- RE: AAs v battery-packs

- In-car PSU for Psion 5mx

- RE: In-car PSU for Psion 5mx

- RE: Street Planner & maps for Ireland

- RE: AAs v battery-packs

- In-car PSU for 5mx, Space-Bar Solution # 881 (1)

- Re: Sending email on 7book

- RE: The Digest V1 # 881 (8)

- ReSending email on 7book

- Help - Mbook corrupt files - reprise

- accurate CityMaps + GPS, Sending email on 7book,

- Given up on Opera!

- Expansys IR220L

- Back to Martin Maxell on what I would change in a psion 5 MX

- Re: AAs v battery-packs

Date: 27 Jan 2006 19:15:20 +0100
From: Keith Giles <address truncated>
Subject: RE: AAs v battery-packs

Franck Banag wrote:

> To share my experience, When taking the psion in travel (saving me > to bring the laptop), I don't have to carry the power supply, to
> have the foreign electrical plugs and not have to recharge every N > days (to maintain data),...., which would be the case if using
> battery-packs.

Guess I'll get my 2 cents in, too. As a cycletourist with a 5mx, I don't want to have to carry cables, AC adaptors, etc. AAs just do fine for me. I've never carried a phone when cycletouring overseas.

Having said all that, I guess I'm going to have to carry a battery recharger plus AC plug adaptor for Europe. I've just switched from a 35mm SLR to a digital SLR camera.

Happy Cycling,
Keith
Sunnyvale, CA

http://ohsix827.home.comcast.net

Thought For The Day: Some people look for divine guidance in the Ten Commandments, but most are looking for loopholes.

Date: 27 Jan 2006 20:55:45 +0100
From: nic
Subject: In-car PSU for Psion 5mx

>> What can I use to convert my car's 12V DC 'cigarette lighter' power into something that will power my psion 5mx?

If you can manage to find a Psion adapter to USB, you can use the Versa Charger.  It also works in planes.



http://www.boxwave.com/products/versacharger/



nic

Date: 27 Jan 2006 22:50:42 +0100
From: Ed Kaneen <address truncated>
Subject: RE: In-car PSU for Psion 5mx

Dear Kevin,

You asked,

> What can I use to convert my car's 12V DC 'cigarette lighter' > power into something that will power my psion 5mx?

I found that the mega-cheap adapters from Ebay don't produce a reliable enough voltage. I now use a regulated power supply, which cost more, but works! I got mine from Maplin (www.maplin.co.uk) for a cost of nine pounds. The code is L17AR. It has the advantage that you select which connector to fit to it, which will then plug into the Psion, i.e. you don't have a huge multipin adapter hanging out of the end of your Psion.

Hope this helps,

Ed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ed Kaneen - ed.kaneen at tiscali.co.uk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Date: 27 Jan 2006 23:05:46 +0100
From: Ed Kaneen <address truncated>
Subject: RE: Street Planner & maps for Ireland

Dear Tim,

Apologies for not replying sooner, but you said,

> I have both Street Millennium GB and Europe for my 5mx.  I > cannot find maps for Ireland on either.  Have they missed
> them out?  I cannot find either Northern Ireland or the Republic!!!!

I have the final version of CityMaps Europe for the Psion, and I'm sorry to say that it doesn't seem to include any of Ireland. The implications of this for Irish politics are unclear, since the box definitely says it covers "Great Britain"!

Sorry,

Ed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ed Kaneen - ed.kaneen at tiscali.co.uk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Date: 28 Jan 2006 01:14:03 +0100
From: Alan Morris <address truncated>
Subject: RE: AAs v battery-packs

Ian Chapple <address truncated> wrote:-

||> I appreciate the fact that my P910 is
||> thinner than it would be if it used AAs, but I would ||> certainly not be happy if in 2 or 3 years time I was unable ||> to replace the battery, and I would not be "willing" to
||> dispose of it solely for this reason.

I've had a cellphone continuously since May 1987.  At one time three - car, pocket (remember the one Ian Botham advertised, well a very large pocket) and a transportable.

