VisorCentral.com (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/index.php)
- Communications (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=20)
-- RS232 to cellphone connection (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=5570)

Regarding Visor RS232 connectivety with a cellphone,

The EFIG (efig.com) diagnostics card with RS232 port (although expensive) works flawlessly with my Visor. I connect it to my Qualcomm Touchpoint cellphone (Sprint PCS)using the Sprint Data Connectivety Kit cable (expensive) and a null Modem. My Visor Modem Preference menu is set up as follows:
modem=standard
speed=19,200
spkr=low
flow control=automatic
country=other
string=AT&FX4

The Communication Menu of the EFIG is :

Port=built-in
baud=19200
Handshake=hardware
parity=none
stop bits=1
data bits=8

I have Eudora for palm and I have Proxiweb. I download my email (amazingly quick) and I even surf the web. Most amazingly, I have my corporate email (Lotus Notes) forwarded to my POP email account and I can download my email onto my Visor at any time from anywhere Sprint has coverage. I attend a lot of boring meetings and it blows people away when I can get my emails on my Visor in real time. I'm ahead of the game. I can respond instantly. I don't need my laptop now when I travel!

If you buy sprints data connectivity kit, does it have a link from the cellphone to a female adapter for the standard phone jack that I can plug into my modem on my visor? I was thinking about getting one but in the picture it looked like it was a connection between the phone and a serial port on a PC laptop.

Mike

As far as I know, Digital PCS cellphones like Sprint's have internal modems and require RS232 input. As such, the Sprint cellphone data connectivety kit cable has a RS232 connector on it. The Visor modem however is an analog modem with an RJ11 phone plug. In order to talk to a digital cellphone, you need an RS232 module (such as the EFIG module) that talks RS232 (with Handshaking) to the cellphone modem. The serial cradle has no handshaking but may still be able to talk to a digital cellphone - I haven't tried it, but I thought I read a recent thread that said they tried it and it worked with either a SprintPCS cellphone or a USR external modem(they turned off handshaking or flow control in the modem preference menu I believe).

quote:

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Originally posted by rmapes:
The EFIG (efig.com) diagnostics card with RS232 port (although expensive) works flawlessly with my Visor.

---

As far as I can tell, you can't put anything into the 2m flash of the EFIG at this time. Although, EFIG may have a way to do this.

I think the EFIG card would be a better idea. It's 'under $200' and let's you connect to external serial devices. The Sixpac sounds great, but the ability to connect to GPS, and other serial devices sounds great, too.

Qualcomm phones do not have an internal modem, they are actually able to recieve data (Unlike normal phones) in its pure form. The cell towers actually have the modems on them, and they do all the translating.

I mailed efig about using the diagnostic flash for storage, and got three responses:

1. "Sure, just burn a new ROM image and overwrite it using the developer's kit".

2. "Hey, that's a good idea, we'll look into providing a utility to update it".

3. "No, it's all or nothing, you can't update the flash."

So it looks like it's like the flash ROM in the backup module, you have to burn it all at once.

Oh well.

I've been waiting for cell-phone connectivity since I bought my Visor...but I'm not sure I understand how this works. I have a data-ready Startac 7868w with a Verizon (BellAtlantic) account, but it should work the same way as your Sprint/Qualcomm setup.

Do you need a special web access account with the cell phone company or can you phone into any dial-up ISP account?

Are you using the Efig diagnostics card only for the RS232 port or is there other required functionality on the card? (In other words, will you be able to use any future cheaper Springboard with an RS232 port?)

You mention a "null Modem" in your post; what is that?

Finally, how big is the Efig card? Will the Visor still fit in my Rhodiana case?


[This message has been edited by rosswords (edited 05-24-2000).]

With Sprint PCS, you can dial-up any ISP. I would think all data capable cellphones have the same capability.

The EFIG has an RS232 port allowing it to communicate with an external modem. Future springboards with RS232 capability, (e.g., Innogear's Sixpak) will communicate the same way. An RS232 port has internal UART circuitry that communicates with modems (and other data equipment such as computers, routers, etc.).

