Palm's 'Universal' connector is no more and hasn't been 'universal' for some time. Low-end units are shipping only with USB and the new high-end units are shipping with a new connector series. (By the way: Hey PalmOne, Where are the specs for this port?) At this rate there will no 3rd party peripherals for the Palm by the time a OS 6 device is released. (I'm thinking at least a year) So trying to hack the USB port so it works as a pseudo serial port isn't such a bad idea. My customers like the idea of being able to deploy 5 Zires for one T5. Break a Zire and you only out $99. Its inexpensive enough to keep 1 or 2 on the shelf in case of an emergency.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Luc Le Blanc" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Palm Developer Forum" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, October 08, 2004 10:14 AM Subject: Re: Converting mini-USB to serial > Actually, I did not intend to make such a device. I'm just looking for one. As far as selecting the right device, I agree with you, but I can't force people to change their device. It's just too bad PalmOne finally introduced its Universal Connector, only to limit it to high-end devices... Of their current models, the Zire 21, Zire 31, Zire 72, TE and T5 all feature a mini-USB. I thus find this Universal Connector ill-named: it's not universal in the sense that's it's available everywhere, just that it combines USB and serial. "Exceptional Connector" would be less misleading! > > > -- > Luc Le Blanc > > > > Before you go to the trouble of being the first to make such > > a device (USB_Client -> BLACK_BOX -> RS232_Serial) many palm > > devices contain a serial port. All you need to do is buy the > > right one (i.e. don't buy a Palm Pilot Zire!!!). > > You will need to pick up a special cable that > > costs about another $30 in most cases. All this does is bring > > out the serial port to a normal connector. I think in some > > designs, it also puts a resistor across 2 pins to enable the > > serial port. Done. > > > If you are determined to use the USB and an off-the-shelf USB > > to Serial converter - I think there are a few palm devices > > which sport a USB host port. But - I think these were designed > > specifically to control a USB peripheral printer. > > I think Sony makes one. I would be surprised if it > > will work for anything but a printer though. > > > On Thu, 7 Oct 2004, Luciano A. Stertz wrote: > > > Dave Lippincott wrote: > > > USB is host-client configuration in hardware. The Palm hardware is a > > > client. It will only work when connected to a host. Most USB devices, such > > > as a USB to serial dongle, are client only. I seriously doubt a USB to > > > serial converter would talk to the Palm (also the dongle would need to get > > > power from the Palm which doesn't provide it). I won't say what you want is > > > impossible, I just know what doesn't work. > > > I know there are client devices like a mouse, that you can connect via USB > > > or PS2 by changing the connector. I'm not sure what hardware considerations > > > are made for it to work. If there is a way to open the Palm USB port in a > > > 'raw' communications mode much like you can with the IR port on non OMAP > > > unit, I think you could have a chance. Some hardware to convert logic > > > levels and signal timings may be needed. I have no idea if this is possible > > > but I've often thought about it. > > That's the point. Serial communication is ridiculously simple. All you > > need is a few I/O pins and a timer. I don't know if it exists, but I > > don't think it would be too hard to build an adapter. If not through the > > USB port, maybe an IR receiver that redirects data to a serial > > interface. Wouldn't that be an interesting product? Probably there are > > more users trying to integrate their serial toys with a Palm... > > > > Luciano Stertz > > > > >>>>Is there a serial adapter I can hook to the mini-USB port of devices > > >>>>like the PalmOne Zire or Tungsten 2 to connect them to a GPS equiped > > >>>>with a serial connector (like most of them)? Or is it jut not feasible? > > >>> > > >>> I guess it can't be done. The palm is an USB device, and therefore > > >>>must be connected to a USB controller, can't connect to another device. > > >> > > >>Hmmm... maybe there's a chance... I was thinking in putting a > > >>USB-serial converter in the GPS and then connect to the Palm. This will > > >>not work. But If you instead put the USB-serial converter in the Palm... > > >>may be possible... I don't know how these converters work. If you can > > >>someway send / receive arbitrary data from its serial interface, > > >>technically you can communicate with any serial device... > -- > For information on using the Palm Developer Forums, or to unsubscribe, please see http://www.palmos.com/dev/support/forums/ -- For information on using the Palm Developer Forums, or to unsubscribe, please see http://www.palmos.com/dev/support/forums/
