Messages

1

Gemini PDA - General Discussion / Re: Flashing hangs at 80% on system

« on: June 04, 2024, 07:46:02 am »

Just an update on this. Tried a full update using the latest Planet Android image and hey presto. Reflash completed, gemini rebooted and all was good. Battery is actually working well (!) and overall the device is pretty happy. Few keys have zero travel and wobble a little which is a known issue. I may try to find a fix but at least itæs useable.

2

Gemini PDA - General Discussion / Flashing hangs at 80% on system

« on: May 04, 2024, 06:08:38 am »

So I bought a 4G gemini that was stuck in a boot loop - vibrate, show planet logo, black screen, repeat. I've been trying to get it reflashed with some success:

Failed tests

• virtualbox windows 8 (macOS host)
• virtualbox fedora 39

Partially working

• Fedora 39 live USB

Using the live USB (after following the instructions https://support.planetcom.co.uk/index.php/Linux_Flashing_Guide ) I could connect to the Gemini, backup the NVRAM and start the flash process. I chose to just reflash the system partition (to try to fix the boot loop) and it started ok, but froze at 80% and eventually timed out with a "STATUS_DOWNLOAD_EXCEPTION" error. I then tried a full firmware update and it progressed well until the system partition stage where it again failed at 80%. I used the base system Gemini_x27_MP_16032018 from Planet suuport

Once I had unplugged this failed update, I held the esc and silver keys to reboot, and noticed the keycaps blue led light up and the boot screen disappeared and I saw a broken android logo. I retried the flash with the same results but this is at least some progress.

Anyone have any recommendations for further progress? I think i'll try flashing a newer base system next

3

SIMpad forum / Simpad Replacement Battery?

« on: August 18, 2008, 04:48:00 pm »

Some useful info here about li-ion replacement. US source of cells would probably fit the bill when connected in series-parallel configuration...

4

SIMpad forum / Angstrom Install - My Experience

« on: August 18, 2008, 05:33:49 am »

i-gate firmware - plugged my igate card into my pundit to find out the firmware version - dmesg reports:

Intersil firmware earlier than v0.8.x - several features not supported
Firmware determined as Intersil 0.7.6

So I'm a bit out of date apparently  

5

SIMpad forum / What You Do Or Want To Do With Your Simpad?

« on: August 17, 2008, 05:15:47 am »

well I set up my SIMpad for surfing and x forwarding.

I removed the home partition, installed Angstrom X11, installed Minimo, removed dropbear and installed openssh. I now use minimo for quick browsing of any site (gmail, flickr, ebay), or x forwarding to run firefox, deluge or any other desktop app on the SIM.

Minimo is pretty stable - occasionally resets the machine (presumably when it runs out of memory) but manages ajax and complex sites very well. X forwarding is pretty good - don't expect to watch video or fluid flash animation but for full browser functionality and access to all the other desktop apps, it's great.

I've put a how to: x forwarding on the SIMpad if anyone else wants to try it.

6

SIMpad forum / Sd/mmc Mod Process

« on: August 14, 2008, 12:32:38 pm »

thanks mr_nice - living up to your name.

i'll keep looking to see if i can find a UK source but if not, I'll take you up on it.

7

SIMpad forum / Angstrom Install - My Experience

« on: August 13, 2008, 09:47:15 am »

Which release version did you install...

I installed the 2007.12 r14 - Angstrom-x11-image-glibc-ipk-2007.12-r14-simpad.rootfs.jffs2

...and which firmware has your igate card?

not sure i know how to get that with it not working on the simpad - any way of finding out from serial numbers etc or via CE?

If you want to help you can allways look at the unstable images and test them.

will do - may try one tonight

The battery stuff will change for later kernels >2.6.24 because it is broken there anyway.

ok - thanks for the info

8

SIMpad forum / Sd/mmc Mod Process

« on: August 13, 2008, 05:17:43 am »

So...

did some digging on my own for parts in the UK

digikey have ribbon cables: part number WM10218-ND is a 0.5mm pitch 20 position ribbon cable - £2.56
or farnell stock a similar cable part number 1519830 - £1.05
no sign of a suitable adapter in the UK yet - this sounds like a good fit but no idea if i could buy just one - i'll check. EDIT: turns out i can buy this singly. quote from quadrangle - RT-700G-20-DIS 1-24    $34.95 ea. 3-5 day lead time

there's this pcb which would make an adapter if i could get an fpc connector soldered onto it...

9

SIMpad forum / Sd/mmc Mod Process

« on: August 12, 2008, 06:14:20 am »

So i'd like to try adding space via the SD/MMC mod. having read the various wiki entries and forum posts, if i understand correctly, I need:

• SD card
• cheap SD -> USB adapter (optional?)
• ribbon cable 0.5mm pitch 20 pin ?
• adapter - this? or this?
• wire and assorted soldering bits and bobs

I'm happy dismantling the Simpad, and am competent at soldering small components. Is this all I need, or am I missing something?

Secondly, does anyone know a UK firm that has the ribbon cable components? alternatively, would someone be wiling to order the parts on my behalf, and then post them to the uk? the lc-design site did not seem to offer international sales.

Thirdly, what is the most recent recommended bluetooth module? I am less interested initially in this mod, but would probably try it if there was a cheap module.

