Database Users

Universal Remote

Hi all,
Apologies in advance if this is in the wrong place. I've tried using the IR port as a universal remote and found (just like everyon else oddly enough) that it only works from about a meter away and if it's angled exactly right. When I get my XDA back from the shop (cracked LCD €200 - ouch !) I'm going to try putting in an LED from a cheap IR RC car. I was also thinking of taking off the red plastic cover and putting in some kind of parabolic mirrory thingy. Just wondering if anyone has any tips or has tried something similar and had any success/failures ? Is it likely that the IR port will still work for transmitting to laptops etc ?

I THINK U NEED TO AMPLIFY THE IR'S SIGNAL, JUST REPLACEING THE BULB PROBABLY WONT HAVE ANY AFFECT

Sounds like an awful lot of trouble to turn an expensive pda in to a universal remote. :roll:

i seen on sum sites b4, that u can make, or buy :roll: an external IR booster...it works really well...but i dunno if Id want sum clunky lookin thing sittin on the corner of my PDA :lol:

So there *is* a remote software, that works on XDA (regardless of the range) ... which one is it? Did anyone try it yet on the XDA II? Yesterday I tried 6 of them but wasn't able to get my TV to react. It *is* in the list of delivered device-configs ... I even kneed in front of the TV as near as 10cm ... and learning made the XDA freeze in two cases, with a third prog I got the message, that no IR was detected ...
hm ...

TV remote controls usually drives the LED's at 10-20 times the rated current through a 1/5th duty cycle bursts. The XDA2 was not designed to be able to do this.
LED's from similar bins usually have the same luminous flux rating, but the angle at which it transmits is changed by adjusting the position in the plastic housing. Moral of the story: No free lunch when it gets to LEDs.
Good luck with changing the emitter anyway. Can you recall if the XDA uses a HP IRDA module or a discrete circuit?

about extenders for the ir
http://www.pdawin.com/irtranceiver.html
http://www.homeautomationnet.com/Shopping/remote-control-accessories.asp
http://www.smarthome.com/8220A.html

Strange request

I wonder if anyone can help me or point me in the right direction.
I use my xda2 to watch a lot of films as i travel on a coach to London everyday (about 2hrs) to and from home.
I want to some how attach my xda2 to the back of the coach seat it front of me, so i don't have to hold it constantly. Is there anything available on the market for attaching to seats (car seat etc.) that i may be able to use?

In my case I made by own little cardboard thingy for supporting it at a nice angle on train tables, but sticking it to the back of a bus seat might be harder; maybe you could make something out of a coathanger. You can tell I watched a lot of Blue Peter as a child

Probably not much use to you but the "Thinking Outside Stowaway Bluetooth Keyboard" http://www.thinkoutside.com/products/stowaway-bt.html comes with a detachable stand which I hope to use for watching videos on a upcoming holiday with a lot of train travel.

Just to say hi & experiences so far

Just registered so HELLO EVERYONE
(soz if in wrong section)
Just getting into this PPC Mobile phone 'stuff'.
My experiences with mobile phones so far is the god awful Siemens A60 (could not get anything into it games etc WAP ££$$ only crap). So far, about 3 text messages a month, less than 10min talk time so not exactly heavy useage! :wink:
Then on ebay I say an Xda Exec (Mint) which was then described in the listing as faulty!!!! HoHo, 80 quid later and the most simple hardware fix I've ever performed & I've got my grubby mits on an unlocked Xda Exec !!!!!!! :shock: Shoved my orange pay-as-you-go SIM card in & bosh - it's a bloody mobile phone t'boot.
As you can imagine I'm still picking my jaw up off the ground, this little device ROCKS (I got it with the mind to fixing it obviously and then selling it on but it's now 'a part of me', so to speak - plus going to the bog is not boring anymore (ahem :roll: )
So I just had to get Doom, Quake & Quake II to run, Lemmings, Age of Empires, Snails & to top it off AND (after mucho head-scratching) WiFi Connection at work and hence internet access (from the bloody carpark I ask you).
Then another MAJOR discovery - TCPMP (The Core Pocket Media Player) v0.71 DivX player (GO & GET IT - IT ROCKS) and 'Lathe' DivX encoder (GO & GET THIS AS WELL!!) - cartoons & films compressed to less than 100mB (be it from MPEG or DVD VOBs) in under an hour, over onto the SD RAM card & bosh MOVIES ON MY XDA!!!!! (hell TCPMP even works on my mates SPV-C500 mobile - THANKS FOR FINDING THAT ROB!)
Now I've order BlueTooth USB dongle for my PC that I can browse the internet at home at the same time as my wife hogs ebay to death. :wink:
What's that crappy McDonalds advert say?.. 'I'm Lovin' it'!!!!
Andy
BTW: The ONLY thing I dislike is the wierd WM5 - for the last 20years a red 'X' means 'stop & shutdown program' & now some tosser marketing 'guru' at MS has decided 'hell no, lets completely change that to something else' . . I ask you!!!!
Oh, & before I forget, poxy ActiveSync - what a weird convoluted mess that program is! Anyway, once I get my BlueTooth Dongle then I'll activeSync via that connection - I know this is not a simple task to do, but again me & my mate Rob got it working on his SPV-C500 using his BlueTooth LogiTech DiNovo Keyboard connection!!!!

