James Emmrich » Miscellaneous

Linux and the Mercury EZ View TV Tuner Card

James — Wed, 26 May 2010 00:16:57 +0000

I am not one to watch much TV, but when I do, I prefer to do so by PVR with commercials cut, and live pausing. I also like to set recording schedules in advance and do it from my cellphone if need be.

I bought this little card originally for my parents PVR that I built them, unfortunately I could not get it to work. I believe I paid a little less than $100.00 for it. After a lot of messing with it, I put it back in the box and left it.

Four years later, I attempted again ha.

This is how to get your Mercury EZ View PCI Card to work in Ubuntu 10.04 LTS.

The Mercury EZ View PCI Card

Product Image

FM Radio Reception

Auto Scan FM channels

TV / Video Display

Full motion display @ 30fps
Resizable video window from free size to full screen
Full screen display: Max resolution up to 720 x 576
Supports overlay mode to get the best quality

TV / Video Capture

Full motion video capture up to 30 fps
Video capture format: AVI, MPEG-1/2/4, DVD, VCD, MP3
Still image snapshot format BMP
Video capture size up to 352 x 288 (AVI), 325 x 240 (VCD NTSC) and 322 x 288 (VCD PAL)

Digital Video Capture

Capture and display video from Digital Video (DV) camcorder
Record DV video into MPEG-I or MPEG-II and AVI files
Camera control via GUI

System Requirements

Outdoor antenna or cable TV connection
Pentium III 700MHz or higher processor
128MB of system memory recommended
Microsoft Windows 98 SE/ME/2000/XP with DirectX 8.1 installed
DirectX 8.1 compatible VGA card

Hardware

Conexant CX 23881 chipset, 10bits high quality ADC
Multiple tuner receptions (NTSC, PAL system)
PCI 2.1 compatible Interface
4 layer PCB
Remote power on
Full IR remote control function

Installing the Card

Jumper cables provided

Duh, just like any card. But on the serious side, it came with a bunch of jumper cables as shown on the left. The back of the card has a cable coaxial input, a IR input port for the remote, and an “S-Video” like connector. The jumper cables provided, allow you to split this into the following connections:

Splitter cable:
- Audio Out – 3.5mm female
- Audio In – 3.5mm female
- Video Composite Out – male
- S-Video Out – female
3.5mm headphone cable jumper – male/male

It seems to be a funky way of doing things, but in any case…

Upon system reboot, the card is not detected, the syslog shows the following:

