yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
No. Never. (I usually add "without impractical hardware modifications" but some people think it's possible when I add that.)

I think the Nexus One was the only Google blessed developer phone with working FM and that was by accident and not by design. It was almost identical to the HTC Desire and the FM part wasn't disabled.

I personally think the non-Google variants are superior devices at better prices, although the Google variants may have an extra feature or 2 and they do get new and official Android AOSP releases first.

I'm happy I have a Samsung Galaxy S (with FM chip) instead of the similar Nexus S (without). But like the Nexus S there are some (American) Galaxy S variants without the chip.

I personally would also get a Galaxy S2 (or similar) with FM before a Galaxy Nexus. Again, American variants also exclude the chip, thanks to AT&T and T-Mobile. And to top it off, the US Galaxy Nexus's seem to be coming with bloat-ware installed. So much for the "Pure Google Experience"...

If you want FM you need to make darn sure it's in the phone before you buy it. If there is no stock FM app it's relatively unlikely FM is possible. The trend to removing or disabling it seems to be increasing, especially it seems in the US where I believe carriers are aiming for higher data plan profits.

Sometimes it seems funny that people can spend thousand(s) a year for cellphone plans, but $5 or $10 for an FM app seems excessive, LOL. :)
[Spirit FM] Homer314:
Are you 100% sure about the no-fm ability of the GN ? And why ?

Thanks you
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
If you REALLY want a Nexus, then just go ahead and buy one. There are other ways to get FM, like SonyEricsson's BT headsets w/ FM.

My philosophy is that nobody can EVER be 100% sure of anything. For all we know we're all living in "The Matrix" or a program or similar. :)

I started this thread here on the subject of FM on Galaxy Nexus: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1314191

The one person reporting my app sort of works also indicated the RSSI signal strength numbers were not as hoped. If an antenna connection to the BCM 4330 chip was enabled, the numbers should have been at least 20-30 when tuned to a known station. He was getting -12 or -13 and sometimes about 0 or -1.

Let's face it. This phone, like ALL Google developer phones, was not advertised with FM, and no FM app was provided, nor is there any evidence Google has ever written an FM app.

Add that to the fact that my app SEEMS to work a bit, but shows no signs of signal or audio, and I have to conclude, for now at least, that it's probably not possible.

OTOH, page 3 of that thread has some info on FM related audio controls in the ALSA audio driver. But the Nexus S (or Galaxy Tab) has such "vestigial" controls left over from the Galaxy S w/ FM. So I suspect these are also vestigial from the Galaxy S2 and siimilar devices.
[Spirit FM] Homer314:
I just bought a GN and i love it :)

thanks for the explanation, but I hope you're wrong on this google device this time :D
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
What happens when you start my app ?

Send me a log with Menu->Help->EM Logs and enter MediaTek in the email message so I'll know it's you. Then press Send of course...
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Oh, I see; post-purchase hopes.... :)

I'd be happy to be proved wrong on any phone; more sales for me....

But at a certain point, one has to give up trying. I have a $100 bounty for a software fix for the Jumping RSSI problem described in post 2.

I'd make it a $1000 since I think it's impossible, but on the IMO slim chance I'm wrong, I couldn't afford to lose the grand. :)
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
I looked a bit and my answer is: Probably Not.

MediaTek has their own chips, such as the MT6620.

No datasheets online but for a mere $5,000 you can buy a "Functional Analysis Report with Cost Estimate" by the local reverse engineering company:

https://chipworks.secure.force.com/...avigationStr=CatalogSearchInc&searchText=6620

Basic die photo is only $200 if you're on a serious budget.

Just press "Add to Cart", LOL. :)
[Spirit FM] batp:
Hey it was working on the HTC Glacier/Mytouch 4G (CM 7.1) but when I exited it kept playing static and even when I uninstalled it static still played. Otherwise cool app.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Great ! I hope I will be able to take the Glacier off of the unconfirmed list now.

I presume the CM FM app works fine ?

