Database Develop

Backlight wont go off ....

i have set the back light to turn off after one minute in external power.
usb sync cable connected to pc and back light will go dimmer in one minute but not complete off.
anyone has this problem?

this seems to be the new behavior of the TyTN II vs. the old TyTN: The back light never goes completely off. You have to push the power button to put the unit in standby. When I listen to music, for instance, I want the backlight to go off to save power: I must push the power button to turn off the backlight. The music still plays, which is nice...
Anyway I'm not sure what to do about it when it's connected to a computer to sync, since pushing the power button would likely interrupt the sync. It doesn't bother me that the backlight doesn't go off.

Hi
I'd go as far to say this is the new behaviour of Windows Mobile 6. The Toshiba G900 was exactly the same. It is possible to get a small app to turn the backlight off completely however when it's connected to your computer via USB it isn't drawing power from the battery but from the computer so it doesn't matter, and it's just show you it is still on.
Regards
Phil

8525 running Black Satin WM6 doesn't do this, I don't think it's WM6

rite i dont mind the power consumption, but i cant go to sleep with the light on next to me, i like it off completely to save screen life too.

Hi
8525 running Black Satin WM6 doesn't do this, I don't think it's WM6
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With all due respect that is a cooked ROM and will not need to follow WM6 best practice or MS guidelines.
I think this happens with the Kaiser (like it does with the G900) because the LCD isn't transreflective. With a transreflective device, even in normal room light you can usually see what is on the TFT display, so the device can time out the backlight completely turning it off, and you still know it is powered on but just the backlight has gone off. With a non transreflective screen like the Kaiser, if the backlight did go off completely while the device is still on, you can not see anything on the TFT screen, so it looks completely off, but it isn't. So I think the dimmed backlight is so you know it is still on by being able to see something on the display.
You can see this happening on battery power. If the backlight is timed to go off before the device powers down, it doesn't go off completely but dims, then shuts off completely when the device goes into standby.
but i cant go to sleep with the light on next to me, i like it off completely to save screen life too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have a few options:
1) Power off the device.
2) Press the standby button.
3) Turn it upside down or cover it.
4) Download this application that will let you turn off the backlight completely. http://ppcsoft.narod.ru/english/
i like it off completely to save screen life too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This will be making little different to your screen life. The backlight is made up of white LEDs, these will have a lifetime of around 50,000 to 100,000 hours (more when used at a dimmed setting) so will easily outlast the device even if running non-stop from the day you buy it.
Best Regards
Phil

ic, as long as its ok for the screen life i am cool with it. thanks for the input.

PhilipL said:
Hi
4) Download this application that will let you turn off the backlight completely. http://ppcsoft.narod.ru/english/
Best Regards
Phil
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This app would be good except that when you set the action to turn the light off in say 15 seconds it only does it the first time and then must exit itself because it won't do anything further until you reload it.
I need a program that stays resident and turns the light off after a set period of time. Pressing the power button isn't good enough because that stops a lot of apps running by putting the Kaiser into standby.
Anyone know of a program or fix?

The 8525 turned the backlight off no matter if you used stock or cooked ROM. The 8125 was the same way. Not until I got my Tilt did this "feature" arrive.

There may be some kind of a flaw in the programming. No, that never happens with a M$ program.
I was having the issue described in the thread, backlight stayed on. I played with my power and backlight settings and while searching for the answer my screen dimmed, even though it is connected via USB. I think if you go back and reset your backlight and power settings, that you will then see the desired effect on the PDA screen.
My settings:
Power= On Battery- 1 minute, On External- 2 minutes
Backlight Brightness= On Battery set to middle (half way), On External set to full
Battery Power Tab and External Power Tab- both set to 1 minute
The end result is that after 1 minute my screen dims to the lowest backlight setting. Screen is dim but I can still read what is there.

This is a very old thread, the backlight is always on because the Kaiser's screen is not transreflective like it's predecessor Hermes. If the light is out you will see nothing where you could with the Hermes. It's just the way it is with this model.

