Signal Strength of multiple cells - Windows Mobile Development and Hacking General

Hi,
How can i retrieve in VB.NET the GSM signal strength of the multiple cells for an area?
I try the dwSignalStrength using TAPI, but only retrieve the signal of the current cell.:x
Thanks,
João Peixoto

Not sure but a lot of the features that you would expect to have been implemented have not been, making your task a little more problematical.
Refering to your post for Tracelogviewer, have a look at the one below for how to obtain PCO files from the XDA2 - I think thats what you're looking for?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=3412&highlight=
However, the output I viewed from PCO didn't "obviously" show adjacent cells at all, let alone signal strengths of those. I found a better viewer as well than in that post.
Just realised that the linked post from itsme has been lost It is 2 settings under HTC in the registry someplace & you turn the logging on which produces a .pco file. Long time since I did it, so will need to remember.
Another interesting thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=3347&highlight=tracelogviewer

Thanks,
It's true..
In Registry i enabled the
\HKLM\SOFTWARE\HTC\ATDdgLOG
\HKLM\SOFTWARE\HTC\XPanel
but i don't have the TraceLogger in my Qtek 9090. Can you send me? [email protected]
With the TraceLogger and the Tracelogviewer, it's possible to retrieve information about the Cell ID, RxLevel, Adjacent cells, etc.. That's all i want.. obtain the PCO file.

Ah!
You don't actually need that. Do a search in File Manager & you should find the .pco file, then use an editor - I used TextPad from Helios Software.
I *think* the file is called XPanelLog.pco

Hi,
In my Qtek 9090, i don't have .pco files
But in Registry i have:
\HKLM\SOFTWARE\HTC\ATDdgLOG\Enable = "1"
\HKLM\SOFTWARE\HTC\ATDdgLOG\LogMode="0"
\HKLM\SOFTWARE\HTC\XPanel\Enable="1"
\HKLM\SOFTWARE\HTC\XPanel\OutputFileName="\Storage\RadioTrace"
\HKLM\SOFTWARE\HTC\XPanel\MyCmd="\Temp\MyCmd.txt"
\HKLM\SOFTWARE\HTC\XPanel\LogFilePath="\Storage\"
\HKLM\SOFTWARE\HTC\XPanel\LogDiskSaveSize="2097152"
\HKLM\SOFTWARE\HTC\XPanel\LogFileSize="2097152"
and no RadioTrace Folder in Storage, no MyCmd.txt, nothing..
Thanks,
Peixoto

Um - I'll have to have a play again.
You could PM itsme and see if he can recall the exact proceedure.

Peixoto said:
Hi,
How can i retrieve in VB.NET the GSM signal strength of the multiple cells for an area?
I try the dwSignalStrength using TAPI, but only retrieve the signal of the current cell.:x
Thanks,
João Peixoto
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would you want to know the signal strength for all the cells around you when the phone will default to the best anyway?

z0mbi3 said:
Why would you want to know the signal strength for all the cells around you when the phone will default to the best anyway?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Location Based Services

Is it possible to run the TraceLogger on the HTC Magician/I-Mate Jam/Qtek S100?
If so, can anyone mail it to me at lars.wilhelmsen [at] gmail [dot] com