You can try changing Menu->Settings->Audio->Method to one of the 3 other CyanogenMod* methods, perhaps CyanogenModOld or CyanogenModOld2.

Otherwise, try hitting the Mute button before powering off.

One way or another I'd like to see the debug log. Press Menu->Help->EM Logs, wait a few seconds, enter Glacier in the email text and press Send.

Thanks !
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
And now a paid customer is reporting the problem on his HTC Desire on CM. He's a French speaker so it's hard to communicate... :)

I'll look at the code again for clues, but for now I'm not sure what the problem is. These are some older versions, if you or anyone wants to test them:

Market Nov 3: http://www.mediafire.com/file/aoqq3vq9x95hnr9/Spirit_FM_Radio_v111103.apk

Oct 27: http://www.mediafire.com/file/jhb7pi3s5k5sw3s/Spirit_FM_Radio_v111027.apk[/url]

Oct 17: http://www.mediafire.com/file/e42ow33yq2kif1g/Spirit_FM_Radio_v111017.apk

Zip file with Sep 26 - Oct 6:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/ed3bnepc59x839j/Spirit_FM_Radio_Sept26_to_Oct6.zip

Sep 26: http://www.mediafire.com/file/165eh37io2ssel3/Spirit_FM_Radio_v110926.apk

Sep 11b: http://www.mediafire.com/file/278hm1obdbr7628/Spirit_FM_Radio_v110911b.apk
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
December 13 updates are available on the Market for "Spirit FM Free" and "Spirit FM Unlocked". v11/12/13 :)

Besides the usual hopeful small fixes and improvements, there are several new User Interface Settings. For most of these you will need to press Back while the app is on-screen, then return to the app for the change to be effective:

- Automatic Seek (default now disabled) allows you to re-enable automatic seek when touching the frequency graphic. When disabled it merely jumps to the selected frequency, instead of jumping and doing an upward seek.

- Radiotext Web Search (default now disabled) allows you to touch the Radiotext and automatically search the web for song or whatever. When disabled it's much less annoying when you don't mean to hit it.

- Bold Presets (default enabled) allows bold or regular text for preset names.

- The next 6 are Button line controls. They allow removing any or all of the 6 lines of button controls to free up space on small screens or whatever.

If you disable "Preset Buttons 2" it will disable all 3, so no presets will be available.

If you disable "Preset Buttons 3" it will reduce presets per page from 6 to 3.

If you have no more than 1 preset list and 6 presets, or if you have the free version, you might as well disable "Preset Buttons 1" as they are useless to you.

"Frequency Buttons 2" is a good candidate for removal if you don't need the frequency up and down functions. Same for "Frequency Buttons 1" if you don't need seek or the ability to enter a specific frequency.

"Mode Buttons 1" should probably be kept enabled for most people, for access to the power button if nothing else. But I can provide an alternative in a future release.
[Spirit FM] denzel09:
Hi mik, is there also fix for that mute bug?

Inviato dal mio GT-S5570 usando Tapatalk
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
I hope so. Please try it.

I intended to have the fix that worked for me in the Dec 8 version enabled, but for some reason it ended up disabled.
[Spirit FM] denzel09:
Always same problem buddy :sly:

Inviato dal mio GT-S5570 usando Tapatalk
[Spirit FM] hadobac:
Not meant to be rude, Mike, but today I was very surprise with the donate version on Market. Yes, now the price went up to nearly $10, which I can't afford to pay. It was around $5 before :(

Why did you change the price all that sudden... I'm very admire your work, and saving pennies to buy apps. Will buy yours later, but I'm go for Titanium for now.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Thanks for your thoughts. I see nothing rude in your post. :) For "real rude" see some of the "reviews" for the free app.

I try to avoid REAL sudden changes, like from $5 to $1 or $2 to $6, so as not to anger anyone who bought on the wrong side of the change.

First, you can call it what you want, but I don't call it a "donate" version. I think "very small business" is a better description for my project than "charity". I feel I MUST treat this as a business. Real charities are different; they collect as much as they can, and spend it on as much good as they can create. If I could make one third as much as I make with a "real job", I'd be happy, more or less.