May 24 19:38:20 lonewolf kernel: [ 13.296313] Linux video capture interface: v2.00
May 24 19:38:20 lonewolf kernel: [ 13.766829] Console: switching to colour frame buffer device 80×30
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.010115] cx88/0: cx2388x v4l2 driver version 0.0.7 loaded
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.010171] cx8800 0000:02:0a.0: PCI INT A -> GSI 22 (level, low) -> IRQ 22
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.010469] cx88[0]: Your board has no valid PCI Subsystem ID and thus can’t
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.010471] cx88[0]: be autodetected. Please pass card= insmod option to
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.010473] cx88[0]: workaround that. Redirect complaints to the vendor of
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.010474] cx88[0]: the TV card. Best regards,
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.010475] cx88[0]: — tux
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.012313] cx88[0]: Here is a list of valid choices for the card= insmod option:
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.012815] cx88[0]: card=0 -> UNKNOWN/GENERIC
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.013152] cx88[0]: card=1 -> Hauppauge WinTV 34xxx models
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.013521] cx88[0]: card=2 -> GDI Black Gold
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.013841] cx88[0]: card=3 -> PixelView
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.014143] cx88[0]: card=4 -> ATI TV Wonder Pro
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.014468] cx88[0]: card=5 -> Leadtek Winfast 2000XP Expert
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.014832] cx88[0]: card=6 -> AverTV Studio 303 (M126)
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.015178] cx88[0]: card=7 -> MSI TV-@nywhere Master
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.015518] cx88[0]: card=8 -> Leadtek Winfast DV2000
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.015858] cx88[0]: card=9 -> Leadtek PVR 2000
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.016214] cx88[0]: card=10 -> IODATA GV-VCP3/PCI
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.016554] cx88[0]: card=11 -> Prolink PlayTV PVR
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.016893] cx88[0]: card=12 -> ASUS PVR-416
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.017208] cx88[0]: card=13 -> MSI TV-@nywhere
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.017532] cx88[0]: card=14 -> KWorld/VStream XPert DVB-T
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.017900] cx88[0]: card=15 -> DViCO FusionHDTV DVB-T1
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.018252] cx88[0]: card=16 -> KWorld LTV883RF
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.018570] cx88[0]: card=17 -> DViCO FusionHDTV 3 Gold-Q
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.018925] cx88[0]: card=18 -> Hauppauge Nova-T DVB-T
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.019270] cx88[0]: card=19 -> Conexant DVB-T reference design
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.019644] cx88[0]: card=20 -> Provideo PV259
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.019960] cx88[0]: card=21 -> DViCO FusionHDTV DVB-T Plus
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.020356] cx88[0]: card=22 -> pcHDTV HD3000 HDTV
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.030618] cx88[0]: card=23 -> digitalnow DNTV Live! DVB-T
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.040737] cx88[0]: card=24 -> Hauppauge WinTV 28xxx (Roslyn) models
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.051028] cx88[0]: card=25 -> Digital-Logic MICROSPACE Entertainment Center (MEC)
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.071494] cx88[0]: card=26 -> IODATA GV/BCTV7E
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.081762] cx88[0]: card=27 -> PixelView PlayTV Ultra Pro (Stereo)
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.091783] cx88[0]: card=28 -> DViCO FusionHDTV 3 Gold-T
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.101925] cx88[0]: card=29 -> ADS Tech Instant TV DVB-T PCI
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.111947] cx88[0]: card=30 -> TerraTec Cinergy 1400 DVB-T
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.122069] cx88[0]: card=31 -> DViCO FusionHDTV 5 Gold
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.132337] cx88[0]: card=32 -> AverMedia UltraTV Media Center PCI 550
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.142650] cx88[0]: card=33 -> Kworld V-Stream Xpert DVD
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.152954] cx88[0]: card=34 -> ATI HDTV Wonder
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.163478] cx88[0]: card=35 -> WinFast DTV1000-T
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.174010] cx88[0]: card=36 -> AVerTV 303 (M126)
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.184401] cx88[0]: card=37 -> Hauppauge Nova-S-Plus DVB-S
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.194992] cx88[0]: card=38 -> Hauppauge Nova-SE2 DVB-S
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.205465] cx88[0]: card=39 -> KWorld DVB-S 100
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.215970] cx88[0]: card=40 -> Hauppauge WinTV-HVR1100 DVB-T/Hybrid
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.226649] cx88[0]: card=41 -> Hauppauge WinTV-HVR1100 DVB-T/Hybrid (Low Profile)
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.247883] cx88[0]: card=42 -> digitalnow DNTV Live! DVB-T Pro
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.259172] cx88[0]: card=43 -> KWorld/VStream XPert DVB-T with cx22702
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.270560] cx88[0]: card=44 -> DViCO FusionHDTV DVB-T Dual Digital
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.282025] cx88[0]: card=45 -> KWorld HardwareMpegTV XPert
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.293396] cx88[0]: card=46 -> DViCO FusionHDTV DVB-T Hybrid
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.304702] cx88[0]: card=47 -> pcHDTV HD5500 HDTV
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.315830] cx88[0]: card=48 -> Kworld MCE 200 Deluxe
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.327030] cx88[0]: card=49 -> PixelView PlayTV P7000
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.338171] cx88[0]: card=50 -> NPG Tech Real TV FM Top 10
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.349322] cx88[0]: card=51 -> WinFast DTV2000 H
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.360277] cx88[0]: card=52 -> Geniatech DVB-S
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.371133] cx88[0]: card=53 -> Hauppauge WinTV-HVR3000 TriMode Analog/DVB-S/DVB-T
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.392302] cx88[0]: card=54 -> Norwood Micro TV Tuner
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.403119] cx88[0]: card=55 -> Shenzhen Tungsten Ages Tech TE-DTV-250 / Swann OEM
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.425351] cx88[0]: card=56 -> Hauppauge WinTV-HVR1300 DVB-T/Hybrid MPEG Encoder
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.448397] cx88[0]: card=57 -> ADS Tech Instant Video PCI
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.460250] cx88[0]: card=58 -> Pinnacle PCTV HD 800i
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.472088] cx88[0]: card=59 -> DViCO FusionHDTV 5 PCI nano
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.483859] cx88[0]: card=60 -> Pinnacle Hybrid PCTV
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.495621] cx88[0]: card=61 -> Leadtek TV2000 XP Global
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.507511] cx88[0]: card=62 -> PowerColor RA330
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.519250] cx88[0]: card=63 -> Geniatech X8000-MT DVBT
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.531312] cx88[0]: card=64 -> DViCO FusionHDTV DVB-T PRO
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.543210] cx88[0]: card=65 -> DViCO FusionHDTV 7 Gold
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.554938] cx88[0]: card=66 -> Prolink Pixelview MPEG 8000GT
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.566832] cx88[0]: card=67 -> Kworld PlusTV HD PCI 120 (ATSC 120)
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.578525] cx88[0]: card=68 -> Hauppauge WinTV-HVR4000 DVB-S/S2/T/Hybrid
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.589973] cx88[0]: card=69 -> Hauppauge WinTV-HVR4000(Lite) DVB-S/S2
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.601279] cx88[0]: card=70 -> TeVii S460 DVB-S/S2
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.612676] cx88[0]: card=71 -> Omicom SS4 DVB-S/S2 PCI
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.624058] cx88[0]: card=72 -> TBS 8920 DVB-S/S2
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.635450] cx88[0]: card=73 -> TeVii S420 DVB-S
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.646784] cx88[0]: card=74 -> Prolink Pixelview Global Extreme
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.658301] cx88[0]: card=75 -> PROF 7300 DVB-S/S2
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.669770] cx88[0]: card=76 -> SATTRADE ST4200 DVB-S/S2
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.681486] cx88[0]: card=77 -> TBS 8910 DVB-S
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.692933] cx88[0]: card=78 -> Prof 6200 DVB-S
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.704146] cx88[0]: card=79 -> Terratec Cinergy HT PCI MKII
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.715313] cx88[0]: card=80 -> Hauppauge WinTV-IR Only
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.726179] cx88[0]: card=81 -> Leadtek WinFast DTV1800 Hybrid
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.736853] cx88[0]: card=82 -> WinFast DTV2000 H rev. J
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.736865] cx88[0]: subsystem: 0000:0000, board: UNKNOWN/GENERIC [card=0,autodetected], frontend(s): 0
May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [ 14.736872] cx88[0]: TV tuner type -1, Radio tuner type -1

