USB?

[partynikko]

Hi 👋
First of all thanks for this awesome library. Finally I can print to my SP-2 without relying on mobile apps ❤️

I'm wondering if you know if it's possible to connect and print to the Instax printers by connecting it with USB instead of WiFi? Perhaps not with this library as it is now, but if it's possible at all? I would like to get a more reliable connection as I will be having it tightly coupled with a RPi. The device is discoverable at least running lsusb.

Many thanks
Best regards

[jpwsutton]

Hey @partynikko,

So from my hardware teardown and modifications , I found that the USB port has it's data lines connected as well as the power lines, so there must definitely be some form of USB communication possible at a physical level. However as far as I can tell, the firmware does not expose any kind of interface that I could find. It is possible to extract the firmware bin out of the Instax Share App, but I've not had a chance to poke around in it yet to find out if there is some kind of undocumented USB interface. Could be worth a look, I'll keep this issue open in case anyone finds a way to use the USB port in the future.

[vitorio]

For use in areas with crowded 2.4GHz spectrum, you can also use a faraday cage. A conductive wire mesh (e.g. copper, not aluminum) with a fine enough screen (1/2" or less) around both the printer and the e.g. Raspberry Pi connecting to it, and then an ethernet cable can come out of the RPi, through the mesh, and to your computer.

I'm currently at a hackathon and I've got an SP-1 and an RPi3B+ inside a gutted microwave oven (microwave ovens also operate around 2.4GHz) and it's been reliable for me this way.

[therealprocyon]

I found that the Mini Link Printer still connected via /dev/ttyACM0 or the like and uses a modem interface as well AFAICT