I have another question which it is related with the backlight and power off.
I tried to power off the phone by pressing and holding the power button. It asks me to confirm it. However, after the phone is "powered" off, it seems can be turned on by sliding out the keyboard.
Is it normal? or is it something to be fixed?
I have an ATT Tilt with stock ROM.
(just got it few days ago from ebay).
Thanks.

Down with new, weird "features"!
Lidberg said:
The 8525 turned the backlight off no matter if you used stock or cooked ROM. The 8125 was the same way. Not until I got my Tilt did this "feature" arrive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I read your sarcasm correctly, I am in agreement that this is a dubious feature. I think there are a number of changes from 8125&8525 to "8925" that are questionable. I wish HTC would spend more time getting the hardware and basic features working perfectly, and less time adding new programs just to change the look.

Transflective . . .
RemE said:
This is a very old thread, the backlight is always on because the Kaiser's screen is not transreflective like it's predecessor Hermes. If the light is out you will see nothing where you could with the Hermes. It's just the way it is with this model.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everything I can find in searching says both the Hermes and the Kaiser have transflective screens, (as well as the 8125); e.g., from elite-electronics.com RE: the Tytn II: "color transflective TFT". [However, neither the 8125 or Tytn II have the technology that allows good viewing in daylight, like a Garmin Nuvi 350 or similar]
But if you can actually see something on screen on the Hermes when backlight is turned off, then that is truly different from the 8125 and the Tilt.

plchan said:
I have another question which it is related with the backlight and power off.
I tried to power off the phone by pressing and holding the power button. It asks me to confirm it. However, after the phone is "powered" off, it seems can be turned on by sliding out the keyboard.
Is it normal? or is it something to be fixed?
I have an ATT Tilt with stock ROM.
(just got it few days ago from ebay).
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is normal behavior. If you don't like it...download KaiserTweak.
Under the Keyboard->Slide Wake option you can disable it.

cushcalc said:
If I read your sarcasm correctly, I am in agreement that this is a dubious feature. I think there are a number of changes from 8125&8525 to "8925" that are questionable. I wish HTC would spend more time getting the hardware and basic features working perfectly, and less time adding new programs just to change the look.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. HTC - stop fixing what isn't broken in the first place.

cushcalc said:
Everything I can find in searching says both the Hermes and the Kaiser have transflective screens, (as well as the 8125); e.g., from elite-electronics.com RE: the Tytn II: "color transflective TFT". [However, neither the 8125 or Tytn II have the technology that allows good viewing in daylight, like a Garmin Nuvi 350 or similar]
But if you can actually see something on screen on the Hermes when backlight is turned off, then that is truly different from the 8125 and the Tilt.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Transreflective is NOT in the HTC TyTN II spec but is in the TyTN I spec. You can't believe a reseller.
If you turn off the backlight on a Hermes and then grab a big flashlight and shine it on the screen, you can then easily see the screen, the brighter the light the better you will be able to see it.
If you try this with Kaiser you will quickly see that the bright light will make it impossible to see the kaiser screen, no mater what backlight setting you choose, and certainly not on low.
It's a simple test and I'm convinced on what I say.
That said, the Kaiser's transmissive screen is super bright in most mid to low light areas since transreflective screens are normally not quite as bright as transmissives.

GPS in standby mode ?

When I briefly press the side button on the TytnII it turns off the screen. If I have a GPS program running at the time it also disabled the GPS and the GPS logging stops. I want eo be able to have a GPS logging running all the time for geo-caching but the GPS keeps turning off. Is there any way to stop the GPS turning of while the screen is off ?

