yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Spirit FM] esilviu:
versions from v110930 to v111006 are working "by default". only one issue: pause button on the lockscreen will not resume audio until the application is opened (focused)

v111017 and v111027 still works BUT ONLY IF THEY ARE INSTALLED AS UPDATE OVER THE OLDER VERSION; starts slowly, activate speaker sometimes when pressing station presets, sound does not start until pressing anything on the screen; seems buggy in general. If I uninstall first the old working version, and delete it's data too, these versions will not work (no audio; >,>>,<,<< buttons will mute/unmute the sssss sound )

I see an other problem with reception (v110930 to v111006): sound volume vary strongly with reception signal... and it's true for very close stations too. Stock radio doesn't do this.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Excellent observations, much thanks !

I'm aware there are lockscreen issues. But you're the first to mention it. :)

Sound volume varies because for this FM chip, I am forced to set an "RF Mute" bit. Strangely the chip won't output audio without this bit set, and it took me weeks of work just to learn this little piece of trivia. I had to debug the stock app to see what it did.

However, there is another register I can try to perhaps change the amount of "RF mute". The RF mute feature is intended to turn the volume way down when no signal or mostly static is present. I would prefer not to use it but haven't found out how yet.

For "INSTALLED AS UPDATE OVER THE OLDER", you've proven that v111027 Oct 27 works. If you have that working can you try updating to the latest Market version and see if it's OK.

I'm thinking now there were 2 factors: There were bugs in some of my debug releases, and some people didn't know to enable Debug->BCM 20780.

Compounding this might be a few people running a cracked version of my app, who can't update for bug fixes without removing the cracked version. ;)

Boring technical stuff:

Versions from Oct 27 - Nov 17 had a bug that prevented the "BCM 20780" checkbox from being enabled via Menu->Settings->Debug. But if you had set it in an earlier version it continued to work.

When Debug->BCM 20780 is NOT enabled, bad things happen, except perhaps from Sept 30 - Nov 17, because I added automatic detection.

Problem was, this detection made volume not work on some ROMs for the VERY popular BCM4329 chips. So Nov 18 and forward I made changes in that area, until it looked good around Nov 27, with a market release on Nov 30.
[Spirit FM] denzel09:
Send you log at your mail about mute bug:

S5570 mute bug log _ denzel09

Hi mik :)

Inviato dal mio GT-S5570 usando Tapatalk
[Spirit FM] esilviu:
1. Clean install of the version from marked lead to no sound, no matter what I set in audio or debug menus.

2. Once, installing the version from market over the old working one, sound started ONLY AFTER I press "settings" button.

Any other retry to install market version over older working version didn't work (same as point 1.)

3. can you do something with default noise? It looks like the audio chip is configured with a higher gain than usual, so background noise is higher than with stock (Android, not Cyanogenmod) ROM. You can hear this noise even at 0 volume ( "x" Media Volume, where "x" is the sign for "mute")

4. Headset - Volume scale at 100, and maximum media volume seems to be 3 times higher than it should (it's way too much for a piece of headset !!).

4'. External speaker - Volume scale at 100, and maximum media volume seems to be at the right value

PS: I can listen for radio without any radio app running :D (with spirit Fm running in background i have uninstalled... Spirit Fm. so the FM chip remained configured until phone rebooted or bluetooth state changed)
[Spirit FM] qwerty12:
Thank you for taking the time to reply.

I used "adb logcat" to get the logcat and "adb shell cat /proc/kmsg" to get the dmesg log. Both logs were taken with the Nov 30 version installed and the data folder cleared. I've sent both to your email address; hope you don't mind. I don't know if the dmesg'll be able to tell you much, however...

I think it also uses the Tavarua chip because /proc/config contains CONFIG_RADIO_TAVARUA=y and, based on my experiences with another device with a Broadcom FM chip, the Bluetooth needs to be on before the FM radio part of it can be accessed, but the stock FM radio app does not turn on Bluetooth.

