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Infrared !

Older ThinkPads from the 300, 500, 600, 700 Series, iSeries, Transnote etc.
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kobalt
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Infrared !

#1 Post by kobalt » Mon Jun 20, 2016 10:44 am

How to transfer files to a 380ED in 2016, without CD, floppy, LAN, or plugging the HDD to another computer ?

Infrared !

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I used my T21, both TP are running Win98, and surprisingly, it was working in 2 clicks and flawlessly !

Effective speed ? Not that much (i'd say 20/30 kbps, far from the theorical rates), but still, that was fun.

Keep this in mind when you play with old hardware :)

TPFanatic
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Re: Infrared !

#2 Post by TPFanatic » Mon Jun 20, 2016 12:15 pm

I forgot all about infrared when I wanted to transfer files to my A31 and went through all the hassles of trying everything else. Then I remembered it and now can only wonder. My T42s have tried connecting each other before with IR but I've never tried using it. Nice to see it works!

danikayser84
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Re: Infrared !

#3 Post by danikayser84 » Mon Jun 20, 2016 2:48 pm

The typical method of transfer I use to get files to older laptop computers (such as PowerBook 1400cs, ThinkPad 755CX, etc.) is through a CF-to-PCMCIA adapter and a small (<2GB) CF card; in the case of the PC laptops however the PCMCIA drivers need to be installed first ;)
Current: T440p (Win10), W500 4058-CTO (Win10), T61 8892-01U (Win2000), Semi-Retired: T61 8892-01U (Win10)
Museum/Retired: T400, Z60m, T43, T42, T30, T23, A30, A31p, 600X, 600E, 380ED, 770Z, 560Z, 765D, 755CX, 755CD
Others: Dell D630, MacBook Pro Mid-2012, PowerBook G3 Pismo, AlBook 15"/1.5G

theterminator93
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Re: Infrared !

#4 Post by theterminator93 » Mon Jun 20, 2016 6:50 pm

Yes, yes... good old infrared. Goodness though, is it ever slow. :)
T480 with T25 keyboard | T25 | W520 i7-2860QM·Quadro 2000m·IPS FHD | T601F T9900·NVS 140m·LED AFFS UXGA
T420 IPS FHD | X220 IPS FHD | T61p·T61·43·42p|X13 Yoga G3·220T·301·41T·24·23·22|G41|A31p·22m|i1200|TransNote
600|770Z|770|760XD|760EL|701C|755C

mpcook
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Re: Infrared !

#5 Post by mpcook » Mon Jun 20, 2016 8:11 pm

I used to point my T23 (or maybe it was a T21 or a T43?)at my HP Laserjet 5P across the room to print. I still have the 1999 Laserjet 5P which works fine, but no IR laptops to point at it any more. :(
Current: 2 x W520 ET, 2 x X220 i7, T420, X230 i5, T420s, MacbookPro, Dell Venue 11 Pro, Dell XPS 8930, X1 Yoga 3GEN
Past: IBM5150-8088 500 600E 600X T20 T21 5xT23 X30 3xX31 X32 T40 T42 3xT43 T43p SL510 T60p X60T X60s T61 2xT400 T410si T400s T500-3.06GHz X200 X201 X220i5 X220i7 2xT420s

Saucey
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Re: Infrared !

#6 Post by Saucey » Tue Jun 21, 2016 2:25 am

mpcook wrote:I used to point my T23 (or maybe it was a T21 or a T43?)at my HP Laserjet 5P across the room to print. I still have the 1999 Laserjet 5P which works fine, but no IR laptops to point at it any more. :(
Infared was that good back in the day?
I was too young to ever use that technology, only a few handheld game machines had something similar to it but was very cumbersome.
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theterminator93
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Re: Infrared !

#7 Post by theterminator93 » Tue Jun 21, 2016 6:57 am

I never tried anything "long range" aside from the infrared wireless controller setup for the original NES gaming console, which to my memory worked out to 10, maybe 12 feet or so. So depending on the size of the room, "across the room" to a printer seems feasible, at least in that regard. Any time I've tried transferring data from PC to PC it's been a couple feet.
T480 with T25 keyboard | T25 | W520 i7-2860QM·Quadro 2000m·IPS FHD | T601F T9900·NVS 140m·LED AFFS UXGA
T420 IPS FHD | X220 IPS FHD | T61p·T61·43·42p|X13 Yoga G3·220T·301·41T·24·23·22|G41|A31p·22m|i1200|TransNote
600|770Z|770|760XD|760EL|701C|755C

MrMaguire
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Re: Infrared !

#8 Post by MrMaguire » Tue Jun 21, 2016 7:10 am

mpcook wrote:only a few handheld game machines had something similar to it but was very cumbersome.
Game Boy Color! If I remember correctly, there was a way to use the Game Boy as a TV remote.

Never used Infrared to transfer files between computers, I have with cell phones though. Thank god for Bluetooth!

danikayser84
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Re: Infrared !

#9 Post by danikayser84 » Tue Jun 21, 2016 10:05 am

Now I'm curious as to whether Basilisk II or SheepShaver running on a ThinkPad can transfer to an actual Mac using infrared? (or using the infrared port on a ThinkPad to send data to old Pokémon Game Boy Color games too) :P

I've never been fond of infrared due to its slow speed, but I should try to experiment in it more perhaps ;)
Current: T440p (Win10), W500 4058-CTO (Win10), T61 8892-01U (Win2000), Semi-Retired: T61 8892-01U (Win10)
Museum/Retired: T400, Z60m, T43, T42, T30, T23, A30, A31p, 600X, 600E, 380ED, 770Z, 560Z, 765D, 755CX, 755CD
Others: Dell D630, MacBook Pro Mid-2012, PowerBook G3 Pismo, AlBook 15"/1.5G

Kasm279
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Re: Infrared !

#10 Post by Kasm279 » Wed Jun 22, 2016 5:35 pm

mpcook wrote:I used to point my T23 (or maybe it was a T21 or a T43?)at my HP Laserjet 5P across the room to print. I still have the 1999 Laserjet 5P which works fine, but no IR laptops to point at it any more. :(
I always did this with my Palm m515 and the school's various LaserJet printers. :D
Main: Latitude E6430
Working ThinkPads: IBM 5155, 755C, 755CX, 760ED, 380Z, 600E (x3), i1420, 570E, X20, T23, T30 x3, T43, Z61t, T60p
WIP: 701c (Broken OS), 600 (LCD), PS/2 L40SX (HDD), 570 (No lid), X31 (HDD, LCD), R51 (HDD), Z60t (HDD), X60 (HDD), T400 (LCD), T43p (?)
Dead: i1420 (Mobo, Keyboard)

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