The Toshiba E800 and E830 have USB host capabilities but Dell? I have an old
X5 and it doesn't. I don't believe any of them did.
Terry

"Scott McDonnell" wrote in message
news:7J-dnVGzqobjzSfZnZ2dnUVZ_sydnZ2d@comcast.com...
> wrote in message
> news:e8to07$dhd$1@oravannahka.helsinki.fi...
>> In comp.sys.handhelds Al Dykes wrote:
>>
>> : Pick a device with a USB port and I bet you can find an off-the-shelf
>> : device that does sensor inputs and contact closure outputs, somewhere.
>>
>> The problem is that PDA:s are typically USB "clients" (to sync with a
>> "host"
>> PC), and while the USB gadgets to add sensor inputs are intended to
>> connect
>> to a PC, they are also "clients". Two clients cannot connect.
>>
>> How do I know? I use Palm PDA to read and plot data from a logger (with
>> my
>> own application). It works over RS-232 data connection. As serial Palms
>> are
>> getting rare, it would be cool to be able to switch over to USB, but
>> unfortunately seems to be impossible...
>>
>>
>> -Tapio-
>
> This is at least partially incorrect. There are actually several PocketPCs
> that are USB host capable.
> For example: Toshiba E740 (which I own) and the Dell Axim series. I
> believe that several other Toshiba
> and Dell Series PPCs also have USB host, but I can only personally attest
> to these two. There are also
> several iPaqs that I see claim to have USB host. You will need to create a
> driver for your device though.
> I have only been able to get USB drives and mice to work so far with my
> E740.
>
> And even if your PocketPC does not have a USB host, you can buy
> compactflash adapters that
> provide that capability.
>
> Of course, if you have a SD or MMC port, you have SPI, and with
> compactflash, you actually have
> addressing and I/O. Obviously since these ports were mostly meant for
> storage, you will need to
> create drivers for them since the operating system (usually) only supports
> the storage classes.
>
> I would agree that finding a PDA with serial is a better choice though
> since it is easier to just send
> raw serial commands than creating a usb stack and driver.
>
> Another possibility is a palm pilot with the ethernet cradle.
>
> Scott McDonnell
>
>

Hmm...it appears you are right. I only had an Axim X5 for a few weeks
before
settling on the slimmer Toshiba, but I had thought at the time that
both had USB
Host. I have searched and I was wrong.

The Toshiba E740 and E755 do have USB host capabilities for certain
as I own
the USB Host cable and have gotten mice and MSDs to work with it.

A Search of PocketPCs with host capabilities turns up some references
to iPaqs
as well. Though, my point still stands that USB would be the more
complicated
of available options for what the op wants to do.

Scott McDonnell

"tc" wrote in message
news:rBuug.109859$I61.33087@clgrps13...
> The Toshiba E800 and E830 have USB host capabilities but Dell? I
> have an old X5 and it doesn't. I don't believe any of them did.
> Terry
>
> "Scott McDonnell" wrote in message
> news:7J-dnVGzqobjzSfZnZ2dnUVZ_sydnZ2d@comcast.com...
>> wrote in message
>> news:e8to07$dhd$1@oravannahka.helsinki.fi...
>>> In comp.sys.handhelds Al Dykes wrote:
>>>
>>> : Pick a device with a USB port and I bet you can find an
>>> off-the-shelf
>>> : device that does sensor inputs and contact closure outputs,
>>> somewhere.
>>>
>>> The problem is that PDA:s are typically USB "clients" (to sync
>>> with a "host"
>>> PC), and while the USB gadgets to add sensor inputs are intended
>>> to connect
>>> to a PC, they are also "clients". Two clients cannot connect.
>>>
>>> How do I know? I use Palm PDA to read and plot data from a logger
>>> (with my
>>> own application). It works over RS-232 data connection. As serial
>>> Palms are
>>> getting rare, it would be cool to be able to switch over to USB,
>>> but
>>> unfortunately seems to be impossible...
>>>
>>>
>>> -Tapio-
>>
>> This is at least partially incorrect. There are actually several
>> PocketPCs that are USB host capable.
>> For example: Toshiba E740 (which I own) and the Dell Axim series.
>> I believe that several other Toshiba
>> and Dell Series PPCs also have USB host, but I can only personally
>> attest to these two. There are also
>> several iPaqs that I see claim to have USB host. You will need to
>> create a driver for your device though.
>> I have only been able to get USB drives and mice to work so far
>> with my E740.
>>
>> And even if your PocketPC does not have a USB host, you can buy
>> compactflash adapters that
>> provide that capability.
>>
>> Of course, if you have a SD or MMC port, you have SPI, and with
>> compactflash, you actually have
>> addressing and I/O. Obviously since these ports were mostly meant
>> for storage, you will need to
>> create drivers for them since the operating system (usually) only
>> supports the storage classes.
>>
>> I would agree that finding a PDA with serial is a better choice
>> though since it is easier to just send
>> raw serial commands than creating a usb stack and driver.
>>
>> Another possibility is a palm pilot with the ethernet cradle.
>>
>> Scott McDonnell
>>
>>
>
>
>

