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More CE 5.0 MIPS: Cowon P5

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CE Geek Page Icon Posted 2013-10-02 6:40 AM
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I recently picked up another CE 5.0 personal media player running on the Alchemy Au1250 MIPS processor: Cowon's P5 Study. Like the Viliv X5, it's pretty fast, with very good sound from the built-in stereo speakers. With 80 GB, it has even more storage space than the Viliv. Unlike the Viliv, it has an FM radio tuner; however, so far I can't pick up anything but static on it, and there's no visible external antenna (unlike the Viliv, which has one despite having no FM tuner that I can find an app for). The startup queue in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/init boots it into explorer.exe before opening Cowon's own customizable interface for opening its multimedia and other apps. I removed the values for the custom interface so that it stays in the Windows CE desktop (there's a desktop icon to launch the Cowon interface if I still want to, and a "Windows" link back to the CE desktop in the custom interface). Everything appears to stay put after reboot.

Two other big differences from the Viliv:

1) Connecting the USB client port to my PC opens the P5 as a mass storage device by default, and I can't find any settings anywhere that allow it to be set for ActiveSync connection, even though repllog.exe exists in \Windows as well as the "PC Connection" Control Panel applet. Like my MintPad, though, it is recognized in another CE device as a mass storage device as well when connected to it by USB.

2) While it lacks internal WiFi like the Viliv, it also doesn't support the Ralink RT2870-based USB WiFi dongle (which as I've previously posted does work in the Viliv). There's a driver file in \Windows called RT2501USB.dll, but I haven't found an RT2501-based USB dongle anywhere on the Web so far (though one clearly exists since the driver files are available on several Web pages).

Overall, a pretty nice device, though, like the Viliv. Specs are here:

http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=specs&id=1622&c=cowon_p5_study_80gb
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Alt Bass Page Icon Posted 2013-10-02 7:14 AM
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CE Geek - 2013-10-02 9:40 AM

1) Connecting the USB client port to my PC opens the P5 as a mass storage device by default, and I can't find any settings anywhere that allow it to be set for ActiveSync connection, even though repllog.exe exists in \Windows as well as the "PC Connection" Control Panel applet. Like my MintPad, though, it is recognized in another CE device as a mass storage device as well when connected to it by USB.


Pic related.



(Screen004.png)



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Attachments Screen004.png (13KB - 2 downloads)
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CE Geek Page Icon Posted 2013-10-02 7:39 AM
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Changing the default client driver to Serial_Class does allow an ActiveSync connection, but cefobj.dll is missing from \Windows on the device, so ActiveSync on the PC doesn't show anything under "Information Type" even though Files was one of the items selected when creating the partnership. (Under "Options" it says "Not Installed" just like it says for all the PIMs. ) That's a first for me.

I found this page to help locate RT2501-based USB WiFi dongles:

http://ralink.rapla.net/

I'm picking up a Linksys WUSB54GC dongle on eBay for a little under 10 USB including shipping. I'll be trying it out on this device as soon as I get it.
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Rich Hawley Page Icon Posted 2013-10-02 10:16 AM
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CE5? I wonder is the USR MaxG wifi stick would work...using the built in RNDIS drivers?
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Alt Bass Page Icon Posted 2013-10-02 3:31 PM
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CE Geek - 2013-10-02 10:39 AM

Changing the default client driver to Serial_Class


Serial class is emulating the plain serial device.

You need USBSER and RNDIS instead, RNDIS preferred.
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CE Geek Page Icon Posted 2013-10-03 6:52 AM
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Neither of these subkeys exist in HLKM/Drivers/USB/FunctionDrivers on this device, Alt Bass. (Yet they do exist on more than one CE 5/6 netbook that lacks the hardware support for OTG connection.)
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Alt Bass Page Icon Posted 2013-10-04 7:35 PM
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So that's the problem actually.
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Rich Hawley Page Icon Posted 2013-10-04 8:11 PM
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You know, now that I think about it...I can't think of a single CE device that uses disk-on-a-chip technology that actually has full USB support...
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Alt Bass Page Icon Posted 2013-10-04 11:26 PM
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Windows has an abstraction layer for USB client drivers so Windows CE device which has USB client port driver may represent technically any device.

