Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

I succeeded in mounting my Mac format iPod, but I needed a few extra tools since the n810 kernel doesn't read mac partitions (hint to nokia - turn this kernel option on).

1. You need to determine where the partition begins. I used od to print out the partition tables, but I'm planning on writing a utility. The details are in the kernel tree at /fs/partition/mac.*

2. Then you need to do losetup on /dev/sda to a loop device like /dev/loop0 (which the stock busybox won't do) with an offset to that partition.

3. You then need hfsplus.ko loaded,

4. Finally you can mount /dev/loop0 on /media/usb/sda1 or wherever, and access it. The auto detect feature of the file manager doesn't work, but you can put a symlink in a convenient location.

I was able to unzip a file from my video (5g) iPod.

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

-------------------------------------------------------

So if i buy that combo, I will be able to hook up a usb flash drive and the n810 will recognize it? awesome. what is the biggest flash drive that the unit will read? 16gb? or the new 32gb?? or the unlimited budget 64gb thumb drive???

looking at this:
http://www.pcmall.com/pcmall/shop/de...vable%20Drives

or a pair of these:
http://www.ecost.com/detail.aspx?edp...i_sku=37540967

they both say they support linux, but does that mean it would work with the linux run on these tablets?[/QUOTE]

You will still need a micro to mini adapter cable, and I'd suggest doing the host mode modification to it rather than opening xterm and typing commands.

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

I attended Macworld today and spoke with a company that provides translation software for moving contact info between different brands of cell phones. As part of the package they sell interface cables for an amazing number of phones (think micro USB). I explained that there might be a big market for a host mode cable with a micro USB to USB A Female connection. I'll keep the list informed as to my progress in moving this project forward. What would such a pre-made cable be worth?

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

Panasonic DMC-TZ3 camera works fine.

Canon S80 and SD600 cameras do not.

Still looking for an SD card thumb drive that will work.

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

The N810 is mechanically USB OTG compliant!! No hacked/modified cables or the like are required for host mode!

I just verified with an off-the-shelf Micro-USB-A to standard USB-A cable (part no AK 676-AA from www.reichelt.de).

The Micro-A plug (which is mechanically and electrically different from the Micro-B plug on the cable nokia supplies with the n810) fits perfectly into the recepticle of the n810 and switches it automatically into host mode. Thus the n810 accepts both, the micro-a and micro-b plugs which is exactly what it should be able to do as an otg device and which the old n800 unfortunately can't due to its Mini-B-only recepticle.

This is cool news as this means that all usb compliant adaptors should work. Unfortunately the cable from reichelt i bought is slightly "weird" as it has a standard (male) A plug at the other end. This doesn't make much sense, a female A recepticle or a standard B connector would make much more sense, but reichelt only sells those weird ones. Other places have Micro-A to standard B cables. This is typically what you want.

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

No there isn't a market, as any standard Micro-A-to-something (e.g. the female A you mention) works. There's no need for anyone to manufacture special cables. This is the type of standard cable required for any micro-usb equipped OTG compliant device being operated in host mode (which will likely include a huge bunch of pdas and cell phones once micro-usb gets more wide spread).

This is not the same sad situation we have with the n800.

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

Do you mean this cable?
http://www.reichelt.de/?;ACTION=3;LA...0932113a655622

How do I connect devices to the male connector? Is there a female-A to female-A connector?

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

Yes, that's the cable i am using.

And yes, to cope with this cable you need another female-usb-a to female-usb-a adapter. I already had one, but imho the "USB ABU-ABU" from www.reichelt.de would be the correct one.

All you need is the "AK 676-AA" plugged into your n810, the "USB ABU-ABU" connected to the other end. You can then e.g. plug a usb stick into the other end of the "USB ABU-ABU". But the "USB ABU-ABU" is only required for this reichelt cable because it has the standard male A plug where a B plug or female-A would make more sense.

I just used exactly this setup with my "Cruzer Mini 4.0GB" stick and the file manager popped up immediately.

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

Well, now I'm wondering, some devices didn't work with the host mode cable. Are any of them likely to work with this straight-through adapter? I guess the only difference would be that the host mode wire wouldn't be tied down ...

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

if you have any working host mode setup it doesn't make any difference from a client point of view. host mode is host mode regardless how you set it up. A device should eitherf work in all setups or in none.

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

Yes there are many suppliers of Micro A to USB A Male cables. For those in the US looking for suppliers you might consider:

http://www.cablesunlimited.com/produ...o=USB-1260-03M

http://www.pacificgeek.com/product.a...21&C=199&S=907

I would point out, as been stated already, that these do require the use of a USB A Female/Female adapter. I still would like a single solution that ended in a USB A Female connector, removing the need for the gender changer. Perhaps others would as well.

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

I wouldn't say "many". There seems to be only one supplier in the US, with one cable (Cables Unlimited -- everyone else seems to be reselling this cable). And an earlier poster found a supplier in Germany with a similar cable.