Never had to deal with this before. Annoying, as my Hauppauge 250 PVR card works amazing and out of the box. As you can see there is no EZ View or Mercury in there.

Debugging

I needed to find out more information:

sudo lspci -v

02:0a.0 Multimedia video controller: Conexant Systems, Inc. CX23880/1/2/3 PCI Video and Audio Decoder (rev 03)
 Flags: medium devsel, IRQ 22
 Memory at f9000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16M]
 Capabilities: [44] Vital Product Data 
 Capabilities: [4c] Power Management version 2
 Kernel modules: cx8800

I installed my usual software:

tvtime
xawtv

sudo apt-get install tvtime xawtv

I tried all, obviously, got nothing.

After posting numerous posts around the web, reading, my last resort was to figure out how to set the card types. To do so I needed to learn the modprobe command.

One thing to note here is that it seems the cx8800 driver creates the device /dev/video0 and the cx88xx provides new functionality, therefore they work together. You need to unload and reload them both. My initial problems was that the cx8800 driver does not support the modprobe command “card” as that was moved to the cx88xx driver.

Another thing was you can’t unload the cx88xx module from the kernel unless you first remove the cx8800 module. These little things caused a lot of initial confusion for me.

I wrote a little script to test each card type, surprisingly, this card seems to work on a couple different types. It was working and I didn’t even know it a couple times. Here’s a simple shell script I wrote:

rmmod cx8800
rmmod cx88xx

modprobe cx88xx card=$1 tuner=$2
modprobe cx8800

tvtime

When tvtime opens, you can then set the input for the card, in my case it was Television, but for some it might be composite, s-video, dvb whatever your case may be. It took a few seconds before my video started producing color video.

