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View Full Version : Bluetooth - 2 out of 3 aint bad...make that 1 out of 3


CTSLICK
10-14-2003, 08:40 PM
Bluetooth isn't perfect but I all in all I do like it. Maybe not ready for non-geek user primetime, but not horrendous...EDIT OK...maybe I was wrong about how hard some of this is...

1st experience - Ambicom BT CF card for my Axim. Set up went fine and I paired it easily with my T68. Use it to connect to the internet all the time. Range is very good, around 20-25 feet. Winner!

2nd Experience - Ambicom BT CF w/PCMCIA adapter on Win2k laptop. Utter failure. The desktop app was an unreliable mess and I never got the card to work. Loser!

3rd Experiece - Ambicom BT USB adapter on Win2k PC. Initial setup went easy (had to be in Admin mode) and thanks to a very good set of instructions setting up Activesync for BT went easy. Range is good, around 20-25 feet. Winner! EDIT This is looking more like a LOSER! So far this set up has been a one day wonder. The past 2 mornings it has taken me about 30 minutes to get the my Dell paired back up and playing nice with the PC. See my post later on in this thread. It should not be this hard and if it doesn't play nice tomorrow then its all going back. I think I'll just get a WiFi card for home and forget about wireless at work. At least BT still works nice with my phone :roll:

Now none of this is exactly plug and play especially the T-mobile connection set up on my Axim and the Activesync config for BT but the fuss was manageable.

As stated above the effort on some of this is beyond what the non-geek may want to endure. EDIT: from my experience over the last 2 days the effort required is exceeding my tolerance. But I hope it gets to the point where its as easy plug it in and watch it go. I still think it has potential.

Thinkingmandavid
10-15-2003, 03:56 AM
2nd Experience - Ambicom BT CF w/PCMCIA adapter on Win2k laptop. Utter failure. The desktop app was an unreliable mess and I never got the card to work. Loser!



I had a lady tell me she couldnt get it to work as well, this was a few months ago. I dont know if it happens a lot or if it is one of those you happen to be in the percentage of people for who it will not work.

Mark_Venture
10-15-2003, 04:34 AM
3rd Experiece - Ambicom BT USB adapter on Win2k PC. Initial setup went easy (had to be in Admin mode) and thanks to a very good set of instructions setting up Activesync for BT went easy. Range is good, around 20-25 feet. Winner!Whats the Ambicom model number? Just curious because I'm considering getting one for my laptop...

Circuit City has a model BT2000USBCCS in stock.. its $10 more than Compusa has and Ambicom with a similar but not exactly the same model number. I want to buy a bluetooth adapter for my laptop locally, in case I run into problems and want to return it. Circuitcity has a good return policy, unlike Compusa.

CTSLICK
10-15-2003, 05:33 AM
2nd Experience - Ambicom BT CF w/PCMCIA adapter on Win2k laptop. Utter failure. The desktop app was an unreliable mess and I never got the card to work. Loser!



I had a lady tell me she couldnt get it to work as well, this was a few months ago. I dont know if it happens a lot or if it is one of those you happen to be in the percentage of people for who it will not work.

OK, flush with success I decided to try the the USB BT adapter on my laptop at home. It went better this time as I was able to get the desktop app installed and got it to find and pair with my Dell. But it will not connect to ActiveSync....period. So I am not sure what the deal is but I am inclined to blame my laptop. :evil:

CTSLICK
10-15-2003, 05:35 AM
3rd Experiece - Ambicom BT USB adapter on Win2k PC. Initial setup went easy (had to be in Admin mode) and thanks to a very good set of instructions setting up Activesync for BT went easy. Range is good, around 20-25 feet. Winner!Whats the Ambicom model number? Just curious because I'm considering getting one for my laptop...

Circuit City has a model BT2000USBCCS in stock.. its $10 more than Compusa has and Ambicom with a similar but not exactly the same model number. I want to buy a bluetooth adapter for my laptop locally, in case I run into problems and want to return it. Circuitcity has a good return policy, unlike Compusa.

Not sure what the differences may be but I got mine at CompUSA and the model number on the back of the adapter is is BT2000C-USB.

