Palm Portable Keyboard--any hope that it can be made to work with a T|X?
Bob Blaylock
only $3, and even if I can't make it work with anything, it seems worth
the $3 just for how cool it is to see it unfold into what ought to be a
usable keyboard.
But it'd be even cooler yet, if I could actually use it.
I have a Palm T|X, but that doesn't seem to be the variant with which
this keyboard is intended to work. I wonder if there is any hope that
an adaptor exists, or can be made by someone like myself with some basic
electronic skills, that would allow this keyboard to work with my T|X.
The model number of this keyboard appears to be 3C10439.
--
Our enemies shall talk themselves to death, and
we will bury them with their own confusion.
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Remove "HatesSpam" and ".invalid" from email address to contact me.
mike
> I just picked up, at a thrift store, a Palm Portable Keyboard. It was
> only $3, and even if I can't make it work with anything, it seems worth
> the $3 just for how cool it is to see it unfold into what ought to be a
> usable keyboard.
>
> But it'd be even cooler yet, if I could actually use it.
>
> I have a Palm T|X, but that doesn't seem to be the variant with which
> this keyboard is intended to work. I wonder if there is any hope that
> an adaptor exists, or can be made by someone like myself with some basic
> electronic skills, that would allow this keyboard to work with my T|X.
>
> The model number of this keyboard appears to be 3C10439.
>
Cheapest thing to do is to dig a PalmV out of the junk at a garage sale
and offer them good karma for keeping it outa the landfill. And hope
the battery is good
cause it's glued together. Play with it until you get bored and then
donate both to a thrift store.
Tha PalmV/Vx is an orphan. The interface isn't compatible with anything
earlier or since. Looks a lot like a Palm m500, but the plug is different.
According to pinouts.ru, the T|X plug is also something of an orphan that's
not compatible with the other "T" series.
Most of those keyboards were some form of serial interface, like RS-232,
but not at the correct polarity or signal levels.
Still wanna waste some time...go to pinouts.ru and see if you can determine
the pinouts of a PalmV and whatever you want to connect it to.
Then you'll need some connectors that aren't available.
And a driver that's not available unless you get a PalmV. And some
reverse engineering
to determine the hardware interface.
But even if you could interface it to something, there's not much you can do
with it.
It's way too floppy to type on unless you put it on a rigid surface.
And you're gonna find that it's really hard to type unless it's at about
lap level. And if you've got a pda plugged into it, it's too far away
to see
comfortably.
If you were writing a novel at a cafe 10 years ago, the device had some
appeal. Today, not so much.
A bluetooth keyboard might be a better match to a T|X. That way you can
put the
keyboard where you can type on it and the display where you can see it.
Did I mention, "Throw it in the trash so you won't be tempted to waste more
time on it.
Gordon Burditt
> this keyboard is intended to work. I wonder if there is any hope that
> an adaptor exists, or can be made by someone like myself with some basic
> electronic skills, that would allow this keyboard to work with my T|X.
>
> The model number of this keyboard appears to be 3C10439.
I have a similar keyboard that works with a Palm T|X. It's referred
to as a universal wireless keyboard. I don't see a model number,
but the SKU number is listed as 3169WWZ.
You do have to load a driver on the Palm to get it to work. Did
you do that? Did it come with the driver disk?
You do need to position the T|X and the keyboard so the IR transmitter
on the keyboard is pointed at and really close to the Palm IR
receiver.
Bob Blaylock
mike <spa...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Cheapest thing to do is to dig a PalmV out of the junk at a garage sale
> and offer them good karma for keeping it outa the landfill. And hope
> the battery is good cause it's glued together. Play with it until you
> get bored and then donate both to a thrift store.
I ended up eBaying a Palm VIIx for eighteen dollars
(<http://tinyurl.com/4thplby>); that being, apparently, the highest Palm
model that is likely to work with this keyboard. This keyboard is
definitely three dollars worth of cool, but it remains to be seen
whether actually being able to use it turns out to be twenty-one dollars
worth of cool.
No worry about the battery; apparently, the VIIx takes AAA-type
batteries, rather than having an internal, non-user-replaceable
rechargeable battery.
And when/if I do get bored with the whole thing, I'll probably package
the whole set (PDA and keyboard together) and donate it all back to the
thrift store where I got the keyboard.
The very first PDA I owned was an M105. It's interesting to note that
the VIIx that I now await is older than that, but about comparable in
power and capacity. I guess the VIIx was the top of the line model, at
an earlier time than that at which the M105 was close to the bottom of
the line.
