Database Develop

DIY Keyboard?

Hi
Having seen the hardware article on using an ipac keyboard on the XDA by simply re-wiring the connector, I have found that ipac keyboards go for about £25 off ebay.
Just wondering if anyone knows how to connect a PS2 keyboard to an XDA? perhaps via PS2 to ipac converter board???
I have searched the net for help and found nothing, what a great little project it is..... being able to use any pc keyboard would be fantasic (and cheap)
And ideas folks?

On keyboards:
The bigger problem is usually the driver. So you want to be closely compatible with the iPaq keyboard so you can use their driver.
The iPaq keyboard basically takes power from the XDA, and supllies one serial data wire, sending two bytes at 9600 (I believe it was), for every key pressed and two bytes for every key released.
The PS2 spec is a synchonous one, sending data with a clock and a data wire. So your project would involve a small microcontroller, such as one from the Atmel series. Some Atmel family members are small enough to fit inside the XDA connector that plugs into the bottom of the device.
2-3 days for someone with all the right expertise.

Thanks for the starter for ten.
Will start researching the topic

I have found some commerical ps2 adapters for ipaqs selling for about $30!!! then found a related website that almost shows how to build one.
http://www.iptel-now.de/HOWTO/PIC/pic.html
So i'm going to have a go at building it then adapting the connector for XDA use.
Any thoughts anyone?

Seems like a lot of effort for little reward! But whatever floats your boat I guess.
If you wanted you could make the wearable computer and then get sponsorship to actually use it!-
http://www.iptel-now.de/PROJECTS/WEARABLE/IPAQ_WEARABLE/ipaq_wearable.html
You would obviously need someone else to help you carry it around...

$49 GPS for the XDA. Works great. ---posted PICS---

I just bought an unlocked T-mobile pocket pc phone edition off of a person from up in the T-mobile area. I am currently with Cingular. I just input all the GPRS settings for Cingular and they work great.
I also have both models of the Digitraveler GPS from Radio Shack. They sold one for a laptop with a serial connection ,which is what I use with my Casio E-200. They also have model that comes with three cables one being for the Ipaq 3800. If you didn't know has the same connector as our XDAs. All you have to do is to unlock the connector housing with a small screw driver then unsoldered the wires and resoldered the three wires black GND to pin 5 on the XDA connector, Red TXD to pin 8 and Brown RXD to pin 10. I'm not at fault if you solder two pins together. Be very careful as 22 pins are in an area of an inch or so. Before you start up the Delorme Xmap software ,which is included with the GPS PDA version. You will need to go under the settings tab and uncheck the IR setting this will give you COM1 which is what the serial connection uses. When you connect the GPS with the software it should come up and say aquiring GPS. If not you may have solered to a wrong pin. This is a killer phone, PDA and GPS setup now. I will try to post some pics.
You could also solder two wires on for a charging circuit to the connector.
PICS of GPS
Dave

Yes that sound great I'm looking forward to see some pictures :lol:
P.s
I have Microsoft Pocket Street 2002 GSP feature can you recommend me a GPS unit to connect to my XDA :?:

Is the Digitraveler unit still available? I can't find it on their website... well, not in their online catalogue anyway. There's plenty of downloads, etc, for it
As I'm in Australia, its a long way to go just to drop in and see if there's any on the shop floor
Cheers,
PHB

uk gps £84 inc autoroute/pocket streets
http://www.mobtech.co.uk/ecbmob/item1286.htm

Hi XDA-rocks - is that the same unit rebadged? I suspect I don't actually need the s/w, and that the maps won't be of much use, given I'm in Australia... I can get local software for the Pocket PC for $50 AU [approx 15 UK pounds I think] and I have local maps already...
Also, newb question, do I pay VAT when ordering from outside of the UK???
Sorry to be a pain; any help appreciated!
Cheers,
PHB.

The link above is actully for an IPAQ (so you'd probably have to do some soldering).
The manufacturers site does mention XDA compatibility. Check out
http://www.royaltek.com
Sorry, but I don't know what the situation regarding VAT is.

That's cool - you've been a big help already!
Cheers,
PHB.

