Everyone, Read At Least The Final Post of This Thread!!!! PDA-ir Extender

[Dave Houston]

Originally posted by papajackow

I'm afraid of possibly breaking of the IR transmitter. It seems kinda fragile sticking out the way it does.

The IR Emitter Diode is not encased in a hollow glass bulb but in a solid piece of molded acryllic. The holes for the leads to pass through the 1/8" thickness of the CF cardframe are just big enough to provide clearance - there's no wiggle-room. The leads are soldered to surface mount pads beginning just inside the cardframe wall and extending for about 0.200 inches.

I don't think you could break it off without deliberate and concerted effort. It has been shipping since June 2002. To date, no one has reported one being broken.

The card frame is ABS plastic. It is box-shaped for rigidity. The 40-pin CF connector adds to the rigidity. The metal covers mechanically interlock with the cardframe as well as being attached to the cardframe with a 3M thermosetting adhesive around the perimeters of the covers.

The entire assembly weighs less than 1/4 ounce. Dropping it will not result in enough momentum to damage it. Throwing it against a hard object might damage it - especially if it's still in the Axim.

[Dave Houston]

Originally posted by brockly25
hit the top of that card you might kick off the little ir light on top ??? is that ture?

See my reply to "papajackow".

[Dave Houston]

Originally posted by gorby
Does anyone know if this is for using with the remote software only or can it be configured somehow to replace the built-in IR port? Would be nice to be able to send files over the extended range as well as sync. Am I dreaming? :)

Sorry - you're dreaming.

The built-in IR of most PDAs, laptops, etc. use IrDA which is deliberately designed to be very short range to avoid interference between multiple IrDA devices in an office environment. IrDA is two-way, requiring handshaking for flow control. PDA-ir is one-way and uses vastly different methodology. I give a very brief explanation of the differences in the "IR/RF Recording/Playback" article on my web page which also has a link to the official web site of IrDA.org if you want to delve deeper. While it would be possible to design a two-way IR device that would fit the CF slot, it would have to speak IrDA to talk to other IrDA devices and would, thus, be subject to the same range limitations.

[Dave Houston]

Originally posted by chris269526
is there any way to use the extender to transfer files... the ir on the axim is very unreliable

No. File transfer requires IrDA which is two-way and ultra-low power. See my earlier reply on this topic if you want more details.

[Dave Houston]

Originally posted by phinstir
Hi,

It took me two weeks to see that it was charged to my credit card, then a week after that, the web site said it shipped, and I finally received it a week after being shipped. So it took a good month.

Please forward these details and your order number to dane@myelectricdog.com so he can follow up with CCNow.

The only way that EDV can cause your credit card to be charged is by notifying CCNow that your order has been shipped. I don't know whether you're a fan of Peter Falk's "Columbo" character but there is an annoying little anomaly here of the type that would nag at Columbo throughout an entire two-hour episode. One logical explanation is that CCNow has a hitch in their procedures.

[Dave Houston]

Originally posted by deftech
In response to the statements about a slow shipping time on the PDA-ir, I just wanted to throw in my 2 cents. First off, I got mine in a little over a week, but I ordered the first day the Axim-compatible ones were for sale.
--deftech

To add to what deftech has said...

I designed PDA-ir but I have no affiliation with EDV and have nothing whatsoever to do with the manufacturing and distribution. I did the design work for free. I designed a few other, mostly DIY devices for EDV. I derive no income from any of the products sold by EDV. I cannot answer questions about shipments because I do not have up to date information about EDV's inventory although I usually have a general idea of their current status.

PDA-ir was introduced in June 2002. Initially, PDAwin's software supported it only on a few iPAQ models. Over time, PDAwin has managed to modify their software to support PDA-ir on additional iPAQ models as well as a few other PDAs. In the time that it has been available, I am unaware of a single bad review. I am unaware of any unhappy user. Since it was introduced there have been 5 units that were exchanged because users reported them defective. 3 of those were OK when EDV got them back. Two had transistors that had failed. All PDA-irs are range tested before shipment so the failures took place after that. The units are not burned in because designing and building a fixture to do this would cost more than the anticipated total revenue associated with the product throughout its anticipated life.