> A bluetooth keyboard might be a better match to a T|X. That way
> you can put the keyboard where you can type on it and the display
> where you can see it.
It occurred to me after I had eBayed the VIIx that perhaps what I
really ought to have looked for was a newer keyboard of this type that
would work with my T|X.
I guess the combination of this keyboard and the VIIx will give me a
taste of how useful a keyboard is on a PDA, and if it seems useful
enough, perhaps at some point in the future, I'll seek out a similar
keyboard for my T|X. If that turns out to be the case, I hope that
whatever keyboard I find for the T|X is as cool as this one is. There
is just something that seems very cool to me about the way this keyboard
folds into a nice, small, sturdy box, and unfolds into a usable-sized
keyboard. It even has a very nice feel to it. Not quite as good as a
full-desktop-computer-type keyboard, but nicer than most laptop
keyboards I've used.
Bob Blaylock
Bob Blaylock <BobHat...@Blaylock.to.invalid> wrote:
> I ended up eBaying a Palm VIIx for eighteen dollars
> (<http://tinyurl.com/4thplby>)...
Is the "VII" in the name supposed to be a Roman numeral seven, or is
it just the letters "V", "I", and "I"?
Mike Coon
> I guess the combination of this keyboard and the VIIx will give me a
> taste of how useful a keyboard is on a PDA, and if it seems useful
> enough, perhaps at some point in the future, I'll seek out a similar
> keyboard for my T|X.
I've never had a Palm device. But I have a WM5.0 PPC PDA which has USB host,
so I can use a standard USB keyboard. In fact I bought a miniature one
specially, which is slightly bigger than a business envelope (but thicker!).
To use it, though, I have to make a contraption which holds the PDA at a
reading angle above the keyboard in a gooseneck mount of the sort sold for
mounting a satnav (which the PDA also has) in a car.
Mike.
--
If reply address is Mike@@mjcoon.+.com (invalid), remove spurious "@"
and substitute "plus" for +.
Richard B. Gilbert
> In article<BobHatesSpam-07E0...@news.isp.giganews.com>,
> Bob Blaylock<BobHat...@Blaylock.to.invalid> wrote:
>
>> I ended up eBaying a Palm VIIx for eighteen dollars
>> (<http://tinyurl.com/4thplby>)...
>
> Is the "VII" in the name supposed to be a Roman numeral seven, or is
> it just the letters "V", "I", and "I"?
>
Since "VII" is a valid Roman Numeral and has no other meaning that I'm
aware of. . . .
mike
> In article <ikvlg0$1v9$1...@news.eternal-september.org>,
> mike <spa...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Cheapest thing to do is to dig a PalmV out of the junk at a garage sale
>> and offer them good karma for keeping it outa the landfill. And hope
>> the battery is good cause it's glued together. Play with it until you
>> get bored and then donate both to a thrift store.
>
> I ended up eBaying a Palm VIIx for eighteen dollars
I'd have given you one for the price of shipping.
And I would have offered it if it had been compatible.
The number you listed for the keyboard suggests it fits the PalmV.
I suggested that the PalmV connector didn't fit ANYTHING else.
I have in one hand a PalmV keyboard.
In the other hand is a PalmVIIx
They do not plug together.
The Palm VII also has other annoyances.
It has a radio that's not compatible with anything.
The first set of batteries you put it will be consumed
charging the internal NiCd radio battery.
As long as the NiCd is still good, subsequent batteries
won't be totally consumed by the useless radio.
I pull out the radio battery. Then you get a bunch of error
messages. As I recall, there's a program you can install to
suppress those. I searched my archive and couldn't find it.
> (<http://tinyurl.com/4thplby>); that being, apparently, the highest Palm
> model that is likely to work with this keyboard. This keyboard is
> definitely three dollars worth of cool, but it remains to be seen
> whether actually being able to use it turns out to be twenty-one dollars
> worth of cool.
>
> No worry about the battery; apparently, the VIIx takes AAA-type
> batteries, rather than having an internal, non-user-replaceable
> rechargeable battery.
>
> And when/if I do get bored with the whole thing, I'll probably package
> the whole set (PDA and keyboard together) and donate it all back to the
> thrift store where I got the keyboard.
>
> The very first PDA I owned was an M105. It's interesting to note that
> the VIIx that I now await is older than that, but about comparable in
> power and capacity. I guess the VIIx was the top of the line model, at
> an earlier time than that at which the M105 was close to the bottom of
> the line.
>
>
>> A bluetooth keyboard might be a better match to a T|X. That way
>> you can put the keyboard where you can type on it and the display
>> where you can see it.