I have searched but can't find any supplier in the UK for a micro-A cable.

Yep. But I am assuming that when some more manufacturers enter the market some of them will make more useful configurations.

Graham

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

It's indeed a strange fact that this cable type seems to be the only micro-a equipped cable type available at all.

I would like to know what the purpose of that cable is as the micro-A to standard-A would only make sense if you'd want to connect an OTG device running host mode to another host. This is generally a very bad idea as you'd at least shorten both devices power supplies.

Did anyone figure out what this cable was intended to be used for?

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

FYI, I justed grabbed the cablesunlimited (referenced above) micro A to regular A cable off of ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA:IT&ih=019

It's the model USB-1260-02M like in the link above. I grabbed 2 for $17 shipped. The auction has 3 left. Thanks for posting that it's what I need for my N810. Now I'll dig out a F/F adaptor and be good to go!

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

Camera to desktop?

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

Uhm ... with the camera in host mode (because that's what a micro-a plug does)? To achieve what? Try to trick the PC into thinking it's a USB target?

I actually doubt that there's a real use for those cables except some device that comes with the wrong receptacle installed. And who would be so stupid? ... wait, Nokia did this on the n800 :-)

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

See here a description and picture of what I believe is the cable we want. USB A (female) to Micro A (Male)...

http://neostartechnology.trustpass.a...USB_Cable.html

Note, however, this this is a listing from manufacturer in Taiwan, not a retailer. Nonetheless it suggests that such cables exist.

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

Master of Gizmo (or anybody),

does anyone of the following cables would work in host mode w/o any hardware or software intervention? I'm not afraid of having to start osso-enable-us-storage.sh anyway..

http://www.hama.fr/portal/articleId*...tr/action*2599
http://www.hama.de/portal/articleId*125289/action*2563
(this one is also sold by amazon.co.uk as "OTG Cable Adapter Mini USB A-plug - USB A-Socket")

Thanks in advance for any hint!

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

I'm just reading the Cables Unlimited description:

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

OK - so I find myself completely confused. I have read these posts about host mode, OTG, etc., and I still don't quite understand. If anyone would be so kind, please help me out.

If I had a cable like this, which is a female standard USB to male micro USB, and I used that to connect an external USB harddrive to my n810, could I or could I not view the files on the harddrive with my n810?

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

dannyo - there are multiple considerations, but if you look carefully at the cable, it is a PLAIN USB extension cable. It says "micro", but it really standard A male to standard A female.

First, the cable. If it is indeed micro-a, it will automatically put a stock n810 into host mode. If it doesn't, you need to run scripts (see the wiki or search to fora) to force it into host mode, or put it back into OTG/peripheral mode.

Second, the disk. If it uses something less than 200ma for the USB interface (part of the USB protocol is current requirements), it will work with just the micro to USB female cable. If it SAYS it uses more than that, you will need a powered hub in between. Note disks usually ask for maximum possible, so unless it is a battery powered case it will usually ask for much more. The 2nd generation iPod charged via firewire so works stock, but the newer models ask for "recharge battery" levels of power. Some flash drives and card adapters don't need hubs, others do.

Third, the disk needs to be formatted vanilla FAT (or ext2), and more importantly have a standard Windows/DOS Master boot record for partitioning.

So, if the n810 is in the host mode - via cable sense or scripts, and if the USB interface on the disk doesn't draw too much power OR you have a powered hub, and if the disk is normal format, it will appear in the file manager and even launch it if it isn't opened and you can access your files. I constantly use my micro to mini host mode with a mini b to female A with microSD keychain drives because it is faster than shuffling adapters into the miniSD slot.

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

sparkling - the neostart cable APPEARS to be exactly what we all need, but I would call or otherwise confirm that the male end has the sense line shorted to ground to be truly an A cable.

I could also use a mini-b with the sense line shorted - the micro-mini adapter I have is 5 wires.

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

Hi all.

I've just done my cable yesterday, and will post details as soon as I have some time (next week I suppose). My USB flashdrives work without additional power, and my Lacie 120Gb harddisk works with its own external power (although it's a bit slow to browse my 60+ root folders and 2000+ files ;-).

But... how to _cleanly_ unmount a partition ? (from the file manager, without being root) Right now, I turn the N810 off before I unplug my devices (paranoid ?).

thx,
X

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

Maybe I'm blind, but I can't seem to find the Female A/A adapter on DealExtreme. Can someone link me, please? I'm loving their prices!

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

You can see "USB Icon" in the Task Tray. When you tap the icon, you will see a menu to disable the USB device.

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

Yeah, I had the same problem, their search engine is as bad as here.
That's why I gave up and went to directron and ordered them with a DVD drive I needed for a system build to get the shipping down to reasonable.
I figured the extra $1.50 each was worth it to me to get them quickly.