From June 2002 to April 2003, EDV shipped most PDA-ir orders within 10-14 days. a few weeks back PDAwin was able to modify their software to support PDA-ir on the Axim but it then turned out that the PDA-ir internal hardware that had worked fine with iPAqs and other PDAs would not work with the Axim. Unfortunately, PDAwin announced the new software before I had finished testing new components and long before EDV had been able to arrange for a reliable supply of the components. At that time, EDV had about a 3 month supply of the old components which they had to eat. They have been scrambling for the past 4-5 weeks to fill incoming orders and rebuild their inventory. They built and shipped product as soon as they had components but initial shipments from their suppliers were inadequate. One vendor showed thousands of a transistor in stock but only shipped a handful while backordering the rest. Another vendor promised (and charged for) overnight delivery but did not ship for 4 days. Given that EDV is a very small, part-time operation they could not handle such disruptions as easily as other, larger businesses might. They have filled orders as quickly as possible and believe they will be able to ship all outstanding orders by May 31. They will also have rebuilt their inventory to the levels they had maintained prior to being blindsided by PDAwin's premature announcement.

[Dave Houston]

Originally posted by inferno1965
Thank star50fiveoh,

I guess I have caused him more stress as I have emailed him about the status of my order. I didn't really appreciate the tone of Dave Houston's remarks either on the link you provided. It is pretty clear he doesn't understand how to run a business properly. If he would have emailed those that ordered his product an update on why orders weren't shipped it would have reduced his stress and those that ordered his product considerably.

Like I said I am not trying to be unreasonable but I expect to be updated on the status of my order without having to play email tag with the companies I buy from.

inferno1965

Well, you have certainly caused me additional stress.

I think you should reread the RemoteCentral thread that star50fiveoh referenced with far more care, taking particular note of the fact that I have nothing to do with the manufacture or distribution of PDA-ir and that I've just gotten out of cardiac care.

You've questioned my ability to run a business. My major was economics. Long away and far ago in a previous life I ran a multimillion dollar company in the machine tool industry that did business internationally. I ran it successfully, increasing their market share and increasing their profits in a down market. Later, I survived for several years as an independent management and technical consultant with clients like Boeing, Grumman, etc. I held a few patents (all of which have long since expired).

However, my business acumen should not be an issue since I am not associated with EDV and have nothing to do with how it is run.

I also think that my son Dane knows how to run a business. Lest you dismiss that as typical fatherly pride, I'll give you a brief bio on Dane. His first computer experience was when he built a Sinclair ZX-81 kit as a teenager. He spent two years in the Army between HS and college. Later, while attending law school, he worked in the university's IT department. After getting his JD, he spent about 6 years with Lexis/Nexis, traveling internationally to train both Lexis/Nexis sales and technical people and some of their larger clients in Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, etc. He then ran his own computer consulting and contract programming business for a few years. For the past six years or so he's been with a company that specializes in industrial automation, writing custom software, installing it in customer facilities, and training customer personnel. Their clients are all well known companies.

EDV is just a tiny, part-time operation that Dane runs out of his basement. Since he's frequently out of town without access to the internet, he is often aware of EDV orders only once he's back in town. Given that his quarterly bonuses from his day job exceed the total annual revenues of EDV, I doubt that it will ever make any business sense for him to devote much more time to EDV. He cannot manufacture free time out of thin air nor be in two places at once so it's unlikely he'll ever be able to update the EDV web page daily or send personal email acknowledging the receipt of an order. If that's a problem, I suggest you take your business elsewhere.

If you have truly never experienced delays and poor communications from small, online companies, then you must lead a charmed life.

I do not lead such a charmed life. More than 30 years ago I had two major neurosurgeries to remove a tumor in the lining around my spinal cord. The results left me with a lot of spinal cord damage in the C5-C6 area (a rather important area). About 15 years ago a freak accident did further damage to the same area and left me totally disabled. Since then I've been mostly confined to my apartment, able to get out only when one of my sons would take me out for a brief outing such as a visit to the barber. I relate this tale not to garner your sympathy (you don't appear to be the sympathetic sort) but as background information. You see, 95% or more of everything I have bought over the past ten years or so has been purchased from online merchants and my experience is that some companies do a good job of communicating with customers while many, many others do not. I do not have high expectations that my order will receive personal attention from the owner of the business when it's obvious that the business is small and part-time. I've learned that most online businesses that use a credit card broker and that tell you they are a small family operated, part time business are unlikely to offer the degree of personal attention that you seem to be demanding.