A null modem is just a connector you can buy at radio shack for around two dollars. It simply swaps the transmit and receive of the RS232 and it's my understanding that when you use a RS232 port to talk to a Modem you have to swap these leads to make it work.

The EFIG is the same exact form and size as the handspring modem (same package). It's about twice as thick as the Innogear Sixpack, but you get used to it.

Anyone else notice that the circut schematics are available from efig.com? Anyone interested in building the diagnostic springboard for what it is really worth (say $50). There is really not $150 worth of junk in the springboard, last I knew you could get the UART and flash modules for under $15 each. Add $10 worth of capacitors and resistors etc and you do not come out to $150.

MarkSpace http://www.markspace.com/cables.html is coming out with several Visor cables in the very near future.

These should be adequate to use with the SprintPCS or other phone with a data connectivity kit and a null modem to switch the data lines around.
They should also work with any serial device.

Carl



[This message has been edited by HoloDoc (edited 05-25-2000).]

Hopefully the serial cables you speak of have circuitry that perform modem handshaking (i.e., CTS etc.). The Visor cradle interface doesn't. Thats why you need the EFIG springboard - it provides a true RS232 interface.

Thanks, rmapes. Now let me see if I've got this straight....

I need true RS232 connectivity, which could mean the Efig springboard, the forthcoming 6-Pak springboard, or maybe just the serial cable from Mark/Space (as long as it performs modem handshaking -- how do I find out?).

Then I'll need to connect that cable to the data connectivity kit for my cellphone, which has a DB-9 connector. (Will I need a male-to-male adaptor?)

That's all, right? No modem needed? Just dial in through my cellphone to my existing ISP for web access and POP account? It sounds too good to be true.

You'll have to e-mail Mark/Space to know for sure.

You'll need a null modem (male to female).

Your data capable cell phone provides wireless modem functionality (you don't need an external modem). Sprint PCS requires that you sign up for data service (wireless web service for $9.95). You can access any ISP, webpage, etc, i.e., you aren't forced to use a certain ISP.

quote:

---

Originally posted by rosswords:
I need true RS232 connectivity, which could mean the Efig springboard, the forthcoming 6-Pak springboard, or maybe just the serial cable from Mark/Space (as long as it performs modem handshaking -- how do I find out?).

---

Here's how MarkSpace responded when I asked whether their cable will connect a Visor to a cellphone (still no word on when the Visor cable will be available, though):

"If your cell phone has a built-in modem that you can use via a serial cable, yes. For example, try hooking it up to your visor via the serial cradle and a null modem adaptor (if you have that) or a cable to your laptop or desktop machine. If you can do that and send AT type commands to it, then you could use our cable. Not all cell phones have an integrated modem though, and often the ones that don't can still be made to work via Windows if you have a special driver and cable. As the driver is PC only, you could end up in a situation where the phone would work with a PC laptop (and software installed from CD) but not via palm because of the required driver."

Has anyone tried this? I haven't yet.

I thought I read a thread here earlier that stated that they had been successful at using the serial cradle to connect to a cell phone (or was it to an external 56K modem?) and that they were able to make it work by turning off flow contol (or handshaking) in the modem preference menu and by configuring the modem as "Other" instead of United States.

This is my opinion - I could be wrong....

Based on rmapes' great recommendation, I invested in the efig module to allow me to connect my Motorola Timeport/Sprint PCS phone to the Visor and have had problems. The phone works fine as a modem for my laptops, but when I try to connect the visor via the efig card and a null modem, the visor can't find the modem. I am trying with both MultiMail and Proxiweb. I use this setup with a wired Visor modem and everything works fine. Any idea why the Visor still can't see the modem?

Did you follow my set-up at the top of this thread? Experiment with your modem preferences/ EFIG parameters. Try reducing your modem speed and your EFIG baud rate (under the communication menu). Try it without a null modem. Try the External port as opposed to Built-in port. If it still isn't finding the modem, e-mail me at [email protected].