With no headset in, Superuser allowed and FM Chip set to V4L and Audio set to HuaweiTavarua, Spirit FM Radio still causes a reboot. With the same setup sans Superuser permission, I now see "Error: No FM accessible": "Fm:V4 Sh:1 Su:0 Bt:1 Ht:1 H2:0 Mo:V4D"

With a headset in, Superuser not allowed, FM Chip set to Broadcom and Audio set to HuaweiTavarua, Spirit FM Radio takes a very long time to start up but it enables the fast-forward buttons; however, Spirit FM Radio becomes unresponsive for a bit so I Wait, but when I press the "fast-forward" button, it then becomes unresponsive again. No sound can be heard and I don't think it's tuning anything.

With a headset in, Superuser allowed, FM Chip set to Broadcom and Audio set to HuaweiTavarua, Spirit FM Radio causes my phone to reboot again. With audio set to None and Superuser disallowed, Spirit FM Radio is still as unresponsive as Audio set to HuaweiTavarua.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
OK, I'll presume you know to ALWAYS enable Settings->Debug->BCM 20780 after a fresh install. It's best to start first time with Bluetooth off, and in general I think there are fewer problems when BT is off. After enabling BCM 20780 I usually recommend a phone reboot, but it may not be essential.

Denzel09 reported exactly the same audio issue that was fixed by going into Settings. I reproduced this problem on my i5500, but ONLY after a reboot with BT off and with BCM 20780 NOT enabled. I've found a solution for that and hope to release a new version soon.

I also re-enabled some code that tries to detect the BCM 20780 problem, and works around it even if it's not set. It seems to work OK as long as BT is off, but strange audio problems might happen until a reboot or app power cycle.

Yes, that's a known issue and it's the same on my i5500, and with the CM FM app too. Yes the default gain is VERY high and that produces excess noise when the FM chip volume is lowered as needed. At this time, the only solution I think is headphones with a volume control set to low volume.

I'm hesitant to start an investigation into this because it will probably take a lot of time, and I have other priorities now, including some personal family time. I would be encouraged if the 5660 or i5500 or any similar device broke into the top ten in sales of my unlocker (or equivalent w/ donations.)

I would also encourage ANYONE with tech abilities to try and solve this problem. Compared to the totality of my work this year, I think that would be small. Are there hundreds of thousands of these phones out there now ? Is there just one person among those many who can spend a few weeks or whatever on this ? And the ROM developers for these devices ? I will get bogged down and broke in this project unless I can get help.

At present top 10 means 11 sales or more. So even though my i5500 is my cheapest Android device at $80, I still haven't even made that small investment back, never mind at least 200-300 hours of labor I'd guess. I'm sure there are over 100 posts here on 5660 or i5500 and plenty more on another site.

Perhaps if fewer people ran cracked versions, and more supported me. But I'm coming to logically accept that less expensive phones naturally result in few sales. Same for Huawei. Here's the top 10 BTW:

1	HTC Desire	17.1% (54)

2	Dell Streak	6.6% (21)

3	HTC G2	5.7% (18)

4	galaxysmtd	5.4% (17)

5	Samsung Galaxy S	5.4% (17)

6	HTC Nexus One	5.1% (16)

7	HTC Desire HD	4.1% (13)

8	LG Optimus 2X	4.1% (13)

9	HTC Sensation 4G	3.5% (11)

10	leo	3.5% (11)

Yes that's normal, if my app were to terminate suddenly and unexpectedly. In some cases Android will shut an app down without any chance to do anything.

Most phones, particularly older or less expensive ones do FM audio via analog injection late in the audio process. Digital transfers would usually die when a process died, but analog keeps going, unless something switches off the analog path.

If my app shuts down properly, the audio should get switched off.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Great ! Yes send logs to my email, through the app or manually. I'd like to see what the logs look like during the successful first start.

I think I found the bug and have fixed it for next release.

Yes, there is a /dev/radio0 so it's likely Tavarua. There is also a Broadcom BT/WiFi/FM combination chip but I'd guess the FM on that chip won't work.

If you're curious, after forcing Broadcom for the FM chip, you might also set Debug->BCM 20780. That might make startup go quickly, and you might end up with the "Jumping RSSI" issue that indicates the Broadcom FM won't work. RSSI values of -128, 55 and 0 are common, jumping from one to another.

I think that your device needs SU to work with the FM chip. So declining SU prevents the crashing, but that's because the crashing code isn't run unless /dev/radio0 or the Broadcom chip can be accessed.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Thanks. I have a hopeful fix coming. I reproduced this under specific circumstances. Basically taking the app off screen (as with Settings, which is a different "activity") sets low power mode which makes it work again.