Thanks for the responses so far....

Which units have cheap and adequate software development?

Which languages are supported?

It would seem that a serial port or address/data lines are the best
interface.

I note that the old Radio Shack/Sharp pocket computers had address/data
interface, a serial port addon, and an advanced BASIC interpreter
internally. With a small LCD display and a full minature keyboard, it
seems to cover many of the requirements.

The closest replacements seem to be the Gameboy or a serial PDA.

TMT
Too_Many_Tools wrote:
> I am looking for a candidate for a small pocket computer for use in
> data logging and control purposes.
>
> This is where one would attach a custom built interface that could
> sense and control the external world.
>
> I am contemplating using a small pocket sized computer or PDA that can
> be easily found in the surplus market.
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> Some that come to mind are the older Sharp/Radio Shack pocket
> computers.
>
> Any suggestions are welcome.
>
> Thanks
>
> TMT

"Too_Many_Tools"
> Thanks for the responses so far....
>
> Which units have cheap and adequate software development?

Pocket PCs (min. WinPPC 2003) can run compact framework apps. You can use
Visual Studio Express, which is free (I don't know if pocket pc development
is included in the free version though). You can program in C#, VB.NET, C++
or even J# (javalike).


>
> Which languages are supported?
>

See above

> It would seem that a serial port or address/data lines are the best
> interface.

That's what I am doing... using the pocket pc port interfacing with a PIC
device via serial. Works as a charm. My pocket PC has bluetooth, wifi, SD
card and CF card. I use a 256MB CF card to store my log files, then I don't
even need to connect the pocket PC to my computer to analyze the data, just
get the CF card from the pocket pc to the PC and it's done.

Because it has wi-fi, it has the potential to make the data available
quasi-real time via internet or lan.

But I consider the main advantage of this platform the fact that development
is very easy. The same code (not binary though) I have for the PC runs on
the Pocket PC with very few exceptions.

Cheers

Padu

On 18 Jul 2006 07:11:20 -0700, "Too_Many_Tools"
wrote:

>Thanks for the responses so far....
>
>Which units have cheap and adequate software development?
>
>Which languages are supported?

http://www.pocketpcfaq.com/developer/dev.htm


>
>It would seem that a serial port or address/data lines are the best
>interface.
>
>I note that the old Radio Shack/Sharp pocket computers had address/data
>interface, a serial port addon, and an advanced BASIC interpreter
>internally. With a small LCD display and a full minature keyboard, it
>seems to cover many of the requirements.
>
>The closest replacements seem to be the Gameboy or a serial PDA.
>
>TMT
>Too_Many_Tools wrote:
>> I am looking for a candidate for a small pocket computer for use in
>> data logging and control purposes.
>>
>> This is where one would attach a custom built interface that could
>> sense and control the external world.
>>
>> I am contemplating using a small pocket sized computer or PDA that can
>> be easily found in the surplus market.
>>
>> Any suggestions?
>>
>> Some that come to mind are the older Sharp/Radio Shack pocket
>> computers.
>>
>> Any suggestions are welcome.
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>> TMT

-----------------------------------------
To reply to me, remove the underscores (_) from my email address (and please indicate which newsgroup and message).