Until my current pocket 6210e, all the battery powered phones were replaced because the battery failed due to a short life.  There was nothing wrong with the phones, but a new battery was more expensive that a new phone.  I'm am most surprised that my 6210e battery has lasted so long.

||>  The decision of a
||> manufacturer to use "special" battery packs and the lack of
||> support for a particular device after a certain number of
||> years are two separate issues.

Possibly, but the result for the user is the same.

||> And let's not forget, the vast majority of electronic
||> devices, or at least mobile phones, are replaced long
||> before the state of their battery becomes an issue.

Ian you must be unusual in this respect.  Since the first 'Pocket Phone' made by Pye, communication radios have always lasted longer than the batteries.

||> the use of battery packs and their non-availablity
||> after a certain number of years will not be considered a
||> problem by most manufacturers.

In fact an advantage - forcing the customer to purchase a new product.

||> Now almost every company wants to make their own unique
||> sized battery packs, so that only they can make the profit,
||> at the expense of the consumer.<<
||>
||> I'm not sure this is entirely fair. Most devices include
||> their own charging mechanism, which often requires
||> communication with the battery (very few battery packs only
||> have two contacts); this would probably not be possible
||> with an off-the-shelf battery.

Why not.

All Ni-cad batteries require the same charging characteristics.

All Ni-met Hyd batteries require the same charging characteristics.

All Lithium batteries require the same charging characteristics.

Open almost any battery pack (I've done many commercial radios, ham radios, laptops etc) and you will find the same inside, when you replace the individual cells.

I have recently retired and planning to live for months at a time in a Land Rover motorhome.  You would be surprised how many 'wall warts' I have (including those by Psion), that have similar, but slightly different specs.

I bought a toothbrush that uses AA batteries.

I bought a digital camera that uses AA batteries.

Etc.........

I can charge AA batteries from the mains, from 12 volt car supply and from solar panels.

A new range of standard size thin battery packs with a single (standard) charger would be desirable.

||> >>Nikon have recently introduced a new digital camera that
||> even uses the
||> >>same model number of battery as previous models, but they are not ||> >>inter-exchangable.<<
||>
||> That's just plain stupid.

Stupid for the customer, by a good decision for the sales manager!

||> >>Why are the lithium battery packs so expensive ?  It's not the
||> >>technology, it's the trade name mark-up.<<
||>
||> Also true. Even Psion aren't (weren't) immune from this.
||> Look at the price of netbook battery packs. And let's not
||> get started on the Revo.....

Agreed, but at least the quality of the Psion Lithium batteries (I have three  - 7 + nB + spare) is good.  Unlike those in laptops. (or is it the Windows power management that's faulty?)

||> At the end of the day, mobile phones are generally better
||> for *not* using AA batteries, purely because of the size
||> reduction that this makes possible. And it's not only
||> mobile phones; many other devices (Palms, Pocket PCs, iPods
||> etc.) would not be the size and shape they are if they used AAs.

I have three hand held ham radios.  Two operate at 144 and 432 Mhz bands and one on the 144 Mhz band.  The wife has another.  They all use rechargeable batteries.  The older ones still work because I can open the battery packs and replace the cells.  The first option I buy, when available is an AA empty battery pack.  Then when the standard packs are flat I can use AA rechargeable and then AA Duracells.  What an excellent system!

||> However, the problem of not being able to buy a new battery
||> after a few years *is* an issue which probably should be
||> looked at; this sort of thing is dealt with in countries
||> such as Germany by forcing manufacturers to maintain a
||> stock of replacement parts for each product for a certain
||> number of years after production ceases. I can well imagine
||> at some point the EU will bring in some sort of legislation
||> regarding this issue; after all, it's much better for the
||> environment if devices are not being thrown away purely for
||> the sake of a battery.

So true Ian.

Then Kevin.Bewley wrote on In-car PSU for Psion 5mx:-

||> What can I use to convert my car's 12V DC 'cigarette
||> lighter' power into something that will power my psion 5mx?

I bought one with my old Psion 5.  It still works but I generally use AA rechargeables, which I keep charged with a 4 x AA  charger that runs on 12 volts.

||> Smaller the better as I already have the PalmTop GPS -
||> shame they didn't make that with a fly lead to power the
||> actual Psion!

My first GPSr 10 years ago was a Garmin 75.  It used 4 x AA but these did not last very long.  So I built a plastic box with sockets and a 12 volt supply, that could be connected to 12 volts form the car.