No, but you can do a different trick. Get AE Button Plus (which allows you to assign hotkeys to the hardware buttons more so than the OS will), and assign a button to first Disable Standby Mode, then another button to turn off the screen. I have the PTT button assigned as a double-click to disable the Standby mode, then a triple-click will turn off the screen. This keeps the unit active and the GPS running, but stops the screen from draining your battery so much and it's not touch sensitive at that point. It works well, though you may consider getting a bluetooth GPS unit if you're doing a lot of geocaching, because a Sirf III GPS chip is much more accurate than what is built into the Kaiser. The GlobalSat BT-338 is what i have, and is apparently one of the better ones.

is there a program out there that will disablle all the hardware buttons except the power button while the screen is off?

Thanks snooginsguy. Your solution sounds like a workable one. What amount of battery life do you find you get when screen is off and standby mode is disabled ?

mbritten said:
is there a program out there that will disablle all the hardware buttons except the power button while the screen is off?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is built into windows mobile, try out "lock" in the settings menu

snooginsguy said:
It works well, though you may consider getting a bluetooth GPS unit if you're doing a lot of geocaching, because a Sirf III GPS chip is much more accurate than what is built into the Kaiser. The GlobalSat BT-338 is what i have, and is apparently one of the better ones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was under the impression that Kaiser does have internal Sirf Star III unit?

Not to my knowledge, it has a qualcomm chip (I know, that's the processor too) that is not as good as a Sirf Star III. I may be wrong about that, but pretty sure that's true. Also, @tytn2user, if I turn off my screen as described, I've used it for 5-6 hours running the GPS and GPSTuner together, and still had about half the battery left, so it's not bad.

I have found the built in chipset to be amazing and have had no problems at all..

I have been testing my current BT gps with a nemerix(sp) chipset in it vers the internal one and the internal one is a lot better. Not as good as a SirfIII but still close. Will do for my geotagging needs.

Well S2U2 fixs it all up. No need to aus AEB either.
Unit locks itself, Backlight goes, GPS keeps running. Perfect.

[SOLVED] Backlight doesn't turn off when using TomTom...?

TomTom v7.450
Diamond ROM v1.37.405.1 WWE
Can anyone else confirm that their backlight never turns off whilst using TomTom, regardless of what setting/timeout they've got on the device's Power config page? Whether I'm using it on battery or mains the result is the same - backlight remains on continuously. If I shut TomTom down I then see normal behaviour and the light turns off after the set time.
Interestingly, if I install the very same TomTom CAB on my M600/Prophet it behaves correctly i.e. the backlight turns off after a time. The device remains continuously on, regardless of setting, but then that's what I'd hope for anyway as TomTom is no use if the device is not active.
Given the above, has anyone got any ideas as to why this might be the case, and what I might be able to do to solve it? I really want the backlight to dim as it will save a considerable amount of battery should I be using TomTom on battery... and it would automatically turn it back on when it comes to advised turns etc.
Incidentally, the backlight does dim/brighten in response to changes in the ambient light level so that's at least something - however I tried removing this setting in case that was the problem but it wasn't.
Mathew

I also use TOM TOM on my Diamond..and I think that is normal that the backlight is on when using the navigato..also if you use the Stand Alone navigator the back ligt stays on!
I can't see the use of the navigator with the device in standby..you should buy a car charger so your battery recharge during the utilization of navigator

Backlight doesn't turn off when using TomTom...?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a question, can this problem co-exist with the problem of backlight turning off too fast when making a call, or do these two problems cancel each other ?

MJNewton said:
TomTom v7.450
Diamond ROM v1.37.405.1 WWE
Can anyone else confirm that their backlight never turns off whilst using TomTom, regardless of what setting/timeout they've got on the device's Power config page? Whether I'm using it on battery or mains the result is the same - backlight remains on continuously. If I shut TomTom down I then see normal behaviour and the light turns off after the set time.
Interestingly, if I install the very same TomTom CAB on my M600/Prophet it behaves correctly i.e. the backlight turns off after a time. The device remains continuously on, regardless of setting, but then that's what I'd hope for anyway as TomTom is no use if the device is not active.
Given the above, has anyone got any ideas as to why this might be the case, and what I might be able to do to solve it? I really want the backlight to dim as it will save a considerable amount of battery should I be using TomTom on battery... and it would automatically turn it back on when it comes to advised turns etc.
Incidentally, the backlight does dim/brighten in response to changes in the ambient light level so that's at least something - however I tried removing this setting in case that was the problem but it wasn't.
Mathew
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is a feature (and a good one) and not a bug. i bet you don't want that when driving, right before a big intersection yr screen go off....
for example,the igo (that's what i am using) give you the option to go by the device or all time on.

