Extra money to waste.
Sony is selling its eBook reader for around $300. It is good at what it does: displaying eBook. It has no other applications. I wish people knew more about what a Palm can accomplish! It has a eReader, text reader, Doc, xls, pps, mp3, mp4, avi, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, act as an all in one remote, GPS device, talking dictionary, Pedometer, a Guitar Tuner, an application that turns the Palm into a mirror, currency convertor, Mood tracker, Medicine tracker, application for doctors, entire doctors medicine list, patients data, over 15,000 other third part application. Everything you can imagine or are capable of imagining can be done on your Palm. All these for way under $300. Now take a look at this ad by Sony.
Pathetic.
Swelled rechargeable battery
http://www.radicalrc.com is a site dealing with "Aero-modelling" products. They also sell extra large lithium ion bateries. These are inexpensive batteries that can be used with palm.
An important piece of information from this site:
Swelled Lipo cells are caused by charging to over 4.2V per cell or at rates above Cx1, Discharging to under 3V per cell or overheating cells under discharge. There is NO WARRANTY for swelled or puffed cells as this is
100% user caused.
Lets connect the Palm with the mic for free!
Here is how we build one:
First some research...
Palm Tx uses, what it calls, Palm Multi-Connector. This is also known as Athena connector. The speciality of these Connectors is that they can be used to charge the device, transfer data to a computer, HotSync, and play audio. It is the new standard to replace the previous Palm Universal Connector, which performed similar functions but did not have an audio output capability.
NB- Some of these connections are completely backward/reversed. I have used
more than one site to collect all these information and before using this document, one needs to compare the pinouts.
Join the Palm's own Access Developer Network (no cost) to gain access to the pinout diagram. ACCESS Developer Network (I can email you the pdf : gmail-document)
The information is listed in Wikipedia- Link
Copy Pasting the same-
Apart from audio output, these connectors can also be used to connect to an external microphone or to GPS units
The connector is divided in two sections: the longer one has thirteen pins numbered from right to left (5 to 17); the shorter one has three pins, on the left (3), top (2) and right (1). The cable shield connectors (4,18) are located on each side of the thirteen pins.
Pins 10 and 11 have TTL levels and can't be directly connected to the RS232 port.
The Multi-Connector has received criticism from users who were familiar with previous connectors such as the Universal Connector. Users have been frustrated with the requirement to update their Universal Connector cables, cradles, keyboards, sleds, and attachments as they are incompatible. Another criticism is that the connector is fiddly, harder to remove and feels fragile.
All that is needed to charge the Treo is to connect +5 V to VDOCK and 0 V (negative) to VDOCK_RTN.
Wikipedia displays the following pic saying:
Close view of Palm Multi-Connector, Pin 1 on the right.
More information is needed on these connectors. The following forum gives somemore:
link- http://forum.brighthand.com/showpost.php?p=538797&postcount=7
The above link has the following info- (It takes about bridging Universal connector with Multi connector
bridging UC to MC
The following are the pins that the UC (universal connector) palm keyboard pictured above has on it. Each is followed by a possible corresponding MC (multi-connector) pin. At the bottom, view excerpts from the Palm Dev Guide (for MC) and the from the pinout link above (for UC). More will come later.
14 RTS out Request to send: hardware flow control handshake signalconnects to U11 pin-16, drives 3K ohms to +-5volts(when not active the transciever pin is in tristate)
13 CTS inclear to send: hardware flow control handshake signalconnects to U11 pin 14. Load resistance 3K - 7K(when not active the transciever pin is in tristate)I'm thinking there will be no comprable pin for these two flow control pins. Either this is handled in conjunction with other fuctions, or it is completely superfluous with the more up-to-date MC.
12 DETECT
Peripheral atach/detach detectiona peripheral must tie this pin to Pin-7also unsure. A section in the PDG states that MC peripheral detection involves use of TX or RX. The section describes it in more detail, more later.Regarding ADAPTER_ID
10 RXD
Reveive Data: from peripheral to handheldConnects to U11 pin-13 Load resistance 3K-7K ohms(when not active the transceiver pin is in tristate)corresponds to MC pin 11 (RXD)?
9 VOUT
Regulated voltage out: 3.3 V+-0.2 at 100mAFrom VCC U12 Note that it is the responsibility of the peripheral attachment to manage the following: never draw more than 100mA (exceeding this may damage the Palm handheld), drawing 100mA continously significantly shortens the handheld's working time, and do not draw current while the Palm handheld is in a low battery condition.corresponds to MC 13 (POWER_OUT)?
8 ID
(see photo for description)corresponds to MC 2 (Adpapter_ID)?
7 SG
Signal ground (internally connected to pin-1) no clue. Corresponds to MC 16 (AGND)? Or possibly both 4 and 18?Under shielding, Palm Dev Guide says"On all peripheral devices, the shield pins 4 and 18 should be grounded with any available shielding system ground. For example, on a USB cable these pins should be connected to USB cable outer shield, which in turn connects to the shield on the USB connector at the other end of the cable.Where no external shielded ground is available peripherals should connect pins 4 and 18 to the peripherals system ground.