I plugged in the GPS and 3a.  Later an eMap and Psion 5, then 5mx used the same box.

||> PS. is anyone else surprised at how accurate CityMaps + GPS
||> is? I was amazed!!

No.

Alan
-- 
Woran merkt man, dass Windows auf einem Computer installiert ist? - Die Reset-Taste ist abgenutzt.

Date: 28 Jan 2006 08:31:46 +0100
From: Vlad A <address truncated>
Subject: In-car PSU for 5mx, Space-Bar Solution # 881 (1)

> The Digest wrote on 27.01.2006 20:15 Uhr:

I'd also like a solution for the space-bar problem. Bar that, press it in the middle (otherwise it just tilts to one side without pushing the button there). After taking a keyboard apart, I do wonder how it's supposed to work, it's held by a steel-wire...

> convert my car's 12V DC 'cigarette lighter'

Try (I haven't checked them in a while, pls let me know whether they're still working):
http://www.gpscables.com/links.htm
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Way/8279/s5_gps_kabel.html
http://macgpspro.com/html/newhtml/datacables.html

The cable-topic has had several iterations here, including once a diy charger. So do a search in the archive if this doesn't help (sent last November to the Digest):
-----
re: Connection cable Garmin to Psion or anyting else and more:

http://pfranc.com/projects/g45contr/emap/index.htm

http://pfranc.com/cgi-bin/pub/c_de/Garmin_connector_eTrex_geko.html?pid=e2Pl ug;speak=English

Can order the Garmin-interface plug for diy (detailed instructions provided, it's a well made, witty design and an easy soldering task - you have to sacrifice an original 232 Psion-cabl, though). Readymade also available, including one that will charge both the Psion and the Garmin in the car, I believe. Bought mine there and was happy - not otherwise related, needless to say :-)

BTW: They usually sell a minimum of 2 for ca 17 EUR, I guess if you order more it's somewhat less/pc. So if anyone needs diy plugs, we could order several together and mail them between us for a stamp, they're so small they go in a normal letter. I'd take one spare (preferably flat-type).
-----

best,

vlad

Date: 28 Jan 2006 10:14:00 +0100
From: Marcus von Cube <address truncated>
Subject: Re: Sending email on 7book

Hi Bobby,

>I click on send and it says sending and the progress bar moves along and after it gets all the way across it says no emails sent.

Could it be that your provider now forces SMTP authentication? You can get some info about what went wrong by creating the directory "\Logs\EMAIL" on your C drive. If this directory exists, the email application will create a log file when sending messages. You should find any error messages there.

If the problem is authentication, you will need to install SmtpAuth from
http://www.mvcsys.de/doc/smtpauth.html.


Marcus

http://www.mvcsys.de

Date: 28 Jan 2006 10:57:46 +0100
From: franck banag
Subject: RE: The Digest V1 # 881 (8)

I am using for my revo, my Nokia phone charger. Probably, it will work for the 5mx too.

Franck

++++++++++++++++
Date: 26 Jan 2006 09:18:03 +0100
From: Kevin.Bewley
Subject: In-car PSU for Psion 5mx



I've got a couple of questions - I'm sure you guys will know: What can I use to convert my car's 12V DC 'cigarette lighter' power into something that will power my psion 5mx? Smaller the better as I already have the PalmTop GPS - shame they didn't make that with a fly lead to power the actual Psion!

I'm also interested in how to free up the 'need to press my space bar very hard to make it work' problem.

Thanks,
Kevin

PS. is anyone else surprised at how accurate CityMaps + GPS is? I was amazed!!

Date: 28 Jan 2006 21:06:55 +0100
From: David Steer \(Plus\) <address truncated>
Subject: ReSending email on 7book

Brudolph,

You did not say if you were on a company network or not.  If this is something that used to work, then it didn't, you can receive e-mail and you are connected (either by ethernet cable or wireless) and you are on a company network then it is likely that there has either been a proxy server upgrade or a change to the firewall.

