Copyright 1999 3Com Corporation and its subsidiaries
This README file is divided into two parts: basic installation and usage instructions, and frequently asked questions.
(If you are using Notepad and can't see all of the lines in this file, choose Edit -> Word Wrap.)
------- Basic Installation and Usage Instructions -------
1. Install the four .prc files. (AMX.prc, IrLib.prc, SerIrCommLib.prc, SerIrPanel.prc) Install using the normal applications installation procedure. For more detail, see Chapter 4 in the "Basic Handbook" included with your Palm III.
2. Perform a soft reset on your Palm III. For more detail, see "Soft Reset" in index of the "Basic Handbook" manual included with your Palm III.
3. Go to the Prefs app, and choose "Serial/IR" from the drop down list in the upper right hand corner. Tap on the "Infrared" box to choose infrared communications. For information on switching between IR and cradle communications (needed for HotSync) read the Frequently Asked Questions" below.
-------- Frequently Asked Questions -------
-- Does this update allow me to perform a HotSync operation via IR?
No, HotSync via IR is not supported with this release. If you are an IBM WorkPad user, IBM does support IR HotSync. At the time of this writing, information about this can be found at:
http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/news/workpad/wp002.html
-- Is there anything special required in my network setup on my Palm organizer?
Yes, be sure that the Idle timeout setting in the details screen is set to 'Power off'.
To check or change this, go into the "Prefs" app, choose network from the drop down list in the upper right corner, and choose Network. Tap on the "Details..." button. Make sure that "Power off" is chosen in the drop down list box next to "Idle timeout:". Make sure that this setting is correct for all of the network services that you will be using with the cellular phone modem.
-- What files do I need to install to implement the IrCOMM protocol on my Palm III Organizer?
You need to install four files:
AMX.prc
IrLib.prc
SerIrCommLib.prc
SerIrPanel.prc
You install these four files onto your device like you would any other applications. For further detail, you can reference Chapter 4 of the "Basic Handbook" manual that was included with your Palm III.
-- Why is AMX.prc needed? What does this file do?
The AMX.prc is needed to increase the number of system resources for IrCOMM. You will only need AMX.prc if you need to perform network HotSyncÆ synchronization with an IR equipped phone or if you are using IrCOMM on a PalmPilot Professional device that has the Palm 2MB upgrade card. But, note that it is still OK to install AMX.prc even if these situations do not apply to you.
-- How much memory do these IrCOMM components use?
IrLib.prc - 40K
AMX.prc - 20K
SerIrCommLib.prc - 9K
SerIrPanel.prc - 3K
-- Do I need to perform a soft reset after installing the files?
Yes, the new IrLib.prc needs to be running for IrCOMM to work properly and the updated IrLib.prc file will not be used until you perform a soft reset. See "Soft Reset" in the Basic Handbook. Performing a soft reset will NOT cause data loss on your device.
-- How do I set up my device to use IrCOMM with a cell phone modem or with other devices?
Go to the Prefs application, select Serial/IR from the drop-down menu in the upper right corner.
Tap on the 'Infrared' box to use IrCOMM. This means that from now on, all serial communications will take place over the IR port. The most common usage of serial communications is to carry out HotSync operations using the cradle. You will need to switch back to "cradle" in order to carry out HotSync operations using your cradle. (The need to switch back and forth will be eliminated in future releases.)
-- Why am I unable to perform a HotSync operation after I've installed and used IrCOMM?
This happens because you've selected "infrared" for serial communications. In order to perform a HotSync operation using your cradle, you will have to switch back to using the cradle for serial communications.
Go to the Prefs application, select Serial/IR from the drop-down menu in the upper right corner.
Tap on the 'Cradle' box to use the cradle.
-- IrCOMM doesn't seem to be working. How can I tell if I installed the correct files?
From the Application launcher screen tap the Menu icon.
Select Info from under the App menu option.
Tap the Version button.
You should see "IrDA Library v3.01" (displayed twice), "Serial/IR v3.0" and SerIrComm Library v3.0.
-- I installed AMX.prc, but it doesn't show up in the Application Info screen. Why not?
This is normal. AMX.prc is a low-level system component and is included under the "System" entry.
The "System" size changes from 20K to 41K when AMX.prc is installed.
-- I installed some of the IrCOMM components but when I reset the unit, the unit appears to be frozen.
This problem occurs if you had previously installed the IBM IR HotSync components, and then installed only a partial set of the IrCOMM components.
Reset the unit in order to disable loading of system updates. (i.e., hold down the up-arrow button when doing a soft reset.) Remove all of the IBM IR HotSync components and reinstall the IrCOMM components. Note that IBM also refers to IR HotSync as the "IR Synchronization Driver".
-- Is there anything special I need to do to use the IR modem on the cellular phone?
Special data service is required in both the US and Europe (at least when this was written). Call your cellular carrier and request data service.
-- My regular serial port adapter to connect my Palm organizer with my cellular phone works fine, but the IR doesn't work at all.
