I've got a "Works" dock and was trying to get a connection via the serial port and can't. Anyone have an idea as to why I can't? It should be fairly cut-and-dry right?

Unless I'm mistaken, the serial port code still thinks it's on DC power, so the serial port will be at 4800 bps. See if you can connect at that speed. If so, you should be able to set car_rate=115200 in your config.ini (read the FAQ for more info on that).

Yeah, the FAQ entry is here. Keep in mind that Mark's dock probably already has only pins 2/3/5 wired so discount that part of the FAQ.

There's a chance that you simply need to open the dock and swap pins 2 and 3. His dock may or may not have pre-compensated for the swapped TX/RX pins.

Good luck... I tried several different things in this thread and never got mine to work. oh well don't need it in my media cabinet anyway. But if you do get it working. Please post what steps you took, at some point I'll crack my case back open and fix it!

Yeah, now I seem to remember some disscusion of this a few weeks back. I'm already working on an easy solution, stay tuned.

The dock serial port is wired to accept exactly the same cable as one would use with just a plain player sitting on the table by itself -- the cable that came in the original box with the player will work with the dock.

The only pins wired on the serial port are TX, RX, and Ground -- so turn off all hardware flow control when trying to talk to it.

It works fine as-is, and the player uses whatever the AC-power bitrate normally would be (115200 8N1). EDIT: requires Hijack, otherwise a docked player will assume DC-power and use a slower bitrate.

Cheers

Mistaken.. so long as Hijack is installed (is it?), the player thinks it's on AC power, and uses 115200 8N1.

Ok, here's my solution. I wouldn't attempt it if you're not handy with garage tools because it has to be dead on or you're screwed. It consists of a piece from a Papermate ball point pen and a 3/4" 1/4x20 screw. You get the idea from the pictures.

Picture 2

Mm.. that's cute.. gotta cut the end off of it, of course, to make it into a hollow tube.

Cheers

Picture 3 - Sorry, pics seem a bit small. Anyway, you get the idea.

"It works fine as-is, and the player uses whatever the AC-power bitrate normally would be (115200 8N1). EDIT: requires Hijack, otherwise a docked player will assume DC-power and use a slower bitrate."

When you say it works fine, do you mean that you can get it to connect via serial without fooling the A/C plug? No one else here seems to think it's possible.

Yes, that's exactly the point.

There's only ONE operation that currently can NOT be done while docked: uploading a kernel (or .upgrade) over the serial cable. But for all other purposes, the serial port is fully functional as is.

And the kernel (any OS) or .upgrade (under Linux) installations are easier and faster done via ethernet anyway, using other tools I've implemented for the purpose.

Cheers

Ahhhh... I get it now. I was having trouble connecting via serial in Emplode too (not that it would be a big deal anyway since I mostly use ethernet). Works anyway I want it to now though : )~

Mmm.. If Hijack is installed, then serial Emplode should also work just fine, without the pen stub in the dock.

Cheers

I have hijack, but it didn't work with Emplode until I put the pen in the dock, now it works fine.

take the pen out and try again?

Waaaaayyyy too much work. I'll take your word for it. Considering where and how I've got the dock mounted in my office, and then to disassemble the dock and remove the pen, forget it.

Works ok for me without any mods etc...

Cheers

Cris.