Linux and Psion HOWTO
 Hans Kugler, [email protected]
 v0.0.6, Nov 1999

 This document describes how to use Psion palmtops with Linux, but does
 not cover running Linux on a Psion palmtop. See the Linux 7k project
 <http://www.calcaria.net/> for that.
 ______________________________________________________________________

 Table of Contents


 1. About this HOWTO

    1.1 Introduction
    1.2 This Document
    1.3 Mailing List
    1.4 Copyright notice and disclaimer

 2. General Information

    2.1 What is a Psion
    2.2 Psion models
    2.3 Psion Availability

 3. Sharing data between the Psion and Linux

    3.1 Hardware connectivity options
       3.1.1 Serial cable
       3.1.2 IrDA
       3.1.3 Builtin programs
    3.2 Programs for connectivity
       3.2.1 plptools
       3.2.2 kpsion
       3.2.3 p3nfs/p5nfs
       3.2.4 ncp
    3.3 Linux utilities
       3.3.1 Psiconv
       3.3.2 Psion SDK
    3.4 Psion utilities
       3.4.1 hermes
       3.4.2 perl
       3.4.3 python
       3.4.4 E_Shell
       3.4.5 c2f

 4. Series 3

    4.1 Further Information
    4.2 Programs for connectivity
       4.2.1 p3nfs/p5nfs
    4.3 Psion utilities
       4.3.1 nfsc
    4.4 Informational Web Pages
       4.4.1 Disassembling a Series 3a (in German only)


 ______________________________________________________________________

 1.  About this HOWTO



 1.1.  Introduction


 Psion has been making PDA's for years. This document will initially
 concentrate on the newer Series 5* models, e.g. Series 5, Series 5mx
 and Series 5mx PRO, but I hope to eventually include info about using
 older models such as the Series 3* with Linux.


 1.2.  This Document


 The latest version of this document can be found at
 <http://home.pages.de/~lufthans/unix/docs/HOWTO/psion-HOWTO.html> and
 will hopefully be included in the Linux Documentation Project (LDP
 <http://www.LinuxDoc.org/>).

 Please send updates, corrections or suggestions to [email protected].


 1.3.  Mailing List


 There is a mailing list dedicated to using Psions with Linux and
 developing tools to enhance communication between them.

 To subscribe, send a message to [email protected], containing
 the message "subscribe Linux-Psion".

 There is also a mailing list dedicated to porting Linux to the Psion
 5* models at [email protected]


 1.4.  Copyright notice and disclaimer


 (c) 1999 Hans Kugler

 This document may be distributed under the terms set forth in the LDP
 license at http://www.linuxdoc.org/COPYRIGHT.html
 <http://www.linuxdoc.org/COPYRIGHT.html>.

 This document is provided ``AS IS'', with no express or implied
 warranties. Use the information in this document at your own risk.


 2.  General Information



 2.1.  What is a Psion


 Psion is a powerful Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) with pen-based
 touch screen as well as keyboard. There are several models. This HOWTO
 currently only covers the Series 5* models, e.g. Series 5, Series 5mx
 and Series 5mxPro.



 2.2.  Psion models


 There are several models of Psion PDAs. All have a foldout case where
 the screen is in the cover and opening the Psion causes the keyboard
 to jut out to a more usable position. They also feature the instant on
 and instant off capabilities of the EPOC operating system.

 Psion 3* are older PDAs that still have a lot of functionality and
 still get sold new due to their meeting needs and being lower cost.
 This HOWTO doesn't currently cover the Psion 3* series.

 Psion 5* has two main product lines with each having two models. The
 Psion series 5 has a green limited edition counterpart with no
 functional difference between itself and the standard Series 5. The
 series 5mxPro, however, has some fundamental differences from the
 Series 5mx.