KukurikU said:
this is a feature (and a good one) and not a bug.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it was a feature I would expect it to manifest itself when installed on both the Diamond and the Prophet (given the common application) - the fact it doesn't suggests to me it is a 'quirk' (not necessarilly a bug) with the way it works on the Diamond. As mentioned, the backlight used to come back on when being advised of any directions etc and would remain until well clear of a junction so if it is a feature it's an unnecessary one!
Sometimes it is not convenient for me to use external power - when riding on my bike for example. And in such circumstances the high ambient light level used to be plenty sufficient for me to see the screen on the Prophet without the backlight being on - this is obviously great for conserving battery power as the light ranks as one of the highest power consumers.
I might see if the TomTom menu is still customisable and, if so, include the 'Backlight Preferences' icon that was present in versions of Navigator prior to v6.
Mathew

As mentioned, the backlight used to come back on when being advised of any directions etc and would remain until well clear of a junction so if it is a feature it's an unnecessary one!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
interesting! didn't know that...doesn't bother the on\off of the screen while navigating in town (lots of instructions)? not sure i'll want all this flickering

Solved it!
In fairness, it seems that it is a TomTom quirk.
Specifically, the application has always (since I've been using it from v5) had a built-in setting for when to turn the backlight the backlight off (or, more accurately, when to allow the device to turn it off in accordance with your time setting) - the options being: 'Always', 'When on a walking route', 'When not charging' or 'Never'. The default being 'Never'.
However, since v6 the button to change this setting disappeared from the menus however given it is possible to customise the TomTom menus and, even better, to include icons from previous versions of TomTom (assuming the feature is still supported internally) I did the following to turn my backlight setting to 'When not charging'...
- Create a file \TomTom\SDKRegistry\TomTom.mnu in the root of the device
- Inside this file put the following:
Code:
MENUBLOCK|BLOCK_MAIN|BTM_DONE|
MENUPAGE|TASK_PAGE1|Main Menu|
MENUITEM|TASK_EXIT_APP|
MENUITEM|TASK_SET_BACKLIGHT|
MENUITEM|TASK_PAGE1|
- Now run TomTom and click the main screen - up will come a menu with two items in it - Exit and Backlight Preferences, the latter will allow you to configure exactly how you want the backlight to behave.
- Quit TomTom and delete the TomTom.mnu file - this will revert you back to the stock menus, but with the backlight setting (permanently) set.
Of course, this process can be used to configure your menus exactly how you want them however I don't know the keys for all the icons - only for those when I last dabbled in v5 - maybe if I can find some time I'll find the others (I haven't Google for them so perhaps these are now common knowledge) such as the MapShare functions that only came in v7.
The reason it the backlight worked as I wanted when installing the cab on my Prophet was because it still had my menu configs from v5 installed on it... d'oh!
I could be alone in wanting to be able to choose how the backlight is managed, but just in case there's someone with the same desire hopefully this'll be some use to you. It does of course beg the obvious question - why did TomTom remove this customisable feature?!
Cheers,
Mathew

youupy! drinks on you!
congrats and yes, i knew from the beginning that i can help you. dhaaaahh. lol!