This is the same symptom I had with my netBook and I resolved it with a change to our firewall to allow it to send e-mail out as our firewall has a SMTP server built into it and I needed to tell the firewall specifically about my Psion as it is a different mail client and the firewall, as standard, was only set to pass out the Exchange e-mail.  I was in the position that I controlled the firewall so I could make this change.

If I have got the wrong scenario then some more details would be good.

Regards
David

Date: 29 Jan 2006 01:12:24 +0100
From: Melvin Woody <address truncated>
Subject: Help - Mbook corrupt files - reprise

I posted this appeal for help on the 21st and have received no replies.
  So I'll try again:

Date: 21 Jan 2006 01:10:30 +0700
From: Melvin Woody <address truncated>
Subject: Mbook Corrupt Files Problem

My Mbook has developed corrupt files problems:
1. There is one sheet file that will not close.  However I try to do so, a litle window pops up that says "Corrupt".  I can't get rid of it by trying "Revert to saved" or "Close all Files" from the system menu.  I think that as a result of this file searches won't work any more either.

2. If I try to add to or alter any Word file, I also get a "Corrupt" window when I try to close it.  In this case, I can export the contents to another file and then close the original with "Revert to saved" - and then erase the original.  But this is extermely awkward.

3. I have one folder that is clearly corrupt and cannot be deleted. The names of the files within it are just bits of text from one of the original files, none of which is still available.

What could be causing this.  There's nothing in the Help screens about corrupt files.  Is there a way or program to scan the drives to correct all this? The problem with Word makes it extremely difficult to use the Mbook for writingin:

Date: 29 Jan 2006 03:08:26 +0100
From: Itamar Engelsman <address truncated>
Subject: accurate CityMaps + GPS, Sending email on 7book,

Answer to: Kevin.Bewley

Re.: accurate CityMaps + GPS - Oh yes, it is extremely accurate but for the newest areas of towns that don't appear yet on the somewhat older maps. However, most towns and country maps of Routeplanner are still very very usable and extremely accurate.

Answer to: brudolph

Re.: Sending email on 7book - I think we will need a lot more details than you gave us. What country are you in, who is the provider, what were the old settings and what are the exact error messages you get ?  Also, what modem are you currently using ?  Could it be that the provider changed the smtp address ?

Best regards,
Itamar Engelsman
London, UK

Date: 29 Jan 2006 16:30:14 +0100
From: Carl mith <address truncated>
Subject: Given up on Opera!

I have given up in despair trying to make a trial version of Opera 5.14 hold a stable internet connection. The connection keeps being dropped due to an Opera kernel fault. I have uninstalled and re- installed Opera umpteen times. I have even download a fresh version and tried that but the same fault keeps recurring. Has anyone else had this problem or is this an early sign that my 5mx's "jacket is on a shaky nail"? Obviously I am very reluctant to purchase the full version if it is going to mean that I still have the same problem.

Another thing about Opera which annoyed me was that each time I carried out a re-install it knew how many days of the trial I had left. This was despite my removing all the Opera files I could identify and using a soft reset. I can only conclude that Opera must have placed a file or marker on my "hard" drive which I can't remove. Does anyone know how to find it and remove it? I object to having any files etc on my drive which I did not put there myself and I want to remove it.

Finally, does anyone know of any other browser I could use?

Cheers

Carl

Date: 29 Jan 2006 16:42:04 +0100
From: Larch <address truncated>
Subject: Expansys IR220L

Hi Folks,

Looking for help from some of you experienced PSion 5mx owners/ users. I am
trying to use an Expansys IR220L with my Psion 5mx  to connect to the
internet via my mobile phone (internal modem). According to the Expansys
site, systems with IRda should recognise the IR220L automatically and that
includes a Psion 5mx but I just can't get it to work. I would have thought
that a sis driver would have been necessary? Is there one? Has anyone got an
IR220L to work and how did you do it?

One end of the IR220L plugs into the serial port while the other has the IR
unit

In case you're wondering I have terrible problems connecting via the 5mx IR
port. It just doesn't seem to function as it should. This same mobile phone
connects my 2 laptops and my desktop faultlessly to the internet via the
IR220L.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks

Larch

Date: 30 Jan 2006 10:57:10 +0100
From: Franco Cozzani <address truncated>
Subject: Back to Martin Maxell on what I would change in a psion 5 MX

Dear Martin, you wrote about my moaning about the fact that a 5MX cannot read a USB key:

"Undeniably so, but you can do pretty well with IrDA beaming and PDF+. Instead of a USB stick whose memory can only be accessed over USB, I opted to purchase a CF USB plug (just marginally larger in size), which allows you to take out the CF and plug in the Psion."