Second, when I first started selling the unlocked/unlocker app at $5 in June I also stated my intention to raise it to $10 eventually. Six months and 1500-1800 hours of work later the app has LOTS more features, supports many more phones and is much more stable on most phones, IMO.

Third, I've experimented with prices from $1 to the current $10 and I think I'm maximising my income at $10. For better or worse, businesses cannot survive or thrive unless they maximise income. In my case that means gross income before expenses is around $12-15 per day the last few weeks.

There were some interesting peaks observed at one point in the $2 range, but I wasn't able to reproduce that later, perhaps because the peak was due to a new set of phones supported or some blog/forum posts somewhere.

And anyway, Dealing with a smaller number of customers leaves me more time to do further development. IF my app became super popular somehow, I worry development would stall as I'd spend all my time on support.

Fourth, we are now in the pre-Christmas period when people have more available cash, and are in a good mood. Sales at reduced prices are better after people get their January credit card bills.

Fifth, the average "donation" I get (over and above any sale) is $20. So, the price is half of that.

Sixth, I've tried lowering the price in lower income countries. But I've noted that many of the poorest can't be specified and either pay the Canadian or US dollar price.

Seventh, IMO too many people are using cracked versions of my app and even low prices don't seem to impact that. Every day I get emailed logs from September versions. I AM now taking measures to combat that but my point is that price has almost no impact. Honest people pay or decide to stick with the free app and crackers always crack.

----

All that said, It would be nice if I didn't lose any sales due to the price.

And the few that post here are much more helpful than the average customer that I rarely hear from.

So if you or anyone reading here wants to purchase in the $5 range (or lower if you really can't afford it), make me an offer via PM or email and perhaps we can do it through Paypal.

Paypal has the disadvantage of emailed updates instead of Market automatic updates though. The advantage is I get about 100% instead of 70%.

I could also consider designating a given day or hours as a "sale day" in the $5 range perhaps.
[Spirit FM] m.ksy:
Hi Mike.

Can you upload free version of app to megaupload and post here the download link? I need it because AndroidMarket again writes about the incompatibility and I can't do some to fix it :( .

Thanks!
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Okay, but this version can't be unlocked. It's "Spirit FM Free" only: http://www.mediafire.com/file/ad9wk19vn3z7mad/Spirit_FM_Radio_v111213.apk

If possible I prefer people download from Market for the most accurate statistics.

"Spirit FM Unlocked" needs to come from the Market or be emailed at this point. I hope to setup a better non Market update solution.
[Spirit FM] oskaratk:
(spirit) FM on tablets in general

Hi folks,

anyone been successful with listening to FM on a droid tablet at all?

As I cannot get the the Samsung Galaxy GT-P7510 to cooperate, I am looking for a different tablet kind of device.

Thanks

Oskar
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
The only "tablet" using my app is the now discontinued (in the US at least) original Dell Streak 5". FM was never supported on the stock ROM.

Here's my post on a cheap Chinese tablet that is supposed to support FM, but I have no idea if my app will run: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=20176946&postcount=1829 .

One poster in this thread soldered an Antenna connection on his Chinese tablet, and it worked, but we were unable to get audio working.

I find the lack of FM on tablets surprising. I'd guess most manufacturers figure a tablet will be used most in places where there are other radio options, (physical OTA or streaming) such as in a car or at home, or even at work.
[Spirit FM] oskaratk:
Well,my general plan is to u a tablet as kinda headunit in my car.that pretty much requires fm.

Streaming audio all day long via a cell connecti probably would break the bank - if there is cell coverage at all.

.I would be game to further try on the o I have.however it looks like you are not very optimistic on that.

Oskar
[Spirit FM] hadobac:
It can only said that you deserve any money, 1800 hours is a lot of work. Spirit FM is dedicated for a niche market, anyway. Would purchase the FM in near future though.