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

I don't think you actually umount things - If I understand right, the system may do a "sync" every few seconds so detaching will occur cleanly (at least with FAT which don't have a "unclean dismount" bit or journal file).

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

Raynman: Is this what you are looking for?

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2646

Other USB connectors that might also be useful:

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2704
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4860

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

Thanks, darethehair! That's exactly what I was looking for. I think DealExtreme has some search engine revamping to do. Searching for "USB" in the category "Computers -- Cables & Adapters" returns 15 results (and NOT the "USB Cable Coupler Extension Connector" (who dreamt up that name? :))), while searching for "USB cable" returns 21 results (including that F-F connector). I won't ask if they have a black version. :)

Complaining aside, I now find myself $33 deep in a shopping cart full of USB cables/connectors, mostly in the name of "just in case".

Thanks again.

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

To reduce the number of cables I'd have to carry around, a gender changer which also grounded the correct pin stuck on the end of the stock cable would be fantastic. Of course, since in the UK we can't seem to find the Micro USB-A male cable to anything (let alone USB-A female) this may be somewhat wishful thinking.

Also, very interested in reading the next blog post of kate in which she'll discuss Ethernet USB dongles: having just been in a hotel with free Internet access over RJ45, but no WLAN, this'd've been very handy for video calling my wife's N810.

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

My understanding is that that can't be done: the relevant pin is only present in the special 5-pin connectors and is not wired through to the other end, nor is it available in normal USB connectors (which only have 4 pins).

This issue of not having to carry 2 cables around means I probably won't bother to buy a "host mode" cable even when I can get one. Using the Nokia cable plus a gender changer and controlling the mode from the command line means I only need one cable (plus the gender changer) and I can either use it to connect devices to the N810 or use it to connect the N810 to my laptop (for example when I want to download a video, convert it on my laptop in my hotel room and copy it to my N810 for watching on a plane later).

Graham

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

Damn, should've read up more on it. I suppose it would be possible - but unlikely to be viable - to have two small adapters: one from Micro-USB B to Micro-USB A and one from USB-A Female to USB-A Female. Then you use the stock lead with an adapter at each end ;-)

Alternatively, a custom cable which pipes the pin all the way through, allowing a gender-changer style adapter at the end to ground it or not as appropriate.

Agreed. We just need to add a better USB status bar applet - and find a decent source for the gender changer adapters, and low power Ethernet dongles - all in the UK.

Exciting times...

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

Anybody seen a powered hub they like?

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

My favorite powered hub is an earlier version of the very inexpensive inland 7 port hub (mine has power and peripheral LEDs, and included the power adapter):

http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0236864
or
http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0260562

(search for hub - they have other variations which might be better)

My plan is big-5v-battery -> hub -> charge n810 // n810 -> hub (host mode) // hub -> peripherals // hub -> recharge BT perhpherals. With 7 ports there are enough to do that.

UNIVERSAL CONNECTIONS WITH 3 ITEMS

I do nearly everything with both my n800 and n810 with three items. The first is my motorola microB to miniB short cable (easily modified for host mode) and a mini-b to USB A Female adapter modified to short pins 4 and 5 of the mini-B end. This gives host mode. The last bit is a mini-b to usb A male retractable cable when I want to connect with a computer, but it is mostly unused. I have a series of microSD tiny usb flash drives which fit nicely into the host mode adapter and it is faster and less disruptive to use them v.s. plugging in the Nokias.

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

Would be nice to make a Wiki page to list all the card readers, external hard drives, etc. that are supported by the N810 / N800. I found out that some SD card readers work and some others don't. For example, my cheap SD noname card reader works and the Hama highspeed SD card reader does not.

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

I was going to modify a cable or adapter but ended up using the following:

Nikkai L16BT (available from Maplins in UK), see photo at bottom of post.

The adapter does not provide auto switching, to do this I then followed the "A Simple Method of setting the N8X0 with OS2008 to host mode - 'Extras' App" instructions in this link:

http://www.internettablettalk.com/wi..._using_OS_2008

The instructions provides "USB Host" and "USB otg" menus as shown in second photo.

I think this provides an easy way to switch modes without the need to modify cables etc.

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

That photo looks a little different from my N810.

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

I wonder how the battery reacts to hooking up a usb thumb like this to play movies and audio as opposed to a mini/micro sd card?

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

Hello Guys,

I´m absolutely new to this stuff. Maybe someone could help me with some info and konfiguration.

I do have a n810 and would like to use a usb modem.

I do know that the "Kernel" does support a usb modem usage but the problem is how to connect the usb device to usb micro. Is that so far correct?

Can anybody support me to get this combination done? (n810+usb modem e.g. huwaei 220 or similar+succesfull connection to the www)

Any help is appreciated!

Re: n810 USB adapter and host mode made easy
 

If you are interested in using a USB-attached VGA screen, see this thread: http://www.internettablettalk.com/fo...ad.php?t=19566