I do not understand well this point. Can I buy an CF USB plug, stick it in the CF port of an 5MX, stick an USB key in the CF plug and open .pdf files in the USB key? I thought the Psion motherboard could not support USB?

Can you pls clarify me this?

Thanks

> Franco COZZANI
> Brussels
>

Date: 30 Jan 2006 11:17:49 +0100
From: Chris Malcolm <address truncated>
Subject: Re: AAs v battery-packs

On Wed, 25 Jan 2006, The Digest wrote:

> Date: 25 Jan 2006 07:17:49 +0100
> From: Armin Podtschaske <address truncated>
> Subject: Re: AAs v battery-packs
>
> Hi Ian,
>
>>> My phone would last probably twice as long on 2x AA batteries. >
>> To accomodate AA batteries, my phone would need to be
>> about 7mm thicker, which would definitely *not* be a good
>> thing.
>>
>> AA batteries have their strong points, but being used in modern mobile > phones is not one of them...

> It depends what is important to you. If size is so important, that
   you are willing to throw away a fully working phone, that you like,
   someday. At the moment I am trying to find a new battery pack for my
   SE T610, because I have to recharge twice a week now. Not any
   cellphone shop I asked, has it. Eventually I'll have to throw away
   it and to buy a new one (that will let the Psion fax e.g.).

Long ago I bought a giant battery pack for my Nokia 6310i. From its
size and capacity I suspect that inside the plastic package are a couple
of rechargeable AAs. Although they make it bulkier and heavier I find
I actually prefer the feel of the phone, and find it easier to
operate, at that size and weight. But the important point is that if I
leave it on 24/7 and use it freely it lasts at least 3 weeks! That
means I can take it on holidays without worrying about spare batteries
or rechargers. On holiday it acts as modem to my Psion 5mx, so with
these batteries it becomes a suitable Psion accessory in terms of
battery life.

I find mobile phones whose charge only last a few days very
annoying. What this big battery gives me, which I love, is a phone
which has a few days of carefree use left when the battery indicator
goes low, not one which only has a few days from full!

I'm used to being unfashionable with my Psion5mx. Clearly I'm
unfashionable with respect to mobile phones. I don't want a tiny
mobile phone which is fiddly to operate. I want a mobile phone big
enough to be easily operated and with a charge that lasts for weeks.

> Now almost every company wants to make their own unique sized
   battery packs, so that only they can make the profit, at the expense
   of the consumer.  Nikon have recently introduced a new digital
   camera that even uses the same model number of battery as previous
   models, but they are not inter-exchangable.

My digital camera is big and old fashioned. But like everything else
electrical I might want to carry around with me (with the exception of
my mobile phone), it takes AA batteries (and good photographs). I'm
very reluctant to buy anything portable which won't accept standard
AAs. That way half of what I'm carrying is carrying the spare
batteries for the other half, and I don't end up with a bag full of
special purpose chargers which I need to drag off to conferences and
holidays like some folk I know. In fact I've got a portable AA charger
which can charge up to 4 and is smaller than many of the special
purpose chargers that come with radio, PDA camera, etc..

I recall at my last conference the organisers didn't supply enough
mains points in the coffee bar. People were hovering around the mains
points hoping the dying batteries of their lap top would last them
until they moved up in the queue for the mains socket.

Whereas I sat in a corner with my Psion and mobile phone, and did
exactly what they were all struggling to do -- respond to email, edit a
paper, check diary, etc., on the same set of batteries for the entire
4 days of the conference, and on kit which fitted in a coat pocket,
rather than needing an entire large shoulder bag all of its own.

--
Chris Malcolm  <address truncated>p; +44 (0)131 651 3445  Room 2107B
IPAB, Informatics, James Clerk Maxwell Building, King's Buildings
Edinburgh, EH9 3JZ, UK.      [http://www.dai.ed.ac.uk/homes/cam/]