By the way, have you ever tested Spirit Fm with CM9 on Galaxy S? It works fine with Galaxy S ALSA setting, however the warn of 3 dudes who broke their speakers freak me out. Additionally, sometimes Spirit FM stops itself for no reason...
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
:)

Auto OEMs and the audio after-market are looking to do the same thing. I think there will be new products to watch for in the next year. I was just reading about a new Android "Clock Radio" type of device, which is sort of like a small home radio, but I think combining OTA FM with streaming.

There are OTA radio type peripherals that could theoretically be hooked to a mobile device. If/when there is a compelling one, I hope to support it. At least with a car based device, you would hopefully have room for an other device somewhere.

As an example, I have a years old USB TV capture device that also supports V4L over USB. Some Android devices could control it with USB host mode and use the existing V4L drivers. I'm not in any rush to do the kernel work required to pull this off, but I'm pretty sure it could be done. And for small size I think there are some small USB stick style FM radios.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
:). X hours Plus a lifetime of experience...

I hope to expand the niche ASAP. I think over 50% of Android phones capable of FM are using the Broadcom proprietary BT/FM stack, and are "store stock" and un-rooted.

Tonight I had some great results from cracking this API, on both my Samsung i5500 and LG p500, and I think only slight mods are needed for HTC devices.

I think this may multiply the eligible market for my app at least 5 times. (!) But the downsides include, (1) more clueless customers, (2) a target market that likely finds their stock free FM app and it's GUI OK.

But the proprietary stacks are also included on some aftermarket ROMs. Regardless, I expect my app graph to take another leap skyward due to this soon. :)

Yes to CM9 on my Galaxy S. I think mine was the first confirmed publicly available FM app working on ICS... I've noted that sometimes the Media Player will start and interfere with the FM. Only cure I found was to delete all media files.

I zapped the speaker on my first Galaxy S, but my second is fine after a lot of use. I think it might be specific to older hardware, and possibly MIUI, but nobody really knows. For later MIUI ROMs the CM method works and is preferred.
[Spirit FM] Hocevar:
Can you help me out ? Can't seem to make it work, I can hear the radio on the background but there's way too much static on top of it.

I've already set the band for my country.

PS: Motorola Defy + CM 7.1
[Spirit FM] oskaratk:
Headset output only

Hi Mike,

FYI: On a HTC ( T-mobile G2 ) as well on the T-Mobile sensation I only can get audio to the headset. Switching to speaker just does nothing

Stock FM app outputs to speaker as well
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Can I presume there is no CM FM app on this ROM ?

I think you may have the same problem some Droid X users have. Some have good reception, some very bad. I think there is an "antenna switch" that needs to be enabled.

I have a new theory about an "fm_enable" function in the "bluedroid" library. I'll try to get a test for this into the next test release.

If you don't understand what I said, don't worry about it, but just "stay tuned" for further developments. :)
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Are you on a stock ROM ? Is it rooted ?

Try the different audio methods under Settings->Audio. Run the radio and try each one in turn while staying in that Settings screen. Listen for a half second or so of audio on the headset.

If none of these work, send me logs with Menu->Help->EM Logs.
[Spirit FM] oskaratk:
rooted, yep and stock rom. The last choice "qdsp5v2" works to speaker, but then I have no volume control. Just fixed volume

I'll be happy to send logs .. at which point/state of runtime do you want them?

Oskar
[Spirit FM] Hocevar:
I don't know if it's from the CM7 rom but there is a FM radio app, and it's reception is perfect, but, unfortunately, the app itself is pretty glitchy.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
After the problem(s) are demonstrated.

- Start the app with Menu->Settings->Audio->Method->CyanogenMod

- Make sure volume is high

- Press the speaker/headset button 4 times

- Select Menu->Settings->Audio->Method->HTC

- Select Menu->Settings->Audio->Method->qdsp5v2

- Press the speaker/headset button 4 times

- Select Menu->Help->EM Logs and enter HTC G2 in text and press Send.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
One person was able to run the "native" FM app, and then start my app, and my app worked OK as long as the other was running. Might be even glitchier though.

