UltraPort Infrared Adapter

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IBM UltraPort Infrared Adapter

IBM UltraPort Infrared Adapter

This is a Infrared Adapter for the IBM UltraPort. It can also be connected to any USB port by using the included cable.

This adapter is especially useful for X20 and X21 ThinkPads, since they are not equipped with IrDA ports by default.

Features

  • Front to back swivel for greater infrared field of view
  • Transfer rate up to 4 Mbps
  • Maximum range up to 1 meter (3 feet)
  • UltraPort and USB interfaces

IBM Partnumbers

  • Marketing PN: 22P5272
  • FRU PN: 22P5272, 22P5274

Linux driver

This adapter works with the irda-usb driver of 2.6 type kernels. To enable it, follow these steps:

Enable USB support:

Device Drivers → USB support → <M>Support for Host-side USB (CONFIG_USB)
Device Drivers → USB support → [*]USB device file system (CONFIG_USB_DEVICEFS)

Choose an appropriate USB host driver, one of:

Device Drivers → USB support → <M>ECHI HCD (USB 2.0) support (CONFIG_USB_EHCI_HCD)
Device Drivers → USB support → <M>UHCI HCD support (CONFIG_USB_UHCI)
Device Drivers → USB support → <M>OHCI HCD support (CONFIG_USB_OHCI)

Enable IrDA support:

Device Drivers → Networking support → <M>IrDA (infrared) subsystem support (CONFIG_IRDA)
Device Drivers → Networking support → IrDA (infrared) subsystem support → <M>IrLAN protocol (CONFIG_IRLAN)
Device Drivers → Networking support → IrDA (infrared) subsystem support → <M>IrNET protocol (CONFIG_IRNET)
Device Drivers → Networking support → IrDA (infrared) subsystem support → <M>IrCOMM protocol (CONFIG_IRCOMM)

Finally, enable the irda-usb driver:

Device Drivers → Networking support → IrDA (infrared) subsystem support → Infrared-port device drivers → <M>IrDA USB dongles (CONFIG_USB_IRDA)

Compile your kernel with these options (don't forget # depmod -ae) and reboot or just load the relevant modules (usb, usb-ehci/usb-uhci/usb-ohci, usb-storage, irda, irlan, irnet, ircomm, ircomm_tty, irda-usb). Attach the IrDA adapter to the UltraPort, if not done already.

Do a # cat /proc/bus/usb/devices to asure yourself that your IrDA adapter is recognized by the USB subsystem.

ThinkPads this addon is suitable for