Freenode help

A friendly fellow from Iceland, kizi, from Freenode’s IRC ##linux channel, provided some expertise here and helped me on the rest of the journey. He found me this interesting site:

http://translate.google.is/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fsugo.ubuntu.hu%2Fcommunity-doc%2Fhardy%2Funiverse%2Fhardware%2Fmercury_ezview_cx88xx.html&sl=hu&tl=en

Honestly cannot thank him enough!

Interestingly this link had the card and tuner number I needed! card=27 tuner=69

So I ran the script again with the following:

./mercury 27 69

Viola! seemed to work even better!

To make this work after rebooting the computer, I made a config file: /etc/modprobe.conf/mercury.conf

options cx88 card=27 tuner=69

So I rebooted and to make sure it worked still. Yay!

As for setting it up in MythTV, well, that is a whole different post. Due to the way my audio is configured, it’s like a puzzle of jumper cables and only just figured it out 24 hours later with lots of frustration. Boy, do I hate the way Ubuntu 10.04 LTS handles the audio card configurations!!

Hope this will help anyone else getting their card to work.

Mercury EZ view tv tuner card (Conexant CX 23881 chipset) – http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=512551

Testing updates on the run

James — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 06:01:35 +0000

This is a test to see what it’s like to post something from the wordpress iPhone app. Seems to be clearly for sple short posts or memos. No wysiwyg editor for some odd reason. I was hoping that this would be similar to squarespace’s iPhone app…

Website Updates

James — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:17:06 +0000

I have been updating various pages throughout the site, mainly my Fresh Ubuntu install page which can be found under the Linux section.

Over the next few days I will have more updates. I am also going to add a post on using Git and possibly include it in a post regarding rapid web development. However both are pretty big and can be quite complex topics.

MotoPicks.com Launches the 2010 AMA Supercross Fantasy Motocross League

James — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 05:19:44 +0000

Well it’s finally here, the Monster Energy AMA Supercross season!

MotoPicks.com has launched their first ever Supercross fantasy league. Sign up and win sweet prizes weekly!

Urban Exploration

James — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:56:03 +0000

Something that I have always been fascinated about was how things work, why things were built the way they were and what places look like behind closed doors. I love old architecture and broken down buildings. Something so beautiful and interesting about an abandoned building falling to pieces left forgotten.

I have always loved hiking and exploring, and I often partake in geocaching, and those activities satisfy that desire somewhat. However, there is nothing like adding a little danger to the equation for a bit of that rush, the fear of getting caught or what you might find.

But there is one thing that I have never gotten a chance to really do, urban exploration, also known as Urbex or UE. Often highly illegal and involving the need to break through doors, locks, and fences.

Every now and then, I come across an article that rejuvenates my interest in the area. This posting is a list of really cool places that I will probably only ever dream of seeing in person.

Chernobyl

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster

Some day I would like to travel to the Ukraine and explore the area with a local guide of the tourists beaten path.

Abandoned Military Bunkers & Missile Silos

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=277744

After reading an article about climbers exploring abandoned missile silos and mapping out military complexes, I knew it was something I would like to explore one day.

Paris Catacombs

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/paris-catacombs/16561

This is a fascinating place. Add on the fact that it is an extremely old tunnel system and the creepiness of thousands of human remains piled on the floor to the height of your head. Would be an incredible sight to see.

Sewers, Drains, and Subway Systems

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/2651937/The-people-living-in-drains-below-Las-Vegas.html

Interesting article with pictures of people living the drains of Las Vegas

Caves, Cracks

Really don’t have some links for this, but any cave or crack in the earth/rock/ice would be interesting to explore, especially deep mutli-day treks into the void.

Various links on the topic

http://www.infiltration.org/index.html

A website dedicated to exploring places you should not be.

http://www.uer.ca/

A Canadian Forum for interested UE

Flashing the HTC Titan (the Telus P4000)

James — Tue, 05 May 2009 21:24:43 +0000

HTC Titan

It has been a long time since I flashed my phone, so I figured I should archive the files I used and the process I took in case I need to do it again sometime in the future. Maybe this will help someone else with the same phone as well.

There are a couple important things before you flash your phone, they seem obvious but….

