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revolution
(c) Revolution Education Ltd. Email: [email protected] Web: www.picaxe.co.uk V2.2 02/09
AXE027.PMD
PICAXE USB CABLE
6.0) Windows CE (v4.2 up, including PocketPC 2003, Mobile 5, Mobile 6) Installation
Please note that not all PDAs/Smartphones can act as a ‘USB host’. Acting as a USB host is NOT the same technology
as using a USB cable for ‘synching’ - whilst synching the computer is the USB host, and the PDA is a USB client. If you
can connect a ‘USB memory stick’ directly to your PDA to transfer files then the PDA can act as a host, if you cannot
do this your PDA does not support USB host mode and the AXE027 cable will not operate with your PDA.
Most PDAs that support the USB host function will require some kind of host adapter (e.g. USB host cable,
presentation pack or Compact Flash card) before they will operate as the USB host. In this case the adapter must be
correctly installed before the AXE027 cable is inserted.
Windows CE 4.2 (and later) is supported. Please note different versions of Windows CE (e.g. 4.2 to 5.2 or 6.0) and
each different type of PDA processor (e.g. x86 or ARM/XScale) require a different driver. Therefore please ensure you
are downloading/installing the correct driver for your system (details at Start > Settings > System > System Info)
6.1) Installation
Step 1
Download the latest available drivers for the required PDA
processor model from the software pages at
www.picaxe.co.uk and unzip them.
The two files in the driver package are:
ftdi_ser.dll
FTDIPORT.inf
Step 2
If the PDA requires a host adaptor (e.g. USB host cable,
presentation pack or Compact Flash host card), make sure
that it is connected and installed before proceeding.
Step 3
Copy the two files to a USB memory stick and then copy
them to the \\Windows directory on the PDA (use File
Manager > Edit > Copy/Paste to copy the files). Alternately
use ActiveSync from a PC to carry out this copying.
Step 4
Connect the AXE027 cable to the host USB port on the PDA.
An ‘Unidentified USB Device’ window will appear.
Type the full name of the driver file
ftdi_ser.dll
into the dialog box and click OK.
If the file name is incorrectly spelt, the driver will not be found and the AXE027 cable will not function.
If the driver is correctly installed the AXE027 cable ID (04 03 BD 90) should now be visible when clicking
Start > Settings > System > System Info > USB Host Connections
(ignore all fields except Manufacture, which will state 04 03 BD 90 if cable is correctly recognised).
The AXE027 will be given the next available free COM port number (e.g. COM0 or COM2). Valid COM port numbers
on Windows CE are COM0 to COM9 only. Note that other devices (e.g. GPS / bluetooth etc.) may also make use of
COM ports. Unfortunately it is not possible to view which COM port is allocated to the AXE027 via ‘System Info’, so
some experimentation trying COM0 through to COM9 in turn may be required!
