Bluetooth headsets on Skype with a Dell Axim x51v Pocket PC

[rocket_pc]

Hi, I would like to use a Motorola H700 bluetooth headset to speak on Skype installed on my Dell Axim x51v Pocket PC. I can hear and speak on my Dell PPC just fine without the headsets, but cannot using the Motorola H700 bluetooth headset. I would do without the headset, except that I need the microphone noise cancelling of the headset. Any suggestions on how I can get this headset going? I have followed all of the instructions with both the headset and the PPC.

Thanks.

Don

[Sven Johannsen]

Does the X51 show availability of the headset/handsfree profile in the BT manager? Been a while, but my old X50 with the Broadcom BT stack did support this. I seem to recall when upgrading the unit to WM5, I got the MS stack which did not. My X50 went back to WM3002SE, for many reasons.

Not positive, but I thinkyou will need to cram in a different BT stack to do what you want.

[jadesse]

I would try installing the Widcomm BT Stack. Don't worry about it screwing anything up because it won't. I have installed & removed it numerous times. It doesn't remove the MS BT Stack but rather they just co-exist on you device. If you decide to uninstall it, your device will simply revert back the MS BT Stack.

[rocket_pc]

To sven: Thank you for your reply. My "Motorola H700" is listed in the Settings/Device.

To jadese, Thank you for your reply. I'll google search for the file you mentioned, and try it out. I think I have had pretty good luck with this ppc, minus the headset doesn't function. Very cool to go on Skype in a public wifi with it! Only that the background noise is a problem for the recipient. The headset is the solution for that, if I get it going (Note there is no inline jack for the microphone.)

Thanks.

Don


8)

[Sven Johannsen]

To sven: Thank you for your reply. My "Motorola H700" is listed in the Settings/Device.
A BT device can be recognized and paired without there being any common profiles to use. When you pair the two devices, does it offer any 'profiles' that they have in common?

I think the addition of the Widcomm stack would likely solve the BT issue.

BTW there is a microphone jack on the X51. The earphone jack is actually a four connection device supporting left/right ear and a mic, so a properly configured headset will work.

http://www.seidioonline.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=97
Would let you use a regular PC headset with the two plugs

http://www.seidioonline.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=9
Is a stereo earphone in-lin mic assembly like a lot of new cell phones have.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

I'll google search for the file you mentioned, and try it out.

Check the forums at Aximsite (http://aximsite.com/) - IIRC, that's where the Widcomm hack for the x51v originated.

[rocket_pc]

Sven,

This is quite exciting to learn of the info here on the subject of microphone input and the hack for the bt headset. I wouldn't have known that the microphone input could also go into the earphone socket. That is very cool! Although I am going to pursue getting the headset to pair with my Dell PPC, I'll get a plug-in cord to keep with me in the event I am concerned about privacy in a public place, or when the headset battery goes out. I tried to connect my Skype microphone/earphone on a Recoton 1/8" Mini Stereo "Y" Adapter, that I had around my apt, but still no luck with the microphone. So, I guess I'll either have to go for ordering the one you mentioned, or see if Best Buy or Radio Shack has it.

Thank you for calling this to my attention!


Don

[rocket_pc]

Nurhisham,

The hack you mentioned was indeed at Aximsite under "Tips and Tricks," http://www.aximsite.com/boards/tips-tricks/209935-attn-widcomm-a2dp-users-new-great-hack-all-a2dp-hi-fi-stereo-headset-users.html

I haven't gotton results with this, yet. I don't see the string that he mentioned in my registry. This is the registry explanation mentioned:


"All you need to do is setting the DWORD Registry value HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\Widcomm \BtConfig\ SerialTransport\ FlowControl to 0 (from the default 1). (You can, alternatively, import this registry file if you prefer importing pre-made registry files instead of manually editing the Registry.)"


