Registered: Mar 2000
Location: Mundelein, Illinois, USA
Posts: 25

My YadaYada unit arrived the business day after I ordered it. It worked badly in my (unoptimized) VDX in my office, but my office has terrible cellular reception, so I didn't fret. It would connect briefly, and I had successfully read a web page and sent and received a couple of emails.

But it kept disconnecting everywhere else, too. It wouldn't stay connected for more than a minute, and the RSSI (signal strength) meter was bouncing all over the place. A connection could take several minutes to establish, only to disappear shortly thereafter.

YadaYada technical support was great. They worked hard on the problem with me for some time before RMA'ing the unit, telling me that they had exhausted the troubleshooting for it. They told me that "tons" of people use it in VDX's with no problems.

I called Handspring to ask for an RF-optimized VDX in exchange, and they readily agreed. Best of all, it arrived yesterday and it worked great.

The difference was night and day. Almost no disconnects, very quick reconnects, RSSI meter holding steady when I wasn't moving around a lot. Christmas in December!

So, to recap answers to many of the questions I've seen:

The YadaYada unit will work with any Visor that has 1Mb RAM free, but I wouldn't try it on a 2Mb Visor.

PQAs only work with PalmOS 3.5 and above, so VDX owners like myself are out of luck for using PQAs. I haven't tested this, but it's what I've heard.

Most non-RF optimized Visors work well, according to YadaYada. RF-optimized Visor Deluxes and all Prisms and Platinums don't seem to have any known incompatibilities.

Handspring will (and in my case, very quickly) replace your unoptimized VDX for an optimized one, and all you have to do is ask them nicely. The exchange is free.

Both (888)YadaYada and (800)YadaYada are the correct telephone numbers.

Coverage may be adequate in your area, if YadaYada says you're in a coverage area and you have good cellular reception where you are. In my area, they use Verizon, and conveniently enough I have a Verizon cellphone to do redneck RF testing with. In other areas, I hear they use AT&T Wireless. But cellular reception is not enough, as CDPD reception is not as common as it could be.

My Minstrel has 1Mb flash free and comes with the file mover app, so you get an extra meg of space to use on the thing as well.

It ships with two email apps and two web browsers. The YadaYada versions work better IMHO than the EudoraWeb browser and Eudora POP client (which came on the Minstrel's flash, and probably were included by Novatel rather than YadaYada).

What did I miss?

__________________
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Michael A. Atkinson
<[email protected]>

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 231

I tried to call Handspring to tell them that I would be getting a wireless modem and asked if I could get an optimized Visor. They said no. So why is everybody else getting their VDX's exchanged and not me? Perhaps I should wait unitl I get the modem and then tell them that it won't work and see what they'll do.

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 95

Explain to them that you just purchased a minstrel modem and that you�re sure it is in working order (Because you tried it on you friends optimized Visor, wink wink) they will try to trouble-shoot the problem with you. After they notice that they are wasting there time they will tell you that they are sending you an Optimized Visor. You will need to provide them with your original Visor's serial Number and a credit card number (just incase you don�t return you old Visor to them) they are pretty cool and you should receive your optimized Visor in about 3 days by FedEx. Good luck.

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 53

What is "Optimized" Visor

Hi, I have been hearing everyone talks about an "Optimized" Visor Deluxe. Can someone explain to me what is the different between the regular Visor Deluxe from the "Optimized" one. Thank you very much..

Registered: Nov 2000
Location: So California
Posts: 17

The optimized VDX has some mods to cut back on RF interference. I have a normal one and an optimized one
here now...I might pop them open to see what�s up. That�s why they provide the screwdriver in the stylus....right?;-)

Also, if your using yadayada, try palmscape as a browser. I find that the yadayada browser and email programs kind of suck. I really like Palmscape and multi mail as a 'net duo...very good. The PalmOS version of ICQ is pretty nice as well.

Registered: Jan 2001
Location:
Posts: 32

YadaYada Works! (Until you shut down)

I received my YadaYada modem yesterday. I had already requested an upgrade to the optimized Visor Deluxe. After going from Handspring customer support to tech support, then back to customer support, they agreed to the free exchange form both me and my wife.

The modem logs in quickly both at home and at work. I got the free modem with 1 year contract. The YadaYada browser is slow, but the Blazer (www.bluelark.com) works well. AIM also works well. The browsers have crashed when I went to hotmail a couple of times.