The absence of overlying drivers of the client functions present has nothing to do with controller if you mean it, it is just the matter of manufacturer's taste.
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Rich Hawley Page Icon Posted 2013-10-05 12:08 AM
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I think I'm thinking of USB host functions....why is it that CE devices that have host functions will recognize memory sticks only, but not mice or keyboards, or anything else...and I talking about the CE netbooks we see everywhere?
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smb_gaiden Page Icon Posted 2013-10-05 3:25 AM
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CE Geek - 2013-10-01 10:40 PM

Unlike the Viliv, it has an FM radio tuner; however, so far I can't pick up anything but static on it, and there's no visible external antenna (unlike the Viliv, which has one despite having no FM tuner that I can find an app for).


Unsure if you tried this, but most FM chips require an external antenna and route the ground (GND) pin on the headset/earphones as the antenna. Plug in some wired headset/earphones and try the FM again. If it works, the app may also have a setting in order to route the audio out a different path than the headet/earphones.

The alternative for manufacturers for FM reception is to build a fairly large antenna onto the device or to have a new CMOS FM chip (available beginning circa 2007) and use an expensive, large, and not very sensitive trace on the PWB dedicated for FM reception.
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CE Geek Page Icon Posted 2013-10-05 8:52 AM
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That worked - but, unfortunately, the sound continues to come out through the speakers as well as through the headset. (I was hoping for the ability to use the radio either with or without the headset. On some radios, the power cord can function as an FM antenna, but that doesn't work in this case, although I am using a third-party AC adapter, since it didn't come with a power adapter when I bought it.)

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Alt Bass - 2013-10-04 11:35 AM

So that's the problem actually.


Alt Bass, you don't think the absence of cefobj.dll and of the "File" registry key under HKLM/Windows CE Services/Synchronization has anything to do with it?

Another curiosity: while there is a USB HID driver built in, and both wired and wireless mice work, the mouse cursor is invisible - like it was on my old Samsung iZZi Pro when I tried a third-party mouse driver.

Linksys WUSB54GC working out of the box. This device has a version of IE CE 6 for MIPS on it, and the browser I located for the Viliv (HWBrowser) also works nicely. (Interestingly, ActiveSync connects right up via WiFi with this device once a partnership is created, whereas the Viliv tries to connect through WiFi but fails.)
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Alt Bass Page Icon Posted 2013-10-07 6:33 PM
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CE Geek - 2013-10-05 11:52 AM

Alt Bass, you don't think the absence of cefobj.dll and of the "File" registry key under HKLM/Windows CE Services/Synchronization has anything to do with it?



These are probably the parts of a certain component of Platform Builder - when manufacturer includes a component the certain databases, registry entries and file may be added. If the manufacturer doesn't include some component like "synchronization" in the project, the things you name won't be included for example.


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CE Geek - 2013-10-05 11:52 AM

Another curiosity: while there is a USB HID driver built in, and both wired and wireless mice work, the mouse cursor is invisible - like it was on my old Samsung iZZi Pro when I tried a third-party mouse driver.


That certainly is a separate component in Platform Builder, I remember that. So all your problems come from manufacturer not checking some checkboxes and not putting a simple settings into image.

Edited by Alt Bass 2013-10-07 6:33 PM
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Rich Hawley Page Icon Posted 2013-10-07 7:42 PM
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Probably any piece of wire connected to the grounded side of the headphones would work as an antenna. You might try it with just an alligator clip with a piece of wire connected to it and see what happens. If so, then it would be a simple thing to open it up and solder in a permanent wire internally for an antenna...and while you are at it, it would be worth checking out the phone jack to see if when inserting the headphones if it is opening the circuit to the speaker as it should.

You know how I am at things...tear them apart and see what makes 'em work, regardless whether or not you accidently destroy the thing...
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CE Geek Page Icon Posted 2013-10-08 9:06 AM
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I have a line-in cable with a 3.5 mm plug at each end, and I'll use that for an antenna. Kinda sucks though that the internal speakers aren't cut off while a headset is plugged in - defeats the purpose of a headset. That's the one and only complaint I have about it, so I'm not about to take it apart.
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