Griffin AirClick RF iPod Remote: The 433.92MHz problem

The Griffin AirClick is supposed to control an iPod from up to 60 feet away (presumably that's with no intervening objects, no interfering signals, and a fresh battery). I'm getting a line of sight range of about 10 feet, and about 12 inches if a wooden door is in the way.

Oookaaay. Not great. Why? Griffin makes good stuff and the build quality of this device seems very good. On the other hand it's not just me. I knew from the Amazon reviews (far and away the best source of product information on the net) that other people are getting similarly awful results. The happiest users used it on a bicycle with a range of 3 feet (yes, that's a rude and dangerous way to ride). Of course I knew that beforehand, and since I paid $20 for this device (on sale since it's incompatible with newer iPods), I'm not all that annoyed.

Griffin's tech support article tells part of the story:

I am getting short range, what can I do? - Griffin Technology:

The most likely variable to cause this issue is RF interference. There are several things that can cause RF interference such as speaker systems, CRT monitors, wireless phones, or wireless networking devices [jf: anything that uses the ubiquitous 433.92MHz frequency]. If you suspect such a device is causing your issue, the following steps should help you isolate the source of the problem.

Move to another room, away from the source of the interference. Test the AirClick again by having another person hold the iPod with the AirClick connected. Slowly walk away from that person while pressing buttons on your AirClick remote. When the the iPod/AirClick stops receiving commands from the remote, have the other person signal you. Make note of the distance you have now covered. If that distance is greater than the distance you were getting with the iPod near the source of the interference, then most likely your AirClick is working correctly. If the two distances are the same, try replacing the battery inside the remote. You can open the Remote Control unit by removing the three small screws, and replace with a CR2032-type battery or equivalent.

I'll test outdoors to check the battery, but I suspect the key problem is use of the unregulated 433.92 FM range. This range is commonly used for home security systems, and we have a home security system. We also have an 802.11b LAN and a wireless phone, but I think they're well out of range. My money is on the home security system.

For now it works a bit less well than an IR remote, but it's not completely useless. Worth about what I paid.

This may explain why most vendors stick with IR remotes. We need a different RF technology for workable remote control devices. Bluetooth won't do, it's short range and penetrates poorly. Maybe ultra-wideband.

I would recommend against buying any device that relies on the 433.92 frequency -- alas, I suspect that's almost everything for now.

Update: See this.

PatioTunes: iTunes remote control for XP, OS X and Fast User Switching

Is this the holy grail? I've tried all kinds of tricks to do remote control of iTunes. None have worked, AirTunes has been a bust for me. I've tried NetTunes, SlimServer's software, various AppleScript hacks, VNC, TuneConnect, and about half a dozen others. I've also reviewed Sailing Clicker and considered the Griffin remote.

Everything I tried foundered on the shores of Fast User Switching, performance and usability issues, or Apple's FairPlay DRM scheme. I finally realized that AppleScript wasn't going to work because Apple doesn't really support AppleScript with FUS (makes me think they're going to sunset AppleScript ...). [1]

The only thing that looked promising was running a web server using CGI Scripts. Looked like a lot of time to setup, but it sorts out the FUS issues.

Then, in a recent search, I came across Mindola Software: PatioTunes. This could be it - but testing is early. I've already found one nasty bug; the author makes the common mistake of thinking everyone runs as Admin (bad, bad, bad practice). If you install this as admin then run it from a non-admin session the internal web server files are inaccessible. Dumb. I changed permissions and will write the author.

Ok, that aside, it's impressive. It's a Java web server that communicates with iTunes, perhaps via AppleEvents. Anything that runs a browser can access it, the only glitch is some obscure browsers need a manual refresh to see new playlists. Unlike the Apache solution you don't have to hand-build playlist references, it gets the playlists itself.

Cost is $15. Well worth it if it works!

[1] I took the easy solution and bought myself a new 30G iPod. The old one is now a fixed music server, permanently plugged in. It lives by the stereo. Since it's a 3G iPod I ordered a very cheap FM remote from Griffin (all the 3G/4G peripherals are being dumped because they don't work with the video iPod or Nano).

Update 2/18: The author is now working on the permissions problem. I don't think they'd understood it before. The author was likewise rather surprised to learn that PatioTunes is compatible with Fast User Switching. I guess it was a happy side-effect of using the web server approach. I re-enabled my OS X firewall adding an entry for the PatioTunes default port.

Sync iTunes Libraries Between Two Macs

I use the "drag music file to client iTunes" method to update my wife's iTunes database when I add music to the main library. There may be another approach: ReelSmart.com: iTunes Tip #35: Sync Libraries Between Two Macs.

This method uses a shareware sync software utility.

Favorite OS X Apps: Reelmsart.com

I came across this page while deciding whether to test PatioTunes: ReelSmart.com: Top Picks. An impressive list. By their software you shall know them. I'm adding him/her to my bloglines subscription. Another value indicator: a dog's picture is used as a favicon and author profile image.

iPhoto Library Manager updated for iPhoto 6.01

Surprisingly, the recent iPhoto 6 patch also required a new version of IPLM. Turns out the old one had a nasty bug anyway ....

About iPhoto Library Manager:

Updated for compatibility with iPhoto 6.0.1
Fixed a bug where imported photo dates would be set incorrectly in iPhoto 6
Movie files are now copied properly under iPhoto 6
Fixed a problem where original photos would not be copied properly in some libraries

Using an XP laptop as an iPod charger: preventing iPod mounting

I'm not having any luck on with a Google search on this topic.

I have a new 5G video iPod. The only real advantage of this device over the 3G iPod it replaced is that it can charge off a USB port. This is big, because I don't like carrying power adapters when I travel. I have to carry a corporate laptop, it has USB but not firewire.

Fine, but the iPod is formatted using HFS+ under OS X. It syncs to OS X. If I plug it into windows box the OS mounts it as a USB drive and asks if I want to format it.

Yech. What if I clicked the wrong button?

I've partially disabled this. I went into the XP services menu and stopped and then disabled the iPod service. I then went into my XP hardware profile and with the iPod mounted I disabled hardware support in all profiles for this device.

The result is the OS still tries to mount the USB device, but stops as soon as it 'recognizes' it as an iPod. So I don't get the nasty offer to format the iPod. I still have to manually dismount the partially mounted USB device in order to be able to use it while it's connected to the USB port (though since the file system is not mounted I could probably just ignore the warning and unplug it if I just wanted to charge it).

So, not bad really. Still, it would be nice if it didn't even TRY to mount. Anyone know a workaround?

Palm Tungsten E2: wicked amazon reviews

Wow. Watching Palm die is a sick sort of entertainment -- but I can't resist.

Amazon's reviews on Palm's most important PDA product, the Tungsten E2, are wicked. It looks like the E2 has a defect with the on-off switch, shortly after the 90 day warrantee ends the switch dies. Palm had similar problems with several earlier models -- I guess they just can't figure out the on/off switch.

The Treo 650 is popular, but I can't see how it can forestall doom. They've sold the PalmOS software to a Japanese company so there's no revenue stream there.

What a train wreck.

PS. Since there's no real replacement for the dying Palm PDA (PocketPC PDAs are also on death row) I may yet buy a Tungsten E2! (4/06: I did.) I'll wait for a great offer however. I'll also use TealLaunch to turn the device off and a function button to turn it on -- so I'll completely avoid the flaky on/off switch. It might last longer if I never use it.