The one negative aspect is that it crashes my Visor almost every time I try to shutdown or power off. Occasionally, powering off works, but if I remove the modem after shutting off the Visor, the Visor insists on rebooting. Strange.

I live in the Northern Virginia/DC area, and it looks like this area gets strong signals.

Brad

Registered: Mar 2000
Location: Mundelein, Illinois, USA
Posts: 25

The trick to avoiding the reboots is:

1) Turn the Minstrel S all the way off, using the Shutdown button in the Minstrel app or the Power Off button in the Power Switch App.

2) Go to the Applications Launcher screen.

3) Remove the Minstrel S.


This works for me every time.


Mike

__________________
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Michael A. Atkinson
<[email protected]>

Registered: Jan 2001
Location:
Posts: 32

quote:

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Originally posted by chaos
The trick to avoiding the reboots is:

1) Turn the Minstrel S all the way off, using the Shutdown button in the Minstrel app or the Power Off button in the Power Switch App.

2) Go to the Applications Launcher screen.

3) Remove the Minstrel S.


This works for me every time.


Mike

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Registered: Apr 2000
Location: Urbana, IL
Posts: 99

From my experence with my Minstrel S and my unoptimised Visor, the whole setup is a kick in the pants for the software.

I have never gotten the bundled web broswer to connect. Period.

The Email program is great. I transfered to the RAM for use with my Thinmodem.

The Minstrel app crashs all the time, sometimes just turning off you Palm is asking for a Fatal Exception

The guy I talked to at Yada Yada said this was all known problems with unoptimised Visors. My upgrade is on the way.

Registered: Aug 2000
Location:
Posts: 80

Dont rely on that, my optimized visor gets a "fatal exception" about 3 out of every 5 times I shut off my visor with the power button with the minstrel installed.

Other than that it works perfectly.

Registered: Apr 2000
Location: Urbana, IL
Posts: 99

Yeah, I just got my optimized Visor, and it crashs just as much as my old one.

Plus, sometimes, i'll be just siting in AIM, then, without warning, "Fatal Exception"!

But at least it keeps a signal for more then 10 secs.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 231

I usually find that if I get a fatal exception I can't recover unless I unscrew the stylus and push the reset button.It doesn't sound like the best idea, but the Minstrel S instructions say that one way to turn off the modem is to just remove it from the SB slot. So that's exactly what I do. I go to applications and unplug the modem. It resets itself. No muss no fuss. BTW, I'm posting this WIRELESSLY!!!! Cool!

Registered: Nov 2000
Location:
Posts: 85

quote:

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Originally posted by swendor
I usually find that if I get a fatal exception I can't recover unless I unscrew the stylus and push the reset button.It doesn't sound like the best idea, but the Minstrel S instructions say that one way to turn off the modem is to just remove it from the SB slot. So that's exactly what I do. I go to applications and unplug the modem. It resets itself. No muss no fuss. BTW, I'm posting this WIRELESSLY!!!! Cool!

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__________________
...the patron saint of the easily amused...

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 231

I used YadaBrowse, just as I am doing now. You must remember to log in first, though.

Registered: Jan 2001
Location:
Posts: 5

Browser problems

Hi,

I have a VDX and am able to establish a PPP connection to my employer's network via a wireline modem (Thinmodem from CardAccess) and my cellular phone (Motorola StarTAC). I have successfully used ftp and telnet programs for my handheld to access these computers, but I have not been able to get a browser to work. I have tried Blazer, YadaBrowse, and AvantGo's browser, all without success. My employer's network IS behind a firewall, so that could be part of the problem, but I think the bigger problem is that I don't understand what the browser is trying to do. For instance, why do I need to set up a Server in all of these browsers? Don't they work like IExplore and Netscape? Why can't I just request an http page without going through a "server"?

Any tips anyone?

TIA

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Durham, NC
Posts: 78

Check the browser on your desktop and see if you're using a proxy server (tools | options | connections | lan settings in IE5). That may be the problem. You'll need to set the same proxy in your handheld's browser.

Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 72

Re: YadaYada Works! (Until you shut down)

quote:

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Originally posted by convbcuda
The one negative aspect is that it crashes my Visor almost every time I try to shutdown or power off. Occasionally, powering off works, but if I remove the modem after shutting off the Visor, the Visor insists on rebooting. Strange.

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