Check out smclose to fix the close button
http://www.pocketpcfreewares.com/en/index.php?soft=1453
There are other ways too
You sound as English as an Englander could.
"Bob's your uncle" I'm a Londoner (reluctantly) myself! Nice to hear a friendly voice.
Good stuff on the Uni. Have a good read around. There's a thread on here somewhere about speeding up the Uni. Skip the extended memory installs and sort yourself out a nice system
V

Yo
Cheers me ol' mucker, I'll take a butchers @ speeding it up - I was wondering about that so n1 m8, does seem a bit bloated out with O2 crap (none of which I have even touched yet, probably just self promotional bull anyway 8) ).
Andy
PS Got me there for a min, I was thinking wots a 'uni'.... Got to now get used to calling my Exec a 'Universal'.....

I'm dying to know, what was the fault on the Exec?
PS Good luck with Activesync over Bluetooth, it's a bloody pain to set up sometimes.

Me again.
The unit was sold as not being able to power on (regardless of SOC of battery).
I purchased it regardless because of the error in misdescribing it - those people who were seeking a working Xda Exec would then find out it was faulty & those seeking a faulty Xda (that would otherwise have been sold for >£140) would not easily find it as it was not listed as faulty - if I could not fix it I would have simply relisted it correctly & made a quick 60 quid :wink:
Anyway, 4 torx screws later & a bit of prising the case easily came apart to wit: I was faced with... not much really (everything is screened by tiny metal boxes inside). HOWEVER I was not surprised to find a small Li-on button battery inside (hard wired to the PCB). I removed the battery to test as a friend had pointed out the fact that the power on circuits may need this battery to operate correctly (as an electroins engineer I could not see why this was the case though).
I removed the battery & attempted to charge it from a current limited variable DC power supply that instantly went into current limit at 1 Amps - i.e. a classic failure mode of duff Li-on batteries. Now if this is the case then attaching the main battery back would cause that to instantly drain, would not be able to charge & hence you would never be able to turn the Xda on!!!
Now, with the little memory back up button battery removed I reassembled everything, & put the main battery pack back in. I then connected it up to my PC via USB and a little orange light came on... my pulse racing a bit now, I pressed the on / off button and the LCD came on.... Blank!!!! NOOOO I thought..... for about 2 seconds before being greeted by the geogeous O2 splash screen - bugger me if the damn thing works... AV IT!!! I THOUGHT.
One Xda Exec (which 1/2hr later was unlocked) for the princely sum of sod all!!!!!
I'm still laughing into my pint a week later!
Andy

Nice one mate pld.
welcome aboard.
JAmes

How is Age Of Empires working for you? Because it doesn't say that it is WM5 compatible and 640x480...