Your first time flashing will be a bitch, if it is your only phone and think you will need 9-1-1 between now and mid tomorrow, do not do it! Remember? Your life depends on it.
Backup your data. Use ActiveSync, or whatever software you like, and get your contacts, notes, emails, text messages, docs, etc off the phone. I would suggest getting an SD card 2 GB or better as the space on the phone is a bit limited. It is important to note that simply having an SD card does not mean you don’t have to back up!
Flashing will remove the devices usage stats such as lifetime use etc.
Flashing will void your warranty.
There is a remote possibility if you are not careful, that you could brink your phone, turning it into an expensive albeit flashy paper weight.
This is only for the HTC Titan model phone, in Canada it is called HTC P4000
Obviously this is for my own personal record and works for me, however, as always make sure you understand the process first so you don’t shoot yourself in the foot.

Benefits to Flashing

GPS module is activated (device ships with GPS module crippled)
Get the latest OS version and be able to cook your own version
Can be more stable and less RAM than previous, or, could lock up all the time and run out of RAM. This benefit is chosen by you.

The Method

I may have deviated slightly from the “standard” way of doing it. Although these instructions are almost identical to other places on the nets, this will work for HTC Titan owners in Canada, if you live in the States, it may differ slightly. Thanks goes to all those crackers out there who risked their phones so we can enjoy our GPS!

There are 5 stages to getting your phone flashed. Follow them very carefully, and read through the instructions a couple times before hand.

At the bottom of the page you can download all the files that I used.

You will need a Windows computer, (preferably Windows XP) with latest version of ActiveSync, and probably Outlook, atleast 250 MBs of free hard drive space, a USB cable for phone to computer, and plenty of paitence.

Stage 1: Retrieving Provisioning Data

Now that all your data is backed up….

Get your ESN, MSID and A-Key info by dialing ##778#, that will launch the EPST configuration menu Note: Some carriers (Canadians) do not need the last #, so just ##778
1. Select view
2. make note of your ESN (Hex) value
3. make note of your ESN (Dec) value
4. make note of your MSID value (looks like a 10 digit tel number)
5. make note of the rest of the info on a different sheet of paper. And I mean all of it no matter how mundane. This is for backup purposes in case something does not work correctly later. I skipped this, and it took me a month to fix my data connection!
6. select and select A-Key. Some carriers leave this blank, some need this info. If there is info here, make note of it now.
7. click to exit the configuration menu
Get your EPST
1. download this file here .. this is the getspl file (in zip form)
2. run the GetSPC.exe on your phone and in the Input field, type in your ESN(Hex) in the input field (you wrote this down earlier)
3. press
4. the number produced in the output field is your MSLNumber (EPST unlock code)
5. exit the application

You should now have noted these 4 items:

MDN: your 10 digit tel number
MSID: another 10 digit tel number (for some carriers it’s the same as your MDN)
A-Key: only required by certain carriers
MSL: a 6 digit number that you got when you ran the GetSPC.exe

Special Note: The great thing about using the following procedure is that typically you won’t even have to use the information you just obtained. But better safe than sorry.

Stage 2: Upgrading the Boot Loader & Radio

If you have flash this phone before, you will need to “relock” the phone so it can be flashed. If you have not flashed your phone or do not know what this is, skip and continue as you most likely have a virgin phone.
You can get the relocker here: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx
Run the Unofficial carrier released rom 3.16 which contains the boot loader and radio. This is a Sprint ROM, don’t worry about it, you’ll still be able to use your provider, in my case, Telus.
You can get the ROM here: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Stage 3: Install a Custom ROM

I am running No2Chems ROMs which I find are very good and still feels like the stock ROM (how my phone was meant to be) but with some added features.

run the unLocker for 3.16 and above, don’t worry about getting out of the boot loader – tri-color screen
Download: No2Chems ROM version 5050 (old version as of writing but I still use it) XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (warning 50mb download)
Download the RUU, the software used to flash the phone. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Copy the .nbh file into the RUU folder
Make sure there is only one .nbh file in the folder
Double click RomUpdateUtility.exe to begin the update

Stage 4: Verify Provisioning Data

Dial ##MSL# – this is the 6 digit code you retrieved in step 2 above
1. first select view (because if your info is correct, we don’t want to accidentally mess it up
2. verify that the MDN and MSID fields match your info from above
3. if the info matches, select cancel and skip following step.
4. if the info does not match, then cancel and re dial ##MSL#, but select edit.
5. input the correct MDN and MSID and then select and and your phone will now reboot. Check again to verify its correctness when the phone boots up.
If your phone had an A-Key then do this step, otherwise proceed to step 3
1. dial ##778#
2. select
3. input your MSL (6 digit code retrieved in step 2 above) **Please note, you can mess up your phone if you change the wrong fields – use with caution**
4. select and select A-Key
5. input the A-Key from info above (if required)
6. select menu and select , your phone will reboot

Verify your services

make an outbound call
receive a call
connect to the Internet

Congratulations, you have successfully updated your phone – Have fun!