PHB said:
Hi XDA-rocks - is that the same unit rebadged? I suspect I don't actually need the s/w, and that the maps won't be of much use, given I'm in Australia... I can get local software for the Pocket PC for $50 AU [approx 15 UK pounds I think] and I have local maps already...
Also, newb question, do I pay VAT when ordering from outside of the UK???
Sorry to be a pain; any help appreciated!
Cheers,
PHB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Normally, you do not have to pay VAT (if the price does not include VAT).
But shipping charge may be high.

All good - I've approached the manufacturer directly to see what they offer [if anything] Failing that, I'll go retail.
Thanks for all the help guys,
Cheers,
PHB.

If you need shipping assistance, I'll be glad to be a middle man. I ship stuff to the UK all the time, and it is not expensive. You do not pay VAT but you do pay an import tax if the product is declared. I normally mark the customs for as "gift" which avoids the import tax.

Hey Dave, can you post more pics and maybe some more details about the soldering of the connectors?. I got my Xda, and I just got the Digitraveler, super cheap off ebay ($50!!). And I want to do this. Please help on how

I got it!, I succesfully followed Dave's instructions and now I have my Xda running Mapopolis with the Digitravel GPS. Is sooo cool!
I want to see If I connect the power suply, but the cable and the solder work came out really nice and neat. and I'm afraid to mess it up. I'll look into solutions, but so far the GPS works perfect, and cheapest solution!.
I will post a detailed tutorial with lots of pictures and diagrams on my website soon.
If someone needs me to help them out, or doesn't want to deal with the soldering and the hassle, let me know.
Question to the XDA-DEV gods. I'm a little confused. I see that the Xda car charger works on 6V according to this image and the Digitravel works also on 6V, according to the manual. Can I use just one car charger and splice the cables to each device?. Also, also I see in the diagram 6V I checked in the back of the phone and It says 5V. please help

RadioSHACK GPS
i took your advice and got me a DigiTraveler too!
Radio Shack #20-1601 $39
i rewired the cable as u discribed. THANKS DAVE!!!
it now works great with my T-Mobile PPC.
...is there a better program than the one that came with it tho?
i've seen somewhere, a program that have Voice prompts that
advice u as you're driving to turn right and left...
OH! by the way... you can also get a 2.5 to 3.5 audio jack converter
along with one of those CD to TAPE adaptors, and u can have all audio
play on the loud cas speakers! great for speaker fone option

According to some reviews, Mapopolis is the all around solution. Faster, cleaner and easier to use. It has voice prompts too. Destinator is too big and complicated to use, of course, I only have tried for a couple of hours, but I will continuing testing it. I've been looking to TomTom USA Maps (Florida), but I can't seem to find any source, if someone can direct me for a Florida Map, would be greatly appreciated it.

would somebody post a couple of these cheap digitravelers that radio shack sells? I live in uk

Radio Shack #20-1601 $39
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it on sale now, or is that the regular price now? I can't find that part number in the online catalog, anybody got a URL? Or is it only available in stores?
would somebody post a couple of these cheap digitravelers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I ship stuff to Europe all the time and would be happy to assist. I don't know what it weighs, but shipping is not all that bad to the UK.

you can get them cheap off Ebay

What are you using for soldering setup?
:?: :?: :?:
Curious. What are you using for your soldering setup? I opened up the car charger connector end and the pins are soooooo small I can barely see them. What I'd like to do is solder the speaker pins to the tape converter so that I don't have to use the 2.5 - 3.5 connector (thus having to only connect one thing). I'd also be able to connect the gps to it too.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thx
:shock:

I got it from RadioShack, costed me $7.50, and it came with the solder iron, a soldering iron stand, so you don't burn up anything, heatsink clamp, a very handy soldering tool, and the solder. Is very cheap, and Is small snough to use it for this job. Is helpful to just move the other pins to the side in order to isolate the pin that you are soldering, after you are done with each, and the solder is hard, move to the side and continue to the next one. Of course, move them slighty and slowly, don't yank it.

