PDA for a serial terminal? Which?

The question arises now about PDAs that would be suited for terminal emulation via serial cable to see data as output from the PICAXE, or also send data back!

Ill start with:
The Casio Pocket Viewer, with cradle which as a DB9 serial plug, has PVTerminal software that is well suited.
This comes from information I have seen on the net, no first hand experience from me on this one.

I have a Dell Axim X5 PocketPC, however I cannot locate anymore either the serial cable with DB9 or dock with cable and DB9, but it does NOT have any terminal emulation software that I can find (I just looked).

I am very interested in any INEXPENSIVE (read: ebay for less than $35) PocketPC PDA that has terminal emulation software and cables that are still available.

I am also looking at the Palm Pilot line, the older ones like the IIIC IV etc.. Even possibly the M103 and M105, which can be had for cheap, and looks like on ebay (US) serial cables for many models are available. However, I do NOT know if any of these models include any terminal emulation software!

If you have any solid first hand experience, would you please post:
Manufacture & Model of PDA that would be suited out of the box (just add cable if not included) that would work for this application?

Thanks much!
Andrew

One more thing for consideration: An old laptop with DOS and PROCOMM?

However.. where do I get a DOS and where do I get a DOS version of PROCOMM now days? Zheeze... I used both of them in the 80's! Wish I still had 'em now! HA HA!

Andrew

Well, part 1 of the puzzle solved (Old DOS laptop...):
http://www.freedos.org/

When Picaxes first arrived (2002 ish) I did a lot with old PDAs/organisers/tablets/cell phones (Nokia espec.) for this, as LCDs were then a tad costly & elusive-especially when needed educationally.

Thanks to the USB takeover, serial displays such as you mentioned used to then abound (used or clearance), with old DOS & WinCE laptops, Casio PVs & Sharp Wizards going for peanuts. Their "big picture" helped greatly with the likes of data logging readouts (ref pix below). See others + hosted terminal software =>www.picaxe.orconhosting.net.nz/. My favourites were the Sharp OZ-7xx series, especially the OZ-770, as their displays were bright & battery life (2 x AA) was brilliant. These were/still are quite a collectors item however,& few ever came available cheaply.

Unless you are really lucky,"out of the box" serial PDAs hence will have well vanished,even at yard sales etc. Check an offerings overview,just in case=> http://www.geocities.com/pcawizman/index.html Any '80s-'90s DOS serial laptops usually now have totally shot batteries as well.

What is your real quest- saving $ or a larger picture? If the former, why not use a cheap 16x2 "Hippy" or "PHANDERSON" approach etc? Consider SERTXD/F8, StampPlot or StampDaq etc perhaps?

You might be able to make a Keypad, LCD and picaxe solution yourself perhaps? Think this is what Manuka mentioned too, depending on what you really want.

Where do I get a DOS

There are a number of sites which provide downloads for all manner of old Microsoft products as "abandonware". Their existence does not mean it is carte-blanche legal or legitimate to use those downloads but they are a potential option where you have a license to legally use a product but have misplaced your original or backup disks or they have become damaged.

You would need to examine your original license before considering such downloads.

There is at least one other legitimate option for getting a 'free Microsoft OS'; XP Embedded. Again you need to read the license to see exactly what you can and cannot do and it will involve some work and effort. Applying patches which allow XPE to run beyond its 120 day limit will almost definitely be a breach of the license agreement.

Roger,

I've been using an old Visor PDA, similar to a Palm both as termianl and a graphical display with the PICAXE.

One of the nice things is that it uses standard TTL (5 volt) signals which makes interfacing a bit easier. They are available on ebay for around $30.

There is plenty of software (free) still available.

Depending on your end use, the PDA / calculators make a smaller footprint than the old laptops.

The Palm IIIxe, M105, amd M125 are often available on Ebay for under $20US. The IIIxe has the largest screen (physical size - they are all 160x160 pixels). There is free terminal software for these PDA's (Google search). They all run on 2 AAA cells and will run for about 12 hours continuously doing serial data exchange (from experience using a IIIxe with a serial GPS). The Serial cables and cradles for the III series are usually available and it's not unusual to find a complete unit (PDA with cradle/cables).

For long-term use, the IIIc (color and rechargable) would be good because the screen is always backlit and the charger allows unlimited use (the IIIc has 8MN RAM).

These units have 8MB or more of RAM, so you can store the data received (if the terminal program supports it).

For several years I've been maintaining Palm-based software for a company that uses the IIIxe as the configuration and data retrieval unit for a radar speed logger (one of the "Your speed is" signs) and the IIIxe has proven to be very reliable. The interface uses IR and the PALM software is written in NSBasic for Palm http://www.nsbasic.com/palm/ You could also write your own terminal/logger program in NSBasic ($149US).

Some samples of what can be written with NSBasic: http://www.jecarter.us/nsbsource.html

John

What I use is an Amstrad NC100. Tandy supplied a version in the US. Built in Terminal program, Z80, BBC Basic with an 8x80 display. Runs on AA-sized batteries or external PSU and is sometimes found for just a couple of dollars.


NC100


NC200

Images from http://www.geocities.com/homeofoscarvermeulen/zcn.html

papaof2 said:

<snip>There is free terminal software for these PDA's (Google search). <snip>

Click to expand...