I'll put this on my todo list and we'll have to see... Sorry that I have no better answer for now.
[Spirit FM] oskaratk:
OK, done. However this time, switching from CyanogenMod to HTC, speaker came on.

Hope logs tell anything

Oskar
[Spirit FM] cos68:
Hi Mike.

I didn't get a chance to test your new version before today. First of all I would like to say it looks great. The AF seems to be working fine and is really a nice feature when listening to the radio when travelling by eg. bus. Thank you for this!

However, the volume control problem that I have reported before seems to be back. On both my Desire HD and my Incredible S I can adjust the volume the first time I start your application after a reboot, but if I exit your application and starts it again, then the volume can't be adjusted any more and the volume is very loud. None of the debug settings for setting the volume is working.

I hope you have an idea what went wrong in the latest update.

Thanks!

Claus
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
FYI, I went back to bold as default for the December versions. I think it's easier to see with just the frequency numbers.

You can change it back to normal with Settings->User Interface->Bold Presets.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
I was trying to fix other devices. I'll have to provide more debug options for this if I can't find an automatic method for all. Hopefully soon a new release.

Some people have reported it works OK when bluetooth is on.

As always it seems on Broadcom chips, setting or un-setting Debug->BCM 20780 may help.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Going through old posts and yours wasn't answered... :)

Yes, if this "Dolby Mobile" was audio processing that also works on FM, then I'd think that digital audio was in use.

And the Desire HD is new enough, and expensive enough that I think FM recording should be possible, in the hardware at least.

I am currently testing the Broadcom proprietary FM API and one audio option is digital. Neither of my Broadcom test phones seem to work with this, but they are both cheap phones, and I doubt digitising FM and getting recording to work is possible on them.

But I can make digital a debug option and perhaps some phones will work with it; we'll see.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
I recently discovered a nice backdoor for Galaxy 5 series devices, and likely all of the common inexpensive phones that use msm7x30 or /dev/msm_snd.

Even when mediaserver holds the device open, I can now switch audio devices with snd_set_device and even change some volumes with snd_set_volume.

But unfortunately these devices need special set_fm_volume or snd_set_extamp commands to set the gain for FM and there's no backdoor I could find for those.

I think the best best for fixing these issues is in getting the Android 4.0 ICS ROM developers to provide a solution. Work seems underway for some of these devices and soon hopefully nobody will care much about Android 2.x anymore.

At least this new backdoor will hopefully get my app running on the early ICS builds sooner...
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Via email:

I have a public forum thread here that is where I prefer to discuss my app: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1059296&page=188

If you are new to smartphones, and if your stock FM app works, then I'd discourage you from expecting to see my app working easily at this time.

I'd guess you are on a stock ROM which is not "rooted", and you might not even know what rooted means. :)

OTOH, I have managed to guide a few newbs into their first rooting attempts etc., but many HTCs are more difficult than others.

I'm working on some enhancements right now that will likely make my app easier to use on stock devices like yours. Perhaps you could try it in a few weeks.

Feel free to try my free app on the Market and report back, but I don't think it will work well for you right now.

No, no easy instructions. Unfortunately different phones often require different setups and it helps if you have technical knowledge.

I think it's unlikely that my app could harm your phone, especially if it's not "rooted".

Anything is possible however, and a few people with Galaxy S phones with MIUI ROMs reported speaker damage a few months ago and no good explanation was ever found...
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
I NEED to get an HTC Desire for testing.

This is the 3rd time since Nov 14 that this bug has resurfaced. Do you know if November 30, December 5 or 8 worked ?

It only affects some ROMs and only when Bluetooth is off. Rebooting, killing

my app with a task killer, or never letting the app stop are all workarounds.

Oskar may be having this issue also.

I'll try to get a test fix out tomorrow.
[Spirit FM] cos68:
Actually I am not sure, but as far as I remember, they worked fine. However if you have a link for one or more versions, that you want me to test, then please let me know.

I have the issue no matter if Bluetooth is on or off when starting your app. It makes no difference. You are right that reboot or killing your app is a workaround.

Also setting or un-setting Debug->BCM 20780 makes no difference.