bruisedquasar - Converted serial cable?

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?

When I read bruisedquasar post the following in another thread I was given a glimmer of hope:

"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?"

I've been thinking about this one for awhile now, I have a Keyspan USB to Serial converter, so I figured the 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!

I do not know when and where bruisedquasar said that. But here's what I think you need to understand:

Adding a serial port thru a USB host (on the PC) is easy. Actually adding almost anything using a USB host is easy nowadays.

Adding a USB host thru a serial port is impossible.

Hope this helps.

The thread was a discussion about adding an audio jack to the J680's :
http://www.hpcfactor.com/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=750&start=1

I figured as much about the USB host on the Jornada itself, but that quote gave me some hope of playing around with things a bit.
Anything for expandability!

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.

Like I said, that's simply adding a serial port thru USB.

The problem with XP could be either a driver incompatibility of that serial port, or a wrong setting. There are several serial port addresses (COM1, COM2 etc etc). Some users have had experiences making ActiveSync connections thru different COM ports than COM1.

PCMCIA sound cards have been a common solutions before. But I have never heard of one with CE drivers. After all CE devices aren't exactly multimedia machines. A reminder, all known HPC devices do not support the 32-bit Card Bus devices, which the newer portable sound cards are usually based on.

The reason why it is impossible to add a USB host to a serial port is simple. Both the data rate and power requirements to support a USB host is way over that of the serial port.

there are several pc card soundcards in the market, but they're all 32 bits, that means no luck for ur hpc owners.

BTW Some XP sync problems are unexplainable. I've tried EVERY possible way to solve my problem: XP won't see ANY HPC connected through serial port and i'm not talking about one or two HPC's, because have tried SEVEN CE devices (HPC's and PPC's) with SIX different cables so far without positive results. maybe I should try the adapter bruised is talking about

I'm sleepy

Matrixcore, you probably know that Radio Shack return policy is easy. Any store, anytime. I always keep all the packaging and receipt, of course. Naturally, the Radio Shack adaptor is expensive. (Good ole Radio Slap). I bought it just to see if it would work out. You can get an adaptor considerably cheaper from a Net retailer. I believe [Unityelectronics.com] carries one for over $12 less. I think [pc-mobile.com] also has them.

I know what my problem is perhaps yours is similar. I have PC Connect and a user program BExplore for a unique highly modifiable Casio PDA. PC Connect and Activesync conflict with each other. Rather than go through the secret handshake needed to back them off each other, I chose to get a USB adaptor which works like a charm. I also have other PCs I want to connect with. Using USB makes the entire process trouble free.

I understand that from your posts that you do not assume the adaptor will give you a full fledged USB connection. It is slower than USB 1.1 but faster than normal serial. I found the same effect when I adapted my parallel and serial devices to USB 1.1 when PCs first came out with USB ports. As the manufacturers advertised, you do not get full USB 1.1 but you do get a total effect that is faster than serial.

The speed depends on the design of the adapter box. The Radio Shack box that drives their serial port USB adapter is excellent.

...Of course... this is all just my humble opinion...

--Bruised

Thanks for all the responses!

I hope the WinXP issues are more driver related than OS related, I've got a Keyspan serial/USB converter I use with my GPS and Laptop I'll have to see if it will work for this as well.
My laptop has no serial port, but it was what I was planning on using to sync the 680e with. I know the converter works well with the GPS, so I'll just have to cross my fingers!

On a related note, can CE programs be installed within CE or does it require you to install through a synced computer? My knowledge of CE is small as this is my first PDA using it. I'm not sure if CE is full featured enough to accept installation off of a secondary storage device (such as a CF card).


Thanks Again!

(BTW, I will admit I was hoping that BruisedQuasar had found something that would work for syncing AND fulfilling regular USB port duties, but I knew my chances were slim. Perhaps I'll look deeper into the intracasies of USB device hosting and see if there are any work-arounds)

Bruised: yes, i know it'll not be as fast as a USB 1.1

Meridian: yes, look in the forum, there are similar questions already posted. for a (not so) short answer, yes, you can install software from a CF card, just mark the cabs read-only (Alt+tap on them, then do a normal tap on properties, then tap on the "Read Only" box then tap on OK). You can install the apps without marking the cabs R/O, but they'll commit suicide after being installed (they will auto delete)

Hope this helps

Anything you can do by connecting the 680e to a PC by way of the serial cable, I can do with my USB adapter & at a slightly faster speed. I have a 1.1 USB adapter. My ports are USB 2.

When I was 20, I was taught and told over and over that it is impossible to survive an L ambush. Fortunately, I come from a line of professional military officers and inventors. From a young age, I was taught: "nothing is impossible". "Never confuse limited personal knowledge with no solution." Adapt. Improvise. Overcome.

My spec ops team snatched victory from defeat, when we were caught in an L ambush because my forefathers drilled into me that nothing is impossible. I ordered the team to do the only thing that had not been tried: Go into the enemy. They panicked and began firing at each other. The survivers were still shooting at each other after we penetrated and passed their lines. It was not genius that solved the problem. It was the truth that nothing is impossible.

March on Meridian. There is a solution out there. Adapt. Improvise. Overcome.

Goodyear was told it is impossible to render rubber useful. The famous French "flipper man" was told he would never be able to shoot, draw or do magic. He became famous throughout Europe for all three. Robert Fulton was laughed at and harassed by street boys for his "goofy" dedication to creating a steam powered boat. He was even arrested for insanity. Daytonians laughed at the silly Wright Brothers for thinking they could build a powered controlled flight flying machine. Howard Hughes' father was called crazy for his insistance that diamonds can be man made and thus be used for drilling through rock. Howard Hughes was told by engineers that no plane that fails wind tunnel tests can fly. Hughes flew his spruce goose anyway. Sikorsky was told a helicopter without a tail boom & boom rotary wing is impossible. The Queen of England was advised not to give Babbage money because a computing device is impossible. Goddard was told rockets are mere toys. This is the very short version of the list of doers of the "impossible" my fore fathers passed on to me.

Excuse me, if I anger some techno hobbyists & maybe a moderator or two with my stubborn refusal to accept "impossible" (or received wisdom). It is not my intention, I assure you.

The more I learn, the less I think I know. I do know these two truths: 1) Life is much too short for the retardation caused by Siamese twin brothers--ego and arrogance & 2) Nothing is impossible. "Impossible" implies "never" and never is a hell of a long time.

...Of course...this is all merely my humble opinion...

--Bruised

People mistakenly claiming something impossible does not mean everything is possible (or "nothing is impossible" ).

That is like saying because so many people mistakenly called someone Robert, there must be no one in the world named Robert...

I don't mean to argue against your belief (that nothing is impossible) which saved your life in the past. But I would suggest that, if you do not believe, you don't have to. And you certainly do not have to explain why. Unless it's information that others may find helpful, in which case we encourage people to offer it

Edited by takwu 2005-05-05 6:21 AM

hello all reading with great interest here,ok, so can I or cant I attach my serial link to a USB adaptor and connect to my pc? and if i can where do i get it?

Hello marios, YES.

Chief Value
http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/usb_serial.htm
http://www.cableclub.com/product_info.php?products_id=1228

just to name a few ...

EDIT: Or you can get a USB IR adapter ... that is, an IR dongle/key-like device that sticks into your USB port to give your desktop an IR port. Then you can sync with your HPC ... presuming it has IR built-in ...

Advantage is that it is smaller and upgrades your PC with an IR port, allowing it to communicate with other IR-based devices, like your phone, IR printer, IR microwave oven, IR-controlled car etc ...

Edited by Snappy! 2005-06-03 5:43 PM