CTSLICK
10-16-2003, 03:02 PM
Realizing now that I should have kept my mouth shut about my success using BT between my PDA and my desktop at work. So far its been a one day wonder and I thought I should get that on record before somebody takes my first post as a recommendatio for the set up. :oops: :roll:

Problems I have had:

Day 2:
- Booted up PC, plugged in BT USB adapater and to my surprise it started the "New USB Device" install process...what a minute didn't I just do this yesterday? So I had to log out as me, log in as admin, do the install again.
- After re-installing the device I logged back in as me, paired the two then and spent the next 15 minutes trying to get ActiveSync working. Did you know that the ActiveSync setting on your PDA that tells it to use bluetooth does not survive a soft reset. It goes back to USB Default. Bleh! I really had to work too hard at this.
- In the afternoon my Dell suddenly gave me the connection terminated noise. I looked over and sure enough ActiveSync had disconnected. Furthermore the COM Port it was using to connect has vaporized. What the @#$$%%! Reboot, pair them again blah blah blah, this sucks.

Day 3 (this morning)
- Booted PC, plugged in BT Adapter...cool no install message. But nnnoooooo, it just was not seeing the adapter...at all. Back to Admin mode, eveything seems fine, the two pair with no issues. I don't get it.
- Back to my login, spend another 15 minutes trying figure out why the port is not showing up. Reboot, now its there, pair them up...again.
- Get AS working...again. I am realizing there are a distinct set of steps that it seems I need to follow to get it to work. Too many steps in my opinion. This isn't fun anymore.

Maybe this isn't ready for prime time...even geek prime time. :cry:

JustMe
10-16-2003, 05:02 PM
Hmm.. it's unfortunate that you're experiencing this much trouble. Perhaps it's the equipment/setup you're using.

I sync all the time between two computers using bluetooth and never have any of these issues you are experiencing. FWIW, I am using Belkin BT adapters/software and an Ipaq 5555.

JM

Thinkingmandavid
10-16-2003, 05:13 PM
mmmm, it seems to me it shouldnt be that stressful. YOu have already done this, but it sounds to me it is time to start from the beginning and see what happens. Is there any drivers you need to download? I would keep on a written paper the different processes you have followed to see what works. I would imagine you are probably frustrated and disappointed.
I would have figured that the easiest of all the connections would be the bt usb. Sometimes technology just plain sucks!!!!!!!!!! Actually I think I feel that way about my sony vaio everyday!!!!!! :devilboy:

CTSLICK
10-16-2003, 05:20 PM
Hmm.. it's unfortunate that you're experiencing this much trouble. Perhaps it's the equipment/setup you're using.

I sync all the time between two computers using bluetooth and never have any of these issues you are experiencing. FWIW, I am using Belkin BT adapters/software and an Ipaq 5555.

JM

Its a fair point, it may be the way Ambicom has chosen to implement BT in conjunction with how their software and drivers work. I wonder if it has to do with the fact the your 5555 has BT built in and I am using a CF card.

I'm curious how your set up works. When you boot up your PC and you have your BT adapter plugged in, do you have to manually tell it to search/connect/pair with your PDA? Or does it automagically do all that?

Thanks for your time. I don't really want to give up yet.

CTSLICK
10-16-2003, 05:29 PM
mmmm, it seems to me it shouldnt be that stressful. YOu have already done this, but it sounds to me it is time to start from the beginning and see what happens. Is there any drivers you need to download? I would keep on a written paper the different processes you have followed to see what works. I would imagine you are probably frustrated and disappointed.
I would have figured that the easiest of all the connections would be the bt usb. Sometimes technology just plain sucks!!!!!!!!!! Actually I think I feel that way about my sony vaio everyday!!!!!! :devilboy:

Good points in the troubleshooting process.

FWIW, I downloaded the lastest desktop software and drivers (CF card and USB adapter) before I started this funfest so I think I have that covered.

I have uninstalled/re-installed everything once...so I thought. According the to Ambicom support page, it seems to leave some files behind. I may try again after doing a "full" uninstall.

Right now I just installed latest version of ActiveSync after another dropped connection incident this morning. I am not expecting it to help but...hey...you never know.

Thanks for your input.

JustMe
10-16-2003, 05:44 PM
Its a fair point, it may be the way Ambicom has chosen to implement BT in conjunction with how their software and drivers work. I wonder if it has to do with the fact the your 5555 has BT built in and I am using a CF card.

I'm curious how your set up works. When you boot up your PC and you have your BT adapter plugged in, do you have to manually tell it to search/connect/pair with your PDA? Or does it automagically do all that?

Thanks for your time. I don't really want to give up yet.

Hello,
Once paired, I have to manually start the activesync process (which is how I believe it should work). But I do NOT have to search for or pair the devices again.