When looking in my Axim registry, I can find: HKEY... LOCAL...MACHINE...SOFTWARE, but no further, because there is no Widcomm in the SOFTWARE folder. Am I supposed to install Widcomm, somehow? He mentions "importing pre made registry files." How is that done?

Don

[Nurhisham Hussein]

My mistake - I shouldn't have used the word hack. What I was actually referring to was the replacement of the default MS bluetooth stack in WM5 with the much more capable Widcomm stack from the x50v (WM2003SE). Only then can you apply the A2DP 'hack' in the article you linked to.

The replacement files are actually linked from the article you saw:

http://www.aximsite.com/boards/x50-x51-forums/122247-widcomm-axim-x50v-x51v-state-development.html

[Sven Johannsen]

Sven,

This is quite exciting to learn of the info here on the subject of microphone input and the hack for the bt headset. I wouldn't have known that the microphone input could also go into the earphone socket. That is very cool! Although I am going to pursue getting the headset to pair with my Dell PPC, I'll get a plug-in cord to keep with me in the event I am concerned about privacy in a public place, or when the headset battery goes out. I tried to connect my Skype microphone/earphone on a Recoton 1/8" Mini Stereo "Y" Adapter, that I had around my apt, but still no luck with the microphone. So, I guess I'll either have to go for ordering the one you mentioned, or see if Best Buy or Radio Shack has it.

Thank you for calling this to my attention!


Don

You won't find an appropriate adapter at RS. Note that what looks like a Y adapter in the link I sent you has a plug with 4 conductors. There is of course a common, plus left, right, mic. Normal stereo plugs have three, common, left, right. A normal Y adapter just parrallels the commo, left, and right, to two new jacks so you and a friend can listen. If you plug a stereo three conductor into the jack, it just grounds out the mic input. The one I linked actually splits out the common, left, right to one jack and the common & mic to the other so you can use a PC headset (two plug variety). There are others around that convert the 4 conductor common, left, right, mic to a 3 conductor common, L&R, mic, so you can use the usual cell phone headset cords.

Note that the HP 4700 series and the Dell Axim series both have 4 conductor jacks supporting both stereo listening and mic input given the appropriately wired plug. Just mention that since both these devices are no longer in production, but you can still find accessories for them. In the headset space anyway, those would be interchangeable. Dell in fact sold a wired headset for the Axim series, but that doesn't seem available any more.

[rocket_pc]

Sven (Nurhisham and others),

- I'd like to ask if okay if I share the info of wired headsets with iPaq forum I visit sometime (I have also a rx 1955,... which is probably slow for skype and has no bluetooth...)

- if the link is from a company you are associated with, I'll buy the product from them, for offering me the free advice. otherwise, I'll patronize local businesses

- a wonder that they discontinued the Dell and iPaq 4700. probably because no money in the industry (wonder if cell phone companies hassling them?) because the cell phone companies make 30 - 40 per month, whereas a person can skype on his ppc for free...

- got to go. I need to make a post sometime soon about the bluetooth stack. Do I install the widcomm hack for the x50 if I have x51v?

Don

[Sven Johannsen]

I don't work for anyone that gets anything out of what I post. I post because I like to try to help. Feel free to pass on anything I have written that actually does help.

Can't comment on the BT 'hack' ref the X50/51. I just recalled the X51 didn't have a stack that supported much (the MS stack) and the X50 did. I recall being able to add the stereo support from an HP add-on when they released their BT headphones. That was pretty early in the BT craze, when phone headsets were just becoming popular, no PPC had BT stereo support, and BT headphones were exotic.

What I believe though is that there are instructions around for the X51 that show how to replace the MS stack with a decent one, not use an X50 hack. May be wrong there. XDA developers is always a great resource for this sort of extreme hobbyism. ;)

[Nurhisham Hussein]

I don't work for anyone that gets anything out of what I post. I post because I like to try to help. Feel free to pass on anything I have written that actually does help.

Ditto for me.