oh yeeeahh!. Now I have POWER!. I just finished soldering the connectors to a Xda power supply and now I can connect the Xda with the Digitraveler and charge the phone at the same time!. I adapted a retractable sync'n'charge cable to it (I used one of the other cables included, I think the one that I used was the Palm connector, since I didn't want to mess up the original cable that I did, in case something goes wrong) and just removed the syncing cables and left the ones for charge. One thing though I think the diagrams for the charger in the Xda-dev page is wrong, I got it working with pins 16,17,18 for (-) and 20,21,22 for (+). In the page shows 15,17,18 for (-) and 19,21,22. I got my conclusion dissasembling a car charger and examining the pins. Since this is a USB charger, it charges from the computer, and also, since I have the adapter to charge it for the car. It works perfect so far, I get the light on when I connect and the message that is charging!. I'll test drive it tomorrow with the GPS. Since the GPS accepts a regular a regular charger (available at RadioShack), I just connect everything with a Y-cable and that's it. A super cheap GPS system with full power! for less than $60 bucks!.
I'll post pictures and a turorial how to do it (including the charging connector) in my website soon

XDA 2 Car Kit

Morning XDA world,
just thought I would report on the official XDA2 car kit sold by Tmobile in Germany.
Picked it up last week for 175 Euro's while I was over there.
Fitted it this weekend and it fantastic. As well as the usual connection of power/aerial/microphone, there is also two speaker outputs that can drive external units. A typical carphone speaker came with it so I have connected that and an exisitng one I had in the car.
I can now get my MP3 and TomTom voice commands in Stereo. The mini amp that is in the car kit is only about 12w but I have had to turn the volume down to 25% on the XDA otherwise it is too loud for normal driving. There is also a mute connection for the radio if it is required.
One question I do have, does any one know what would happen if I connect the speaker outputs directly to the speaker outputs of the car radio. Would I need a diode to prevent the signal from both units damaging the other, or is there another way. I dont want to use an FM unit or mix it in with the CD multi input connection.
thanks in advance.

i ordered mine a few days ago, i hope i have it today for 176 euro
and 6 euro shipping..
here are fotos of the original carkit
http://www.pbase.com/paiko/ppc3
(not mine)
thanks to paiko

Thanks for the pics, I'm looking for a XDA2 car mount and I have to say that this one is the best i've seen so far
SD card slot is blok? have you found that unpractical or you don't change SD cards to often?

anyone know where to source one of these (I am in the UK) ?

you can order it in germany for 176 euro
www.passiontec.de

Hi
Looks very simular to the one that O2 are going to sell in the Q2 04
http://www.xda-2.co.uk/accessories/peripherals.html
I have just ordered this one to use with my soon to arrive TomTom 3, its got extra wire that are not need with blue tooth but would pesume that it does not mater
http://www.totalpda.co.uk/product4738_0.aspx
steve

Looking for a Car Kit with a Cradle for the Siemens SX56.
I have seen most of the posts for the car kits and they look awesome. They blow away anything else I have found on the net or on EBAY by any means. Now my question is where can I get this same type of car kit for my Siemens SX56 in the USA, ideally Illinois. It seems that everyone that has an awesome car kit is in another country. Any help is appreciated.
Ideally the car kit would have a drop in fitting for the PDA. It should allow a clean fitted installation, which wouldn’t show any wiring and also allow me to integrate my PDA through my car speakers. It should have an external microphone that I can add in a clean fashion so I can use it to make calls and received them. Ideally the same kit like the car kits for standard cell phones only for a Siemens SX56 PDA.
You help is greatly appreciated!

akira said:
you can order it in germany for 176 euro
www.passiontec.de
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry I cannot read German and I couldn't find it. Do you have a direct link to the actual page for the unit?
Ed

This looks really interesting, but I'm afraid my German is not too good. I guess that those of you who've bought one of these can understand the language better than me - so could someone please explain the difference between these:
Car BasicSet für MDA II [€170]
CarKit II [€200] (this appears to be the one in the photos above)
Navigate StarterSet für MDA II [€170]
NaviGate Car Kit Pro MDA II [€250]
I guess that the NaviGate kits include T-Mobile's (proprietary?) navigation solution, but it is interesting that the CarKit II also appears to include a connection for NaviGate. I presume, therefore, that all of the above kits present some sort of interface that any GPS receiver could connect to - but it would be greatly appreciated if someone could confirm what the interface is (RS232, PS/2, etc.)? I suppose detailed photos or installation guides would be helpful here.
Basically, I would like a cradle for my XDA2 that:
- outputs all audio through the car's speakers, muting the radio;
- provides for an external antenna; and
- connects to a (wired) GPS receiver suitable for use with TomTom3.
Maybe I'm too demanding! Is this asking for the world on a plate? I would've thought it was a fairly standard set of requirements... :?