@emmerman,
As to the game requirements, I don't know, just that it was PPC/ARM (Xscale) compatable - regardless game plays perfectly on my Uni, full screen and although its obviously harder to see things I'd say its more playable because of the stylus!!!
It rocks so install with impunity...
Andy

I couldnt get it to get past the "Register Game" screen on mine when i tried it. phone froze up and i could only quit the game by closing it in settings>memory.
I only installed the main application, and installed it to SD-card.
I'm using VGA though, not sure if that was a problem.
JAmes

OK, just looked at my uni...
Today, I be mostly running:
Microsoft's Age of Empires Gold Edition (ARM) v1.07
From ZioSoft Interactive / Ensemble Studios
ahem, ahem, DE00AORJ0EU7 *cough* *cough* :wink:
Andy

Oh, & it's installed on my SD card.

i never got that far it wouldnt let me click on register. It went landscape, but upside down when in laptop mode, and wouldnt accept any inputs.
I recon it could be cause of the resolution, but might not be....
JAmes

I'm using VGA though, not sure if that was a problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's something other than 640x480 on these things???
how do i know what mine is (and for the record, how to change it?)
TIA
Andy

underwurlde said:
I'm using VGA though, not sure if that was a problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's something other than 640x480 on these things???
how do i know what mine is (and for the record, how to change it?)
TIA
Andy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By default they're 320x240 - so not sure exactly what you're seeing. Do a search in thses forums for OzVGA, there's a several threads about it.

I Don;t Believe it!! (it, not you).
You're saying that we pay for a 640x480 display AND THEY DEFAULT IT TO 320x240???
You're kidding, right???
Or am I missing something here
Andy
PS
I didn't actually pay that much for it, but I find that incredulous anyway!

software for the gym

Hey Guys..
i think this software probably doesn't exist.. but i thought let's give it a try
I recently swapped gyms and in the gym i'm now at, when i'm working out, my pulls and pushes aren't counted.. also the distance i pull/push isnt checked like in my former gym.. so i can't watch my technique..
Then i thought.. maybe there's an app wich uses the g-sensor too register the movement of the device and displays them usefull for working out, when i attach my phone to the weights..
Anyone's come across such software??
Thankyou

Well the accelerometer in the phone can only track acceleration (and direction, due to gravity), not absolute movement or distance. To do that, you need a reference point and potentially other sensors (e.g. the Nintendo Wii's IR bar, and the additional angular rate sensors in the MotionPlus accessory).
If you had a set speed, you could calculate distance based on time (which it'd know by the angle of the phone, assuming you attached it to yourself / the weights in a fixed position), but your speed's probably going to vary enough to make the output useless.

hmm.. too bad..
Thanks for the response!!

Working on a Track app for motorcycles

Hi all,
I'm relatively new to the WinMo programming, but so far I've been able to capture and process the Gsensor data, but I can't seem to understand how to use the GPS data.
I want an app that will record the GPS position along with all of the Gsensor data so that I can record the route and have data for each point that contains lean angle, acceleration, deceleration, etc. I figure I'll have to have the Gsensor fill in for some of the GPS data and vice-versa.
Why you ask?
Well, let's say you put it in a suspension test mode. You could accelerate gradually and brake. Hopefully the gsensor could catch the dive and bobble of the bike and give you some feedback. Knowing how far you are leaning in some turns is nice. You could possible detect and calculate if you are sliding at all. Perhaps you could even calculate the power output if you included the weight. You could make a mode that would yell at you if you get the front wheel too far off the ground, etc. I think there are all kinds of fun things to do. I know there are expensive and half solutions out there, but having an opensource solution would be nifty.
I'm a relative noob with C# and I'm using SharpDevelop. If anyone has any suggestions for things to implement or can help me acquire and use the GPS data I'd appreciate it.
If this sounds like a dumb idea I can always abandon it too.
Thanks guys.

lol, actually I think its a cool idea to be able to log what your doing. And maybe a top speed via the GPS. I think that would be a really cool app to have when I ride.

