HP 312 Travel Companion and Ozi CE

Website is down till monday at the earliest

Thanks for your reply Ben.

Did you follow one of the methods that Kris used on the GPSAustralia forum?

My home PC runs Vista. Will I be able to sync the 312 with Windows Media Center or is it only with Windows Mobile Device Center? At the moment I can only sync the HP2210 for Office functions. I have been copying Ozif3 maps and Routes etc directly to the SD card.

It seems like HP did not intend any PDA functions to happen in this version at least. No big deal for me because I only intend to use the navigation side and the contacts list.

Thanks Ben,

Your method sounds simple and logical to me.

I haven't purchased the item yet, but I have been impressed in store with its display. It seems like a good way to get a turn by turn navigator that can handle Ozi. The alternative was to purchase the ASUS 696 or a cheaper HP PDA but their displays can't match the 312.

You have been a big help.

Kingo

Ben W,

If you see this, I still need help!

I have now purchased the HP312 and I enjoy using it as a street navigator. It also is quite good driving to country towns etc. However I have had no luck getting OziCE to run on it. I have read all the threads by various hackers (or experimenters) and I am very cautious about making the registery changes that they seem to do. As I said earlier, your method seems safe and simple. Did you install the Total Commander? Does your Ozi work OK straight off the card? I have the files on the card and I changed the exe file name but no go! I would really appreciate a step by step guide to get Ozi working (including the problem of getting my authorisation key to activate the full version). Hoping you can help.
Any suggestions from other users are welcome too.

Kingo

I just set up a card yesterday for a friend, I'll detail exactly what I did to get it work - all very straightforward and no risk of damaging the unit. I don't edit the device config or use Total Commander.

1) Download the latest version of OziCE (currently 2.11 from oziexplorer.com - ensure you get the wince_core_runtime.zip)
2) Extract the files to the SD card, so you end up with OziExplorerCE_arm.exe along with all of the files & folders in the root of the SD card
3) Rename OziExplorerCE_arm.exe to CELauncher.exe, you can safely delete OziExplorerCE_mips.exe as this is for a different processor architecture
4) At this stage I usually create the hires.dat file to tell OziCE that it is running on a device with a high screen resolution. This is optional, depending on how good your eyes are. If you want to do this, create a text file (right click ? New ? Text Document) in the root of the SD card and rename it to hires.dat. It is important to ensure that the file doesn’t end up named hires.dat.txt – you need to untick the ‘Hide extensions for known file types’ option in the View tab under Tools ? Folder options in Windows Explorer
5) Copy all of your maps to the Maps directory on the SD card. I use 8Gb cards and copy all of the Hema maps along with the 1:250k Natmap series converted to Ozf3 format, which takes a bit over 5Gb of space
6) At this stage you should be able to put the SD card in the Ipaq and press the reset button with the stylus, OziCE should load automatically. If you don’t have a license key for OziCE v2, which is completely different from v1, then you’ll need to request this from Des. You can enter your details using the on screen keyboard, which can be brought up by tapping the KB button that appears next to text fields
7) Go for gold, you can customise the device and get it set up as you want. IMO one of the best devices on the market for running OziCE.

Hope this helps!

Ben

Whew!

Thanks Ben, I have printed it all off and I am about to start. A couple of questions though.. " the root of the card" does this mean just onto the card ie not in any other folder? I have the correct runtime folder unzipped, but I copied it onto the card as an unzipped file in its own folder. I renamed the exe as you said. I think I do have an older (v1) key so that will have to be addressed (Des was helpful when I changed my PC to a Vista machine). Also I was confused by all that talk of a "shell" (commander) but I think that is only required to have access through the Games page.

I do like the device as a turn by turn navigator, hands free bluetooth phone etc. I have not been able to sync the Outlook contacts and this caused me to call HP australia who transferred me to a mexican somewhere on the other side of the world who seemed to know even less than I do! I am happy to activate the Ozi via a soft boot on the card. My password to HP IPAQ seems to have been stuffed up somehow and I still need to sort that out so I can get system and mapping updates.

Here goes again,

Kingo

Ben,

I got it to work! The initial problem was that I left the unzipped files in a folder on the card. Once I got rid of that and had the files just lying in their natural folders, OZI loaded up. The key I had worked OK.
Now my problem is that the High Resolution thingy did not work. It is very hard, almost impossible to work with the small fonts etc. I may not have that hires.dat file right. I did find the box to uncheck in explorer - at least I think it is the right box. Vista doesn't seem to be quite the same. Any clues?

Now I have the rest of the weekend to convert my NATMAPS over. The HEMA desert maps work OK. Everything looks a bit too tiny though.

Kingo

All OK Ben,

That HIRES had changed to a dat.txt extension as you warned. I didn't notice it right away.

Thanks very much for your tuition. I hope this thread helps anyone else interested in a Crossover device.

Kingo