Okay, so maybe I'm not being so demanding after all... according to http://www.my-xda.com/carkit.html :
"the Xda II carkit supports direct connection of a GPS unit - such as that provide [sic] by TomTom Navigator" (as far as I can tell, this implies that there is an RJ45 connector carrying both data and power; for the real techies, does anyone know whether the power is at 5V or 12V?)
I imagine that the kit they're referring to is identical to the T-Mobile CarKit II, which seems to be what you guys bought from Germany - in which case, is there really a spare RJ45 socket lying around for a GPS receiver? I can't get anyone at O2 to understand what I'm talking about (they don't even seem to be aware that such a car kit exists).
Exciting stuff. :?

But as far as the O2 link you provided goes it still only has an XDA kit for sale not yet an XDA II kit correct?
Ed

ednap said:
But as far as the O2 link you provided goes it still only has an XDA kit for sale not yet an XDA II kit correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, the third paragraph says: "These carkit's are especially designed to fit Xda and Xda II respectively", which implies a separate kit is available for the XDA II - but there's no product code, price, or any mention of it in the O2 Shop.

nickety said:
a separate kit is available for the XDA II - but there's no product code, price, or any mention of it in the O2 Shop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've just spoken to O2 - they're expecting it to be available from about 2-3 weeks' time, and it will be priced at £189. I've just pre-ordered one over the telephone (0800 389 4516).

Expansys like Carkit
Hi all,
just to tell you all it will be available at the end of May (I hope) here in Portugal a complete Carkit for the XDA2 (Carkit Pro) just like the one at expansys.com for around 155€ directly from the national distributor.
I'll tell you more as soon as i get more info on this.

Expensive from O2
I just spoke to the people in the two O2 shops in nottingham and both of them told me that the XDA II Car kit is available, but they have to order it in. They said the cost is £150 plus £99 fitting charge, and they'll only let you have one if they can fit it. Has anyone else found this or is it just O2 Nottingham being greedy?

The O2 accessories phone line told me that the kit required fitting, but that I'd have to arrange that myself.

Oh
OK. Seems like O2. hey're a bit poo for information here in Notts.
Has anyone, looked into making a cable to connect the XDA/XDA II to a car stereo? I've not got a stereo at the moment to test with but I assume that they have a standard layout of pins on the ack or something for phone inputs?
Anyone who knows a fair bit about car stereos and fitting phones to them can you leave me some extra info?
Also, with regards to the XDA I and II, do they have any reason why the same cable wouldn't want to be used for the two different phones? I've got a I and am thinking of getting a II but don't want to faff about with a cable for one and then find it's useless when I upgrade.
Will

That's the way.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=4348&highlight=connectors
Bit of searching and I found this. Any extra info still welcome.

Hello again all,
Pegasus said:
One question I do have, does any one know what would happen if I connect the speaker outputs directly to the speaker outputs of the car radio. Would I need a diode to prevent the signal from both units damaging the other, or is there another way. I dont want to use an FM unit or mix it in with the CD multi input connection.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am by no means an audio expert, but have had a little Google around since this is exactly what I would like to do myself.
I found a reply to someone else's similar question about connecting two different audio sources/amps in their bedroom to the same speakers. It seems that it's not a good idea.
I then found an automatic selector switch which runs on 12VDC. I think that you can connect your radio speaker outputs to the "AMP A" input and the Xda II carkit to "AMP B", thereby giving priority to the Xda II whenever it's trying to do something. Chop the mains plug off and you should be able to hook it up to the car's switched/accessory power supply.
I hope that helps.
Whilst I'm posting in this thread (again :wink, can someone please confirm what this carkit provides for connecting to GPS receivers? This photo that akira posted is very helpful, but it doesn't show clearly enough what type of connector #13 is... hopefully it's an RJ11 that will directly work with the TomTom wired receiver - can anyone confirm? If not, is there any chance of an exact description, or close-up photo with pinouts (perhaps this is in the accompanying documentation)?
Thanks!

