download PT file to memory stick?

9606

Many times, and for various reasons, I have multiple rides on the PT head.
Does anyone know of a way I can download the PT head onto a memory stick, without the use of a desktop pc or laptop?
I want to download the head each day, but don't have access to a pc or laptop. I could have access to a memory stick and some power/interface device. There may end up being 3-6 rides on the memory stick before uploading to the pc.
(I understand CP software may interpret separate rides from a mutiride download, but I don't have CP. Though CP may be less $$ than my stick approach I would still like to pursue it.)

RapDaddyo

That's a good question, much like the need to download a camera memory card to a small, portable device when you don't have a PC available. The problem is that the PT interface is RS-232 (serial port). You aren't going to find many portable devices that have a serial port. You can get a RS-232 to USB adaptor such as this http://www.compusa.com/products/pro...9975&pfp=SEARCH to solve that problem. Then your problem is to find a data storage device with a USB port. There are lots of such devices, which you can find if you go to a digital photo website (I prefer B&H Photo in NYC) and look under digital camera data transfer and storage devices. Something like this might do the trick http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...egoryNavigation.

9606

I have the Keyspan adapter - I use it now to unload the PT file to my laptop. And there are plenty of memory stick flavors out there.

I need: 1. a power source;
2. a device that will accept a female USB -from the Keyspan adapter, and another female USB - from the memory stick;
3. some way to invoke the DOS commands that get written onto the mem stick.

So again, how to move a file from the PT head to a mem stick without a pc or laptop?

It would be nice if a series of button pushes on the PT head were to simply move the file to whatever medium/device the head was connected.

jws

I've been wanting to test out a method of downloading to a PDA for the last year, but still haven't gotten around to it.

As was already posted, you'd need the interface cables/adapters and the ability to run code. PT uses ptapdl.exe and might work on a PDA.

By the way, I use ptapdl when I'm away without a computer. I simply use someone's computer and download directly to my mp3 player(Zen Micro in removeable disk mode). The computer is only needed to interface between the PT and Zen and to run the code; nothing is written to the computer.

RapDaddyo

Jimmy, would this work? http://www.buyaleratec.com/usbcocrplpa3.html

Flatscan

That's an interesting device, RapDaddyo. I doubt it will work unmodified since jws's post indicates that the PT computer does not conform to USB Mass Storage device standards (requires the .exe to run). The description explicitly states supporting USB Mass Storage or PTP.

The problem here is that the two devices in question (PT, USB storage device) are both "slaves" or "children". They don't know how to talk to each other without the mediation of a "master" or "parent", i.e. the computer. The device that RD linked provides this intermediary, but only for a small (albeit widely-used) set of protocols which are hardcoded in.

My Windows PocketPC (PDA) is also very much a "child" device. I'm pretty sure that if anything tries to talk to it through its wired connector in any language other than ActiveSync, it will give a big ???. I think that this is the case for Palm also, but is probably not true for Linux-based (e.g. Sharp Zaurus) PDAs.

A cool project that is related in that it requires two "child" devices to communicate is playing movies stored on an iPod on a PDA's screen. I don't know if any work has been done on this, but I think it has wider geek appeal.

On the other hand, Polar HRMs with infrared conform to the IRDA protocol, so they work with generic IRDA USB adapters, the built-in ones, selected mobile phones, and probably PDAs with only software hacking.

Sorry to rain on your project, but I thought it was necessary to point out these technical obstacles.

If you're willing to settle for splitting the files on your computer, there probably are Excel macros to do it. It's probably easy to do with a small Perl (free) program. I'm waiting for my PT, and I'm probably getting CP, but I could whip something up if you're interested.

RapDaddyo

Actually, I envision always having my laptop with me whenever I am on the road long enough to max out the memory of my PT. I was trying to be helpful to the OP. But, I may come back to you with a PT-related project that I am working on (VP Pacing). I've got some programming and data manipulation stuff to do.

jws

Thanks for the info, Flatscan....I thought something like that might be the case. It's not as simple as transferring the .exe to the PDA and running it. I hope that soon PDA's will run more like laptops. Do you think that might happen?

That's a cool find, RapD....but I guess extracting the data requires the code in ptapdl.exe and it's a matter of getting a device that can run it.

Jimmy

Flatscan

Oops, I blended my reply to address several posts at once. That paragraph was actually to the OP, but I am interested in your VP pacing project. I don't know if I'll have very much time to help out, but we'll see. I'll keep following your posts about it.

Flatscan

Probably not, unfortunately. I haven't really looked at specific PDA technology since I bought mine, but the Zaurus was the only Linux-native PDA, and it was quite expensive for its feature set. Tablet PCs (i.e. laptops with full touch screens) are coming down in price, and pocket-sized devices (e.g. PDA phone, Blackberry) have more of an emphasis on mobile connectivity. The utility of PDAs and "Pocket PCs" is being squeezed.

If the PT Link were IR or Bluetooth, connectivity would be a lot better, and the software would probably conform better to established protocols, making it easier (realistically possible, at least) to hack into working on an unsupported device. I think it would be a nice feature, but I think the rumored wireless harness and coded HRM are better uses of their engineers' time.

RapDaddyo

Jimmy, what about these PDAs that run the downsized version of MS Windows? http://www1.us.dell.com/content/pro...s=19&l=en&s=dhs

Flatscan

I use an Axim X3i, which is 1 or 2 models earlier than the one linked. IIRC, it runs Windows Mobile 2003 First Edition. ptapdl.exe fails to run with the error "not a valid PocketPC application". I would expect the same problem to happen with any version of Windows PocketPC/Mobile. They have the look and feel of Windows, but their core is completely different.