Help Near Field Communication (NFC)

[GS1953]

Hi, quite a bit of waffle here. I apologise.

I have a HTC Desire S S510E and am trying to configure it to control my Panasonic Camcorder with Panasonic Image App. However, the connection keeps dropping on the phone side of things.

First off, my phone apparently didnt have NFC until I upgraded to Gingerbread 2.3 but supposedly does now. I can tfind any settings anywhere for NFC. I can connect it fine but then the connection will drop. I got it to stay up for 20 minutes today but then it went again.

Secondly, i'm not sure if its using NFC or wireless as the cam creates its own wireless environment which you then tell your phone to connect to. I read somewhere that when using NFC the devices have to be no more than 4cm apart. Thats no use for a remote control and surely incorrect.

Anyone had any experience of NFC? Controlling Camcorders? Is my phone really NFC compatible? If not can anyone recommend a NFC compatible phone?

Any help much appreciated as its driving me mad with confusion now. I dont really know where to start.

Thanks

 

[El Presidente]

From what I can see, the Desire S doesn't have an NFC chip. I actually think the only phone released at the time the Desire S that did was the Nexus S.

NFC would probably be useless for what you're trying to do tbh. I have NFC on my Nexus 4 and the tags don't work when I have my Seidio Active case on. It's not really designed for that sort of thing anyway, it's mainly used for data transfer, card payments etc, it was never intended for remotely controlling other devices.

 

[GS1953]

From what I can see, the Desire S doesn't have an NFC chip. I actually think the only phone released at the time the Desire S was released that did was the Nexus S.

NFC would probably be useless for what you're trying to do tbh. I have NFC on my Nexus 4 and the tags don't work when I have my Seidio Active case on. It's not really designed for that sort of thing anyway, it's mainly used for data transfer, card payments etc, it was never intended for remotely controlling other devices.

Thanks for your reply. Thats what I'm not sure about. Whether its using the cams own wireless environment or NFC.

I suspect its actually using the wireless but without knowing for sure I dont know where to start on getting to the root of the problem.

I agree. NFC does seem pretty useless for this function which Is why I am leaning towards the wireless.

Do you have any ideas why the wireless would be kicking out on the phone please?

 

[El Presidente]

Without knowing the exact details of the connection, I'm not sure, sorry .

Does the cam create it's own network, then the phone connects to that as it would a wireless router etc?

 

[GS1953]

Without knowing the exact details of the connection, I'm not sure, sorry .

Does the cam create it's own network, then the phone connects to that as it would a wireless router etc?

Yes it does. You press the Wi Fi button on the cam and it creates the V520 wireless network. You then connect the phone to that network and open the App.

I've now discovered an article that takes NFC out of the equation. Its the wireless part thats the problem (the NFC bit is something different).

So, I have a starting point. BTW, my Ipad seems to work fine which is why I think its the phone.

 

[El Presidente]

I've found that on many Android devices, giving the device a static IP address gives a much stabler/stronger connection so you could give that a go.

Does the connection drop or does it just stop transferring data?

 

[GS1953]

I've found that on many Android devices, giving the device a static IP address gives a much stabler/stronger connection so you could give that a go.

Does the connection drop or does it just stop transferring data?

I'm not sure. It says connection to camera has been lost.

I will look into setting a static IP. Not sure how I will go about using my home wireless with my phone when not using the cam but will investigate.

Thanks for your help.

 

[El Presidente]

Happy to help, please keep me posted.

As far as I'm aware, there are WiFi Manager Apps on Play that can change settings on the fly, dependant on the connection you're using. I'll have a scan and see if I can find anything that might assist.

 

[GS1953]

Happy to help, please keep me posted.

As far as I'm aware, there are WiFi Manager Apps on Play that can change settings on the fly, dependant on the connection you're using. I'll have a scan and see if I can find anything that might assist.

I changed the IP to Static and connected both devices. 3 hours later, still connected. Tried zooming, recording, playback, turning the screen off, leaving the screen on. It survived.

I think that may well have been it but I will test it some more away from the home environment.

I'd be interested in those Apps.

Many thanks for your sound advice.

 

[El Presidente]

Excellent, glad it worked

I'm sitting in work at the moment, but if it gets quiet later on, I'll see what I can find. Could be tomorrow morning though.

 

[El Presidente]

OK, a brief scan showed this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.kman.WifiManager

Looks like it could potentially do what you need it to.

If not, let me know and I'll see what else is out there.

 

[GS1953]

OK, a brief scan showed this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.kman.WifiManager

Looks like it could potentially do what you need it to.

If not, let me know and I'll see what else is out there.

Thanks. will have a look.

Just to update this. I thought I would test it on the go so i set the wifi connection before I left the house this morning. When I got to where I was going there was a message on the phone to say the connection had dropped so it looks like its fine in one place but if moving around it doesnt like it.

However, The camera screen said it was being remote controlled , the phone said it was connected in the WIFi settings but there was no connection between the two.

The tests go on.

 

[El Presidente]

I've not used a Sense 2.x device in a while, there's an option in there for advanced wifi performance or something like that. Check that, see if that makes a difference.

You'll take a hit on battery life, but it's something else to try.

Would it work via bluetooth?

 

[GS1953]

I've not used a Sense 2.x device in a while, there's an option in there for advanced wifi performance or something like that. Check that, see if that makes a difference.

You'll take a hit on battery life, but it's something else to try.

Would it work via bluetooth?

I will give it a go.