VisorCentral.com - wtf?? no cell modem?

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VisorCentral.com (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/index.php)
- Springboard Modules (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=10)
-- wtf?? no cell modem? (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=10266)

Posted by laird on 12-22-2000 12:56 AM:

The only thing keeping me from converting from palm to visor is the lack of a cell modem. I currently have a TRGpro with a 64MB CF card and a Qualcomm thinphone with the Qualcomm connectivity kit which is mainly just a small cable.

With this kit, I am able to make data calls any time I am on a Verizon cdma network which is limited since I want to sit on the top of a mountain while hiking and check my email but reasonable for most US cities above 50k people.

I have been looking for a week now and have not been able to find anything for the visor that would allow me to make data calls in a common cell network. Please tell me I'm wrong.

And don't bother to mention the cdpd devices. Like I need to spend another $40/month. And you don't need to mention the visor phone. As a GSM900 only device it's got marginal service areas and an uncertain life expectancy due to GSM900 being broken in America.

All I want to see is a modem and a cable attached to a generic cellphone. A great example of this is the Megahertz (now 3com) 3CXM556. With a small cable it can connect to a huge list of common cell phones and the bonus is that it works in AMPS and various digital modes depending on the phone.

*sigh*

So, until someone pulls their head out and makes a copy of the 3CXM556 to tap into the huge base of cables and solutions already on the market, it's just another toy.

alan

Posted by Gameboy70 on 12-22-2000 06:15 AM:

quote:
And you don't need to mention the visor phone. As a GSM900 only device it's got marginal service areas and an uncertain life expectancy due to GSM900 being broken in America.

AirPrime is developing a CDMA dual-mode version of the VisorPhone, the SB1000, which it will distribute to various OEMs (e.g. Sprint) next summer. Hopefully, that's not "Innogear time."

quote:
All I want to see is a modem and a cable attached to a generic cellphone.

You'll want to check out the long, ever-helpful RS-232 to cellphone connection thread.

Posted by JHromadka on 12-22-2000 01:40 PM:

The SpringPort Modem from Xircom has a cell phone connector.

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Posted by timmins on 12-22-2000 02:27 PM:

I was going to say the SpringPort too.

Although, I believe that is for PCS and GSM phones as well?

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Posted by laird on 12-23-2000 12:42 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by JHromadka
The SpringPort Modem from Xircom has a cell phone connector.

After some extensive mobile phone and carrier websurfing, it appears to be possible with the xircom springport to make GSM based calls. It still doesn't do analog which is a shame but it has cable support for the common GSM mobiles.

The xircom website is unfortunately a mess of marketing terms that don't mesh. For example, the springport uses the 'standard integrated connector' but then from looking at cables, there are at least three device side connectors available.

I guess the only thing to do is order the parts and try them out.

My work carrier is AT&T and it looks like I can use them to place data calls in a pretty good number of places.

here's the AT&T map:

http://www.attws-sf.com/content/Cov...age/DOR_map.gif

and the yellow areas appear to be the areas where the GSM network has been deployed.

cables:
http://www.xircom.com/cda/shop/1,18...65-1289,00.html

Alan

Posted by Celchu19 on 12-23-2000 02:08 AM:

Let me just toss out the option of IRDA. Some Cellphones, as well as the Psion Tavle modem use IRDA and you don't even need cables for that.

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Posted by laird on 12-27-2000 06:53 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by Celchu19
Let me just toss out the option of IRDA. Some Cellphones, as well as the Psion Tavle modem use IRDA and you don't even need cables for that.

I would really like to go rida to avoid the cable but irda phones are mostly available only from GSM carriers which are massively underdeployed.

From talking to a couple middle tier phone folks, it looks like the best carrier is going to be voicestream but it will be another year before they have a reasonable network as well.

From all indications it looks like the Springport modem is not really a solution at this point as it relies upon GSM and there just isn't anyone with good sized network.

Alan

Posted by rmapes on 12-27-2000 10:23 PM:

There are quite a few ways to connect a Visor to a cellphone (some expensive, some not)- see the thread RS232 to cellphone connection

Posted by laird on 02-09-2001 01:33 AM:

quote:
There are quite a few ways to connect a Visor to a cellphone (some expensive, some not)- see the thread RS232 to cellphone connection

That's a great thread but it only deals with making a serial conection to your phone. I use this method currently with a hacked cable I made to connect my visor to my qualcomm qcp-860 and with the mobile web service, it works great in most metro and many smaller markets.

Unfortunately however, it does not provide a solution for when I am in an analog area.

Alan

Posted by Celchu19 on 02-09-2001 01:52 AM:

TRG, that's it

Because I am a new pocket PC user, this Idea just dawned on me.

Socket Communications, makes a CF I/O card that will connect you to most digital cell phones, becuase you have a TRG then this is your main option.

sam

Posted by laird on 02-09-2001 02:09 AM:

I switched over to the VPL a couple weeks ago now and have been very happy. The TRG screen was better and having 64M of autocf based click and use memory was really nice. The Eyemodule was just too compelling however and I had to switch.

My problem with wanting to make an analog data call has been something I've been trying to resolve on both platforms for over a year now.

I sat on a remote beach in '91 and checked my email (fidonet) and have been trying to repeat this experience ever since without luck.

Alan

[Edited by laird on 02-08-2001 at 10:33 PM]

Posted by laird on 02-14-2001 03:39 AM:

the plot thickens

I just got off the phone with Xircom technical support and I am slightly less confused.

