Yes, we offer complete Pocket PC and scanner packages. The PDA and scanners are brand-new, with manufacturers warranty. If you buy a full package from us, we get everything setup for use with your ScoutPal subscription, so when you get it you can just open up the box, learn how to turn it on, and then go out scouting. Plus, we include a free SD memory card and a card reader (for easy subsequent database updates), as well as free priority mail shipping within the USA.
Alternatively, you can use the hardware that you may already have or plan to purchase somewhere else, as long your equipment meets the ScoutPalDB hardware compatibility requirements.
"Getting Started" instructions for PDA/scanner combinations:
- Omnia-II PDA Package with Scanfob Bluetooth scanner (our current package)
- Using templates with ScoutPalDB
- PDA with Socket 7m Bluetooth scanner
- PDA with ROV Bluetooth scanner
- PDA with Scanfob Bluetooth scanner
- PDA with Socket 5m scanner
- Typical cables and accessories for a PDA, for example an iPAQ 210
- How to restore an iPAQ 210 PDA to its factory default
settings
(Use Google to find hard-reset procedures for other PDA's.) - Explore an Axim PDA
- iPhone -- Follow instructions on the serialio.com iPhone setup page.
- Android -- Follow instructions on the serialio.com Android setup page; it has detailed written instructions as well as a movie that summarizes the setup steps. The movie is you want to watch is titled "Watch how read barcode data into the Android browser ..." What you will be doing, in a nutshell, is downloading and installing the free SerialMagic Gears "driver" app, then configuring it to connect with your scanner so that it can send scanned bar codes into any Android application just as if you had typed them in, including scanning into the ScoutPal Live lookup web service site. (ScoutPal Live is a "web-based app" that's operated using the Android's web browser.)
b: I bought an Omni-II and Scanfob somewhere else. What's the best
way to set it up?
ScoutPal does not require that you use equipment purchased from us; but if
you do, our package includes accessories and all required drivers licensed and installed,
all setup for use with your ScoutPal subscription -- and we ship it for free. (Insured Priority, USA only.)
If you bought Omnia-II package equipment somewhere else we recommend that you set it up
the same way we do, you then can use and follow our "Getting Started .. Omnia-II"
instructions above. ** Click this link to view and
print the checklists we use when setting up our Omnia-II with Scanfob package.
There's also a condensed command sheet for pairing a Scanfob with SerialMagic
Pro (Windows Mobile devices) or with Serial Magic Gears (Androids.) **
Please visit our Features page.
Yes, if you are a new user, or you have upgraded your old
version to ScoutPalDB2
(and you no longer use the outmoded direct "dbb file" update
procedure; soon to be removed!)
(I have my own compatible PDA and I want to get it setup with ScoutPalDB and/or I need to update the database, but I am not very good with computers.)
Yes, we can login to your computer and operate
it by remote control to show you how to do basic computer and
PDA operations like downloading and copying files.
Please call us at 
We also have a collection of YouTube videos (produced by ScoutPal and others) that demonstrate elementary computer and Pocket PC/SD card file operations. We understand that, although most procedures you will need to know are not hard to do, they certainly can be complicated by the unexpected. :)
Or, you can call ScoutPal for further instructions to mail your PDA system to us, and we will set it up for you for a flat fee which also covers expedited and insured return shipping back to you.
Yes, absolutely. You can use your Mac, you'll use it to download and put the unzipped download file into the PDA's SD card, in the prescribed manner.
A card reader is required. Some
Mac's have
an SD Card slot built into them; if yours does not, no worries:
you can get readers at all computer and office stores as well as online, including
Amazon
and
Radio Shack
.
But, the built-in Mac zip file function does not compatibly (Mac vs. Windows) unzip the ScoutPalDB setup and update contents to SD cards. Mac users will need to click here and follow the Mac procedure carefully and exactly, so that their downloaded zip file can be downloaded directly to the card in a way that prevents the Mac from unzipping it first; instead letting the Windows Mobile device unzip it in its own compatible way once the card is put back in the PDA. (Sorry, but we cannot support Mac users who invent their own ways to do things.)
Scanners are input devices, just like a keyboard. They send bar code digits into your Pocket PC, just as if you had tapped them in from a keyboard. Scanner support is an issue that is not directly connected with ScoutPalDB. Your scanner needs to be setup so that it can send bar code digits into any program that is running on the Pocket PC. ScoutPalDB will recognize US EAN-13 digit sequences, and automatically transform them into the underlying ISBN. General guidelines for identifying and scanning book bar codes can be found at http://www.scoutpal.com/db/howtoscan
Please visit http://www.scoutpal.com/db/howtoscan/ to learn how to identify and scan book bar codes.
------------- Click here ------------------
This information is available through the ScoutPal interactive web site lookup. If your PDA has wireless connectivity (Cellular data service, WiFi, bluetooth connection to a cell phone, etc., or if you have a Pocket PC/phone like a Treo 700w) you can add an optional "Fetch" button to the lookup display, and do an online lookup on the same screen with a single tap to fetch full ScoutPal real-time wireless lookup results, including Buyer Waiting, Edition Info, abebooks.com results, as well as "drill-down" for 3rd party offering details.
