Ideas to implement with N900
 

Hi folks...

We have to admit, that despite our romance relationship with N900, still it can't compete with the newest technologies...
I I realized all by sudden after I returned to my N900 after years, that I had difficulties using the keyboard (am getting older and my eyes too), either I couldn't read what's on the screen or couldn't see the letters and symbols on keyboard.
And I definitely don't want to use the N900 just as a phone.
I am not into development, but have some ideas, which probably has been talked about here on the forum, but it's scattered here and there...

The Ideas are:
for 1 - How can we achieve this?
for 2- which keyboard and mouse manufacturers work well with N900?
for 3- How can we achieve this?

More or better ideas are welcome...

Re: Ideas to implement with N900
 

Hahaahaaaa
Oh man...
I had a hard time making out sh*t on the n900 when I got my first one!
don't worry about feeling old on that account.
Take my word for it...
I can tell the difference if something is out by a 132nd of an inch (been a carver, musical instrument maker and jeweler most of my life)
The n8x0s are easier on the eyes due to the larger screen real estate .
So I "use" my n900s...and "enjoy" my n8x0s..
Big difference .

As far as setting a n900 up as a computer with monitor ..flat screen tv actually...I do it with a spare n900 that has no telephony ..
Much better on the eyes.
Did that long time ago now..
I just bought a generic bt keyboard and mouse for that purpose...
I was picky ...I recall ...but I got em cheap..but its been so long now I couldn't tell you where I got it from..
(Ebay doesn't keep ALL transactions ...after enough years ..)

You could vnc to a computer or laptop and work and putter away that way...
With less hassle I think.
Also...vnc-ing to a comp or lap means you can stay plugged in keeping the battery topped up.
Since that is the downside of the n900 and its charge/micro usb port.

That is also another good reason I like the n8x0s...
Mini usb port and separate charge port..
Makes it much more convenient to play with monitors and peripherals.

As far as your 3 last queries...
Query 1 and 3 are identical you know...
Right?
:D

Re: Ideas to implement with N900
 

I believe you're approaching this from the wrong direction.
You have a (currently) useless device for which you're looking for a use case. This usually results in some toying around (which might be fun) but finally turns into frustration because there was a reason why the device was sitting in your drawer.

Try it from the other end! Is there some IT project you'd like to do?
If so, can it be done with an N900 in a reasonable manner? If yes, great! Do it!
If not, put the N900 back in the drawer and get whatever hardware is required to fulfill the project!


As for your ideas:
1. What kind of server? Why would you want to set that up on a decade-old phone with virtually no RAM, a CPU that runs at a snail's pace and no suitable mass storage?

2. The "laptop power" of the N900 lies in it being pocketable while still providing an actual keyboard and a highly precise touchscreen that even allows to control desktop applications which often require pixel-precise cursor positioning. You lose all of that when hooking it up to a TV, keyboard and mouse. There's nothing an N900 can do better in that scenario than any 15 years old x86 laptop. Plus, the TV output of the N900 is just garbage by today's standards.

3. I have no idea what an "encrypted wallet" is supposed to be, if not a USB stick with encrypted data. Sure, you could put a fragile 256GB µSD card in it, but still I don't see why that would be better than any good plain USB stick, or even a HDD if we're talking about backups, where reliability is key.


That being said, there was one scenario I could have imagined for the N900 in the future:
My father collects and refurbishes vintage radios. These all only have FM (and AM, LW) receivers. There's been discussions in Germany to shut down FM broadcasts in favor of digital radio. In that case the N900 could have worked as a relay to feed the radios with FM signals.
But lately it has been announced that FM radio will continue for at least another decade, so this plan is off the table again.

Re: Ideas to implement with N900
 

very depressive anwers... eventhough the answers actually hit the nail on the head...

I mean with a server, a private server which I can access from anywhere... not an open server for the world...

Re: Ideas to implement with N900
 

Move to Norway and you have a use case for FM.
Only some local radio stations are left temporary on FM.
Using the N900s FM sender work nicely in classic (read: old) cars.

Another use case is ssh login to home servers, TV remote for old TVs.

Re: Ideas to implement with N900
 

I've actually once thought about that (although not because of FM), but I figured, the lack of sunlight in winter would drive me depressive. I guess northern Germany is as north as I can move, because I need at least one way per day (to or from work) in sunlight to stay mentally healthy.
I'm still considering to do a bicycle tour through Norway some time around midsummer though.

In Germany this even works in current cars, e.g. for trolling grampa's Schlager channel with some Metallica. ;)

That's actually my main (serious) use for the N900 besides phoning.

True.

Re: Ideas to implement with N900
 

Move to Canada..
FM isn't going away anytime soon...
Neither is FM 2
Nor AM

hell...if one has a digital antenna receiver...
We still have free tv .
Our tv stations here still broadcast a regular old analog signal..
For fun I have an analog to digital for my tv...and get the tv channels that are in range.
Fun if one wants to watch tv for a bit.
(Normally .. I download or stream all my content ..but it is nice now and then for something different.)
None of the old methods of signal whether radio or tv ..will ever go... here.
Too much of the country is remote and wild...like 90% of the country...
Where folks need "old" style signal ..


As far as options go...
I can't remember if the n900 has it..
But for the n8x0 has "piratebox"
Which is a great prog.

Then there is gtkgep...which is also great.
Great for rss feed news...(though the stock autoscrolling rss feed prog for the n8x0 is far superior)

There are plenty of use cases for the n900 ..still...