Mike.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
There is a new December 8 version for paid customers on the Market: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.mikersmicros.fm_unlock

I've changed the name from "Spirit FM Unlocker" to "... Unlocked". It's the new pre-unlocked full application that replaces the Unlocker. The old unlocker icon will need to be removed.

I made this change to combat "piracy". It's a big change and I'm sure there will be some problems, but I needed to get this out ASAP. Since only paid customers will have these potential problems (until I update the free/base app) I'll try to attack any big ones as soon as I can.

The old app should continue to work, but don't run them at the same time.

The new app has antenna pointing right, the old pointing left.

The new app should import the data from old automatically. If there are import problems, you can try manually with Menu->Debug->Preferences->"Import old from old app".

If anyone needs the old unlocker code for a manual unlock of older versions, it's available with Menu->Debug->Old Unlock Code.

Please let me know of any problems ASAP, but I'll be unavailable from about 11:00 - 20:00 GMT.

Thanks, and I hope this goes smoothly !
[Spirit FM] ZhuraYuk:
lol 1000 installs for paid version? maybe because it's 10$. Make it 3$ and you will be rich.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
:D

LOL. It's only been 10 for a week and a half. Where have you been ?

I made it 99 cents once, and 1.99. And 2.99 and 3 and 4 and 5 and 6 and 6.50 and 8 and $10.

I experimented, like any good scientist. I saw the results.

I've only REALLY sold just over 300. Average of $5. Do you think those user accessible stats are accurate ? Or that they show all the "Cancels" (over 50%) ?

It's not 1000. Its around 670 now. It says range 500-1000. And over half are cancels.

This is a niche app at this point. It doesn't work on most phones. Most phones are stock. Most stock phones with FM have a manufacturer app, so why would they buy mine, except it some very specific instances on the rare stock phone my app runs on.

I don't think you understand the economics of selling an app like this.

I've considered setting it to the highest, around $249.99, just to stop Market sales and do Paypal sales that aren't marked UP 42% (100/70). But I'd betcha there wouldn't be sales, just cancels/card declineds, so they can snatch the app for free. No LOL.

:)

:D

;)

:p
[Spirit FM] ZhuraYuk:
Hmmm.... Such a great app, and low sales. If you say it was lower priced, than I can only see one reason, that people in our days no not use FM radio at all.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Great app to the reviews of my unlocked version. Rating 4.9/5 : https://market.android.com/details?id=com.mikersmicros.fm_unlock

Not so great to many of the "average guys" responsible for 223,913 downloads of the free app. And I can understand their views, as "regular people" who just want an intuitive easy to use app, even if FM is not possible on their device.

I think FM may be the most widespread form of communications on the planet, other than people talking, but it depends how you define it.

Over 500 comments and 1400 "stars" for Google Issue 7073 FM Radio / Tuner capability : http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=7073

Over 1800 posts on this thread, perhaps half mine. And 100s of posts in many other FM Radio threads.

So, IMO, plenty of people want "old fashioned over the air" FM. Especially those in less connected and less wealthy parts of the world.

But like most Android app areas, most people want it for free. LOL. :)
[Spirit FM] denzel09:
Hi mik, i have the same identical mute bug with version that you have send me by mail as in previous version.

No differences. The same buddy.

:confused:

Inviato dal mio GT-S5570 usando Tapatalk
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Thanks; Disappointing. Can you try setting Settings->Alternate Frequency->Mode to RDS ? This might fix your problem, or make it worse.

The issue for me was fixed whenever the app went off screen, including any of these, after the app was on screen:

- Starting Menu->Settings

- Pressing Back.

- Pressing Home.

- Pulling down the Notification bar.

- Pressing the RadioText to start a Google search.

- Locking the screen or turning it off.

What these did was call functions to go into or out of "Low Power Mode". And that means turning RDS on or off.

But RDS is always on when the AF feature is on. And now that I think of it, most people may be running the free app without RDS, so this workaround may not work for them. You might have the same problem if you turn RDS off.

