PAC Mate BX and
QX 3.0 Update
What
is it?
What does it cost?
How do I get it?
What are the update steps?
Step-by-Step Update Instructions
Known Issue
What
is it?
This is a major update for the PAC Mate BX and QX. The update costs
$115 and is free to those with a current warranty or Annual Software
Agreement (ASA). Release 3.0 brings some very exciting and unique features:
ActiveSync Remote
PAC Mate
Access JAWS 6.20
or later on your desktop any time you have an ActiveSync connection.
Run applications on your desktop right from your BX or QX using your
wireless card or USB. Sit out by the pool, and work on your e-mail
or any standard desktop application using JAWS. Control and enter data
from your PAC Mate. Your desktop PC provides speech and braille feedback
through the PAC Mate.
Keyboard Lock
This feature locks
out all keys except those required to navigate a document. Read documents
and books on the bus or train without worrying about losing your place
at every bump.
AOL® Instant Messenger™
With relay services
using AIM™ to support telephone communication for the deaf, we
paid special attention to the ease of use on the PAC Mate. Now deaf/blind
users have full access to AIM with a PAC Mate and a braille display,
including message review capabilities and Buddy List.
Automatic Braille
Scrolling
Use one of your
Nav Row keys to automatically advance the braille display – a “Braille
Say All”. Set your speed with two other Nav Row keys, and your
display is on auto pilot while you read.
You can now click
on links in e-mail messages and select text consistently.
What
does it cost?
The 3.0 update
costs $115. It is a free download to BX and QX series PAC Mate owners
whose units are under warranty or ASA. DO NOT download this update
if you have a PAC Mate BNS or TNS. Also, if you received your new PAC
Mate BX or QX model after June 27, 2005, your PAC Mate should already
be running 3.0. There is no need to update. You can verify what version
you have
installed by pressing INSERT+F1, pressing the A
key on the QX or DOTS
1-4-5-6 CHORD, DOT 1 on the BX.
How
do I get it?
If your PAC Mate
QX or BX is not under warranty or ASA, call your local dealer or Freedom
Scientific at 1-800-444-4443 to order your update for $115 on CD or
$144.95 on a 32 MB CompactFlash® card.
If your PAC Mate
BX or QX is currently under warranty or ASA, have your serial number
handy and go to the download
page. Your serial
number is a seven digit number in braille
on a
label
on the bottom surface of the PAC Mate. If this is no longer readable,
you can also retrieve it by pressing INSERT+F1 followed by A on your
QX or DOTS 1,4,5,6 CHORD followed by DOT 1 on your BX.
When the dialog box opens:
- Select a location (such
as your Desktop) where you can easily find the downloaded file. The
file is named pm3_0_enu.exe.
- The self-extracting
zip file will prompt you for a location to place the extracted files.
Again, select a location where you can easily find the files.
- The extracted file
will be named nk.rom. The nk.rom file is approximately
17 MB.
- Once you have extracted
both files, you may delete the pm3_0_enu.exe file.
What
are the update steps?
You must follow
several steps to complete the installation of this update so that you
do not lose data or impair programs installed on your PAC Mate.
Before installing
the update:
- If you subscribe
to Audible.com, deactivate your Audible Player.
- Store files
on a CompactFlash card, or run ActiveSync and store files on your
PC.
Installing the
3.0 update:
- Download the
update to your PC.
- Move the update
to a CompactFlash card.
- Insert the CompactFlash
card with the update into your PAC Mate, and press the reset button
on
the bottom of the unit.
After installing
the update:
- Delete the old
ActiveSync partnership on your PC.
- Create a new
ActiveSync partnership with the exact same name.
- Synchronize your
PAC Mate with your PC.
- Re-install third
party applications and drivers, if any, and reactivate Audible Player.
Review each of the
following steps, and be sure you allow yourself adequate time to complete
them.
Step-by-Step
Update Instructions
Before installing
the update
- Use ActiveSync
to synchronize your PAC Mate with your PC.
- If you have
the Audible Player from Audible.com on your PAC Mate, start Audible
Manager, open the Devices menu, and choose Activate/Deactivate. Follow
the steps to deactivate your PAC Mate. This will re-deposit your
Audible authorization in your account so you can install and reactivate
the Audible Player after updating your PAC Mate.
- Store all the files
you currently have in your PAC Mate’s main memory onto a CompactFlash
card or onto your desktop PC. For more information on synchronizing,
refer to your PAC Mate documentation.
- Plug in the battery charger, and connect it to your PAC Mate. Check
the battery status on the Today screen to ensure that the PAC Mate is
operating on AC power.
Warning: Do
NOT use Sprite backup as this will restore the old system files over your
newly installed release 3.0 update.
Installing the
3.0 update
- Transfer nk.rom to a CompactFlash card. If your PC does not have
a card reader, you can place the CompactFlash card into your PAC Mate
and copy nk.rom to My Computer/Mobile Device/My Pocket PC/Storage Card
while connected with ActiveSync.