Re: Ideas to implement with N900
 

How far can fm signals broadcasted with n900 reach?

Re: Ideas to implement with N900
 

using piratebox?
never tested the extreme range of it...
a few blocks perhaps at most ...
unless you have something that can boost the signal ...
say hooked up to an old style roof antenna ...or taller...
and having landscape height as well...
say the top of a high rise...or elevation like a hill or mountain ...then you could very well increase your range to miles ...
boosting the power output will also aid in boosting the signal strength..
put an aerial on a van...
drive around ...
broadcasting ...
and you would never get caught ..
you could speak your mind ..
start your own radio-free pirate-radio ...

Also ....
you could do what that maemoian did...
strap a n900 to a Parrot drone...
have it do a specified search pattern in the sky...
and every time it encounters a drone ...via signal ..
it hacks the security and zombifies the drone ...
zombie drone follows the lead drone....
and you continue until you have a gaggle of drones..
Build your own drone army.

or what another n900 user did...
who created a prog that detects the slightest movement in the area ...
via sonar.
Perfect for setting up a couple n900s around the office, house ...wherever...
In discrete places not easily or casually seen when entering the area...
...anywhere where you require a "heads up" on inbound "guests" ...
excellent say if you need to rest or nap or do something where you do not wish to be surprised by "company" ...

excellent for covert, subvert, any old 'vert ...works one must do.
The N900 and fellow n8x0s may be old...
but..
contrary to popular opinion...
hardly obsolete or outdated..
There are lots of valid use cases for the n900.

Re: Ideas to implement with N900
 

I'd love to visit your country, but ... NOPE! [1][2]

I'd say, for a clean signal it reaches about 10m under best circumstances (empty frequency, no obstacles). But the closer you get to the receiver's antenna, the better.


[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electr..._Authorization
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electr...ics_collection

Re: Ideas to implement with N900
 

WOW

I just wanted to submit "Hello World!" to my radio, not overthrowing a government...

Really enjoyed reading your post

Re: Ideas to implement with N900
 

@ sulu
Then we are agreed...

I love visiting Germany ..
But there is no way in hell I would move and leave paradise for it.

@ abu
There you go...
"Hello World" can be your Broadcast intro from the back of the moving van as you instigate the new world order from your n900...
:D

Re: Ideas to implement with N900
 

In my experience with a car radio, it's measured in cm. Perhaps indoors with a fixed antenna aimed at the N900, across the room.

Updates to the fm transmitter broke the RDS so it always just shows "NOKIA" which is useless IMHO. (I guess there's a radio somewhere that shows the "info" field, but I've never seen it). So every radio station I've ever seen just rotates all relevant text thru the station name field. But you can override that with a direct call to fmtx.

Re: Ideas to implement with N900
 

Great idea actually.

Another usecase are Timelapse videos.
With its 5Mpx camera you can still make 2k/1920p videos by shooting images in an interval and then convert the stack of images to video frames with ffmpeg.
Done that some years ago with an obsolete N8

Re: Ideas to implement with N900
 

Lucky you. I found the FM transmitter signal to be so weak that I can only use on frequencies waaaaay away from any used channel. There is no way it could "outshout" an existing radio station.

Re: Ideas to implement with N900
 

Again, lucky you. In my experience, even 3m can be considered a success under the conditions you describe.

Re: Ideas to implement with N900
 

I never had problems in terms of signal strength with my N900's FM transmitter in cars.

The only thing that has become increasingly difficult over the past 5 years is, that radio stations have been packed increasingly dense on the available spectrum. You want to be at least 1 MHz away from the next official channel to get a clear signal.


Neither can I. But at 2m distance to the receiver's antenna I can at least compete with any official station, and Helene Fischer plus Metallica still equals T(h)rash Metal. ;)

Re: Ideas to implement with N900
 

When (or small "IF") FM radio Goes down N900 still will broadcast FLAC&MP3 / Internet Radio / FM.

The percentage of high end Radio Tuners that are of high quality and also very good looking still out there will always outnumber the number of DAB+ ones.
If that format ever gets out of the car radio's.
With about 8 or 10 Nokia N900 one could reasonably simulate to unaware grand-kids the thrill and convenience of tuning in to radio stations with free music.

N900 as an Internet Radio it is unbeatable, how was it possible that Nokia integrated the internet radio right into the standard music player and even added play via FM functionality. What where they thinking?
Everybody knows that people rather try 10 to 20 different "radio apps" with visual advertisements and preferable install a different app for every single internet radio station before accidentally stumbling on the one or two apps that offer an global station index service of course still separated from the other music players because integration is what we hate: we want to install apps on our devices while exercising our freedom of choice as a mobile consumer. ;)

I remember on very poor internet the N900 internet radio buffering went way better in terms of playing the stream uninterrupted where the dedicated internet radio could not offer the same experience.

Re: Ideas to implement with N900
 

I sometimes even take the physical antenna off of the car when renting to improve the N900's receive vs local FM broadcast.
For a while I was jacking my BH-214 into the aux so I could also skip songs (old car bluetooth did calls not other audio) but now I just use a Pebble watch to skip songs and can use Bluetooth, Aux, or most easily FM transmit. I think having a charge cable improves the link as it puts transmitter ground to car FM receiver ground.
Also the FM transmit boost app really helps, it is a script that sets Xmit to hardware max. Check the repos including testing.