yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Quinny899's reply is correct, if you mean manual entering a frequency. Just tap where it says "102.1" or whatever, between the seek buttons, and enter the desired frequency, such as "1021" or "102.1" or "102101" etc.

The seek buttons "search" for the next strong frequency.

There are no other "searches" supported at present, except for the seek that happens after tapping the graphic frequency display at top.

----------

I'm fixing some bugs right now; Crashes and hangs I can see people are having through my developer console.

But I'm trying to decide on my next focus:

(1) User interface "de-uglifying", for currently working devices.

(2) Explore Broadcom digital audio, for BC devices with no audio, such as the Tab etc.

(3) Silicon Labs support for Samsung devices. Knowledge of Samsung audio devices might help with Samsung Broadcom devices, but I continue to suspect those devices can't use analog audio.

(3) is something I've been promising, but I'm a bit hesitant to invest the hundreds of dollars needed for a Galaxy S or S II. I had my first "payday" from Google for $55 the other day, but that only goes so far. :)

(2) is appealing for the new devices that can be supported, perhaps even more than (3) overall.

(1) is something I should budget some weekly time for also, for the sake of existing and new paying customers.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Scared ? :)

MIUI is supposed to be supporting FM again, on some devices, in the near future, but who knows.

I found an interesting post though from a MIUI developer who said they don't have RDS in China, and this have no plans at present to support RDS.

My main skills are in low level code, not GUI unfortunately.

I've been soliciting suggestions about what exactly should change and how, and I've had a few responses that effectively are "Make it look like this other app".

So, to anyone, do you like the look of the CM or MIUI or HTC, etc apps ? Specific ideas would be great.

I continue to consider open-sourcing the UI portion of the code, in the hopes that someone will come along and produce a better UI. But nobody has actually offered to code a new UI and this approach has complications.

Some people have started work on XML modifications for a nicer UI. But AFAIK, it's never gotten anywhere and there are complications here too.

The best I can think of at this time is a mechanism to allow a graphical skin to overlay the buttons and controls, and perhaps some methods of moving and/or customizing the buttons and controls.

At a minimum I'd like to think the UI looks much better than it did several months ago.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
For anyone having strange problems with Texas Instruments based devices, like the HTC Legend, HTC Click/Tattoo, or some Motorola devices like the DroidX:

(Or perhaps for anyone with LOTS of errors in "adb logcat", especially if triggered by the headset->speaker button.)

On this thread:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=15513238

evgenln was reporting very strange problems with his DroidX, such as no or very weak signal.

My response and a temporary workaround: (but it will only work on devices with a working hcitool, IE those not running a proprietary Bluetooth stack)

It appears something has broken horribly for Texas Instruments FM chips. I can confirm the same errors you are having on my HTC Legend.

I can trigger the errors when I switch headset to speaker, and I'm not sure why yet.

Most phones have Broadcom chips, but I still don't understand why I haven't seen this problem before; it seems to go back at least a month.

Regardless, I've found a workaround that I hope will also work for you. If you deny SuperUser privileges to the app it will use hcitool instead of the daemon. It will consume more CPU/power when RDS is working and the screen is on though.

So, open the SuperUser app and select Spirit FM Radio and press Forget.

Then restart the app and when SuperUser asks for permission, select Deny and Remember.

If you are using any of these Audio Methods there are special considerations:

msm7x30

qsd8250

qdsp5v2

These methods require SU/root, but only to change permissions on a device file. For these you could change permissions manually, or you could run the app once after bootup with SU permissions.

And again, this method only works if you have a non-proprietary Bluetooth stack with a working hcitool. "adb shell hcitool cmd 4 1" will return 12 bytes if so.
[Spirit FM] Kess78:
Hi,

Does your app support Alternative Frequency ?

I have an x10 mini and I know my chip can recognize PI code but SE didn't develop AF...

By the way for the design you should took inspiration of the SE app. It keep in memory the name of the station with the frequency and you can sroll through.

EDIT : Just installed the apps on my x10 mini and it half works :

If I don't turn on the stock FM app, there is only RDS in Spirit but no sound, signal is not good too

If i turn the stock FM app first, there is sound but it's very hard to change frequency because it's like Spirit and the stock app are fighting for the control of the chip (that make the phone very laggy almost freezing), and sometime the volume get very loud.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
July 10 release:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/3p6sgsxhd1octxn/Spirit_FM_Radio_v110710.apk

Mostly bug fixes. Should prevent some crashes and freezes (ANRs).

Some higher risk mods were done, so you might consider skipping this version to avoid risk of problems.

This will hopefully go into the Market soon if no major issues are reported or seen. Thanks !
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Here's a preferable workaround for TI chip devices (and reason I wasn't seeing this issue).

This operation is useful for Broadcom based devices on CyanogenMod also because CM tries to use hcitool to set FM volume, so this can avoid some interference:

Remove or rename the hcitool binary. During audio switching, CyanogenMod (and likely some derivative ROMs) calls hcitool for some reason. This causes problems in the daemon mode.

The downside to this is that the CM FM app won't work.

I do this:

adb remount

adb shell mv /system/xbin/hcitool /system/xbin/hcitoo

My app can still use "hcitoo" if needed.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Hi,

No Alternative Frequency yet. It's use is rare here in North America, but I'll count your post as a vote for the feature.

The presets can be named in my app. Code is there to name stations by PI, but not enabled. Useful perhaps in the US where PI codes can map to callsigns. Elsewhere numbers aren't so useful. I haven't checked for any online databases that map non-US PI to some identifier.

Scrolling through a list of presets sounds like it would look better than a bunch of preset buttons, thanks...