5 HS_IRQ
wakes handheld. The Hotsync button momentarilly connects this pin to pin-9. Produces a hotsync interrupt notification in the Palm OS 4.0 for applications to use to detect the presence of their peripheral. Load resistance range 104,500-115,500 ohms corresponds to MC 12 (HOTSYNC)?
More information and diagram from a third site-
http://pinouts.ru/PDA/palm_treo650_pinout.shtml
(This also goes for PalmOne Treo 650, Treo 700w, 750v, Tungsten T5, E2, TX, 680, LifeDrive)
It also adds: Please note, that as of the 3rd of August 2006 all the Palm documents number the pins in the opposite direction.
Then it goes on to give USB pinout
Note: http://pinouts.ru/ is a very good site for any kind of pinouts.
That is substantial bit of information. Now you need to buy the Athena connector. It is being sold by the guy in the previous post-
"I sell them also wolf_759!My best deal is 5 for $5 -- a buck a piece. I really hate to sell fewer than that, and this way you can either screw up one or two before perfecting whatever you make, or you can make an extra few to sell to friends! PM me if interested.
WyreNut
__________________WyreNut's External Microphone"
Note: http://www.gomadic.com/ sells the multiconnector for the Palm TX. They are way costlier than what WyreNut used to sell (yes I emailed him and he says that he has sold all of the 1000 he had ordered from a Taiwan based company. If someone wants to order a 1000, please let me know ;=D
No Internal Microphone; not a problem.
The following is taken from a forum where this guys is making and selling external microphone for Palm Tx handhelds.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>Begining of the article<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Along with the External Microphones I've been making for the T5 and TX Palm PDA's, I'm now making a limited number of Female Mic Adapters that snap into the bottom of your Palm. The adapter allows you to use a "Lapel Mic" (not included) for dictation, or for times when it's more convenient to have your Palm in your pocket. It is a 3.5mm jack which fits "normal" mics.
Here's a picture of them beside Neil Hampton's great VoIP application called "Articulation".
With my mic or the adapter and your mic, you can now use your T5 or TX to make calls worldwide with a VoIP application, record your kids singing, tune your guitar, use your TX as a Walkie-Talkie, or even command your Palm via Voice Commands!
The price of each accessory is $20 (plus shipping and handling). In the USA, S&H is $6; international S&H ranges from $6-$12 USD.
Email me at markspdaplus [ a t ] yahoo.com for orders or information. I use PayPal primarily, but accept check and Western Union transfers too!
I use Priority Mail here in the States, and Global Priority Mail for international shipments.
I take pride in providing personal, fast service, and refuse to have an unhappy customer!
Mark Vail
<>>
Labels: adapter, connector, external microphone, Palm Tx
Why do you need a Laptop?
With all (and more) Windows application supported on Palm, why does anyone want to buy a bulky Laptop?!
Here is a product which allows a Palm Pilot to connect directly to a projector. Now you can do a Power Point presentation from your Palm!
Reusable emergency charger for your Palm TX/E2/T5
Modifiy your own reusable emergency charger for your Palm TX/E2/T5 out of a CellBoost charger! (or any other Palm devices that use the Palm Athena Connector or the new Palm Universal Connector)
Guide written by curriegrad2004So.... You want a reusable emergency charger for your own Palm TX/E2/T5 without spending too much money and damaging the environment on the disposable CellBoost charger? Modify it to become a reusable emergency charger!
The point of the CellBoost emergency charger was to give ignorant consumers over priced batteries for their cellular phones. But when your cell dies and you don't have access to a charger, what do you do? You'd do anything to revive your cell and get on with your own business for anything! Unfortunately, these 'chargers' are damaging to the environment and are made in a way that they can't be recharged. Fortunately, there is some hope for Palm Treo users as CellBoost had made a huge mistake by supplying a removable adapter that would make the 'charger' compatible with the Palm Treo 650 and 700s, thus making it possible to modify this 'charger' into a reusable charger, crushing their hopes of making money off from disposable products.
Here is what you need for this build:
A disposable CellBoost Emergency Charger for Treos with the included removable TR2 adapter (This emergency charger was designed for the Palm Treo 650 and 700s, but it should work because they share the same power charger plug with the TX/E2/T5.)
A 4xAA Battery Holder with 9V battery terminals and a 9V Battery Snap.
4xAA Batteries (Does not matter if it is a rechargeable or not, the adapter has a voltage regulator circut built-in so the charger will not blow or fry your Palm TX/E2.)
Solder iron and tin.
Now let's get started with the make process!
1. Open your CellBoost and take the TR2 adapter, you won't be needing the battery and the TR1 adapter because the point of this project was to convert the disposable charger into a reusable version.
