Troubleshooting

Some general troubleshooting tips are:

• To get two IR devices to discover each other, you may have to realign the IR devices so they point right at each other, move them closer together, and/or change the batteries in an IR adapter or plug the AC power into an IR adapter. The devices must be three feet apart, or less, and the angle of the cone of IR transmission is 30 degrees. Some devices work best if kept at least six inches apart.
• You must always remove any previously installed version of the IR communications driver every time you install the driver. For example, if you have an earlier (Beta) version of the IR communications driver already installed you must remove it before you install Version 1.0. You may also need to remove an installation of the Version 1.0 driver. For example, if you change the IR adapter model that is connected to your computer, you must remove the installed IR communications driver and reinstall it, specifying the new IR adapter type. Instructions for removing the IR communications driver are in An Optional Step: Removing the IR Communications Driver.
• If your IR adapter is attached to a COM port that is using an 8250 UART instead of a 16550 UART, or if your IR adapter is connected to a relatively slow computer (such as a 386 running at 20 MHz), you might need to use the Limit Connection Speed To option in the Infrared Monitor Options tab to limit the connection speed to 19.2 Kbps.

Some troubleshooting tips related to using particular applications over IR links are:

• If you use the Windows 95 application HyperTerminal to transfer files, you may have trouble doing file transfers successfully over an IR link.
• When you run the Windows 95 application Direct Cable Connection (DCC) and establish the connection between the host and guest computers, the guest computer may display the message "Direct Cable Connection was unable to display shared folders of the host computer" and prompt you to enter the computer name of the host computer. A convenient way to find the computer name of the host computer is on the Status tab of the Infrared Monitor interface screen.

Troubleshooting tips related to specific infrared hardware are:

• The Adaptec AIRport 2000 infrared adapter can be powered by either the serial port, installed AA batteries, or an external power supply. In some cases, the serial port may not provide sufficient power for the operation of the adapter. This can cause reduced operating range and/or a failure to find another IR device which is nearby and aligned correctly. If you suspect such a problem, connect an AC adapter or add four AA batteries to the battery compartment in the infrared adapter. This will assure sufficient power. In some instances, you may need to separate the adapter by at least six inches from the other IR device.
• If you have an ActiSys 220L IR adapter attached to your computer and print to a printer that is using an Extended Systems ESI-9580 printer IR adapter, or you are printing to the HP DeskJet 340, you must use the Options tab in the Infrared Monitor to limit the connection speed to 19.2 Kbps to print successfully. If you allow the IR devices to automatically negotiate the connection speed without setting this limit, they will negotiate a higher connection speed and your application will not be able to print.
• The TI TravelMate 5000 may communicate over an IR link only at very low speeds (9600 baud).
• The Sharp PC 3050 may communicate over an IR link only at speeds between 9600 baud and 19.2 Kbps.
• If you have an HP Omnibook 4000C or an HP Omnibook 600CT, you must install a special echo-canceling serial driver in addition to the components that make up the IR communications driver. The echo-canceling driver, along with instructions on how to install it, are available from Hewlett-Packard.