Visit the template center to learn how ScoutPalDB lookup results can be customized.
Some Windows Mobile devices (typically pda/phones) will only play audio files through a stereo Bluetooth headset. Phone calls may work with your mono headset just fine, but nothing is heard when a media file is played by ScoutPalDB or by the PDA's Media Center application. Some ScoutPals have told us that they were able to use this free utility to route stereo media playback to a mono Bluetooth headset. (Run it *after* you have paired the headset, not before.) Treo 750 users have reported success following this procedure. Disclaimer: These are not ScoutPal products, use them at your own risk.
Tap Start / Settings / System / Screen, then choose the orientation desired,
then tap ok. Watch
Video
You can disable whatever button may be currently setup to rotate the screen:
Tap Start / Settings / Personal Buttons.
Watch Video
(Windows comes with a built-in compressed file extractor, but occasionally a computer may have a had third-party commercial program installed, and as a consequence, native Windows support for handling compressed (zipped) files has been damaged.)
- After uninstalling WinZip, you can
re-enable Window's built-in Extract Wizard.
(You may additionally need to remove the WinZip .zip association (per Microsoft) and/or restore the default Windows .zip association.) - Alternatively, you can install and use a PDA program (it's free)
that can unzip files directly within the PDA: Download
HTC_Zip, then put it on your PDA, then tap on it to get it installed.
Now, whenever you update the ScoutPalDB database, you will simply put a raw,
untouched newly-downloaded copy of the database update file on the PDA's storage
card; then (on the PDA) unzip its contents using HTC_Zip as
shown in this
Video
(This is also the recommended procedure when using a Mac to download updates.)
Disclaimer: These are not ScoutPal products or procedures, use them at your own risk.
There are sounds and actions that occur after each scan, depending on the scan/lookup outcome and settings--Found, Not Found or Scan Error. This is the behavior for the default settings:
- Found/Not Found.
Two sounds: A beep or other sound (as configured in the scanner driver), then a click when the results display.
- Scan Error.
An Alert box pops up and the standard Windows "alert" sound is emitted. The operator will need to interact with each scan error message, before proceeding with the next scan. A Scan Error will come about if the scan engine, or the bar code graphic itself, produces a result having a misplaced, transposed, or omitted digit; also known as a "checksum" error. A scan error is serious enough that the operator needs to be made aware of it. The user can choose either Retry or Cancel. Retry allows editing of the existing on-screen digits; Cancel clears them out for another scan attempt. Checksum or otherwise invalid ISBN/UPC errors are generally quite uncommon, but are more likely to happen with an "imaging" style scan engine. This is because imager scan engines have ambient lighting restrictions, they also require some operator training and practice in order to fully and properly capture bar codes reliably. Practice is the key to learning how to avoid scan errors. More on imaging vs. standard laser scanner engines can be found at: http://scoutpal.com/db/aximpics/#Imaging scanner
However, some users may prefer that they not have to do anything specific
on the PDA in order to continue scanning. To address this, there is an option
on the ScoutPalDB "settings" screen, under the Misc tab -- the option is
labeled: "Scan errors on screen"
If the “Scan errors on screen” option is selected, a checksum or other read
error will no longer pop up an alert box. Instead the PDA will sound three
distinctive but short clicks and display the error message directly on the
lookup results screen. This provides an audible and visible signal to the
operator that there was a problem with the bar code scan and a screen tap or
interaction is not required in order to continue.
There is also a way to customize the sounds emitted after a scan or manual
entry of an isbn/upc that is found, not found, or has a scan error. Each sound
for each condition can be any sort of sound effect wav file compatible with
your PDA and there are thousands of wav sound effects available on the
internet; however, because of the way scanner drivers work, it is not possible
for a PDA program to know that a scan effort has simply failed to capture any
sort of bar code at all.
Enabling custom scan sounds is simple: The program looks for wav sound files
in a folder named "beeps". This beeps folder needs to be in the same location
as the database files. The sound effect file names are "found.wav", "notfound.wav",
or "scanerror.wav". If an appropriate sound file exists in the SPDB2\beeps
folder, then that sound will be played instead of the default click(s). A
sample collection of sounds gets included within each SPDB2 update download.
The file manager path to the sample sounds folder is: sd
card\spdb2\cab\release notes\beeps
The sounds can be replaced with other sound effects, as long as the
replacement file gets named on the card correctly (as appropriate to the
function) and it is in a wav format compatible with the make/model of the PDA
in use. For additional instructions and tips regarding sound file substitution
procedures, refer to Section (C) in the SP Template Gallery web page:
http://www.scoutpal.com/db/templatecenter/
As always, whenever changing ScoutPalDB configuration options (database updates, adding/altering files, etc.) you will need to tap Settings /OK after making changes, so the program gets notified of the change.
Our subscription pricing and rules are simple, please review our Terms of Service
A ScoutPal Add-On subscription (for family members or employees) is half price, at $14.95/quarter (3 mos.)