Interesting, previous versions of tomtom allowed you to adjust the backlight settings within the application.
cant find it in TT7 though

KukurikU said:
doesn't bother the on\off of the screen while navigating in town (lots of instructions)? not sure i'll want all this flickering
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On the contrary; they've handled it handle it very well.
Say you've got your backlight timeout set to 30 seconds then after this amount of time with no activity (direction instructions etc) it will turn the backlight off - you can still see the map outline in ambient light and, most importantly, can easily see the distance indicator to the next direction.
A few seconds prior to the next instruction the light will reilluminate, a few seconds later it will give the direction advice/distance etc and then once you're through the junction it will turn the light off again after 30 seconds.
Of course, when following a rapid series of instructions in, say, a built-up area then the backlight will stay on continuously - each instruction essentially resets the timer. It's only when out on the 'open road' with no isntructions for miles that you'd see the effect.
All said and done, when I've got access to external power I keep the backlight on constantly (that's where the 'Extinguish only when not charging' option comes in) but when I'm running on batteries I need all the power-saving I can get, not least given the limit battery capacity in the Diamond!
Rumpleforeskin said:
Interesting, previous versions of tomtom allowed you to adjust the backlight settings within the application.
cant find it in TT7 though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As mentioned they dropped the icon in v6 yet still supported the functionality internally - it's just that with no icon you can't change the setting hence the temporary icon-insertion method discussed above.
Mathew

Want to get GPS to stay ON when screen off

Hi Guys
tried using co-pilot and TomTom today whilst on my motorbike but as soon as I turn the screen off the GPS turns off. Is there anyway to get the GPS to stay on with the screen off?
(I listen to the voice instructions)

Monty Burns said:
Hi Guys
tried using co-pilot and TomTom today whilst on my motorbike but as soon as I turn the screen off the GPS turns off and suspend most running applications. Is there anyway to get the GPS to stay on with the screen off?
(I listen to the voice instructions)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe you've suspended your device by pressing the power button, right? That will definately turns off the GPS. How about looking for a software which turn off the display, instead of suspending the device.
To see what I mean, try playing music in Windows Media Player and press the Power button, the device will stop playing because it is suspended. Try some other software like Pocker Player, the program actually intercept the power button and turn the display off, that is why the music is still playing when you press the power button.

I dont know about how to set that in tomtom. but for your information iGO has the function of powersave for background light. it will only light when instructions are given.
this might be an idea although it is another navigation program.

wilcovh said:
I dont know about how to set that in tomtom. but for your information iGO has the function of powersave for background light. it will only light when instructions are given.
this might be an idea although it is another navigation program.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I´m sure is worst for the battery to turn on and turn off the background light in every gps instruction!!. Any electronic device need more power to turn on the screen/light than to mantain it.
Tom Tom allows you to turn off the screen but not the sound, so you can follow sound instructions while the screen is off.
You can set it in Preferences > Safety Preferences

programatix said:
...
To see what I mean, try playing music in Windows Media Player and press the Power button, the device will stop playing because it is suspended. ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, i use WM but it does NOT suspend when I use the power button.
I might switch back to my external BT gps and then I can fit the uber fat (GPS blocking) battery that I have. I know this method worked fine on my Tosh G900 but its a bit slower locking.

TRiKi® said:
I´m sure is worst for the battery to turn on and turn off the background light in every gps instruction!!. Any electronic device need more power to turn on the screen/light than to mantain it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While it is true that the instant the screen is turned on more power is consumed, it has been scientifically proven that overall, you are still using less power than if you had the screen on constantly... but yes TomTom lets you turn the screen off when navigating so that'll do the trick

This might be a daft suggestion, but couldn't you just run a feed from the bikes battery to charge the diamond as you go and then set the power profile to dim the display and not suspend the device when on external power?
Most big bikes have cigarette lighter sockets now-a-days, and a power regulation circuit using a 7805 is easy to knock up (might not be 100% suitable though) if it doesn't.
--
Winfiddler

winfiddler said:
....
Most big bikes have cigarette lighter sockets now-a-days, ....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it had a cigarette lighter I would be very upset! That might be an idea on an "old man" bike, mine however, is an RSV-R Bol'Dor, somewhat sportier than your average bike
I'll just go with using my 1800mah battery and the external bluetooth gps and use it like i did on my G900. At least this way, it should last a good few hours. Of course, I'll only do this when I am planning to use it, i've still got the internal and smaller battery for every day use.

sorry a bit off topic but where can i get TomTom or iGO?

