IR Software Cannot Connect on Laptop???

[banjo]

Hello,

I built the JP1 parallel port cable and spent over an hour attempting to get it to work with my Win98 laptop. I continually getting the cannot connect message.
Next, I copied the software onto a flash drive, went to my WIN2K desktop and ran the software from the flash drive. It connected fine on the first try. Repeated connections on the desktop machine were always stable.
Returning to the laptop, I tried LPT1 set to "Normal", "Bi-directional", and "EPP". All settings gave the same results. I run another type of programmer from this same parallel port, so I know the port is good.

Is the Source Code for IR open-source? I happen to have Visual C++ on this laptop. If the source was available, I would like to try running the project in debug mode to see where the problem is.
Thanks.

---- Steve

[gfb107]

This is normally caused by a voltage incompatibility with the laptop's parallel port. This is a common issue with laptops. Try with no batteries in the remote, or with old or weak batteries. If you don't have any weak batteries, try just reversing one of them. As long as you don't leave it like that for a long period of time, it won't cause any damage.

[Mark Pierson]

Is the Source Code for IR open-source? I happen to have Visual C++ on this laptop.

IR is written in Delphi so VC++ won't do you any good.

[The Robman]

Just FYI, I have a similar problem with my laptop. The current version of IR has worked on occassion, but more often than not I get the "No Response From Remote" message. I know this is not a problem with either the remote or the JP1 cable because I also have a very old version of IR (version 2.03) on this PC that works every time, so it's in the software.

I'm just about to drop a note to Mark (the author) to see if he has any ideas.

[banjo]

I will try it without batteries tonight. However, it baffles me as to how this would work as the EEPROM in the remote would be without power. The version of cable I am using has pins 1 and 2 connected together, but isolated from the parallel port. Since, 1 and 2 are the power to the remote and EEPROM, I cannot see where these will get power. The only power source I can see is bleed through from the remote's internal pullup resistors. (My remote uses just two AA batteries. )

--- Steve

[banjo]

Ok, I did more testing last night and found that I had made one mistake. When testing the "normal" BIOS setting, I changed the parallel port address in the IR program to 278 in order to see if the error message would change. Afterward, I forgot to change it back. This means that my testing of the "bi-directional" option was not valid.
After changing to "bi-directional" mode and setting the port setting in IR back to 378, I can connect fine with the laptop.
As a sanity check, I left all settings in the IR program the same, rebooted the machine and set the port back to "EPP" which was the original setting. In "EPP" mode, IR does not work. An additional clue is that when in EPP, the remote will not respond to any button presses with the cable attached.
I switched between "EPP" and "bidirectional" several times to make sure that I could get consistent results. I found that "EPP" never worked and "bi-directional" always works.

My observations on this Dell Inspiron 3500 laptop is that "bidirectional" mode is required and the Error Message within IR never changes whether the cable is attached or not. The Error Message is the same even when I choose a non-existant port.
Just my observations, your mileage may vary.

---- Steve

[mpoly]

I'm having the same problem as Banjo. Connection works on a desktop, fails on the laptop. Funny thing is, it used to work for years on the laptop, most recently 6 months ago.

I made the cable some time ago, using the schematic with the 10K resistors. Will switching to 1K resistors (as per the "new improved" schematic) help?