Thanks in advance for any help

10

SIMpad forum / Angstrom Install - My Experience

« on: August 11, 2008, 06:04:45 pm »

hey no problem - this thing (angstrom on a simpad) is still brilliant, and much more stable and mature than when i last tried a linux image a few years back. well done on all the hard work and let me know if i can help out with any testing.

the battery: sim is not plugged in and has been running for at least 60 minutes. apm returns Off-line, battery charging,: 100% (4:00:00). when ac power plug inserted, apm returns On-line, battery charging: 5% (0:12:00)

so battery monitor is accurately reporting apm values, but apm values are wrong when ac not present. vbatt values change as battery goes flat and during charging, so vbatt reporting accurately but for some reason apm not using value.

i am using the tabletpc layout and this is a significant improvement but still suffers from occasional virtual typing - i.e. the key clicked is not the key registered.

i will definitely investigate the sd card mod - time to get the soldering iron out...

11

SIMpad forum / Angstrom Install - My Experience

« on: August 11, 2008, 08:09:27 am »

So - after a minor glitch with a strange serial port problem, I had no problem installing the HH.org bootloader. I then downloaded the X11 image and copied it onto a compact flash card. Following the instructions I renamed the jffs2 file, inserted it into the simpad, connected a terminal via serial and reset the simpad.

however, reading the final page of the HH.org bootloader instructions, and watching the output of the terminal, it seems the bootloader is looking for a differently named image, and would automatically install without the need for the terminal, if it was correctly named.

i then continued as instructed, i.e. "copy hda1:/rootfs.jffs2 root" and the install completed. i then booted into angstrom.

impressions:

• the touch screen seems slightly inaccurate, especially noticeable within the virtual keyboard. recalibration improved this slightly
• virtual keyboard (ol' good keyboard - qwertyGB geometry layout) seems to misbehave - various keys sometimes behave as if the enter key had been pressed - d especially. this happens within terminal.
• virtual keyboard size - would be nice if the keyboard width was parametric, so something like original small CE keyboard could be displayed
• Keys and Buttons setup - no button configuration available for this device - would be good to have the hardware buttons mappable, to enable the keyboard button, right click, and change the behaviour of the 4 way switch.
• Battery monitor - does not seem to reflect battery status when on battery - if charging (connected to mains) battery juice is accurately shown as 64% for instance, but once unplugged, battery status jumps to 100%, and never drops until device goes flat and powers down
• WiFi - tried three wlan pcmcia cards - only one worked. three cards are
  • siemens i-gate 11m - works natively under CE but fails to init "cs: pcmcia_socket0: time out after reset."
  • Xircom CWE1100 - fails to init "cs: pcmcia_socket0: time out after reset."
  • Linksys WPC11 ver.3 - plug and play
• Wireless monitor panel utility - does not reflect status of wifi card

All in all, not too bad. Only other issue thus far is the lack of space - really cramped, so not been able to install anything  

12

SIMpad forum / Problem Loading Hh Bl - Reset Not Recognised

« on: August 10, 2008, 09:38:45 am »

a ha - tried using my old linux box and it worked straight off. must be something wrong with my XP box. serial download in progress - fingers crossed it all works out. thanks for the reply anyway.

13

SIMpad forum / Problem Loading Hh Bl - Reset Not Recognised

« on: August 10, 2008, 06:12:32 am »

hmm - well, that isn't strictly accurate. in order to view the monitor menu and therefore erase flash, the terminal settings need to be 38400 8N1

this is the output of the terminal using those settings:

PBL V2.4 20.07.2001                  
Booting...          
================================================                                                
Siemens Switzerland Bootloader V2.5.3 10.06.2003                                                
Running @206Mhz Processor ID 0x6901b118                                      
Press ESC for monitor                    
Occupied Memory: [0x00004000-0x00008000],[0x00008014-0x0007500c]                                                                
Flash Id 0x00000018 at virt adr 0x05000000 Size 0x01000000                                                          
No 32Bit Flash detected 0x00000000                                  
FlashImage Checksum 0x05040014-0x05059f11=0x8912ac03 Bootloader Image OK        
Fabdata Flash @0x05059f18 Ram @0x00021f18 FABDATA: S842-KJGCA
MQ200 - Revision ID=2 ...
Initialise PCMCIA Interface... done.
Codec UCB1200 ID:0x1005 Ver.5 Dev.0 Suppl.1 IO 0x00000000
No PCMCIA Card Attached
NO PCMCIA CARD!  -- Use serial IO
Sysinit done
No serial download request
Boothdr at 0x05080000 -> 0xffffffff
Calling Monitor

=====================
Monitor:
=====================
Boot from Flash   'f'
Boot from Net     'n'
Power Off         'o'
Erase PSM+Registry'p'
Exit              'q'
Erase Registry    'r'
Erase Flash       'y'
Soft  Reset       's'
Print Fab-String  'w'
->

i enter y to erase flash which then shows the ascii progress bar. when this completes i disconnect the terminal, and try the serload blupdater.img in a dos prompt, which then displays the prompt to reset. however when i reset, there is no response and the fact i've reset the device is not recognised.

is there a setting in the bios that might effect this? i will try using a different (linux) box

14

SIMpad forum / Problem Loading Hh Bl - Reset Not Recognised

« on: August 09, 2008, 10:38:17 am »

in the past i've managed to install previous versions of the bootloader, but always reverted to the siemens one because of the instability of early linux builds. wanted to try the new build, so followed instructions: erased flash memory via terminal. then closed terminal and ran serload blupdater.img. prompted to reset, but no response from serload when i do. tried all combinations of reset plus button and nothing seems to register. now just get the tartan screen obviously.

simpad connected to windows xp machine, bootloader is siemens 2.5.3, old OS was CE 4.1

any ideas?