What I believe though is that there are instructions around for the X51 that show how to replace the MS stack with a decent one, not use an X50 hack.

I never owned the x50v/x51v, but I do recall it was very specifically a "x50" hack - there was no other way to obtain a copy of the Widcomm stack that was tailored for the Dell.

[rocket_pc]

I am going to try making a reply here before retiring for the day, to summarize the results.

I've been doing trial and error, trying the links I find on the settings of this Dell (Axim x51v) after installing the "Widcomm hack."

"The hack you mentioned was indeed at Aximsite under 'Tips and Tricks,' http://www.aximsite.com/boards/tips-tricks/209935-attn-widcomm-a2dp-users-new-great-hack-all-a2dp-hi-fi-stereo-headset-users.html"


As explained before, I was uncertain of the instructions on the link you mentioned, if I were to install the x50 hack on my x51v.

"All you need to do is setting the DWORD Registry value HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\Widcomm \BtConfig\ SerialTransport\ FlowControl to 0 (from the default 1). (You can, alternatively, import this registry file if you prefer importing pre-made registry files instead of manually editing the Registry.)"


"When looking in my Axim registry, I can find: HKEY... LOCAL...MACHINE...SOFTWARE, but no further, because there is no Widcomm in the SOFTWARE folder. Am I supposed to install Widcomm, somehow? He mentions "importing pre made registry files." How is that done?"

Anxious to do something, I went ahead and downloaded and installed the cab file and then went into the registry, as instructed, to change the "FlowControl" to 0 from its default of 1.

Although the article seemed to say it was only adding registry files, the installation of the cab file appears to have added software of some form. Anyway, it is very cool, much better than the former features of Bluetooth Settings on my Dell. I'd like to post a screenshot to show what it looks like, but I would have to install more software on my ppc, and don't know if I want to do that. After installing these new files, this ppc has slowed down quite a bit. It is very cool though, a Bluetooth Manager with a Wizard showing a whole string of options in the Bluetooth settings.

My results were unsuccessful, at first, and progressed, improving until I did get the bluetooth headset responding (a Motorola H700 earphone handsfree headset.) There was sound and recording from the PPC and nothing on headsets - even after pairing the headset with the ppc. Then I did get the flickering lights on the headset acknowledging installation of the "Handsfree / Headset setup" but still no sound. I don't remember exactly what I did after that, but after random trial and error. I did get sound on my H700! I think it was a combination of pairing and going into the wizard for the Handsfree...setup.


The problems now are:

- To get any results, I have to pair the headset with the PPC. From what I have read somewhere, a device should only have to be paired once.

- The same with the "Handsfree / Headset setup" Wizard...

- When I finally did hear sound successfully on the earphone, volume was very low (even after pressing on the volume button of the earphone). The volume would be too low, at this point, to use the earphone in the public where there is competing background sound.

- The battery on the H700 headset seems to run low very quickly. It was gone the first attempt I did trial and error series. I recharged it, and again discharged after about twenty minutes. It could be that it is improperly indicating complete recharge with a green light, when it isn't or maybe could this product be defective?

- The PPC now runs much slower. I've had no problem with that before - on the PPC.



Note to any new readers here, my PPC is a Dell Axim x51v. My headset is a Motorola H700 handsfree bluetooth headset. I am using the headset to speak and hear when making calls using Skype on the PPC.


Thank you very much for your help on this.

Don

[Nurhisham Hussein]

As explained before, I was uncertain of the instructions on the link you mentioned, if I were to install the x50 hack on my x51v...Although the article seemed to say it was only adding registry files, the installation of the cab file appears to have added software of some form.

The article speaks of the registry tweaks required, but the hack does involve adding software - as in my first post, the information is available in the forums, not in the articles section.

Specifically, the cab file replaces the default bluetooth drivers and software in Windows Mobile 5, with the superior Widcomm drivers and software ripped from the WM2003SE ROM image of the x50v.

Glad you're getting somewhere!