It appears that the Xircom springport56 modem SM56GA can connect in GSM data mode or analog AMPS with certain motorola phones only.

There are two cables available for the SM56GA for the Motorola Elite series (had one of these about four years ago) or the StarTac series (cable CCK-56MOT) 8600, 8500, 6500, and 6000.

The Elite phones are cheaply available on ebay and can be added to most plans. The StarTac has such poor signal quality that it's not even worth attempting.

Alan

Posted by BEN on 02-14-2001 04:16 AM:

Re: the plot thickens

quote:
Originally posted by laird
The StarTac has such poor signal quality that it's not even worth attempting.

Alan

I must disagree. My Timeport (basically same thing) has GREAT reception in a city where not many phones get a signal at all. I think that many people have gotten wrong impressions of these phones. There's a reason why there one of the best selling phones on the market.

BEN

Posted by argent on 02-14-2001 04:27 AM:

I don't believe any of the "cellular modem" cards, except for a couple of 3COM cards, are actually modems. Instead, they're special-purpose serial cables, with no connection to the analog modem (if one is included) at all.

It's a royal scam, charging $150 or more for a serial port.

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Posted by surrender_jj on 02-14-2001 05:38 PM:

celphone connectivity

There are a few replies here with various solutions; a few people mention the TRGPro and a CF connection to a celphone. There is a CF adapter made, originally for use with memory cards. Has anyone tried to use the CF adapter with the celphone adapter with a celphone? Granted, it's a Rube Goldberg solution, but until a better thing comes along...

Posted by argent on 02-14-2001 05:59 PM:

You're missing the point.

There are no compact flash "cellphone cards" that are anything more than a serial port with a funky connector. If you can't get through with a serial cable (like the Markspace Datacord) nothing else will help.

The *only* cellular modem card I have ever found that really is a modem is the 3COM 3C756, and that's a PCMCIA card.

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Posted by surrender_jj on 02-14-2001 06:13 PM:

i stand corrected. i was looking at the MarkSpace cable; i currently have a StarTac 7868 phone and a cable that connects to my my 9-pin serial port on my laptop, and runs great as a modem (where service permits); could that cable connect to the MarkSpace cable and provide access that way? i'm also looking at the efig module, but a $30 solution is way more attractive than a bulky $150 dollar solution.

thanks all,
JJ

Posted by argent on 02-14-2001 07:01 PM:

If you have the version of the MarkSpace cable that is powered from the Visor then it should work with your cellphone. If I recall correctly, they have two versions of the cable and one needs more power from the other end than a cellphone will provide.

Check on their website. Send them email, they seem pretty helpful and responsive online.

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Posted by cjenkins on 02-14-2001 09:02 PM:

Just to throw an extra 2-bits in, it really depends on where you are and how much you travel with VoiceStream. I am a current customer in the Northern VA/WashDC area and coverage here is great. I have the whole east coast as my local "neighborhood" and had no problems at all when going to Atlantic City, NJ a couple months ago. I also recently had a trip to Texas and had no problems with the VoiceStream coverage there either.

I have a Nokia 8290 phone w/ IR so connecting to an ISP is a breeze (actually I just cancelled the ISP service and threw a modem into my linux firewall at home. Now I am able to auth there and go out through my cable modem or into my home network to sync. Very sweet.

Posted by laird on 02-14-2001 09:40 PM:

quote:
There are a few replies here with various solutions; a few people mention the TRGPro and a CF connection to a celphone. There is a CF adapter made, originally for use with memory cards. Has anyone tried to use the CF adapter with the celphone adapter with a celphone?

From conversations with the Xircom tech support folks about the Xircom CF modem, it appears that the Springboard CF module would not provide the required signals. This could use some more examination as I was working from the DIY schematic and not the schematic of the commercial product.

quote:
I don't believe any of the "cellular modem" cards, except for a couple of 3COM cards, are actually modems.

That's not quite true. There are two different methods of connecting to cell phones that are in common practice. The first and older method is to use a standard modem that speaks one of several flavors of cellular protocols to aid in getting the best possible signal over an analog connection and a small cable to connect to your cell phone. The second method is based on a service from the cell provider called 'mobile web' which packetises the data on the handheld before sending it. In this method, no modem is required between the host and the handheld since the handheld _is_ the modem.

The problem for me is that none of the providers have good mobile web service in rural areas. The mobile web solution is substantially better for everyone involved since it works while driving (since the data traveling over the RF is packetised and multipoint), uses substantially less resources than the analog call, and is much faster.

The Xircom SM56GA speaks the cellular protocols and can be used to place an analog call. Unfortunately, since this call is analog and uses a lot of telco resources, the telcos have convinced the handset vendors to not make an analog connection available through a cable. Nokia for example has this capability but you have to buy an aftermarket cable to push the phone into analog since they intentionally stopped selling it. Only Motorola still makes this available since it's been an item of faith in their product line.

quote:
I must disagree. My Timeport (basically same thing) has GREAT reception in a city where not many phones get a signal at all.

The Timeport series is substantially better than the Startac series for signal handling. It unfortunately has the same if not greater mechanical strength issues as the multimode Startacs.

There are many vendors and many carriers so when you compare your coverage to another's, it is important to factor these in. Nokia normally sells great product with the exception of their early CDMA/PCS products. Motorola normally makes great products except for their early PCS/GSM products. Sony products just plain suck. The list goes on and on. I find that it's extremely hard to beat the value and flexability of a TDMA Nokia 61xx on ATT or a CDMA Qualcomm thinphone on Verizon.

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