Setting Up an IR Connection

Many devices, such as various models of WizCom Scanning Pens, have an IrD port. IrD stands for "Infrared Device." You'll find IrD ports on PDAs, digital cameras, and other devices as well.

What IR is all about

What's up with IR, and how do you set it up? What's up is it's a very fast method for two devices to communicate and it doesn't require any cables. You'll also find IR used as the technology behind many remote control devices (stereo, TV, etc.). For computers, IR was a huge improvement over the old serial interface--primarily in terms of raw speed.

USB came along after IR. Because USB didn't require line of sight, it gained popularity over IR. This, despite the fact IR is typically much faster than USB.

Bluetooth has since come along, offering the advantages of both--high speed connection and no line of sight requirement.

But not everybody has Bluetooth (cost is a huge factor), and not all device mfrs have migrated to it. The fear is something else will come along and displace it. IR is still very much alive. The latest Pocket PC (2006, as of this writing) still has an IR port (in addition to USB and Bluetooth).

Setting up IR

So, how do you set up IR? It's actually very simple. With Windows 2000 and later, it's pretty much auto-recognize. Here are the major steps:

On your device (pen, PDA, etc.), go into wherever the connection settings are and select IR. This may be called by other names, the most popular being "beam." Why this name? Because of Star Trek on the one hand, and an old series of Dilbert cartoons on the other. Follow the prompts--usually there is nothing more to do than to check a box.
On your PC, you will typically need to enable this in the BIOS. Just reboot and enter the BIOS area. For most PCs, that means keep tapping the Delete key. On some, there may be another access method (Dell, for example, uses the F2 key). Windows will automatically configure for the IR to work. You may have to play with the COM port setting a few times in BIOS for IR to work without disabling something else.

Best advice ever

Be sure to test everything. Now, here's some advice that you can either follow or learn the hard way. The hard way may include taking your PC to a shop and paying for service.

Before making a change in the BIOS, write down the item being changed. Note the setting "As Is" and then "As Left."
When changing the BIOS, change one thing at a time. Never two.
Test your computer for the intended change. Then, test for unintended changes by trying other I/O devices such as your mouse, keyboard, printer, etc.
If something doesn't work, your written trail of changes will allow you to back up to a known good state and restore proper operation.

Short case history

I set up my PDA to act as a wireless Internet connection to my device. Wireless in this case meant the connection to the Internet, not between the PDA and the laptop. This worked fine.

Then, I wanted to have my PDA connect wirelessly to my laptop. I set up the IR connection. This worked fine.

I tested for the wireless Internet, and it wouldn't work. This meant I had a conflict. In trying to resolve this, I lost both abilities at one point. But by proceeding methodically, I was finally able to set up the correct COM ports to allow my PDA to provide a 2.4MB Internet connection to my laptop with no cable connecting the two devices.