2. Look at the bottom of the TR2 adapter, you'll notice there are two terminals that are sticking out, those are the terminals that connect to the battery of the CellBoost charger. The left side of the adapter is the positive terminal, the other side is the ground terminal. In case if you ever read the back label on your Palm device, it will say that the device will take a max of 5V and 1A of current.A pack of 4xAA 1.5V batteries would measure up to 6V in total. Don't worry about that, the adapter has a voltage regluator on board that will supress the voltage to aprox. 5V, so basically you only need to hook up the wires in the correct polarity.
3. Wrap the red wire of the 9V battery snap on to the positive terminal of the adapter. Do the same with the black wire of the battery snap but this time, connect it to the ground terminal of the adapter. Solder the two wires, but be careful when soldering. When you apply too much heat, the solder on the board may melt and cause the terminals to collapse, making the adapter useless.
4. After soldering those wires, let the adapter cool. Now you have a reusable emergency charger for your Palm TX/E2/T5 that has been modified from a disposable CellBoost 'charger'.
Finished Product:
Enjoy talking or surfin' the net! And this 'charger' works best when you have hi-cap NiMH batteries on the 'charger'...
2GB card possible on Palm Tungsten T2!!
Went to centre one vashi. Checked out that Kingston MMC 2GB card works with my Palm Tungsten T2!! I was able to copy appications to it and launch an application from it. As you enter the Mall, the shop is the second one on the left . The price they are asking is amusingly high (Rs 2500!). I hope that is not the ONLY card that works. I have been trying to use a 2 GB SD on my palm for a very long time!
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I know that 2GB cards work with the newer firmwares, Kingston included. What is the model of the mmc card you have? Also, never have your phone format your card. Do it on a computer and format it in FAT32.
<>
I have read in a lot of forums that the cards esp micro SD do tend to work without any steps. And as always they advise you not to format the card using the Palm itself!
Large SD card support for older Palm Handhelds
With the advent of large SD card at throw-away prices, the limitation of 1GB on older Palm handhelds is outright frustrating! But there is hope. It seems that if a mini-SD card is used, the older Palm can write/read to it. One of the forum post says "The SDHC probably will not work 'cause the electric interface is diferent than the SD(IO) as SD organization says; but once the Palm as a SDIO it's only limited to the address capacity of the controller!"
Use the card out of the box.
Do not format it on PC/Palm. Take your older 1 GB card and copy the contents on your PC temp folder. Then take your newer 2Gb card and copy the contents to the newer one using Windows Explorer. also remember, that even if the package says Kingston, the actual chip is probably made by another company.
Palm Battery Charge Circuit
It would appear that Palm has reduced the current on the newer adapters to possibly protect the batterry's inbuilt charge circuit.
The Universal connector type AC adapters charged at a rate of 5VDC 1 AMP output, (1000ma)
The new adapter is providing 500ma , and would suspect a full charge could take an additional 2 hours for full charge cycle if the base line was 3 hours at 1000ma.
The current provided via the USB port if rated will likely be 50ma to 10ma requiring a few more hours to top off.
USB ports on desktop, unlike laptops are always powered ON.
Choosing the right Power adapter for Palm
It is important that there is a MAXIMUM variation of only +- 5% of 5V while selecting a power adapter for your PAlm handheld. All powered USB ports on your PCs have a regulated output of 5V +-5%, which is perfectly suitable to charge the palm's battery. This voltage is the same as the voltage of the AC adapter for most of the PAlm handheld I know of.
Charging Palm from an USB port
The USB port "trickle charges" your handheld through the USB connection. What's a trickle charge? It's a slow charge made possible through a USB connection, which normally doesn't transfer large amounts of power. USB connections can deliver some power to peripherals such as handhelds. Trickle charges are approximately five times slower than regular charges (i.e. it takes five times longer to charge your handheld using the Mobility Kit).
How slow does it charge?
Expect your handheld to take at least 8 hours to charge. Trickle charging takes much longer than regular charging through a standard AC outlet. Don't be disappointed if your handheld doesn't appear to have charged after a brief period; give it time.
Charging directly through a USB connection to your computer, the battery icon on your handheld may not show the lightning bolt that indicates charging. However, this doesn't mean it's not charging. It's simply charging very slowly.
Maximize the trickle charge
To get the most out of the trickle charge, follow these tips:
Allow at 8 hours for a charge; sometimes it may require more time.
Trickle charging will not work on completely drained handhelds. The handheld must have some residual charge on the battery for trickle charge to work.
Turn off your handheld while trickle charging, if possible.
When using the Vehicle Power Adapter, check that the LED is green, indicating charging.
Keywords- Trickle charge, power charge vs trickle charge
Voltage across pins on the cradle
Pins 1 and 16, where pin 1 is the leftmost pin (with the cradle facing you), the voltage should be 5V DC, with maybe a maximum +-10% variation.
(from a forum)