The connection on the Car kit Akira mentioned is RJ11 for the GPS reciever. Unfortunately my GPS reciever is PS2.
I looking for an cable adapter from PS2 to RJ11. Any one can help?

Orange SPV M1500 -- Question...

I just purchased an SPV M1500. Is this the same as the XDA IIi? I bought it already unlocked. Are there any differences in the ROM besides splash screens / logos? Is there a way to put the O2 XDA IIi ROM on this device?
Last question... I bought it from someone in the UK, and I live in the US, I currently subscribe to Cingular Wireless. Has anyone had issues with this?
Any reply would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Brock

Same device, slightly different looks.
All Alpine ROMs will work and the splash images etc can all be changed, at ROM upgrade or later. Find a ROM you want and follow instructions.
The device is tri-band so long as you live in an area where you don't need quad band you'll be OK.
Any more questions, there are plenty of people here to ask, just don't ask the dreaded WM5 question, the answer will be NO.
Good luck.

LOL!! I got that loud and clear. I thought people were supposed to be reading through the forum for their answer before posting stupid/redundant questions??? NO WM5, at least yet. I don't have a desire for that right now anyways. What would be the benefit?

The earth is so small. You know what, you have bought the phone from me on ebay, Brock Miller. Have you received the phone yet? I could give you help on upgrading the phone, if you needed it. At the moment, if you wanted the latest rom, then it is imate PDA2 ROM.

Nam? Oh my gosh!!! I can't believe you frequent this site as well? Wow... Thats cool. It is indeed a small world. No I haven't received the SPV-1500 yet, I was just asking a few questions about it before hand. I can't wait to get it though. I'll drop you an e-mail when it comes in. Have a good one!

It's nice to meet you here as well. The phone will arrive very soon. Keep the eyes on your work place, you will need to sign for it. Give me a sound when you need helps and have fun with the phone.

Yes! It was.
Will I personally have to sign for it? Or can my shipping department sign for it?
Also, what phone do you have now?

as long as you could arrange someone to sign for it, then that's fine. I think I just buy a cheap phone for now, untill the new HTC Muse comes out. This would be the best phone ever.

Except for the 4GB of storage, and the camera it looks like the HTC Universal has better specs. Why the muse? I really would have liked to have bought an HTC Universal, but I couldn't find any that were reasonably priced, .

Simply, because it is very compact, has everything that I wanted. I originally had the VPA compact which is HTC Magician, but it doesn't have wifi built in that why I sold it. I also did have HTC Universal ( SPV M5000 ) once and I do not advice you to get one. No only because of the price ( I got it for £250 ), it is also very very slow ( before buy it, I thought it would be very fast, but it's not, even slower than HTC wizard ) and bloody massive. I had it for one day and sold it the next day, you can imagine how dissapointed I was.

The only good thing about the HTC Universal is the infrared transfer speed ( 4mb/s ) and range ( 7 metres ) which is good for TV remote control softwares. However, that is not good enough for the price.

Wow, that would be very diappointing. What did you not like about the HTC Alpine? Too bulky also?

The HTC Alpine is not as big as the HTC Universal and HTC Blue Angle ( actually it is quite compact for such a powerful device ), has wifi built in, powerful processor ( don't be confused with the Intel PXA 270 520MHZ of HTC Universal, it is Intel PXA 272 520MHZ ) and better bluetooth than other HTC device ( support file transfer service and more ). The only thing that I do not like about it is that the infared range is too short ( 70 cm ) for Remote control programs which is the same on other HTC devices, except for the HTC Universal ( 7 metres ) and HTC magian ( 3 metres ) ( that's why I sold it ). But if you can live with it, then the HTC Alpine is the best Mobile Phone/Pocket PC to have at the moment in term of features and price.