>
> It occurred to me after I had eBayed the VIIx that perhaps what I
> really ought to have looked for was a newer keyboard of this type that
> would work with my T|X.
If you decide to buy a BT keyboard, make sure it works with the palm you
have.
Don't know about palms, but for Windows Mobile, there are two popular
bluetooth stacks. MS used the Widcomm stack up thru ppc2003. then they
switched to the MS BT stack. Much less capability and not fully compatible.
So some keyboards only work with widcomm. There's a hacked widcomm stack
that can be put on wm5, but then it breaks stuff that only works with
the MS stack. So much for standards.
Bluetooth would be way cool if everything worked with the same
implementation. Send MS a thank-you note. Grrrrr!!!!
>
> I guess the combination of this keyboard and the VIIx will give me a
> taste of how useful a keyboard is on a PDA, and if it seems useful
> enough, perhaps at some point in the future, I'll seek out a similar
> keyboard for my T|X. If that turns out to be the case, I hope that
> whatever keyboard I find for the T|X is as cool as this one is. There
> is just something that seems very cool to me about the way this keyboard
> folds into a nice, small, sturdy box, and unfolds into a usable-sized
> keyboard. It even has a very nice feel to it. Not quite as good as a
> full-desktop-computer-type keyboard, but nicer than most laptop
> keyboards I've used.
>
Are we having fun yet?
Bob Blaylock
mike <spa...@gmail.com> wrote:
> The number you listed for the keyboard suggests it fits the PalmV.
> I suggested that the PalmV connector didn't fit ANYTHING else.
> I have in one hand a PalmV keyboard.
> In the other hand is a PalmVIIx
> They do not plug together.
Alas, you appear to be correct. The VIIx arrived, and the connector
is indeed different. Just a little bit different. It looks like it
almost wants to fit, but not quite.
The VIIx is interesting, in a frustrating way, full of things that
almost work, and suggesting that it would be really cool if they did
work, but alas, they don't. The radio, of course, is to connect to an
Internet service that no longer exists, though the underlying wireless
network on which it was based still apparently does. The "Diagnostics"
utility shows good signal strength, as does the "Activate" application
as it makes a valiant, but futile attempt to connect to Palm.net to set
up an account for me.
nhum...@slu.edu
skipbu...@gmail.com
sue.he...@gmail.com
Oh mine is a Palm T|X.
BillW50
then yes. The TX works fine with the keyboard v1.13 driver.
http://kb.hpwebos.com/wps/portal/kb/na/keyboards/palmuniversalwirelesskeyboard/unlocked/downloads/page_en.html
Hotsync should work just fine, unless you have Vista or higher and it is
64 bit. Then you need the 64 bit Hotsync driver or you can hotsync using
Bluetooth (if your PC has Bluetooth).
--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era) - Thunderbird v12.0.1
Centrino Core2 Duo T5600 1.83GHz - 4GB - Windows XP SP2
drthird...@gmail.com
BillW50
drthird...@gmail.com typed:
>> I just picked up, at a thrift store, a Palm Portable Keyboard. It
>> was only $3, and even if I can't make it work with anything, it
>> seems worth the $3 just for how cool it is to see it unfold into
>> what ought to be a usable keyboard.
>>
>> But it'd be even cooler yet, if I could actually use it.
>>
>> I have a Palm T|X, but that doesn't seem to be the variant with
>> which this keyboard is intended to work. I wonder if there is any
>> hope that an adaptor exists, or can be made by someone like myself
>> with some basic electronic skills, that would allow this keyboard to
>> work with my T|X.
>>
>> The model number of this keyboard appears to be 3C10439.
>
> an external keyboard for my laptop. i was interested in buying one
> for the portability - especially since i don't like my laptops
> keyboard layout.
it somewhat usable, it is far better to just buy an external keyboard
that works for your laptop. I personally use a Logitech K400r for all of
my Windows laptops and Tablets. They usually cost around 30 bucks or so
and batteries last forever. Something like a year or so.
I have a couple of those rubberized keyboards that you can rollup. While
they are very handy, any large amount of typing, they become a real
pain. As they won't register every key press unless you press on them
just right.
--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era) - OE-QuoteFix v1.19.2
cueve...@gmail.com
check out
http://www.engadget.com/2004/07/27/how-to-turn-your-ipod-in-to-a-universal-infrared-remote-control/
BillW50
cueve...@gmail.com typed:
software. Yes I still use it today. But having your own IR to audio
converter, why would you want to do that? A cable would be far better.
If you wanted wireless, IR has so many limitations that WiFI, Bluetooth,
or some other RF method would make so much more sense.