Related

CellTracker Alternative

I don't know where else to post this....I found this while looking for an alternative to the SPV Developers CellTracker app. It's an app called NiceTrack...the screenshots tell the rest of the story:
http://www.nicecuppa.com/nicetrack.asp
Background info: http://www.ascendingangels.com/nicecuppa.com/nicetrack.asp?story=1
Screenshots: http://www.ascendingangels.com/nicecuppa.com/nicetrack.asp?story=2
Download: http://www.ascendingangels.com/nicecuppa.com/nicetrack.asp?story=3 (Version 1.2)
The source code for that app can also be downloaded from the Background Info link.
The SPV Developers CellTracker app (Beta version only, hasn't been updated since December) for PocketPCs is located at the way bottom of the page:
http://www.thelogster.34sp.com/celltracker/
NiceTrack updates the tower changes in real-time whereas CellTracker does not. NiceTrack also shows the dbm signal strength on a cool chart and it also includes a logging function that allows you to rename the cells your phone has connected to while the app is active.
Signal strength chart: http://www.ascendingangels.com/nicecuppa.com/images/nicetrack/main-page.gif
Here are a couple hints based on my experience so far:
1) In order to fully save the renamed/logged cell sites, you must first tap Save next to where you renamed the cell site. Then you must also tap Options/Menu --> Save (extreme lower left) to save all changes since the app was launched.
2) Use Menu --> Exit to completely close the app.
I have tested this for use on my MDA II w/Windows Mobile 2003. I don't know if the app is compatible with WM5 PPCs or regular Windows Mobile smartphones.
Enjoy
Thanks for posting.
This software has been discussed before, and it is great:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=3347&highlight=nicetrack
However, I believe people are having difficulty converting it to WM5 (when I last checked). But great stuff either way.
V
Hi there,
Sharpstuff (NiceTrack author) here..
I've just bought a T-Mobile MDA Vario and have managed to get it working on that ( WM2005 )
The problem was that in the older phones the GSM modem was on COM2 and on my Vario it's now COM9. I've made the Com port configurable now, but it's still not 100%.
You can download it from my site www.nicecuppa.net
Let me know how y'all get on.
Cheers
-sharpstuff
Good stuff sharpstuff Wish I had a gps!
V
sharpstuff said:
Hi there,
Sharpstuff (NiceTrack author) here..
I've just bought a T-Mobile MDA Vario and have managed to get it working on that ( WM2005 )
The problem was that in the older phones the GSM modem was on COM2 and on my Vario it's now COM9. I've made the Com port configurable now, but it's still not 100%.
You can download it from my site www.nicecuppa.net
Let me know how y'all get on.
Cheers
-sharpstuff
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sharpstuff, you have an excellent app here. I had to search for a bit to find it but in the end, I'm quite glad to have it . I also like the pun you have for your site...it's quite distinctive since even as a German-American, I know when someone says "cuppa", they normally mean the cup of tea .
Keep up the good work and thanks for taking the time to develop such a great and invaluable app .
oooh.. *bookmark*
Do you have a regular Donate button somewhere? I see the shop, but I'd rather just get X amount straight to you, and not have to be awoken by some crazy delivery guy at 8am for a mug
Thanks for the kind thought...
But, I enjoy doing this stuff, so just click my google ads and I'm happy!
;-)
Got this to work on my 8125, almost... Clicking on 'add' under events causes it to crash with the following error:
NiceTrack.exe
NullReferenceException
Application::Run+0xf
MainForm::Main+0xa
....bummer - so close!
You need to select an event type eg. "Flash backlight" then click "add"..
Needs some validation there.. Plus, the events side of things isn't very useful at the moment, I need to implement some more event types.
Cheers
I installed it on my qtek9100 but it doesn't find a GSM-modem at all.
Also a Qtek9100, EN - found it on COM9 just fine
What would be really neat would be an event "Show Picture". That way it would be easy to make a make-shift map tracking thing. Simply grab a picture of the map off the internet, plunge a big dot on the map where you got the cell, save as image, and have that image displayed when entering that cell %) GIF files on the storage card, shouldn't take up too much space
Alternatively a full-fledged mapping thing could be developed, but that's a lot more work *nod*
@sharpstuff hey I installed it on my XDA EXEC, but when it scans for com and reaches com9 it just freezes...any ideas?
Hi there,
I'm having some problems with the detection code, and general functionality on WM5.
I am looking into it and will post a new version up ASAP, sorry for the problems..
stop being sorry and add that donate button *keeps clicking google ads once a day but hopes google won't start ignoring his IP address for excessive clicking...*
N!co said:
I installed it on my qtek9100 but it doesn't find a GSM-modem at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After a soft reset its working fine on COM9. Nice app.!
sharpstuff said:
Hi there,
I'm having some problems with the detection code, and general functionality on WM5.
I am looking into it and will post a new version up ASAP, sorry for the problems..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So is Release 1.3b a partial fix for WM5 users? I installed it on my MDA II and it detects my modem on COM2 without any problems. Both 1.2 and 1.3 seem to work on WM2003 PPCs.
http://www.nicecuppa.net/
http://www.nicecuppa.com/download/NiceTrack_Release_1_3.zip
TIA
Yep, it's an intermediate release. Basically, it reminds the user on startup to set the Com port in settings
I'm working on v1.4 at present, this has more error checking on the GSM code, and multi-threaded com port detection so the whole app doesn't hang
For what it's worth - it seems to randomly lock up on me - requires an 'end task'. Sometimes when this happens, and I try to fire it back up again, I just get an empty message box dialog; no title, just the close button.
ZeBoxx said:
For what it's worth - it seems to randomly lock up on me - requires an 'end task'. Sometimes when this happens, and I try to fire it back up again, I just get an empty message box dialog; no title, just the close button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get that messagebox at random even after I closed the app and its not in the list of running programs. Strange...