I just received the SPV M1500!! Even though you tried, the power adapters that you sent were the wrong kind. The U.S. uses 110 V. Also, all looks ok, but it showed more wear than I thought it would. There was a scratch on the screen, a tiny crack just above the "joystick" hole, and the external antenna port hole cap is missing (not a huge deal, just doesn't look as good with out it). Do you know if TomTom has a US map available to buy?

As my description the phone is used. I am so sorry, if it dissapointed you. TOMTOM and USA map are already included on the DVD, just follow the installation guide that is also in the in the box. Let me know anything that I could help you with. I will try to find the cover at the back for you, if I could not find it, then I would refund you some money, so you could get a new silicon case for it. Really sorry.

No way!! No this is fine. Its still a very nice phone. If you can find the cover, that would be nice, but I don't expect a refund by any means. I still got a good price. I need to find an AC adapter for this cradle though. I imagine that won't be too hard to come by, I just hope it doesn't cost too terribly much. Thanks again for the phone. I am overall pleased. It is so much better than my Wallaby. Also, I can charge it in the wallaby cradle for now. I was lucky, it fits, not quite right, but good enough. Thanks again. Also, I see where there is indeed USA maps with TomTom included. Sorry about that.
Brock

Or can I just send you some softwares in return? Just name the softwares, I will find them for you. I am now selling some softwares for pocket pc on ebay, just take a look, if you like them, let me know I will send them to you. Also I just find out that if you installed Imate PDA2 ROM UPDATE, the infrared range will be incresed to about 3 metres. If you was not so sure how to install ROM UPDATE, let me know, I will give you the web link with installation guide.

Hello Coldwave
sorry to gatecrash on your post , i have the o2 flavour of this device, would i be able to flash it with the imate rom, also do you know if i could use an orange rom as well, as my work is now changing to orange from o2.
cheers
Gregor

Hello Coldwave
sorry to gatecrash on your post , i have the o2 flavour of this device, would i be able to flash it with the imate rom, also do you know if i could use an orange rom as well, as my work is now changing to orange from o2.
cheers
Gregor

All HTC Alpine devices have the same hardwares. Therefore, it is possible to change ROM between different made like Imate, Qtek, Orange, etc. However, you must follow some steps to avoid Country ID error.

have any one experienced this !

you know the only us port in the kaiser where you charge and where you connect it to the pc. when you first buy the kaiser it would be wonderful then couple months later ..it becomeshappy and doesn't work as good. it starts either rocking or the "teeth" inside start to move that will cause problems with connections and charging.
same thing happened to me with my universal so I threw it away ..but I love this kaiser I have what would be another alternate solution ? please I would appreciate your help.

Yes this is fairly common with this phone. Normally service is suggested.
Warranty FTW!

Just be careful when your plugging and unplugging the device. i.e. take it out and put it in straight, not at any angles.
If you search broken miniusb you'll find several threads. One is of mine when it broke. It was charging in the car and dropped and the "male" part of the extusb on the phone cracked.
I went to an At&t service center, the guy looked at it, told me its frequent and handed me a new device.

that's the problem ...I bought it over ebay

Here ya go...
http://www.ppctechs.com/AT-T-Tilt_974/repairs/Sync-Connector-Repair-Service_633-373.htm

oh wow..thanks man!
I was looking all over the place and not near me..
I never thought that at&t might have a technical support department..
but that's wonderful.
I know it's a little expensive but i't worth it when you can't live without your ppc.

Ninlour said:
oh wow..thanks man!
I was looking all over the place and not near me..
I never thought that at&t might have a technical support department..
but that's wonderful.
I know it's a little expensive but i't worth it when you can't live without your ppc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
<< Plug alert >>
PPC-Techs is not AT&T technical support, but I highly recommend them. I have used their screen protectors on my devices since my Ipaq 1900. Their customer serices is excellent.

I just had the mini usb replaced on my Tilt by PPCTechs. HTC wanted over $350 to repair. PPCTech was about $75. Excellent service and high speed.
www.ppctechs.com

thank you sooo much guys ...I'm probably going to look for the HTC Universal and send it to those guys too!