Could you supply a link to one you recommend? Everything Ive seen was not freeware.

Thanks everyone for the good information. I hope to see this thread grow.

About running a PDA for serial data: Some projects just dont justify a dedicated LCD. However, it would be nice to be able to plug up some type of terminal for it to operate with as an option.

Thanks,
Andrew

Hello? I think the thread fell off...

Andrew

Far from it- it's more a case of " so what about those items we mentioned "? Have you chased any of them up ?

I bought a Casio PocketViewer with cradle and DB9 serial off ebay for $20 USD, it should be here in a few days. I dont know if it is only a terminal viewer or a terminal emulator so I can send data back or not.

Ill post back more details when it gets here.

Andrew

A more upto date solution may be the serial display chips which also offer keyboard/video functionality. They can utilise many monitors/keyboards and newest ones have graph/colour functions.

http://www.tvterminal.de/#english

Nice find! Those TVT-KVGA however work at 9600 8 N 1 & cost ~30&#8364; (~US$40). The original query looked aimed at something self contained that could be whipped out in the field.

For $20 bucks off E-Bay that Casio PV may better fit your needs. I've used similar (in fact a Casio PV-S450) for years myself, & especially appreciate the PVs magnificent 180 hours battery life from 2 x AAAs ( = MONTHS of typical use!) N.B. Mine didn't come with a terminal program,but I eventually tracked down "PVterminal" which is now at my resource site => www.picaxe.orconhosting.net.nz/pvtermnl.zip

Mmm- I now recall just how handy these PVs were for diverse PICAXE serial display work back in ~2002-3,as their "BIG PICTURE" view was much more informative than 16x2 LCDs. I've just done a "PV" Google, & the likes of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocket_viewer informs ~12 PVs were produced. They were popular in Eastern Europe (Russia,Poland, Ukraine especially),but I'm pretty sure all have now been discontinued. A capable SDK was released, as was an OWBASIC, but many of the links,3rd party programs & support sites from 5 years back have died.

THOUGHT for educators: A PV swag may be worth grabbing in bulk for schools use (IF you can still find any!), as the simplest PV-100 (with 1MB of Flash ram) may now turn up as cheaply as US$10. Sure-you could use a terminal program on an old laptop too, but full laptops were bulky, slow to get out & setup, open to users becoming distracted, & (even new) their battery life was pretty mediocre. Stan

There are two additional advantages to using the PDA/calculator as a display. It already has a very nice protective case and the PDA charge stand can be used as a display base for a heads up view.

Myc

From what I can tell the PV can only do serial out or serial in, but not both from the same application (PVTerminal)?

What about the Ipaq H1910 and H1940? Either of these support serial communications?

The reason I ask, I read at one site the 1910 has serial, but then a Google search leads me to think it does NOT. However the 1940 has been stated to support serial comms.

So, I am looking for feedback from an actual owner.

Also, what freeware PPC Term program do you suggest (a link would be nice!)?

Anyone used PocketpuTTY with success?


Thanks,
Andrew

I just put PocketpuTTY on my Dell Axim X5, it runs fine... but I cant connect yet, I just ordered an RS232 cable for it.

Ill post back with more when I have it.
Andrew

RT- I've only ever used PVTerminal for receiving, & recall this is all it does. When considering other approaches- & spending on specialist cables!- keep in mind that PDA virtual keyboards may well be inferior to he real thing. It may be cheaper overall just using an old serial fitted Sharp Wizard/ HP Jornada- there were scores of such machines offering 10 years back. Stan

i just got a simple pic 16f88 hooked up to a 4X20 character lcd screen, and i've written the firmware so it behaves like a mini serial terminal, it's even got it's own little menu in it so you can change baud rates. etc

DPG: It's easy enough to persuade an 18X & old PS/2 keyboard into serial sending of course, but with skills like this you should be running for president!

For those in the US, look for the Radio Shack TRS80 Model 100 - the original laptop computer. From memory, the display is 8 lines of 40 characters, but it has a full size keyboard, built-in BASIC, serial port (settable baud rate), parallel printer port, 300 baud modem, and a terminal program (ASCII text, no emulations). It runs on 4 AA cells (20 hours continuous, 30 days of memory backup) or an external AC adapter.

I've seen two listed on Ebay for under $30US this week - and one at $599US (the seller must not ever check the competition ;-)

NEC (PC8201), Olivetti (M10), and Kyocera sold very similar devices, which may be more readily available in other countries.

John

Yes indeed- I'd a much loved Model 100 back in 1985 myself! But they're large (A4 sized) & their battery life wasn't brilliant when compared with the likes of late 90s Sharp Wizards (~100 hours from 2 x AA) etc.

With every respect- this "oldie but goodie" serial laptop thread could go on for weeks, & achieve little that's really PICAXE orientated. I suggest the original poster now pins down his needs, as we're all beginning to sound like "I remember when..." old timers sitting on the porch.

FWIW, whilst looking for something completely different I came across "SirPic enables microchip PIC developers, to use the Palm PDA as a wired or wireless terminal to their custom PIC projects." http://www.sirpic.com//