Sony Ericsson k500i and Linux IrDA

How to send files from a Sony Ericsson k500i mobile phone to a Fedora Core 5 box via Infrared

After an extensive Google search, I wasn't able to locate a decent HowTo document on this topic so I decided to write one.

Why IR and not Bluetooth?

The answer is simple. k500i does NOT have Bluetooth. But I will post a k700i + Linux + Bluetooth HowTo sometime in the future. Anyway, here it goes...

Ingredients:

1 Sony Ericsson k500i
1 Linux box running Fedora Core 5
1 USB-IR dongle

Notes:

I would imagine any Sony Ericsson k series (k300i, k700i, etc.) mobile phone should work as well. My Linux box runs the latest version of Fedora Core but this HowTo should, likewise, be applicable to other distros. For IR connectivity, I bought a cheapo USB-IR dongle with the Prolific PL-2303 chipset.

Step 1. Download and install the following programs from your favorite Fedora Core repository:

irda-utils
openobex-apps
openobex

If you run a different flavor of Linux, the name of the binary files may be different from the ones above. The command for installing programs may be different as well. Just consult the appropriate documentation. With Fedora, just issue the following command:

# yum install irda-utils openobex openobex-apps

You migh ask what are these programs for? irda-utils provides irdadump and irattach which we'll need a bit later for diagnosing our IR connection; openobex-apps provides obex_test and irxfer which are essential for file transfer; openobex is needed by openobex-apps.

Step 2. Attach the USB-IR device to your computer. In the case of laptops with built-in IR ports, obviously, you don't have to do this. So how do we know if the USB IR dongle has been detected? From a command prompt, issue the "dmesg" command without the double quotes.

$ dmesg | less

From the output, you should see a line similar to this.

usb 2-1: pl2303 converter now attached to ttyUSB0

This simply means that your USB device has been detected and is now attached to ttyUSB0. Using the "irattach" command, we now bind the Linux-IrDA stack to an IrDA port (at least, that's what the irattach manual says).

# irattach /dev/ttyUSB0 -s

For Fedora Core users, you may choose to do the above. You also have the option to do make use of the "service" command to do the "irattach" command for you. This, I find much more convenient. It's really up to you.

So first, you have to make sure that the /etc/sysconfig/irda entries are correct. Mine are as follows:

IRDA=yes
DEVICE=/dev/ttyUSB0
DISCOVERY=yes

Now, run the "service irda start" command. You'll see something like this:

# service irda start
Starting IrDA: [ OK ]

To make sure everything is in perfect order up this point, run the irdadump program. This is how the output will look like:

# irdadump

07:27:20.912199 xid:cmd c92b3324 > ffffffff S=6 s=0 (14)
07:27:21.000199 xid:cmd c92b3324 > ffffffff S=6 s=1 (14)
07:27:21.088195 xid:cmd c92b3324 > ffffffff S=6 s=2 (14)
07:27:21.176208 xid:cmd c92b3324 > ffffffff S=6 s=3 (14)
07:27:21.264209 xid:cmd c92b3324 > ffffffff S=6 s=4 (14)
07:27:21.352207 xid:cmd c92b3324 > ffffffff S=6 s=5 (14)
07:27:21.440212 xid:cmd c92b3324 > ffffffff S=6 s=* deathstar hint=4400 [ Computer LAN Access ] (25)

With irdadump still running, turn on the IR of your k500i mobile phone. The output of irdadump should show something like this:

07:42:24.457373 xid:cmd 33135fa0 > ffffffff S=6 s=* deathstar hint=4400 [ Computer LAN Access ] (25)
07:42:26.917388 xid:cmd 33135fa0 > ffffffff S=6 s=0 (14)
07:42:27.005385 xid:cmd 33135fa0 > ffffffff S=6 s=1 (14)
07:42:27.093385 xid:cmd 33135fa0 > ffffffff S=6 s=2 (14)
07:42:27.181387 xid:rsp 33135fa0 < 00001134 S=6 s=2 K500 series hint=9124 [ PnP Modem IrCOMM IrOBEX ] (28)

Notice the line which says K500 series? This simply means, your computer can now detect the presence of your mobile phone.

Step 3. We are now ready to make a file transfer. But first, let's try to ping the mobile phone using the irdaping utility. How do we know which address to ping? cat /proc/net/irda/discovery should do the the trick. Here goes:

# cat /proc/net/irda/discovery
IrLMP: Discovery log:
nickname: K500 series, hint: 0x9124, saddr: 0x33135fa0, daddr: 0x00001134

Take note of the daddr entry. Now, (irda)ping this address.

# irdaping 0x00001134
IrDA ping (0x00001134 on irda0): 32 bytes
32 bytes from 0x00001134: irda_seq=0 time=113.95 ms.
32 bytes from 0x00001134: irda_seq=1 time=110.04 ms.
32 bytes from 0x00001134: irda_seq=2 time=108.68 ms.
32 bytes from 0x00001134: irda_seq=3 time=113.85 ms.
32 bytes from 0x00001134: irda_seq=4 time=108.24 ms.
32 bytes from 0x00001134: irda_seq=5 time=108.83 ms.

Step 4. Test the connection using the obex_test program.

# obex_test
Using IrDA transport
OBEX Interactive test client/server.
> c
Transport connect error! (IrDA)

The "c" command above means connect. In the case of my Sony Ericsson k500i, I got a Transport connect error! After searching via Google, I stumbled upon the URL below. This is where I got my workaround to the Transport connect error.

http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/IrDA/IrDA.html

In the case of the k500i, you have to set the maximum baud rate to 9600.

# echo 9600 > /proc/sys/net/irda/max_baud_rate

Now, do the obex_test again. Make sure the mobile phone IR is turned on.

# obex_test

Using IrDA transport
OBEX Interactive test client/server.
> c
Connect OK!
Version: 0x10. Flags: 0x00
>

Voila! Connection succesful.

Step 5. Send files from your mobile phone using irxfer, an infrared transfer application program. As mentioned earlier, irxfer is one of the programs under openobex-apps.

$ irxfer
Send files to and receive files from win95
Waiting for files

Align your mobile phone to the IR device and send a file. Here's a sample output of a successful file transfer from k500i to Linux. Note the line that says win95. =)

$ irxfer
Send files to and receive files from win95
Waiting for files

......................................................................
HEADER_LENGTH = 70764
Filename = Picture(3).jpg
Wrote /tmp/Picture(3).jpg (70764 bytes)

Step 6.Send files from Linux PC to k500i. Again, align your phone and the IR device. Issue the irxfer command followed by the filename you want to send. It's that simple!

$ irxfer test.jpg
Send files to and receive files from win95

name=test.jpg, size=70764
......................................................................

PUT successful

To follow: You can also use obexftp to download files from you mobile phone. More on that in the coming weeks.