Engineer Mode on the Hermes

Engineer Mode on the Hermes
It's the same on the Wizard as well.
Use your favorite registry editor
Go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\HTC
Create Key
EngineerMode
Add dword
BuildInEngineeringModeApp
Set Value to 1
Close registry editor
Go to phone pad and enter code
*#*#364#*#*
and this accomplishes what?
Well, One thing I found interesting was that it gave me the signal strength in db from my cell sites, As I supposively according to Cingular have 3 of them around me. It has other areas of info, that I dont recall seeing when I did this on my old 8125. Just geeky stuff.
Netrunner2K said:
Well, One thing I found interesting was that it gave me the signal strength in db from my cell sites, As I supposively according to Cingular have 3 of them around me. It has other areas of info, that I dont recall seeing when I did this on my old 8125. Just geeky stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried it and it didn't work at all. "Your call cannot be completed as dialed" SF Bay Area. AT&T 8525.
-Humbert
Weird. When I did it, I didn't have to hit the talk button at all. The screen came up immediately after inputting in the code. I also didn't have to reboot the phone either. My phone has a file called Fieldtest.exe in the windows folder. This file was in the standard HTC ROM. I did run into another thread where someone posted (I believe) another version of FieldTest.exe.
Here is the URL:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=274269
Try copying that into your windows folder and run the executable directly. That should achieve the same results.

CellID & Rxlev & GPS

The program updated. free to use ...
Hi all, I write a simple program for Telecom. Engineeger:
1) It can show CellID, Rxlev & LAC
2) base on the database (txt file), show cell site info.
3) GPS function
4) Open log file to record
The Log file format in :
Latidute,Longitude,CurrentTime,CellID,Rxlev
And you need to copy the files 2G.txt,3G.txt & site.txt to the root directory.
the text file at the main program directory ( eg. program file\fieldtestv1.2\).
Note:
Only test at my HTC P3600i phone, not sure for others ...
And sorry for my poor english ..
New Version ,It's surprised,But My PPC(model:O2 atom Life) Cell Id is Error。
Picture :
I have this error on my "Tornado" smartphone (WM 6.1).Why ?
By default, the program will read the files "2G.txt", "3G.txt", "site.txt" & "SiteNo.txt" when startup. so if you missing one of file , it will show the error message. you should create the 4 txt file to the root directory.
If you are a telecom engineer, you may entry the field data to each txt file or just create a empty file, it should be work !!!
that's a brilliant program.
btw what's the file format for the SiteNo.txt and is there a way to change the frequency of the log file to every minute or 30 seconds.
It would be great if you could do the site info match using the cellid ( CI ) and LAC. due to certain telco would recycle the cellid due to the 65536 limit.
Few more suggestion for the Log file.
1. Log file can be saved to storage card
2. BCCH info from the cells not from the txt file included in the log file
3. Logging frequency i.e 10 secs , 30 secs , 1 minute
4. LAC included in the log file
It is actually 8 to 10 db more when compared with an actual test tools.
bravo it's a good program.
Almost works, it crashes when i hit start or update, on my 8525 with ATT Wm6, files attached.
How do you read CELL ID ?
It is in the registry? where ?
could you show some code how to get cellid? which serial port to be opened?
On My HTC9000 PPC, I couldn't open COM2, No Com ports could be send AT
Cmd successfully
Some source code here ...
public static CELLINFO GetCellTowerInfo()
{
IntPtr res = IntPtr.Zero;
res = RIL_GetCellTowerInfo(hRil);
if ((System.Int32)res > 0)
{
rilCmd.CmdId = (System.Int32)res;
rilCmd.CmdType = RIL_CMD_TYPE.CELLTOWERINFO;
......................
.......................
if (!RIL.isInitialized)
RIL.Initialize();
RIL.CELLINFO CID = RIL.GetCellTowerInfo();
I have just started using this program as I am a telecommunications engineer.
I have emailed Frank for assistance and he has been most helpful.
The TXT files must be placed in the / directory - ie the "My Device" directory.
I have also noticed that if I use 2G or 3G mode on my phone, the program only looks in the 2G.txt file.
Try on my Hermes, on 3G band it shows only Cell ID, other failed, on 2G it shows MCC-MNC, Cell ID and LAC, but not signal level neither SC? Just reporting
Unsure why this is not receiving signal level, but the program does not yet have the functionality to extract BCCH/PSC.
All this program tries to match is the CellID - you need to have the BCCH/PSC in 2G.txt or 3G.txt
I am currently speaking with the developer to see if he wants some assistance to work on this program (i can test) - I am using a Touch Diamond
Thanks!
Dear Frank8080,
Thank you for your cellid sample program. I download and try it. This program run into my cht9100 very fine. I need one program to get cellid on wm6. Can you email your source code to me ? Thank you very much!
Does it work on wm2003 for my 818?
It does NOT work on O2 Atom, windows mobile 6 ...
hmmm... It crashed in my atom wm5.0.
Thanks for the bug reporting:
1) For the program can't read 2G or 3G txt, due to the program read the txt file base on the MNC(Network Code), so it seens that I need to add a setup page to fix the problem.
2) For can't decode the signal level (erwinpiero), I have tested on Dopod 838 Pro, it works ok. But I don't know why it's not work on your 838Pro.
3)For BCCH/PSC decoding, I still try ....
I am a mobile engineer in HongKong and the program just developed for my team use to perform the field measurement of the daily operation, so the most of function just base on the needs of my job. So if any other information you need, you may email to me, I will try to add the extra function to the program.
Hi frank, Top program, well done!! it's running on my TyTN II fine.
Could you post up some examples of how the 4 txt files should be built and a "few" examples of the info they should contain.
Also I see you're using RIL ... does your program update the CellID etc whilst the phone is "In Call". I have used CellTrack before and once "in call" the phone never updates apart from the RX level.
Thanks!!
Phil
Hi,
I haven't tried this sw, but I will do it soon (as soon as I have a PDA).
Just wondering if is possible to select what variables should be on the log (e.g.: active set, the cells that are being measured)...
thanks