Now turning RDS on or off doesn't explain the fix/workaround. It's as if the power register gets turned off, or is never turned on properly (perhaps after an error that eventually times out), so turning RDS on or off also ensures the chip "power" is turned on.
[Spirit FM] denzel09:
It make it worse buddy. No better :banghead:

Inviato dal mio GT-S5570 usando Tapatalk
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
But every clue is good. :)

So I think it's the same I was seeing.

And I should be able to add another "hack" or 2 that will work around the problem.

We get there eventually. Five months ago there almost seemed no hope for FM on your phone, with CM at least. :)
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Thanks for the log. (HTC Desire rooted with stock ROM 2.29.405.5)

For the "App Kill" issue for volume control, I think this may be because you have enabled Settings->Debug->BCM 20780. Disable it.

Since you might have other bad settings, it might be worth trying to clear the app data, or just remove the app, then re-install it.

You've said headphone/speaker switching doesn't work. Is it stuck on headphone or speaker ? If it's stuck on one, can you switch to the other, and power cycle the app, or even reboot the phone, and see if the other works ?

The only audio methods that may work for you are HTC and qsd8250. If you could try this test with both methods that would be great. With the HTC method you had set, I can see in the kernel log that switching appears to happen.

BTW, I guess you prefer my app over the HTC FM app ? If you were feeling brave enough to experiment after the above, you might try this:

Set Audio Method in my app to None, then stop my app and start the HTC app. Then switch to your desired audio output in the HTC app. Then kill the HTC app so it can't disable FM audio on shutdown. Then start my app and see if the output is as desired.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
From email:

Since you have an XDA account, I prefer to discuss issues publicly, for the benefit of everybody.

It looks like you are running CyanogenMod on your Desire HD2. There is a CM FM app on your ROM. Does it have the same problem ?

If not, can you do this:

(1) Stop my app

(2) Start the CM FM app and ensure volume works OK

(3) Stop the CM FM app

(4) Restart my app and see if volume works.

Also, try the above but remove step 3, so that my app is started while the CM app is still running. Both apps tend to be able to co-exist, as long as my app is started when Bluetooth is on.

Your volume control problem seems similar to cdricm's problem in the post above. He has a Desire with a rooted Stock ROM and has to kill the process for volume control to work on the second start of my app.

You could try enabling Settings->Debug->BCM 20780 and restart the app. If that doesn't work be sure to disable it again. Also disable the Debug->Silent Loop I asked you to try earlier, and leave it disabled.

You can also try some older versions of my app. There have been many similar issues and changes made recently, and sometimes fixing an issue for one phone breaks something for others.

The previous Market release November 3 is here: http://www.mediafire.com/file/aoqq3vq9x95hnr9/Spirit_FM_Radio_v111103.apk

September 26 is here: http://www.mediafire.com/file/165eh37io2ssel3/Spirit_FM_Radio_v110926.apk

September 11b is here: http://www.mediafire.com/file/278hm1obdbr7628/Spirit_FM_Radio_v110911b.apk
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
I prefer to discuss issues publicly, for the benefit of everybody.

From email:

The Galaxy Nexus does NOT appear to be wired as needed for FM. I would buy a Galaxy S2 or similar personally.

Other than that, my app APPEARS to work OK on this device (and on Android v4 ICS in general), after setting Debug->BCM 20780.

I started a thread here on this subject: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1314191

I don't think anyone will ever be able to enable FM on this device, but you never know.

I think it's a waste of time. Neither Google nor Samsung nor any of the carriers have ever claimed an FM feature. Nobody has gotten my app or anything to work, and I doubt anyone will, without impractical hardware modifications.

I suggested the BCM 20780 option, because this phone seems to have the newer Broadcom 4330 chip which seems to have similar volume control register issues as the 20780. Without it my app tends to hang. It's best to reboot after setting it.

Before we worry about audio, we need to see the RSSI signal strength numbers at upper left responding. With headset plugged in for an antenna we want to see values of at least 20 when tuned to a known strong station.

The person who sent me logs reported: "signal strength is -13 or -14. Occasionally 0 and once it reported 1". Here is my last response to him, but none of this gave any hope:

Note that the presence of ALSA controls with "FM" in their names does not necessarily mean anything. I've seen other cases where similar Samsung products with no usable FM chip used the ALSA configuration of devices which DID have an FM chip. I'd call these "vestigial"; left over but useless.