Some applications send special modem commands to a non-IR cellular modem for Palm organizers. The IR modem adapter on the cellular phone rejects these same commands. You may need to get new versions of your application in order to use the IR feature. (For example SmartCode has new versions of their PhoneMgr and PhoneSMS apps that are suitable for use with IR.)
-- I tried using the IR adapter on my cellular phone as a modem and it doesn't work.
Cellular phones use different init strings than land-line modems. European phones do not seem to recognize the default init string.
Go into the "Prefs" application, select Modem from the upper right hand list box, and try deleting the init string for the modem setup and try again.
-- My Palm organizer communicates with the cellular phone, but it disconnects early or doesn't stay connected very long.
It is natural to lay the phone down on a table when using the Palm III to communicate with the cellular phone, but the orientation (vertical or horizontal) of the phone makes a difference in the signal strength (especially when inside of an office building). Make sure that you are receiving a good signal (at least 1 bar on your phone's signal gauge) and that the distance from the Palm device to the phone's IR port is optimal. About 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) is a good distance to try.
-- I used to be able to communicate with my cellular phone, but now IrCOMM no longer works.
There have been reports of the IrCOMM adapters in the cellular phone "locking up".
Try turning the phone off and then back on again to see if this solves the problem. Make sure IrCOMM is enabled in the Serial/IR panel on your Palm device.
-- My Palm device powers off before I complete the connection to my ISP (Internet Service Provider) using the IR port on my cellular phone.
Go to the "Prefs" app, choose General Prefs from the drop down box in the upper right corner, and set 'Auto-off after' to 3 minutes.
-- Sometimes my phone disconnects, but the application does not notice that there is no longer a connection to the phone. Whatís going on here?
The application may be using a call that does not detect errors at the lower layer of the TCP/IP protocol. It takes a while for the particular network request to time out. You can try canceling the operation if you notice that the phone has disconnected.
-- I'm using an application that normally makes use of the serial port, but it doesn't work using IrCOMM.
Try the application using the serial port to make sure that it works with the configuration you have set up. (It may not work using serial). After verifying that the application works with the serial port, try using IrCOMM again. If problems persist, you will need to check with the creator of the application.
-- Using IR over a cellular phone modem seems slow.
Most cell phone modems are limited to 9600 bps which is a lot slower than the 33K or 56K modem speeds you may be used to. Cellular modems are very convenient for their mobility and compact size, however these benefits come at the price of speed. While most landline modems for PCs operate at 33.6 Kbps or even 56 Kbps, most cellular modems are limited to 9600 bps. Fortunately, the data transferred between your Palm organizer and another computer is of relatively small size, and does not generally require long transmission times.
-- Using with Ericsson Phone/modem:
Make sure the login script is appropriate for the service you are dialing into when using an Ericsson phone. You can find the login script by going to the Network panel:
From the Application launcher tap on Prefs
Select Network from the drop down list box (top right corner).
Tap on Details button
Then tap on Script button
If the Palm device and the phone do not seem to be "connecting" via IR, it sometimes helps to turn the phone off and then on again.
There have been times where a low battery on the phone has prevented transmission between the Palm III and the Ericsson phone. If the battery gauge on the phone indicates a charge lower than 30%, you may experience errors or broken connections. Make sure the battery retains a charge of 30% capacity or more.
-- I was an early tester of IrCOMM and I want to install the latest release of the IrCOMM components.
You need to remove all previous versions of the files (except AMX.prc) prior to installing the updates.
Here's how to delete the IrCOMM components:
(The IrLib and SerIrComm library components are "loaded" and in use by the system when the unit is turned on, which is why you cannot delete/remove them in the normal manner.)
1. Perform a soft reset on the unit with the up-arrow button held down. This keeps the system updates from being loaded at boot time.
2. Delete the components by going to the Applications Launcher screen, tap the silkscreened Menu icon and select Delete.
Delete the following files: (Note that AMX.prc does not appear and cannot be deleted)
IrLib.prc
SerIrCommLib.prc
SerIrPanel.prc
3. Perform a soft reset.
4. Reinstall the updated IrComm components. (The three files as listed above, but not AMX.prc)
-- I reinstalled the new versions of IrCOMM and the unit freezes/crashes after I installed the latest release of the IrCOMM components.
You installed AMX.prc when you installed the other newer versions of the IrCOMM components, and this causes the unit to crash.
Here is an alternate way to install the new versions of the IrCOMM files.
1. Perform a soft reset on the unit with the up-arrow button held down. This keeps system updates from being loaded at boot time.
2. Use the Palm Desktop installer to reinstall new versions of the following (but not AMX.prc).
IrLib.prc
SerIrCommLib.prc
SerIrPanel.prc
3. Perform a soft reset.
4. If you received a new version of AMX.prc, reinstall it using Palm Desktop installer. It must be installed by itself.
5. If you reinstalled a new version of AMX.prc, perform a soft reset again.
