Registered: May 2001
Location:
Posts: 16

I've been tinkering on the design of a Springboard module, and I thought this would be a good place to assess interest in it. The module itself is rather simple (possibly just one or two chips). It contains:
--An RS-232 port
--A parallel (printer) port
--A PS/2 keyboard interface

The serial port would be similar to that on the Palm III/VII -- hardware handshaking is available (unlike the Visor cradle port). However, the 12V line driver would be software-switched, so it wouldn't suck battery if you didn't need it. It is a (very tentative) possibility that this port might allow you to use Palm III/VII accessories with your Visor--but I'm not sure yet. Under OS3.5 and higher (whenever Handspring releases it for my VDLX) it would appear to applications just like any other internal serial port, and use the same API. (This may be possible under 3.1--not sure.)
The parallel port would be very simple, intended primarily for printing (not all printers have IrDA). A simple printing application would be included on the card, as well as a shared library for third-party apps.
The keyboard interface would be interrupt-based and would deliver key events directly to the system event queue, as though they had been entered through Graffiti or the on-screen keyboard. This would (I think) make it compatible with all PalmOS software.

This module would be intended for those of us that use our Handspring to replace laptops for document editing on the road, terminal emulation, note-taking, etc. I can see it being particularly useful for college students.

So--thoughts? Would anyone purchase this?

Registered: May 2000
Location: St. Paul, MN
Posts: 1429

I don't know how helpful this would be for me. For printing I got Printboy, and a Parrell Port adaptor for it, I got a Stowaway, which I like a lot better than most PS\2 keyboards I know of, and I have no purpose for a RS-232 port. For me, I already have in a smaller package all those things.

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-miradu

Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 714

Miradu is correct, not to mention to fit both a serial & Printer port would be a rather large Springboard (Physical size of the ports alone). As a laptop replacement it doesn't work since you have to carry around a full size keyboard with it.

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Matt Nichols
[email protected]

Registered: Jun 2000
Location:
Posts: 594

I think it could fly.
(It's CRAZY how few IRDA printers there are in 2001!)
Be great if you could make it one of the <$50 modules.

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"Great Spirits Have Always Encountered Violent Opposition From Mediocre Minds." -- Albert Einstein

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Metro Station, Hollywood and Highland
Posts: 1018

Where do I sign up for beta testing?

I'd purchase it in a heartbeat, but mainly for the RS-232. The one thing I've wanted in a Springboard that's only available in the EFIG Diagnostics Card is a serial connector, so I can hook up my cell phone and use a portable keyboard simulatneously. Only the EFIC card has a bunch of developer-centric features that make it too expensive for the consumer market. I don't really need a PS/2 interface, since I've got the Stowaway, which is more portable than a standard keyboard. The more I think about the parallel port, the more I like it. Being able to take the Visor to Kinkos or a campus library and print out WordSmith docs would rock.

Please, keep us updated, and good luck.

Registered: May 2001
Location:
Posts: 16

RS-232 and keyboard simultaneously

I don't know that a module RS-232 port and the cradle-port keyboards (Stowaway, GoType, etc.) could be used simultaneously. Handspring's support for multiple serial ports is a hack on OS3.1, which doesn't contain the appropriate APIs. From my understanding of it, there's still only one serial port as far as the software is concerned, but you get to pick which one it is--either the built-in or a different one.

However, the keyboard daemon may well be hard-coded to use the cradle, or my understanding of the APIs may be wrong. We'll see.

In response to comments here (and my own thoughts about the module), I'm going to make the PS/2 keyboard interface optional. (It's simply a change in firmware with my current design anyway.)

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Metro Station, Hollywood and Highland
Posts: 1018

I said "Visor" to speak generally, but I'm on OS 3.5 on a Prism, if that makes any difference. I know VC member rmapes used the EFIG card for a cellular data connection, so I'll contact him to see if he's had any experience using it simulaneously with a keyboard. But if anyone else with an EFIG card and a cradle-port keyboard can testify one way or another, please post here.

By the way, cbiffle, another idea occured to me this morning sparked by your mention of a "PS/2" connection. What about an interface for game console controllers? With a stand to keep the Visor upright, I would love to play something like Dreadling with a more articulate controller than the GameFace. Just thinking out loud.

Registered: May 2001
Location:
Posts: 16

I'm using a Visor Deluxe, so if anyone wants any features that can't be implemented on a Deluxe, please send me the model you're using. *grin*

A comm port in the Springboard slot could almost certainly be used for -modem- functionality alongside the keyboard, or as a debugging port. However, I'm not sure that it could be used as a straight serial port. (The "modem" and "comm" APIs are independently switchable between the internal stuff and a module, but I think the keyboard is hardwired to use the comm port.)

Hm...now that I think about it, I'm stunned nobody has developed an IR keyboard interface. That would make it compatible with nearly every PalmOS device on the market.

I don't play many games on my Visor (it's mostly being a development platform for me), but if there's a market for a game port interface, that would be quite simple to implement. It would certainly save wear on the limited-life hard buttons. (And it's certainly possible for it to emulate keyboard keystrokes, but I'm not sure about hard buttons.)
*thinks* Actually, yes, that could be done in two ICs--a ROM for the drivers and a PIC microcontroller to do the gameport interface. *grin*

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 88

For IR printing, consider this option. It works well.

http://www.bachmannsoftware.com/infraready.htm

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D. Watkins
Please rescue a Greyhound

Registered: Jun 2000
Location: Nashua, NH
Posts: 3

To answer the question above regarding keyboards anda module-based serial port working together, they do so quite well. I've used a Stowaway/Efig/ptelnet combination to replace a VT420 (dumb terminal) for working with Compaq AlphaServers and Fibre Channel controllers when I'm in the lab.

Registered: May 2001
Location:
Posts: 16

[IR Printing]
Ah, tres groovy. I was thinking about building something like that myself.
Of course, it's not much use in a college computer lab, where all the printers are networked anyway--but neither would an LPT port! *grin*

[Using the cradle and comm]
Matt--what kind of Visor are you using? I'm pretty certain that sort of sharing works under OS3.5 (Prism, Platinum, etc.) but I'm looking for evidence under OS3.1.

Registered: May 2001
Location:
Posts: 2

Optional ports.

Instead of a printer port, a keyboard port and a rs232 port. How about just a usb port and an rs232 port! This would enable a whole host of people to use the PDA to surf the net using thier mobile phone. Bearing in mind that the cradle is USB and testing / developement card uses rs232, implementation should be fairly simple. Afterall most people carry both around all the time!