TRiKi® said:
Tom Tom allows you to turn off the screen but not the sound, so you can follow sound instructions while the screen is off.
You can set it in Preferences > Safety Preferences
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TT7 ? I don't see what you are talking about

Yodajr said:
TT7 ? I don't see what you are talking about
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to navigate through the menus in this way:
Change Preferences > Safety preferences.
Now you have 6 options with 6 check boxes:
1. Hide most menu options while driving
2. Suggest driving breaks
3. Show safety reminders
4. Warn when near places of worship or schools
5. Warn when driving faster than allowed
6. Warn when driving faster than a set speed
Choose what you want (or don´t choose anything) and push "Done"
Once you have pushed "Done" a new screen will appear:
Warn me wich side of the road to drive
(some options to choose blablablabla). Push "Done"
and now the interesting one:
Turn off map display:
Always [ ]
Above certain speed [ ]
Never [x]
If you select the first one, once you begin to drive, the screen will switch off and you will be able to listen to the sound instructions only.

Thank you, great feature

Monty Burns said:
If it had a cigarette lighter I would be very upset! That might be an idea on an "old man" bike, mine however, is an RSV-R Bol'Dor, somewhat sportier than your average bike
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need a cigarette lighter... just run a wire from your battery to the terminals on one of those cheapo usb lighter socket plug-ins, or like I've done, chop into the plug and solder it up nice and neat. You can either run it as a temporary measure up along the frame to the front, or set it up permanent, by running it up under the tank as I've done on my R1... works a treat.
PS, forgot to mention... if you do this, check and ensure the correct polarity when you're wiring up to the usb plug-in.

What solution do you use to keep the GPS on ?

I use my GPS a lot and I want my GPS to be running in the background while it track logs. I am not the only person who needs the GPS to not go to sleep so there must be someone else who has found a good solution.
First I tried S2U with a option to not go into sleep mode selected. This work well but I have to have S2U launch of a hardware button and also had to slide after waking it up.
Then I started using AE button plus. Set on of my unused side buttons to turn off screen with single press. This was the best solution I found except it has made taking pictures very buggy.
So has anyone found a good solution to keep the GPS on while the screen is off keeping power consumption down ?

tytn2user said:
I use my GPS a lot and I want my GPS to be running in the background while it track logs. I am not the only person who needs the GPS to not go to sleep so there must be someone else who has found a good solution.
First I tried S2U with a option to not go into sleep mode selected. This work well but I have to have S2U launch of a hardware button and also had to slide after waking it up.
Then I started using AE button plus. Set on of my unused side buttons to turn off screen with single press. This was the best solution I found except it has made taking pictures very buggy.
So has anyone found a good solution to keep the GPS on while the screen is off keeping power consumption down ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GPS on and Power down are contradictory... I measured that the GPS uses 120mA to run.
Anywho, PhoneAlarm will do it for me. I have a GPS Tracking profile (a day and a night one actually) and the phone never turns off when I have it set to those. Gotta be careful with it though, if you forget to disable it you'll find a hot phone with a low battery in your pocket later.
Have you tried to just set the settings to do it? It's not automated, but it's free. There was a thread on a program called BikeMobile which the author describes how to modify the registry to NOT allow the phone to go to sleep when a certain com port is active. I never quite grokked it, but perhaps you will. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=387262

Thats going to be a nice and toastie phone all day.

Thanks khaytsus. I will try out PhoneAlarm and see how I go. I found the phone to be drawing only about 45ma when my screen was off. Just trying to find a rom to suit my needs at the moment. When I find one I will start to try to find a solution.

There are many programs like "trackme" which can log GPS and switch off screen for you. There are some standalone programs like "BlackMe" which can switch off just the screen and lock phone for you.