The Galaxy Tab was like this, using the ALSA driver of the Galaxy S. In this case, I suspect the "FM" references are useful on international Galaxy S2 models which support the Silicon Labs FM chip.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Just slightly interesting ; AFAIK, besides this, only the Dell Streak 5" has FM on a tablet. And it's a very small "tablet" and FM is not officially supported even.

For those who don't know English well, the article is clearly written by a non-native English speaker. Of course my Chinese is much worse, so I'm not trying to criticise. LOL. :)

http://www.sooperarticles.com/techn...o-tablet-pc-zte-v9-light-fm-radio-700022.html
[Spirit FM] qwerty12:
Looks like I'll have to wait for the next free release. Don't get me wrong, but I refuse to spend £7 on something that may or may not work. If the next free version does indeed work, you have my word that I'll buy the app in order to say thanks for working on support for my unpopular phone.

Without root, and these values set, Spirit FM Radio doesn't appear to show anything. (It also requires a force close.)

With root and these values set, my U8800pro restarts.
[Spirit FM] pruebecita:
Hello Mikereidis,

I have found your application searching for a traditional FM application for my HTC Desire HD, and I am very interested in it, because I think that you are doing a very impresive job given to us a app that does not do the manufactures or ROMs.

Last friday I put on my Desire HD this room: I have found your application searching for a traditional FM application for my HTC Desire HD, and I am very interested in it, because I think that you are doing a very impresive job given to us a app that does not do the manufactures or ROMs.

Last friday I put on my Desire HD this room:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1343361

A rom based on ICS

And then this morning when I was running I thought, sh** I need a FM radio =D

Well, after reading a lot of posts and diferent solutions, I think I have readed in somewhere, that you have in your Galaxy S the same rom, ICS, and the radio is working for you.

I set the settings to my country, and I get a signal strenght about 20-27, but I have no sound on my headphones.

I tried to reproduce a mp3 and I can hear it, and so I think it is a problem with my radio configuration.

I put the Audio Settings to:

Method: HTC (I tried one by one and nothing)

In the debug mode:

BCM 20780: On (Nothing)

FM chip: Broadcom

I do not if you can help me, but if you can... I will be so glad =D

If you need to send you a debug log or something, tellme how do it and I will send you, I will like help you to make this application more useful for more roms.

Thank you very much and sorry for my "book"

Regards!!!
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
OK, thanks for your report.

And don't get ME wrong, but I think it's rather doubtful my support for these inexpensive and unpopular phones will ever go beyond experimental.

The economics simply aren't there. I don't have the phone, don't have the budget to get one, and besides the 80+ hours I've put into it so far, I am trying very much not to be a charity, giving FM apps to the poor... :)

Perhaps the only hope would be sponsorship from Qualcomm or Huawei...
[Spirit FM] luca64padova:
Done all that, but no success.

Note that CM FM program opens Bluetooth every time it run (messages tell that this program NEEDS to open bluetooth to run).

So I tried to open bluetooth before opening Spirit FM Radio: surprisely, I had seen that the problem disappears.

So, I could open bluetooth every time, but I prefere to PAUSE Spirit FM instead of close it. Pausing is a good idea to mantain the control of volume. If Spirit FM was accidentally closed, I can resolve simply closing its task too.

I do like this program, and I am thinking about to buy full version.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Hi.

Set BCM 20780 to OFF.

Audio Method is the only solution for audio.

Either qsd8250 or qdsp5v2 is the only possible solution I think, unless and until the ROM supports FM audio routing.

But they are probably held open by mediaserver.

Send me logs with Menu->Help->EM Logs.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
OK, good. I think turning Bluetooth on is a perfectly good solution for the free version. That's the only mode the CM app supports.

If/when a paying customer reports this problem, I'm pretty sure some better solutions can be found. :)
[Spirit FM] tann3rdk:
Hi Mike.

Thanks for a great app. I use it daily on my rooted Desire. Great work!

As many others I'm thinking about upgrading to a Galaxy Nexus but the lack of FM radio is kind of a dealbreaker. So I'm posting to get an "update" on your work with the Galaxy Nexus. Do you think FM radio on the Galaxy Nexus will be possible?
[Spirit FM] Sekiru:
MediaTek

Do please support MediaTek

Files included with standard applications.