Stage 5: Trouble Shooting

More to come here, just want to push this article out.

No updates for awhile… hmm..

James — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 05:31:18 +0000

I have to get on that. In fact, I think I may have even forgot about this website all together

I have so many half written posts and ideas for entries but just have not had the time or drive to finish them. To add to this list, for a number of years, at least two, I have been designing a theme that was to be used as my personal motocross resume website. It’s pretty rough around the edges and was never designed for WordPress. I am also getting more and more into clean designs rather than a grunge look and maybe this is why it has sat on the shelf so long.

I am hoping that I will have more Motocross and Motorcycle related content this year–is it possible to have more of something that you never had before? ha!

One thing I would like to do, is write some event recaps each weekend along with some pictures. One thing is for sure, I need to get this blog some regular content and hone my writing skills, and this would be a good regular lesson as well as make sure I pay attention to the racing throughout the day.

On a somewhat related note, I am moving out of my current place into a near by town this week and MotoHeaven.net has been coming a long slowly due to some crazy bugs which had taken me far too long and far too much caffine. With these two things about to be finally behind me in a few days life should be a little less hectic and a little more scheduled.

MotoHeaven.net Facebook Application Approved!

James — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 00:05:06 +0000

Hey readers, just wanted to let you all know that my Facebook Application, MotoHeaven.net has just been approved and added to Facebook’s Application Directory!

Add MotoHeaven.net to your profile by clicking here to go to its Application Page:
http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=31923297583

For those interested in motorcycles you may want to continue reading and learn a little bit about what makes MotoHeaven so special.

Community based authoring for the greater good

MotoHeaven is all about sharing and helping out. Just like Wikipedia, MotoHeaven uses community based editing to enable an up to date directory of information regarding safe legal places to ride, moto related events, and other motorcycle industry information.

As long as a visitor of MotoHeaven is logged in, they can freely add and edit listings. And if something should go wrong such as defacement or spam, the listing can be reverted back to a previous state and the offending user dealt with.

What makes MotoHeaven different?

There are a few websites and forums out there that have compiled lists of places to ride, but they all have the same issues: incompleteness, incorrect, out of date, duplication, and are a closed system.

So why are these issues bad? For one, incomplete and bad information is never helpful. Second, closed systems have a limited amount of people adding and maintaining an ever growing list. Once the amount of information reaches reaches a point where the authors cannot keep up with the updates and new additions the whole system fails and the visitors end up with something broken and hardly useful.

How does MotoHeaven work?

Using MotoHeaven does not require you to have an account, but having one gives you some features only available to registered users.

Once a visitor has registered for a free account, they can begin adding their favorite places to ride if they don’t already exist. They can also begin adding information to existing listings.

It’s easy creating new places to ride. In this case I’m creating the Rogers Centre which hosts the annual AMA Supercross.

After pressing Create, you are taken to the Listing Page where more detailed information can be added if you or someone else chooses to do so.

From above you can see the finished listing for the Toronto Supercross.

What benefits does MotoHeaven.net provide to the industry?

Benefits for motorcycle enthusiasts:

Absolutely free accessible information by computer and Internet enabled cellphones
Information related to all their favorite places to ride
Ability to find new places to ride that are local, legal, safe, and recommended by friends
Get directions to and from
Rate, comment and review
Learn about events and get notified when they near

Benefits for event managers, land/track owners, and industry businesses:

Publicize your event or land/track by purchasing banners and profiles, and sponsoring contests
Keep in touch with your loyal riders via opt in mailing lists
Attract new riders by being listed in the largest database of places to ride
Use tools for generating statistic, demographic and advertising information

Anything Else?

Well this is just the start! MotoHeaven has an enormous list of features that will be added throughout the year.