Since my disability has prevented me from running the streets, chasing women, or hustling pool, I've occupied my time writing software, and designing DIY projects that I publish on my web page. Back before Windows 95, I wrote a TTS application that enabled those with speech disabilities to "speak", use the phone, etc. There were several ALS victims and their family members for whom it meant a lot to be able to communicate during the last months of their lives. There's one young man who lives near where I live who has CP. The software I wrote has enabled him to move out of his mother's home and live independently for several years. He partially supports himself as a DJ and is even buying the house he lives in. It's very satisfying to know that my software played a big role in improving his life.

I have never charged anything for any of this although EDV does offer some of the components needed to build the DIY projects. They make a modest profit on the items they sell but the total probably does little more than help pay the light bill. I make nothing from any of their activities. To date, the total market for PDA-ir has been in the 100s of units. It is moderately profitable but I expect the market will dwindle even more when Dell releases their next PDA which, I have it on good authority, will include a CIR emitter. Never-the-less it has been a great experience for my son and his three oldest kids who spend a couple of hours around their kitchen table on Saturday or Sunday, as soccer schedules allow, to assemble them in small batches.

Usually, even I don't know whether Dane is in town or out but I do know where he was on May 5, 2003 as he took me to the emergency room of a local medical facility. My pulse rate was just under 200. It took nearly 9 hours for them to stabilize my condition. Dane stayed at my bedside all day. I haven't asked him but I'm willing to bet he didn't have much time to send emails to any EDV customers that day even though he was in town.

After four more days of tests and after a successful cardiac ablation procedure I was released with a diagnosis of congestive heart failure and a prognosis that I might live another year or so if I take medication regularly and if I call 911 as soon as I experience any difficulty and if the paramedics get me to the emergency room in time. In the US, CHF is the second leading cause of death and 60% of males die within 5 years of diagnosis. The medication will cost several hundred dollars per month and that wreaks havoc on my budget. I'm afraid the only way I can handle it is to move to a smaller apartment which will mean I have to give up the spare bedroom I now use for my design work.

I'm really sorry that you do not like my attitude but fear you will like it even less after reading this. You see, I've taken the vicious remarks you addressed to me personally, to heart. (And believe me, there is no pun intended.) The delivery experiences described by others here would appear to support my explanation of the past month's activity. Some got quick delivery, others saw longer delays, a few are still waiting. I think all orders will be filled by month's end. I find your demand that EDV should communicate with you personally and that you should not have to email them to check on your order just a bit unreasonable considering that you have launched a vicious public personal attack on me and on EDV's integrity while hiding behind an alias and an empty profile.

Given that I'm the guy who will have to provide you with technical support (in the highly unlikely event you would need any), I think it would make you more comfortable and I know it would make me more comfortable if you were to find some other solution to your CIR needs. If you will provide your order number, EDV will gladly cancel your order. I'm even willing to suggest an alternative method for sending IR. If you look at the chart at the top of the "IR/RF Recording/Playback" article I referenced in an earlier post, you will notice that the human body emits IR at a somewhat lower frequency and longer wavelength than used for CIR. I think I can devise a method that involves nothing more complicated than the bared ends of a 120V extension cord, your gonads, and a little bio-feedback training. If you're interested in further details, send me an email - you will have to sign a release as this method is still experimental and the initial prototypes are subject to burning out.

Don't bother with an apology. It will not be accepted. Your remarks were reprehensible and beyond the bounds of civility.

[Dave Houston]

Originally posted by star50fiveoh
I know Dave isn't an employee, he and I are long time "antagonists" over at RemoteCentral, ask him about being the "RF Genie", and see what kind of reaction you get!

And I have repeatedly emailed Dane, with ReadNotify tags on the emails so I'll know the instant he opens one...........hasn't yet.

.......that ain't no way to run a business. ("side" business, or not).

"Inane" is not the word I would choose for your posts. "Puerile" is more descriptive.

I was amazed that someone who is proud of deliberately antagonizing me for the 9 months or so I've been posting to RemoteCentral would then post that they had purchased something I had designed. Of course, you then immediately launched a flamewar and began posting here to further stir the flames. That was the "star50fiveoh" I've come to expect.

You have posted to the PDA forum of RemoteCentral that you ordered PDA-ir on May 16. Your RemoteCentral profile indicates you live in Hawaii. I know from previous experience that CCNow frequently waits a day or more to forward orders to EDV. It's unlikely they saw any order from Hawaii before Monday May 19. Early on May 21 you launched your flame war indicating your extreme displeasure that your PDA-ir had not been delivered after less than four business days and claiming that your email to EDV had gone unanswered. I think expecting delivery from Cincinnati to Hawaii in that many days is just a tad optimistic.
EDV uses PriorityMail with Tracking for all shipments. I doubt whether USPS even guarantees delivery to Hawaii in that short a time.