I remember that I had an ambicom BT adapter for a day before I returned it for the Belkin. I did not like their BT implementation. I would get a hold of another manufacturer's equipment if possible.

JM

Mark_Venture
10-18-2003, 04:59 PM
Not sure what the differences may be but I got mine at CompUSA and the model number on the back of the adapter is is BT2000C-USB.
I got it last night. The model number I quoted was from the Circuit City web site. The dongle at the store was exactly the same model number as CompUsa had, and CC price matched :)

Took it home, unpacked it, downloaded and installed the latest drivers from Ambicom's site on my laptop. Hooked the dongle to my laptop. All was going well...

I could get the iPAQ to see the laptop, but I could not make any connections. So I tried to configure BlueTooth on the laptop. :( Serial ports, lan connect, etc listed in BlueTooth neighborhood on my laptop, but I could not do "properties" on them and adjust any settings :evil:

Reboots, Uninstalls/reinstalls, Manuals and FAQs were not helpful. I was very upset and ready to take this thing back! :devilboy:

But then I found... http://forum.gsmhosting.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=26f987e08778faa927dbf7d1500fa884&threadid=106274 and figured it was worth a shot. I followed those instructions and tried it.

Now I am no longer using the Ambicom drivers and it works!!! Connection between my iPAQ and laptop for ActiveSync, Internet, file transfer, etc. work... Not only that, because of the drivers I am using, I can follow all the guides at http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.asp?contentid=449 EXACTLY. Screens, options and settings are identical.

Much better :)

CTSLICK
10-19-2003, 01:42 AM
Very interesting stuff Mark_Venture, I am going to go check this out now.

EDIT: Whoa! Nevermind...that stuff is WAY out of my league.

CTSLICK
10-19-2003, 02:08 AM
I figured out the pattern of steps I need to follow to get my Dell talking to my laptop via Bluetooth. Its pretty pathetic and it goes to show just how far BT OEM's need to go with their software to get this set up to be true plug and play.

From what I have been reading it seems to make a big difference that I am not using a "native" BT device like an iPaq. Instead I have to use an add on card and it just does not work as smooth.

My expectations seem logical to me:

1 - Once paired I should not have to do anything more on either my Dell or my desktop to get them to connect the next time.
2 - If I walk out of range and then come back later my desktop and my Dell should automatically re-connect.

See likes too much fuss to me, I think I am taking this BT adapter back.

Mark_Venture
10-20-2003, 05:39 AM
My expectations seem logical to me:

1 - Once paired I should not have to do anything more on either my Dell or my desktop to get them to connect the next time..
That is how mine is now working, well sort of... I still have to go into bluetooth manager on the iPAQ and start the connection.
2 - If I walk out of range and then come back later my desktop and my Dell should automatically re-connect.
That would be nice. Just like my wi-fi reconnects as soon as I get within range of my access point.

But I haven't gone far enough to be out of range for bluetooth yet. My apartment isn't that big and my computers are in the middle. We'll see when I get to work with the laptop and new bluetooth dongle. :)

CTSLICK
10-20-2003, 03:06 PM
So here's what I have to do to get my Win2k desktop and my Dell with a BT CF card connected every day

1 - Turn on my PPC
2 - Open the BT software on the PPC
3 - Open the BT software on the PC let it search to "find" my PPC...even though I had set it up as trusted last time...it just doesn't remember.
4 - From my PPC, initiate a search to "find" my PC...even though I had set it up as trusted last time and it remembers that my PC was trusted...it just doesn't seem to make a difference.
5 - Open up ActiveSync and make sure its still set to sync via BT. If I have done a soft reset then it will default back to USB so I have to set it back to BT.
6 - Manually initiate ActiveSync.

Seems a bit dumb doesn't it? And it took my a bit to figure all this out leading to my initial (continuing?) frustration. The instructions were not that good.

If I walk out of range and come back later then I can normally just re-initiate ActiveSync to re-connect. Sure wish the BT software on my PPC had some sort of active signal indicator so that I could tell if I was back in range without having to run the find function again.

If re-boot the PC or soft reset my PPC I have to get it all set up again using a few of the steps above. Not really seamless at all.

OK...enough ranting already.

JustMe
10-20-2003, 08:03 PM
Here's what I have to do to sync using BT:

Turn on PPC.
Open BT manager.
Double tap the ActiveSync icon.

That's it. Even after reboots, resets, etc..

