Windows Infrared Port Programming (using USPP)

[Scott Brady Drummonds]

"Peter Hansen" <peter at engcorp.com> wrote in message
news:3D6D51B3.8AC1C459 at engcorp.com...
> Scott Brady Drummonds wrote:
> >
> > Does anyone know if packages that allow programming the infrared port on
> > Windows systems are available in Python?  If not, can anyone point me to
> > where I could learn about writing one of these (in Python, not by
linking a
> > compiled library) myself?
>
> Do you mean "programming" as in at the low level, making it do strange
> things that are not done when it is used as a simple serial device?

Ah... good point.

I meant programming as in using it as a serial device.  I just want to be
able to exchange data between my ThinkPad 600 and my Nokia 3360.  I did some
experimentation that made me *think* that an IR port wasn't a COM port, but
obviously I was wrong.

I'm using USPP and opening a connection to COM2 at 9600 bps (I've tried
lower bit rates unsuccessfully.  I've configured the IR port to use 9600 max
and verified that the Nokia software will still communicate with the device,
so I think I've bounded the correct bit rate.)  When the device is in
proximity, I try and communicate with the phone.  I can create the object
(using uspp.SerialPort) but calls to read() fail.  Calls to write() seem not
to work.  (inWaiting() returns the number of bytes written, not ready for
reading.  Attempts to read them back fail.)

Questions/comments:
1)  I know the device is in proximity (a message pops up in the lower
right).

2)  I do *not* know that the device is at COM2.  The Windows device manager
does report that it is using IO 2f8x0-2ffx0 and IRQ 3, which is the same as
COM2.  So, I guess it makes sense that I should address it as COM2 using
USPP.  But, its not working...

3)  I'm hoping that after I can verify that some data is being communicated,
I can reverse engineer the command language that Nokia uses to communicate
with the phone (I can't find the command language on-line).  Maybe my entire
premise is flawed.

Thoughts?

Scott