gliscameria said:
Hi all,
I'm relatively new to the WinMo programming, but so far I've been able to capture and process the Gsensor data, but I can't seem to understand how to use the GPS data.
I want an app that will record the GPS position along with all of the Gsensor data so that I can record the route and have data for each point that contains lean angle, acceleration, deceleration, etc. I figure I'll have to have the Gsensor fill in for some of the GPS data and vice-versa.
Why you ask?
Well, let's say you put it in a suspension test mode. You could accelerate gradually and brake. Hopefully the gsensor could catch the dive and bobble of the bike and give you some feedback. Knowing how far you are leaning in some turns is nice. You could possible detect and calculate if you are sliding at all. Perhaps you could even calculate the power output if you included the weight. You could make a mode that would yell at you if you get the front wheel too far off the ground, etc. I think there are all kinds of fun things to do. I know there are expensive and half solutions out there, but having an opensource solution would be nifty.
I'm a relative noob with C# and I'm using SharpDevelop. If anyone has any suggestions for things to implement or can help me acquire and use the GPS data I'd appreciate it.
If this sounds like a dumb idea I can always abandon it too.
Thanks guys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think its a "practical" idea, not dumb, but for learning how to code and stuff, its a great idea. I'm assuming you enjoy riding at the track, so that'd keep you motivated to continue the app development.
There are already similar apps, but I don't know if they will detect lean angle and brake dive.
That's the first thing I thought of when I saw this app:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=424423
I haven't played with it, but maybe it could give you something to start with.
Check this out too
http://www.racechrono.com/
The newest SpeedoHealer has a top speed recall on it, and its only $100 for the whole system. Much less than having to buy a WM phone just to record top speeds.
Most of us need one of those anyway, but if you could make your app work in conjunction with that system.. could be very useful.
Especially for the initial calibration. Get the correct GPS speed from the phone, and then get on the SH website from the phone for the correct calibration code! Or find a way to integrate the SH code program thing into your app. so you don't have to get online for the code. That would be very useful for gearing changes at bike nights when the dyno is unavailable.
But you could load some track maps in it, have the thing record acc/dec at which points at each corner. Then you could see where you started braking at, and decide if you need to brake sooner and softer, or later and harder.
Maybe if (lets hope not) you go down, you could see how much decel. at what angle caused the loss of control.
Think you could set it up to calibrate the 2 axis independantly?
set the side to side while on a stand, then remove the stand and calibrate the front to back when loaded with the rider at static sag, cuz its going to change from when its on the stand and the stand is the only way you're going to get anything close to accurate verticle calibration, but the front to back will be off with the back wheel raised.
Where you thinking of mounting the phone to the bar/tripple clamps?
or under the tail?
I think I'd be afraid of losing such an expensive piece of equipment if it was mounted upfront. But you can't see anything on the screen under the tail.
Unless you didn't want it to display anything, just collect data.
Not that you'd be able to do much screen touching with gloves on anyway.
Better use large buttons! lol
Do you think you could setup the light sensor to determine if a headlight bulb is getting old? I don't know if the sensor will work when flooded with that much direct light.
Well anyway, just a few ideas for ya.
I don't ride at the track, but I'd like to test the app out when you get a working beta going.
I'm sure it could have its uses on the street.
And I know the speedo is off on my 08 Busa.

KYT said:
Well anyway, just a few ideas for ya.
I don't ride at the track, but I'd like to test the app out when you get a working beta going.
I'm sure it could have its uses on the street.
And I know the speedo is off on my 08 Busa.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the input. Until I can find some help on the GPS aspect of it I'm kinda idling.
I'm thinking...
When you start the app you will have to have it mounted and be on the bike. There will be a calibrate button which you will press when you are centered. From there on out you can pick a mode.
Your busa better not have any chrome on it. =/

Keep it up!
Very cool idea! I actually experimented with an analog 'curve counter' mounted to my motorcycle several years ago. Built a box with a steel ball inside that rode along a curved piece of metal and made contact closure with a terminal on each end - different viscosities of oil provided the dampening to keep it from bouncing around. This was coupled to an electronic counter that I built from a kit. It was kinda cool, but a pain to get mounted.
I don't have the experience to lend for application development, but I would certainly be willing to test any versions of the app you would like.
FYI - right now I use Run.GPS for tracking but would love to have lean angle and acceleration/deceleration data to go along with it. The only glitch with lean angle is that I assume the centrifugal force during cornering would prevent the accelerometer from reading the true lean angle...maybe some calculations could compensate.

go for it!
my hayabusa, my tp2 and I would be happy to be in your test team ;-)
and BTW, I am a veteran C# developer, so let me know if I can help.
(experienced in C#, but not in Win-Mo or HTC hardware)