Touch diamonds GSM monitor

Dera all,
Is there an application for HTC touch diamonds able to display serving cell, neighbouring cells with signal strength and voice quality??
Thank you ...
Not sure on the voice and signal strength, but this thread may help:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=393189
There's getcellID (which is posted in the thread) which will tell you the current cell ID.
FieldTest.exe
Nayefazar said:
Dera all,
Is there an application for HTC touch diamonds able to display serving cell, neighbouring cells with signal strength and voice quality??
Thank you ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is one included in the ROM. Just run the app located @ \Windows\FieldTest.exe
NB: You may have to enable viewing of hidden/system files. You can use Resco Explorer for that. Or use the attached .lnk file. Just put it in \Windows\Start Menu\Programs and it will be available via Start - Programs. Enjoy!

Cell id Command line

Hi All,
Is there a tool which can get Cell id and LAC from command line for it to be used by other apps
Say I have script (mortscript)
Then I can call <Cellid APP> and get Cellid location where the device is
Then take action based on the Cell id.
Idea is to track the phone and let the owner know where all the phone on a web page.
I go from HOME -> LOC1 -> LOC2 ->Office (everyday)
Incase phone shows a path HOME -> LOC1 -> LOCX -> <UNKNOWN> .. the send a TEXT(SMS)/update page etc ... to alert the users.
Kind of way to make your phone secure.
Any suggestion if it can be done with any exiting tools and mortscript etc ...
http://www.xs4all.nl/~itsme/projects/xda/tools.html
has something called riltest ...
riltest - dumps all kinds of info from the phone via ril
But the zip files does not have this file... Could any one let me know if this file is available any where else.
Ok Got a riltest from Another forum which does similar ... ALMOST....
what it can do is dump all to a LOG file ... I am using a Mortscript
1. Run the app
2. make app to dump logs
3. get the details from the file.
4. close the app.
Now loop this for with a sleep ...
But still looking for better way.. Attached is the file for anyone who is looking for similar stuff.
Hi,
I too was looking for something in this line and ended up writing it myself.
Props to this chap for the code to get me started:
http://dalelane.co.uk/blog/?p=241
Basically you call 'RilCmdLine.exe' with a parameter indicating what field you want. It returns the field as an int to MortScript (I think you need MortScript 4.3b1 or above?).
Supports LAC, Country Code and Cell Tower ID.
The zip includes a test mortscript - you may just need to edit the path to RilCmdLine.exe
(Source code on request. I may even support it )
Hope this helps!
onion
Hi
Thanks for the exe file. However I am unable to see any result when I run the exe/mscr on my mobile (HTC 3300 WM6). I did edit the path also executed from cmd line on mobile.
Also Mortscript RunWait and Run will not return any results as per the Mortscript doc. So the result has to be redirected to a file.
Could you please check and let me know if the exe is required to be executed with different parameters.
Thanks
What version of Mortscript are you running?
I had to upgrade to 4.3b2 to get the return code from the exe.
Get it here
http://www.sto-helit.de/index.php?module=download&action=view&entry=125
In the notes for b1 mentioned the return code functionality being added.
Hope this sorts it for you
Perfect !! Thats works perfectly ... I updated to MortScript you have suggested.
Excellent Work !! ... Really good. Thanks man
Will it be possible that if I don't pass any Command line parameter ... Can I get all the values... Like CELL ID, LAC etc ..
Glad you like it
