Meridian - 2005-04-09 12:08 AM
Hi! I've been reading up on the Jornada 680e as I'm another person who bought from TigerDirect, and I'm wondering if bruisedquasar or anyone else can point me in the direction of what needs to be done to convert the serial cable to a USB 1.1 compliant port?
"I just successfully adapted the 680e serial cable to USB 1.1 .... Have you considered doing something about sound by way of the serial cable converted to USB 1.1?"
e same could theoretically be done the opposite way, except that the signal would need to be buffered in some way for the serial port to keep up. Then there's the problems with CE 2.11 not being able to host a USB connection...
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Hello, Meridian. I am not certain what you are refering to. Here is what I was talking about. First, I asked if there is any technical reason a person could not apply a serial port to USB converter to the J 680/690 series. Theoretically, I knew it could be done as I used converters in the early days of USB to run serial and parallel port devices off USB 1.1 PC ports. No one knew either way, if I could safely try a converter.
I went ahead and experimented. I do not like Radio Shack but their techs have a record for making converters and cables that fill unusual needs. I found a converter
("adapter"
and tried it. It works like a charm. You plug your Jornada serial end into the Radio Shack serial end
( NO GENDER BENDER NEEDED
) and the Radio shack adapter USB end into a PC's USB 1.1 or 2.0 port. There is 8' of cable, which I like. This is an adapter, not simply a converter cable. The Radio Shack installation utility works like a charm.
I could not get my XP Pro to find the Jornada device
(I use Activesync 3.8
). I got it to link fine on a Win ME notebook but no dice with XP. The Radio Shack software allowed me to link right up through a USB port. I also have a dual boot Linux & Windows XP Home PC. The USB link works faster than serial link on the ME notebook or the Win XP - Linux desktop.
I asked about getting stereo sound by way of serial cable or PCMCIA because I knew people with Laptops and small desktops who bought PCMCIA sound cards. 12 years ago or so, many laptops came with limited sound capability. Users did not open laptops or notebooks
(except for user friendly Sharp models
) We got stereo sound with special PCMCIA sound, so I know IT IS POSSIBLE.
"Impossible" is a word I am unfamiliar with. I know a lot of people say "impossible" when they really mean: 'not that I can imagine.' I learned long ago that there are many things in this world that my philosophy cannot even imagine. So, keep pluggin. We will figure this thing out. I do not hope. I know every problem has a solution or two. Adapt, Improvise, Overcome!
Meanwhile, take a look at the May issue of "Computer Shopper" they review a new product, a newly released stereo sound card in a PCMCIA card. It comes with built-in stereo speaker connectors.