Bringing T42 2378FZU out of standby via function key or some

[Amans]

Hi, all.
I'm blind and use the T42 in what I daresay is an unusual way. I have the lid constantly closed. The machine lies inside a bag (the fan on the left side is open to the air), and audio is transmitted wirelessly to a receiver I hold. A wireless keyboard transmits input to the machine. This works beautifully except that I have no function key on the external keyboard. This would be nice to have, particulaly since the function key is required to bring the system out of standby mode. It also has quite a few other good functions, but I'm not so anxious about those. So, my question is this. Is there a way to make a function key on an external keyboard? If not, is there a way to bring the T42 out of standby without lifting the lid?
Thanks.

[darrenf]

Amans,

I don't know how much this will help but I understand that a bluetooth device can bring the machine out of standby. Do you have bluetooth on your ThinkPad? Perhaps another kind soul can point out what bluetooth device will trigger a resume.

Good luck in your search!

-darren

[Amans]

darrenf,

Thanks for the reply. I don't have intigrated bluetooth, but do have a Socket Bluetooth PCMCIA card (actually, it's a CF card in a PCMCIA reader). Any info on what might be able to bring the unit out of standby would be appreciated.

Aman

[darrenf]

I'm not sure if external Bluetooth will work for the resume-on-bluetooth feature. What model laptop do you have? It may be pre-wired for Bluetooth. It would still require the purchase of a bluetooth module, but it would snap in.

I wouldn't suggest making the jump until someone can point out a way to wake using Bluetooth. I know it can be done (hence the bluetooth light that's visible from the outside of a closed ThinkPad), but I don't know how.

-darren

[furball4]

The only thing I can report is that I don't know how, either. I use an old 560x in my car as part of a homegrown MP3 system, and I ended up rigging an external "button." It's just a lever that sticks out the side of the laptop and depresses the actual FN key. I took the FN key off to make it work well... the lever depresses the actual key mechanism.

I do have another idea though... Wake On LAN (WOL). Maybe there is a way to get something to wake the laptop over it's ethernet port? Also, is there an alternative to having it sleep in the first place? It doesn't sound like you use it on battery power. You can keep it from sleeping in the power management properties (I assume you knew this, I'm just covering all the bases).

[darrenf]

furball4,

I have to say that the lever-pushing-the-key idea is brilliant!

I hate that I didn't think of that!

-darren

[furball4]

Amans, Where are you when you want to wake the laptop? Does the solution need to be a remote control, or could it be corded? There really should be some kind of Wake-on-LAN solution that could sit on the far end of a few feet of ethernet cable. You would push a button, and the device would simply send a WOL signal to the laptop. Even if one doesn't exist, you could maybe get an electronics guru to build you something for $50 or so. That's a guess, as I don't know how complex such a thing really would be.

[ehd]

does anyone else get the goosebumps when a blind person is "reading" your replies on a message board especially since he never opens the laptop...

[darrenf]

Amans,

I'm still working on this one.

I presume that you need the power savings from the suspend mode or you would have disabled the suspend-on-lid-close event. Correct?

Do you need to be able to turn the laptop on wirelessly or can you press a physical button near the laptop?

If you resume by hand, and if you can stand a little more weight and bulk, you can add a docking station. They have an externally mounted power button that will wake a closed machine up.

I presume that this button could also be wired to a remote trigger, perhaps even a wireless trigger.

Pressing the power button or the Fn-F4 combo are the only ways that I have been able to wake a closed laptop. I took apart a spare keyboard to see if I could hot-wire the power button to move it to a remote location, but I could not open the keyboard far enough without destroying it, so this will probably be difficult unless someone knows the keyboard pinouts.

When I close my ThinkPad, the bluetooth light on the outside goes out, so I don't think it supports Wake-on-Bluetooth as I had been told previously. The BIOS does support wake-on-ring, so you could hook up a phone line simulator to create a ring, but these are a bit expensive ($100+) and most require AC, so this solution is probably no better than the docking station.

Wake on LAN might be a good way to go, but I would guess that you would almost need another laptop to generate IP traffic destined for your machine.

I'll report back if I find anything further. I wish you continued good luck!

-darren

[n3il]

Can the keyboard customiser not allow you to assign an Fn key to an external keyboard? (or perhaps it is the other way around) I can be sure at the moment - I don't have my TP with me.

Perhaps someone could dig around in the Keyboard Customiser utility? Or I will when I get to my TP...

[furball4]

I think I've read elsewhere that reassigning the FN key does not work. Maybe it has some kind of special hardware linked to it or something.