Unfortunately you can get all the values at once (at the minute you can only return numbers from the exe, so there is no way to separate them).
My original idea is something along what you suggest - if I get that working I will post a new exe up here.
Thanks
Thanks onionfx! This is just what I was looking for as well. Trying to do something similar to what wishme said. ;-) The common profile switchers out there are not very useful to me because I'm more of in a rural area, and cell towers are farther apart, so my home and work cellid overlap sometimes, so I want to also take into account signal strength to see if I can fine tune it better. Will probably use Mortscript since it's the only thing I've learnt to code with for Windows Mobile.
I'm bookmarking this page to see if you eventually get the prog to output all in one line (and reduce the CPU churn of calling the same prog several times).
BTW, how about also returning nearby cells in order of signal strength? That would be awesome to fine-tune your location even more!
Good work!
Cesar
Doing some thinking about this
I can't see any way of returning all the values at once.
The C code can only return an int in the range -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647 and my CellID and LAC are 5 digits each so if they ever started with a digit greater than 2 I couldn't return it.
The 2 best options I think are writing another exe that dumps the data either to a file, or to the registry in a similar way as riltest above, but without the UI part.
Then write a script that could be included, and which has nice subs to access each parameter (or you are free to write your own script calls to do this).
I'm tending to the file as I imagine reading from the registry is a bit slower than reading the file (in one go and storing all the params as variables)?
Also I can do less damage if I use a dedicated file!
Anybody got any better ideas, or has a good reason to use the registry?
Goodnight
Are we talking about GSM signal strength
REGISTRY entry: HKLM\System\State\Phone\Signal Strength (DWORD value)
More here: http://wiki.modaco.com/index.php/Windows_Mobile_5_Registry_Tweaks
Also is it possible to get all other the cellids at any point not the one phone is connected to ? I have not see any app providing this info.
Except for Google maps on mobile (without GPS) it uses triangulation technique to get the Latitude and longitude of a location with all cell id locations available. for this method to work we requires atleast 3 cell id.
Does RILCELLTOWERINFO gives details about other towers also ?
I wonder what the requirements are for the command line tool?
It locks up when I run it on my MotoQ smartphone.
onionfx said:
Supports LAC, Country Code and Cell Tower ID.
The zip includes a test mortscript - you may just need to edit the path to RilCmdLine.exe
(Source code on request. I may even support it )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't get this to work. I get "-1" for all 3 values. Anyone offer any reasoning as to why this may be? I believe my ROM includes .Net framwork, but I'm not sure how to check.
Thanks
onionfx said:
Basically you call 'RilCmdLine.exe' with a parameter indicating what field you want. It returns the field as an int to MortScript (I think you need MortScript 4.3b1 or above?).
Supports LAC, Country Code and Cell Tower ID.
The zip includes a test mortscript - you may just need to edit the path to RilCmdLine.exe
(Source code on request. I may even support it )
Hope this helps!
onion
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excellent work! Thank you!
Thanks onionfx for your contribution. I might need it for a use similar to the one described by wishme.

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