Re: Have USB IrDA device on computer -- now what?

On Tue, 17 Jan 2006 06:52:51 -0600, James M. Prange,
who is using Windows 98 SE, wrote:

My RS-232/IrDA converter plugs into an existing physical serial port. 

If I plug it into COM1, then I can (in the "Infrared
Monitor" window) "Enable communications on COM1" "Providing
application support on COM4 and LPT3". After doing that,
HyperTerminal or HPComm can connect using COM4, but trying to use
COM1 will give me a "port in use by another application" error.


It sounds as if it is made busy by starting your "Infrared Monitor"
application (or driver), which attaches to COM1 itself,
so that only data from that application to the device
can flow on physical port COM1, while data from PC programs
to that application is expected to use COM4/LPT3 instead.

Like this(?):

PC Serial Program <-COM4-> "IR Monitor" <-COM1-> Transmitter
PC Printing Progr <-LPT3-> "IR Monitor" <-COM1-> Transmitter

If that's it, then COM4 and LPT3 are virtual, created by
"IR Monitor," which in turn ties up physical port COM1
to connect directly to the physical device; this would be
for a physical device which needs PC software
to perform its protocol transformation (i.e. the device itself
doesn't have its own internal smarts), hence Hyperterminal,
Conn4x etc. can't directly connect to COM1
and make any direct use of the device.

I have another "Serial-by-wire <-> HP-SIR" device, which,
by contrast, needs no protocol or data stream conversion,
hence it needs no application or driver as "middleman,"
and the hardware device is indistinguishable to the PC
from any other "serial-speaking" device (a modem, say),
allowing applications to connect directly to COM1 as usual.

My USB device, however, is like your device,
in that it uses USB instead of COM1 in the above diagram,
and needs a driver in the PC to create virtual ports
like your COM4/LPT3 above.

While the packaging claims to accommodate every OS
from Windows 98 thru Windows XP, it turns out that they
supply the absolutely identical driver (.sys file) in each case,
varying only the installer information (.inf) file per OS.

It appears that they fib about this driver -- only on Win98
does it create the virtual COM, LPT, and Network Adapter ports,
while on Win2K (and presumably XP), it manifests its presence
in the Windows Device Manager only under the special category
"Infrared devices," which no traditional "serial-speaking"
programs (or Network protocols, or Parallel port drivers)
have ever thought about connecting to.

Apparently Win2K knows enough itself to be able to route
printouts thru this path, and some downloadable mobile phone
software (from the original USB device company itself) knows;
otherwise this device doesn't speak any other PC apps'
native language, and all its boasting about compatibility
with FIR, MIR, SIR, ASK [Sharp Wizard], PC connectivity
(thru virtual Network Adapter), PDA, Scanner, Camera, etc.
is either bogus or depends on other manufacturers' products
having their own software speaking the "Infrared devices" lingo
within Windows -- which HPx9G+ series calc software from HP does not.

Maybe what they meant was "this thing has an IR transmit/receive
diode (or pair), so if you flash it on and off just right yourself,
much as ships used to communicate by having guys manually flapping
louvres on lanterns, then someone else will understand you" :)

Good thing it was less than US$10;
anybody need it for their mobile phone?
(of course, with Win98 it may actually talk to HP9xG+
over a virtual COM port, but I have no way to be sure of that).

Thanks for taking the time to post (and mail) all these details;
it has been very educational.

[r->] [OFF]
.

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