As an aside I noticed SiRF has been bought and that apparently was an opportunity to wipe all support files from their web site. No sirfdemo software there. I got it from the same site as your link.

I got two of the GPS units at about $17 each so I’m not so worried about bricking one :) Maybe royaltek has its own programming software. Still hoping for a reply from them.

73,

Sander W1SOP

SiRFDemo is a good tool for debugging the GPS. You can also use it to switch between NMEA and binary. It’s easy to not-quite-brick-the-device-but-scare-yourself with it, so read the documentation.

I wonder if one could set the default baud rate to 4800 by flashing the Royaltek unit with some generic, non-Royaltek SiRF firmware. I wouldn’t want to be the first to try it though…

It’s likely the memory backup battery was the reason my GPS lost the settings when I first tried it. It had probably been powered off for quite some time. Now that the battery is full it should probably last for quite a bit longer.

73,

Sander W1SOP

I’m pretty sure the right string and checksum are:
$PSRF100,1,4800,8,1,0*0E
…although I recommend you check with the documentation before trying.

My GPS receiver has once reverted back to 19200 after being unpowered for a while. With that in mind, I would suggest that if you integrate the device into the D710 head, leave the RS232 pins accessible in case you need to reconfigure it.

I have one of those same GPS receivers and also found it’s stuck i 19200 baud when you first get it. I have it talking to my computer and I was wondering if you could share the command to set it to 4800 baud please? I intend to put the receiver inside my D710 head. When it’s done I can send you a picture to show you were to make the connections.

Thanks and 73,

Sander W1SOP

Craig, I used CREE C503C-WAN-CBADA151 LEDs from Farnell. They used to be available but seem to be discontinued now. Any similarly size and brightness LED should work (or not, as the case may be.)

Dave, I would not stick 1W LEDs in my ears. I suspect Valkee use fibre optic for thermal reasons. A mobile phone (or any handheld device for that matter) can only dissipate about 6W over its whole surface area without getting too hot to handle. With that in mind, would you really want a 1-watt heater in your ear canal?

Finally, I haven’t actually used this thing beyond testing it once or twice, so I can’t comment on how well it performs on me. Like I said, though, having looked at the evidence I’m not too hopeful.

First of all, I have tried to find the posters/papers about Valkee and I can’t say I’m convinced by the evindence. This paper describes a trial where they tested various power levels of Valkee, they found that ‘any’ light level tested was equally effective — yet they didn’t test light level zero. Surely the obvious conclusion is that if the light level doesn’t matter, then the effect can be explained by placebo? The rest of the trials seem to address small pieces of a puzzle without daring to make a big claim.

For what it’s worth, the LED system is probably in the lower end of the scale, clocking in at around 1 lumen. But if we are to believe the research, there’s no advantage to boosting the light output by a factor of nine.

Here is their “peer-reviewed methodology paper”. It states:

Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest

Almost immediately below, they say:

Acknowledgments
[an author of the paper] Markku Timonen is a minor shareholder in Valkee Ltd. [another author of the paper] Juuso Nissilä is a shareholder and CEO of Valkee Ltd. company (Oulu, Finland), which is a producer and developer of the bright light devices for SAD.

I’m no expert on research methodology, but how do these two statements square up?

I made my own a couple of days ago, also with cheap phones and led’s. Mine is a little simpler though without a dimmer, a resistor and directly connected to a 12v adapter. Two bright 15000 mcd led’s serve as lightsources.
I’m thinking about building another one with 1w power led’s because the intensity may not be enough to penetrate the inner parts of the ear and reach the photosensitive parts of the brain. But I will wait and see if the first build is causing any moodshifts. When I use the phones I feel “something”, can be placebo though.

How’s it going with your phones? Noticed any difference in mood?