 All four of the Series 5* products have: compact flash, serial port,
 keyboard and stylus (for the touchscreen). They all operate on 2 AA
 batteries and have a backup battery to maintain state when changing
 out the main batteries. Check out
 <http://www.aha.ru/~akaev/english/indexe.htm> to take a tour of a
 dissected Series 5 classic.

 Both of the Series 5 models as well as the Series 5mx have system ROMs
 where the EPOC operating system is stored. After boot they operate out
 of the RAM (8MB for the Series 5 models and 16MB for the Series 5mx).
 The Series 5mxPro, however, has no ROM and operates entirely out of
 its 24MB of RAM. This enables software upgrades to the Series 5mxPro,
 whereas the other 3 models must exchange hardware to update EPOC.

 Psion recently released the Series 7, which is set to compete against
 the subnotebook class of PC, but running EPOC.

 There are rumors of a Series 6 coming out before the end of 1999. No
 formal indication of what type of product the Series 6 will be.


 2.3.  Psion Availability


 Psion products are no longer available at retail stores in the US.
 They are available from retail shops in Europe as well as through mail
 order. Psion maintains a list of mail order
 <http://www.psion.com/resellers/index.html> firms by country on their
 web site.


 3.  Sharing data between the Psion and Linux



 3.1.  Hardware connectivity options


 The Psions have both serial and infra red ports. Either can be used
 for connectivity, but most connectivity programs currently only have
 features for the serial port connection.


 3.1.1.  Serial cable


 Armin Podtschaske x-rayed the "honda" connector. His page
 <http://home.t-online.de/home/armin.podtschaske/pocci.htm> has an
 explanation of the pin out in German.

 Here it is for those who don't speak German :).

 Pin 1 is on the top and pin 15 is on the bottom. Only pins 2 through 8
 and 15 are connected.
 o  Pin 2: RTS

 o  Pin 3: DTR

 o  Pin 4: TXD

 o  Pin 5: DSR

 o  Pin 6: DCD

 o  Pin 7: CTS

 o  Pin 8: RXD

 o  Pin 15: GND - Signal and Power ground

 o  Frame: GND - Shield frame ground


 3.1.2.  IrDA


 See the IrDA HOWTO <http://www.LinuxDoc.org/HOWTO/IR-
 HOWTO-6.html#ss6.6> for information about using the Linux IrDA driver
 with a Psion. It is possible to beam files from Psion 5 (mx) via
 Linux-IrDA to a Linux System.  The irda-utils include a special client
 psion5.c which can beam files between them.


 3.1.3.  Builtin programs


 There are two builtin software methods to use the communications
 ports. The first is the remote link, <ctrl>-l from the main file menu,
 which can be set to serial, infrared or off.

 EPOC also provides the program comms. The remote link must be set to
 off for the comms program to have access to the serial port.


 3.2.  Programs for connectivity



 3.2.1.  plptools



    Description
       plptools <http://www.gumbley.demon.co.uk/plptools.html> (current
       releases from Matt Gumbley) was originally developed by Fritz
       Elfert, who had merged plp and ``p3nfs/p5nfs''. plptools is
       currently being worked on by members of the Linux-Psion <linux-
       [email protected]> mailing list.

       plptools comprises of 3 different programs. ncpd provides a
       socket connection to the Psion. plpnfsd provides mounted
       filesystem access to the Psion and plpftp provides ftp access to
       the Psion.

       See  <ftp://ftp.to.com/pub/psion/> for Fritz' original releases.


    Usage
       ncpd [-V] [-v logclass] [-d] [-p <port>] [-s <device>] [-b
       <baudrate>]
       plpnfsd [-v] [-V] [-p port] [-d mountdir] [-u user]

       First start ncpd get it to listen on a port (7501 by default)
       for connection requests. Then, start either plpnfsd or plpftp.
       plpnfsd defaults to mount the Psion under /mnt/psion.