- Disconnect
from your PC and remove all peripherals from the CompactFlash slots
of your PAC Mate. Insert the CompactFlash card into your PAC Mate
and perform a hard reset by pressing a paper clip or stylus into
the hole in the bottom of the PAC Mate for 3 to 4 seconds. For more
information on locating the reset button, refer to your PAC Mate
documentation.
- It should take approximately five minutes for your PAC Mate to
reload. During this time it will periodically emit a series of tones
as it progresses through each stage of the process. Once the installation
is complete, JAWS will say, “Welcome to your new PAC Mate with
JAWS for Pocket PC, version 3.0 build 290…”
Note: If
this is NOT what your PAC Mate says, verify what build you have installed
by pressing INSERT+F1, A on the QX400 or DOTS 1-4-5-6 CHORD,
DOT 1 on the BX400. If this step indicates that your PAC Mate is still running
version 2.5, the update was not successfully installed. In this case,
you can try again with a different CompactFlash card, or you can place
an order for a 32MB CompactFlash card containing the new software by
calling your local dealer or Freedom Scientific Sales at 1-800-444-4443.
After installing
the update
- Start ActiveSync on your PC while your PAC Mate is still disconnected.
Your PAC Mate should be listed as disconnected. If necessary, press
ALT+F, then choose Mobile Device. Select your PAC Mate’s
name using the DOWN ARROW key and press ENTER.
- Press ALT+F
and press UP ARROW until you find "Delete Partnership."
Then press ENTER. Be sure to record the exact name of the partnership
you are deleting, including upper and lower case letters and underscores.
Choose Yes when asked if you are sure you want to delete the partnership.
Then choose No when asked if you wish to delete the synchronized Files
folder.
- Set the correct
time, date, and time zone on your newly-updated PAC Mate. Do this before
proceeding to the next step.
- On the PAC Mate, open the Start Menu, move to Settings, and press
ENTER or DOT 8. In the Settings dialog,
move to the System page, select About and press ENTER
or DOT 8. Navigate to the Device ID page.
- Give your device the exact name you recorded earlier. Press ENTER
or DOT 8 to close the dialog.
- Connect your PAC Mate to the PC. The Connection Wizard will ask if
you wish to create a Standard or Guest Partnership. Select Standard
Partnership and press ENTER or DOT 8.
If prompted for a name, give the partnership the identical name as the
one you recorded. Press ENTER or DOT 8.
- Be sure to select
the Files check box as one of the items you want to synchronize.
- After you have
finished establishing the partnership, the unit will begin the synchronization
process. A message displays: "The following information type on
your mobile device has items that have not been synchronized with this
computer before.” Press DOWN ARROW to select "Replace
the items on my device with the items on this computer." Activate
the OK button. The files that were saved to the PC are now being placed
back in your PAC Mate's My Documents folder, and the synchronization
process continues.
- To restore your previously-installed PAC Mate applications:
- Press ALT+T
in the ActiveSync window on your PC to open the Tools menu. Choose
Add/Remove Programs. This displays a list of the programs and drivers
you have previously added to your PAC Mate, if any. Move through the
list with the arrow keys and press the SPACEBAR to check those
you want to re-install, and then choose OK. If you have many programs,
you may want to do this only a few at a time, especially if any need
additional configuration steps on the PAC Mate.
Note:
If you previously downloaded and installed the USB Mass Storage Driver
from the Freedom Scientific Web site, you do not need to reinstall
it after installing release 3.0. The updated driver is included
in
the release.
- Delete the nk.rom
file from the CompactFlash card.
- Perform a new
backup of your PAC Mate. DO NOT RESTORE a previously completed backup,
as this will undo the upgrade process.
- Many new Freedom
Scientific applications for the PAC Mate require owner
authorization. Programs
that use this system have an authorization key that "unlocks" the program.
This system is based on the name that is entered in the Owner
Information section
of
your PAC Mate. If you do not already have a name entered here,
go to the Start
Menu, choose Settings, and choose Owner Information. At a minimum,
enter your name into the Name field. Since authorization keys are
generated and verified based on the exact information that appears
here, be sure
to use upper and lower case just as you would when writing your
name in a letter.
Note: If
one of the programs you reinstalled is the Audible Player, start Audible
Manager on your PC and reactivate your device (press ALT+D,
then press CTRL+A).
Known
Issue
When using PAC Mate
in the ActiveSync Remote Mode with JAWS 6.20, the RIGHT SHIFT key
could stick when used in conjunction with the TAB key.
For this reason, you should avoid the
RIGHT SHIFT+TAB keystroke with ActiveSync Remote PAC
Mate. If you have a PAC Mate with a braille display, a very convenient
option is to use
the two keys in the center of the NAV ROW for TAB and SHIFT+TAB.
Updated FSDN Now
available
For persons with an
interest in writing scripts for applications running on the PAC Mate,
the Freedom Scientific Developer Network file has been updated to include
new script functions and a link to the PAC Mate 3.0 script source.
Read the Functions Reference
Manual and download the FSDN
Read the PAC Mate 3.0
Documentation |
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