As for your email techniques, I was a charter member of the first ISP to serve the Cincinnati area. I've never seen an email client that did not allow the user control whether or not there was a response to your request for notification. My email client NEVER sends such notices. My son's email client pops up a window asking whether he wants to allow the automated response.

I did manage to speak with Dane last evening and he was here for breakfast yesterday morning. EDV has no record of any PDA-ir order from Hawaii either on or after May 16. They also have no record of any order from anyone with the name that you give in your RemoteCentral profile. I suppose you could have some other name and live someplace besides Hawaii or I suppose CCNow could have failed to forward your order but, at this point, all the evidence I have indicates that you never placed an order and that your tale is a total fabrication.

If you have an EDV order number to support your claim, please send it to me and I'll see to it that EDV gives it the special attention you deserve. If you do not have an EDV order number to support your claim, I suggest you contact an attorney because I can guarantee you will be facing a libel suit if you do not provide documentation to support your claim.

You and others have so poisoned the well at RemoteCentral that developers and vendors have almost totally abandoned it. This episode has persuaded me to abandon RemoteCentral also.

I hope the moderators here do not allow you to destroy yet another useful forum.

[Dave Houston]

Originally posted by deftech

Just so you know, daVe houston is not an EDV employee. He simply created the PDA-ir. He cannot check your order for you. On the other hand his son, daNe houston, does own the business. Try contacting him instead:

dane@myelectricdog.com

--deftech

deftech,

Thanks for the clarification and thanks for your favorable comments on PDA-ir.

I've posted a few replies to some of the technical questions raised in this thread. I've also replied to what I can only characterize as repugnant personal attacks on me. I'm sorry that I had to do that but felt I couldn't let things fester.

This looks like a forum that can be a valuable resource for Axim users. I only hope the moderators will police it and not allow posters like "star50fiveoh" to "antagonize" developers and manufacturers who might otherwise post useful answers to others questions. Most have abandoned RemoteCentral.

I will not be posting further messages here. I need to spend my time finishing a couple of projects and preparing to move to a smaller apartment so I will have little time for forums.

[deftech]

Okay everyone,

Dave contacted me before posting his replies/comments, so don't take this in the wrong way. I wanted everyone to be able to view his opinions on the subject, and see some of the stress/troubles that random comments can cause an individual or a company. Electric Dog Ventures is a good company, although it is a small company that is just a side venture for Dane Houston. Their PDA-ir is a wonderful product, and his father Dave Houston has taken time out of his life to make it compatible with our Dell Axims. There was never a guaranteed ship time, guaranteed update of the order status, etc when anyone placed their orders.

I think that some of the posts on our forums as well as on the RemoteCentral forums (by some of our members) are out of line. I feel that there were probably some "out of line" e-mails sent to the company, and possibly to Dave Houston as well. Dave has gone to great lengths, despite having a health condition, to provide technical support for the PDA-ir (even though it doesn't really need any) just because he likes to help out. He is not getting paid for this, nor is he even a "part" of the actual company.

Because of these harmful actions, Dave has decided not to participate in either our forum or the RemoteCentral forums in the future. In turn, this has caused OTHER companies to also be leary of participating in OUR forum or in the RemoteCentral forums. Several companies have already stated that because of this issue, they are kind of backing out on their efforts to offer technical assistance to customers via these two forums.

In the future, I do NOT want to see any more actions like the ones that have taken place over the past few weeks. Please, before you talk bad about a company or an individual, please give it some time. Wait until you have contacted the company and actually spoken with a staff member of that company before making any negative posts. We do not want to run away businesses that are providing our users with great products, possibly great sponsorship, and/or discounts. Consider this YOUR FIRST WARNING, and do not let it happen again in the future.

I do not want you to stop posting your opinions, just please do so in a fashionable way....I mean, opinions are what this WHOLE COMMUNITY/FORUM is based upon. By posting opinions in a polite manner, I hope that no more vendors will be scared to participate in our forums here at Aximsite.com

DO NOT START ANOTHER THREAD ABOUT THIS ISSUE!!!

My apologies (on behalf of Aximsite.com) go out to Dave Houston as well as to his son's company, Electric Dog Ventures.

--deftech
Jordan M. Wigley
jordan@aximsite.com