 3.2.2.  kpsion



    Description
       kpsion
       <ftp://ftp.cs.unm.edu/mirrors/kde/unstable/apps/utils/kpsion-0.1.tar.gz>
       is available under unstable/apps/utils/
       <ftp://ftp.cs.unm.edu/mirrors/kde/unstable/apps/utils/> at your
       favorite KDE mirror.

       It provides a method to use kfm (KDE File Manager) to directly
       access files on the Psion via a serial link. Psion files can be
       opened by using 'psion:' or 'epoc:' URLs. It uses ncpd from the
       plptools package, which must be running to use kpsion, to handle
       the serial connection.

       kpsion also has a Psion Word->HTML/Text viewer/ converter built
       from psiconv to allow viewing documentation created with Psion
       Word under Linux.

       kpsion is currently ALPHA support for connecting to a Psion
       Series 5*. It is only available in source and only builds
       against KDE 1.1 and KDE 1.2. Please read the README and INSTALL
       files that come with the tarball.



 3.2.3.  p3nfs/p5nfs



    Description

       p3nfs <http://www.koeniglich.de/> mounts the psion drives over
       the serial cable at /psion.stand/mnt, by default.



 3.2.4.  ncp



    Description
       Matt Gumbley originally started ncp
       <http://www.gumbley.demon.co.uk/ncp.html> for use with his Psion
       Series 3. Now that he's working on ``plptools'', you should use
       that :). However, ncp might still be of interest to users of a
       Psion Series 3, which this HOWTO doesn't cover :). Matt's ncp
       page also has information about the plp protocol.



 3.3.  Linux utilities



 3.3.1.  Psiconv



    Description
       Psiconv <http://huizen.dds.nl/~frodol/psiconv/> translates Psion
       Word documents to HTML (3.2 or 4.0) or plain text.



 3.3.2.  Psion SDK



    Description
       The EPOC SDK works on Linux via WINE, see Olaf Flebbe's web page
       <http://www.linuxstart.com/~oflebbe/sdk/> for instructions on
       how to get it working.



 3.4.  Psion utilities



 3.4.1.  hermes



    Description
       hermes <http://www.iota.demon.co.uk/psion/hermes/hermes.html> is
       a fully featured vt100 emulator.



 3.4.2.  perl



    Description
       Olaf Flebbe has perl
       <http://www.linuxstart.com/~oflebbe/perl/perl5.html> running
       under EPOC.



 3.4.3.  python



    Description
       Duncan Booth has python <http://dales.rmplc.co.uk/Duncan/>
       running under EPOC.



 3.4.4.  E_Shell



    Description
       E_Shell <http://www.epocworld.com/downloads/progs/e-shell.html>
       is a DOS-like shell environment. It provides ways to launch
       programs from a command line; to check for file system
       corruption; to create, edit and display plain text files; to
       check on currently active processes and threads.
 3.4.5.  c2f



    Description
       c2f <http://home.pages.de/~lufthans/unix/packages/> converts the
       Psion contact file to a comma delimited format.



 4.  Series 3



 4.1.  Further Information


 As I said earlier, this HOWTO doesn't cover the Series 3 ( e.g.
 3/3a/3c/3mx/Sienna ), however, as I run into information, I will try
 to place it here anyway. This section will probably never be organized
 (unless someone else keeps it uptodate), but it still might contain
 useful information.


 4.2.  Programs for connectivity



 4.2.1.  p3nfs/p5nfs



    Description
       p3nfs <http://www.koeniglich.de/>, referenced ``above'' mounts
       the psion drives over the serial cable at /psion.stand/mnt, by
       default.



 4.3.  Psion utilities



 4.3.1.  nfsc



    Description
       nfsc <http://www.koeniglich.de/> is a vt100 emulator.



 4.4.  Informational Web Pages



 4.4.1.  Disassembling a Series 3a (in German only)


 Zerlegeanleitung Psion Serie 3a <http://www.home.unix-
 ag.org/fionn/d/Psion/Inside.html>

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