Robert E. Zaret, eMVP
PenFact, Inc.
20 Park Plaza, Suite 478
Boston, MA 02116
www.penfact.com

On 18 Jul 2006 07:11:20 -0700, "Too_Many_Tools"
wrote:

>Thanks for the responses so far....
>
>Which units have cheap and adequate software development?
>
>Which languages are supported?
>
>It would seem that a serial port or address/data lines are the best
>interface.
>
[snip]

What's your projected battery life (or time between charges) for the
pocket device?

A Palm IIIxe (under $40 on eBay) gets some 10-12 hours continuous run
time from a set of AA alkaline cells. It supports serial and InfraRed
(IR) communications. NSBasic/Palm is $150 ( www.nsbasic.com/palm ) is
$150 with occasional sales at $99.

If you need serial communication faster than maybe 9600 baud, you may
need to program closer to the metal with C or assembly. The version
of gcc for the Palm is free, as is Palm's PODS development software.

My iPAQ 3635 PocketPC ($50-$100 on eBay) runs about 5 hours with a GPS
card in the compactflash (CF) slot. It supports serial and IR
connections.

CF slots bring out some number of data & address lines and development
boards are available for building your own CF interface.

Depending on the communications needed, NSBasic/CE (
www.nsbasic.com/ce ) is $150, with occasional sales at $99.

For either version of NSBasic, if you know Visual Basic or some other
version of BASIC and understand event-driven programming, you should
be able to create software that does serial or IR communication with
the logger. (You can always hire someone to create it).

If you need the direct I/O of the CF slot on the PocketPC, you may
need to program closer to the metal with C, C++, or assembly. Since
this is Windows, that usually means buying development software from
Microsoft. The current version of NSBasic/CE might be adequate as it
supports most of the API functions available in Windows CE - I just
haven't explored hardware access enough to give a good answer here..

John

In comp.sys.handhelds Scott McDonnell wrote:

: This is at least partially incorrect. There are actually several
: PocketPCs that are USB host capable.
: For example: Toshiba E740 (which I own) and the Dell Axim series. I
: believe that several other Toshiba
: and Dell Series PPCs also have USB host, but I can only personally

Thanks for the info. Is there hardware difference in USB host/client, or is
it all in the software? Also, are there any Palms that could act as USB
hosts?



-Tapio-

Hello,

there are several WIndows Mobile based devices on the market (at least
in Europe!) which have a USB host (most of them have RS232 as well).

Acer and Fujitsu-Siemens are the manufacturers of them.

Greetings

Markus

Hello,

which Dell specifically are you talking about? DO you have any article
number of the required USB-host cable? I have a current Dell at hand and
don't know about the USB host. It has a RS232 yes, Dell confirmed that
at last (after many inquiries, because they're too stupid to place their
own RS232 cable into their webshop...), but this isn't a full RS232
port, it has TTL output.

Greetings

Markus

[snip]
>
> A Search of PocketPCs with host capabilities turns up some references
> to iPaqs
> as well.

Sorry, but that seems to be another hoax. There are no iPAQs with USB
host. But a USB host can be turned into a RS232 with some of the shelf
cable. Make sure to buy one with FTDI chips in it as these supply a
Windows CE driver.

Greetings

Markus

[snip]
>
> Pocket PCs (min. WinPPC 2003) can run compact framework apps. You can use
> Visual Studio Express, which is free (I don't know if pocket pc development
> is included in the free version though).

No its not. It is to hope though that in the next Turbo Explorer
Delphi.net version the PDA part is part as well. So there would be a
free development environement at last...

Greetings

Markus

[I'm coming into this late, but...]

Markus Humm writes:

>Sorry, but that seems to be another hoax. There are no iPAQs with USB
>host.

Newer Sharp Zaurus handhelds have USB host ports. *I* would much rather
have a Linux machine for a task like this anyway.

--kyler

Kyler Laird schrieb:
> [I'm coming into this late, but...]
>
> Markus Humm writes:
>
>> Sorry, but that seems to be another hoax. There are no iPAQs with USB
>> host.
>
> Newer Sharp Zaurus handhelds have USB host ports. *I* would much rather
> have a Linux machine for a task like this anyway.

a) it may be that the Zaurus has one, as well as the FSC Loox modells do

b) why Linux? You can do nearly anything with Windows CE/Mobile as
well and afaik it's a bit tuned to real time processing and low
overhead.

Greetings

Markus