I find it very odd (and I too would be very frustrated) that you have to repeatedly jump through these hoops to sync using BT.

Would you mind posting your hardware and software specifics?

JM

CTSLICK
10-20-2003, 08:19 PM
Here's what I have to do to sync using BT:

Turn on PPC.
Open BT manager.
Double tap the ActiveSync icon.

That's it. Even after reboots, resets, etc..

Ahhh...and that may be the difference in my experience. BT Manager does nothing for me since my device does not have BT built in...I am using a CF card. I don't think that it works as smooth as a device with built in BT.

...Would you mind posting your hardware and software specifics?

Don't mind at all!

Dell Axim X5 Advanced w/ Windows Mobile 2003 upgrade
Ambicom CF Bluetooth Card (Model BT2000C-CF)
Ambicom USB Bluetooth Adapter (Model BT2000C-USB)
Dell Desktop running Win2k.
ActiveSync 3.7.1
Using the latest Ambicom drivers and desktop setup provided on the Ambicom support site.

JustMe
10-20-2003, 08:59 PM
Hello,
I feel that the issue is with Ambicom's BT implementation and/or software.

I think the main problem is that your devices do not save their paired settings requiring you to re-discover each time. If this issue could be resolved, I think you'd have an easier time.

I took a look at the Ambicom ActiveSync document and nowhere does it mention anything about pairing the devicea but they do state that you should discover other bluetooth devices. This part doesn't make sense to me. You should be able to skip these steps provided your devices are paired.

It was this document that I looked at: http://www.ambicom.com/support/installation/instbt2000/ActiveSync.pdf

JM

CTSLICK
10-20-2003, 09:11 PM
Hello,
I feel that the issue is with Ambicom's BT implementation and/or software.

I think the main problem is that your devices do not save their paired settings requiring you to re-discover each time. If this issue could be resolved, I think you'd have an easier time.

I took a look at the Ambicom ActiveSync document and nowhere does it mention anything about pairing the devicea but they do state that you should discover other bluetooth devices. This part doesn't make sense to me. You should be able to skip these steps provided your devices are paired.

It was this document that I looked at: http://www.ambicom.com/support/installation/instbt2000/ActiveSync.pdf

JM

Exactly! I read the same docs. After trying it a few days all I can say is that Ambicom's implementation works but could/should be better! What's the use of setting up a trusted device if it can use that to its advantage? Its sad because this set up works flawlessly between my Axim and my T68.

So which BT USB access point are you using? I am wondering if I should try a different brand to see it it plays better.

Mark_Venture
10-20-2003, 10:52 PM
My Bluetooth expierence is NOW like justme's.

After innitially setting up the connection between laptop and iPAQ...

I open Bluetooth Manager on my iPAQ, double click "activesync with laptop" and it does its thing. Reboot the iPAQ or the laptop, just go back into Bluetooth Manager on the iPAQ again...

Now, with the activesync over bluetooth connection between the laptop and iPAQ established, I walked down the hall watching the singal strength go form just right to weak to nothing... It still said "connected" for about another 20 seconds before saying disconnected.

I walked back to where I thought I was in range and double clicked on the "activesync with latop" and it connected again...

Not too bad considering the rough start.

I have to say Ambicom's bluetooth implimentation was awful, at least based upon what I saw with their software for the USB dongle on my latop. Glad I was able to switch software!!

JustMe
10-21-2003, 04:38 AM
Hello again!

I use the Belkin bluetooth USB adapters with both my w2k server and XP pro laptop. The USB dongle that is attached to the server is the class 1 device with the flip up antenna. The other USB dongle that is attached to the laptop does not have the flip up antenna (class 3 device I think).

I will try to post links to them. I think the Belkins use/can use Widcomm drivers which is what I believe my Ipaq uses.

CTSLICK: Perhaps it's possible to use the Widcomm drivers with the Ambicom hardware. Maybe Mark_Venture can shed some light on this.

JM

Mark_Venture
10-21-2003, 02:41 PM
CTSLICK: Perhaps it's possible to use the Widcomm drivers with the Ambicom hardware. Maybe Mark_Venture can shed some light on this.
Not sure I can shed too much more light on to it... I just followed the instructions at the website i posted above. More details than that? I don't have em :(

Btw, that only works to help on the PC side with the USB dongle. I don't know if there is a way to get/use the Widcomm drivers (or at least different than that Ambicom drivers) on the PocketPC devices with the CF card he has.