If this peaked your interest, add the Facebook Application by clicking here:

http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=31923297583

You can keep up with the latest news at my blog: http://www.lwp.ca/james/

Windows Mobile: The Price of Freedom. Linux: The Freedom to Act.

James — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:36:19 +0000

As a Linux user, I guess you come to expect a certain amount of FREEDOM. And I think when you get a taste of it, you only want more, and more until you are at the point of being considered spoiled I guess ha!

The HTC Titan

Well I have a Windows Mobile (pocket pc) cell phone. It’s a Telus HTC P4000 (aka Titan/Mogul). Like many cell phone manufacturers, HTC builds cellphones which are then rebranded for each cellphone company, hence the shitty name Telus gave it. The P4000.

On to the real issue though. Windows Mobile. If there are two things that drives me nuts the most, they would be:

Lack of flexibility (freedom)
Networking issues (in two forms, dropped/missed calls and router/ip/ether issues)

I consider myself a power user, and the gadgets that I buy are used for specific reasons and get used every single day until they break. The reason I chose this phone was for a couple of reasons:

Full slide out keyboard for ease of typing (possibly programming on the go if absolutely needed)
Provides the ability to ssh into servers from wherever I am using the Cellular network or using the built-in Wifi
The remote possibility it will eventually run Linux

Now, I moved from Windows to Linux quite a few years ago, mostly due to extreme frustration, and I did not take purchasing this phone lightly. I was worried that buying a Windows Mobile phone could be a big mistake. After having it now for almost a year, I must say it has been awesome.

The Price

The source of frustration is the model that the Windows Operating System is built around. The OS provides basic hardware to software functionality. Alone its useless, but with software it can make things easy and fun.

However, buying software sucks.

When I was younger, the whole idea and process of cracking and pirating software was cool and fun, but realistically, it is a pain in the ass, and when more people realize that free software does not always mean crap software, prices will go down or disappear and we will all be thankful for it.

My rant is continuing on far too long here, and I am sorry. What I am trying to get at is this:

It is absolutely frustrating to come from a Linux operating system and go to a Windows Mobile based device and suddenly realize that I do not have software to do the things I need.

The Freedom

Running Linux on this phone, and future phones is right around the corner, unfortunately, it is not coming fast enough.

From what I understand, Googles Android is extremely close to running on the phone (boots into Android), a huge success considering the amount of information provided by HTC to get it to work (zip-nadda-zilch!). However I do not want Android, I do not want a “pretty” phone. I do not want the Iphone.

I want a functional phone and that means I want:

Access to a terminal/command prompt
ssh functionality without having to use purchase-ware
For god sakes, an internet enabled phone must come utilities to debug networking issues such as the simple command ping.

I do not want to spend my days searching for software to help make my Windows Operating System functional. I am a web developer, and Linux does this [functionality] right out of the box. Literally.

In conclusion, I will be adding a page about the phone some time in the future. There has been some real cool stuff you can do with it after flashing and doing some upgrades that happily void your warranty. It’s real cool stuff and makes the phone a lot more fun to use.

Remember where the hell…

James — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:06:11 +0000

Today I stumbled on this guy again, Matt Harding, the worldly crazy dancing guy. I remember seeing his very first video which went viral quite a few years back, probably one of the first very successful viral Internet videos. Since then, he has released a couple more videos.

I’ve always thought it was inspiring and a cool thing to do. There have been many variations like it such as the traveling Gnome which you have probably heard stories about and who doesn’t know somebody that has taken a picture or video of something in different places doing different things? I believe why it’s still a popular thing to do is that it’s a relatively hard to do. The traveling, the cost, the commitment, but in the end it’s a funny story, cool photo album or a funny video that you can share with friends and family and possibly, the world.

I have embedded his first 3 videos, and if you are still interested, I have linked to his about page which has three 25 minute videos totaling about an hour long which talk about his trips, how it happened and why. He also has a YouTube channel, so if you are interested in keeping up with his videos, subscribe.

All in all I think it’s a very interesting and inspiring story and is why it is in my top favorite list. You might think it is just dancing, but I think it’s much much more than that.

Where the Hell WAS Matt? (2003-2005) Original

Where the Hell is Matt? (2007)

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008)

Check out his website and blog here: Where the Hell is Matt?