Hints & Tips - IR

Until recently, I have used both a Windows 95 laptop and a Windows NT 4.0 desktop machine as my reference platform for PDA synchronisation. I never could persuade either of them to work consistently using infrared to contact any PDA; NT 4.0 doesn't support IrDA, and Windows 95 requires some special patches. I have now supplemented these with a small Windows 98 laptop, a Sharp Actius A-150, and can report that infrared works perfectly.

I can now summarise the tips you will need to get a Palm, CE or Psion S5 to work properly with infrared for synchronisation, file transfer, and Internet communications.

Windows 98

I didn't need to do anything, apart from install the synchronisation software, and chose the serial port that talks to the IrDA port: COM4 in my case. Check that you have the right port by looking in the Control Panel for Infrared; it should be displayed in the Options panel.

Mobile Phone

Most major PDAs also support Internet connection over infrared. I use an Ericsson SH888, which is dual band (Orange and Vodaphone, in my case, although isn't officially supported by Orange), although the Nokia 8810 will also work, and there is a clip on module available for some Ericsson phone models to support infrared.

You will have to ask your phone service provider to enable data communications, and you might as well request fax to be enabled at the same time. The service provider will give you two additional numbers, one for incoming fax and one for incoming data, but the important thing is that this process also enables outgoing data calls.

With the SH888, the infrared port has to be specifically enabled from the main menu.

Palm III

Install the Palm IR enhancement patch (http://www.palm.com/custsupp/downloads/irenhanc.html), and either or both of IRLink and IRSync from IS/Complete (http://www.iscomplete.com). There are older patches that work, but this is the most comprehensive. The Palm patch adds a Prefs panel to toggle communications between using the serial port or IrDA; IRLink makes this switchover automatic; and IRSync requests synchronisation over the IrDA port.

Windows CE

The latest version of CE Services, 2.2, is required; this is available at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsce/pccompanions/wceserv.asp. This will work using the simulated serial port as well; but on the CE device, you should have a specific port to select under the PC Link menu option for Infrared; this is preset to use 19,200 bps for reliability, rather than the 115.2 kbps that IrDA supports.

Automatic connections only seem to work with a real serial port, not infrared.

Configuring CE for IrDA requires a registry hack

Connection to the Internet, as with so many things CE, isn't so easy. The infrared port can be used, and is even preinstalled as COM3 on the CE device for you, but the only way to install this is by using a registry editor, as I reported in issue 51. For a palm-sized PC device, you will have to use a desktop machine running Windows NT and the CE developer kit in order to edit the registry.

Psion Series 5

Install the latest version of PsiWin (currently 2.2, but this is only available for extra cost), and the MessageSuite 1.52 (also the latest, from http://www.psion.com/downloads/mssgsuite.html). Then from System, set the Remote Link (Ctrl-L) to infrared, and in the Modems control panel, set up a new modem that uses Infrared rather than serial, and set this to be your current modem.

Words and design by:
Paul Lynch
Last updated: March 30, 1999