Sounds like you are close to having the app work. Are you using a stock ROM ? I imagine I just need to add the code to enable your audio path.

If you are capable of capturing "adb logcat" output while running the stock FM app, and then mine, I'll have a better idea of what needs to be done.

Also, the output from "adb shell ls -l -R /dev" would be useful, as well as any info you have on your audio chip(s).

Thanks for your report !
[Spirit FM] Kess78:
Thanks for your awnser.

I'm using the stock SE ROM.

I just have the logcat of the stock app, I'm searching how to save long logcat......
[Spirit FM] cos68:
Hi Mike

I vote for AF too. We use it alot here in Denmark due to a number of rather weak senders for our local stations. If it could automatically tune to the sender with best signal, then it would be great, thanks!
[Spirit FM] Marsou77:
Hi !

I have a LG P990 running MiUi.

Your app seem to work but I can't ear no sound. In my screen I can see the name of the radio, the RDS, but no sound ... :(
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Hi, yes it's disappointing when you seem so close.

I'm having difficulty trying to research all the device and ROM combinations, so any information you can provide is very useful, thanks...

Are you aware of ANY FM app that has ever worked on the LG P990 ? Stock, MIUI, Cyanogen or an FM package from another phone ?

A quick Google turned up this thread: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1042782&page=5

It's not clear in post 42 if the LG 990 (O2x) is like the 999 (G2x), which appears to have no FM audio connections.

Under Settings, have you tried all of the "Audio Methods" in sequence and found none give any audio or even static ?

I am going to try and achieve digital audio, but it will take some time, and may not even work.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
OK. Additional features such as this may only be available in the unlocked/pay version.

I've noted the CM app has an AF setting, but it's never worked. It was derived from the Qualcomm app, via the MIUI app.

I'm not even aware of any manufacturer app that supports AF, although I'd guess there must be at least a few.

Here we generally only have one powerful sender (transmitter and antenna) per station. I think I recall only the CBC stations transmits AF, and I think it's effectively empty.

I will certainly need help testing this from, I presume, mostly Europe.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
This version is now published in the Market.

For some reason, the single positive paid Unlocker review has disappeared and a new one accusing me of being a thief has been posted: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.mikersmicros.fm_unlock

I don't know exactly how it works but I decided to cancel his order made on June 25.

If any Unlocker customer would like to post their own rating or review, please feel free to do so. :)

And if anyone has seen any bug that makes it appear the Unlocker does nothing, please let me know. Previously you had to go past the 7 day limit (or set time forward), and possibly reboot to see the limitations and ads.

As of this version, you should not have to reboot to see the limitations kick in, but power cycling the FM may still be required.

Thanks !

Next up is a friendlier, more informative Unlocker app. But once unlocked, always unlocked, unless the base app is completely removed. So no upgrade is needed now or in the forseeable future.

Paid app customer requests are always given the most attention. And yes, I raised the price a bit and will likely continue.
[Spirit FM] cos68:
Yes of course. It would make sense that you get something else but the removed adds when you pay, I think.

That is different from the typical setup here. We have a number of lowpower transmitters around in the country transmitting the same program on different frequencies. I think it is done to prevent distubance to the neighbour contries.

Just let me know if you want me to do some testing.
[Spirit FM] Marsou77:
I tryed all Audio Methods but only the first one told me the name and the RDS of the radio. None with sound or static...

What is Digital Audio?

By the way, I have one number in the left corner who didn't up more than 30...What is this?
[Spirit FM] Kess78:
For the AF I think there is a way to do it with software only. As I know each station has it's own PI code so when the signal is low you can search other station with the same PI.

On Android only Samsung provides AF feature.

I attached the result of adb shell ls -l -R /dev on my device.

Also when I start the stock FM apps, kill it (It doesn't stop audio) and start Spirit FM it works fine but there is no RDS... So for the moment is RDS and no audio or audio and no RDS :(
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
You may not have noticed (and there might be some bugs) but as of June 30, the differences between locked/free and unlocked/pay are much larger.

You may not have noticed because the app is fully featured for the first 7 days after installation.

And BTW, since RDS has been a major compelling feature of the free app, I really hate disabling it. But I feel I have to do this to make this project economically viable enough that my development can continue at the current "double full time" rate.

From time to time I will modify the differences as seems fit. I owe it to paying customers to ensure there are extra features justifying the price. But OTOH, I think everyone is best served if my app is the best 3rd party FM app.

If/when CM supported RDS well, I might make that a free feature in order to continue to make my free app popular. And that serves paid customers also, IMO.

I hope there is no "backlash", but haven't heard any yet. If it's free, then I think none is deserved.

Here's the help text I'm working on:

As of the July 10 version of Spirit FM Radio, the following features are only available when the app is unlocked, or within the 7 day trial period after installation:

- No advertisements.

- RDS data.

- Graphic frequency selection via indicator or thumbwheel.

- RSSI signal strength indicators.

Also, as of July 12, when not unlocked but within the 7 day window, the RDS RadioText will be replaced with a nag message 20 seconds after each RDS update.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
OK, interesting. That's not expected, but the Audio Method might determine if the headset cable antenna is enabled.

There are unfortunately, quite a few devices that have problems playing FM audio, due to no physical connection on the PCB, or the need for special code to enable the audio path.

Digital audio, straight through the UART or HCI interface, may help solve this common problem.

That's the RSSI or signal strength indicator, which is also used to light up 0-4 bars to the right. 30 is relatively low and could cause problems receiving error free RDS data.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
FM seems to be not physically possible on ALL "proper" GS4 variants.

I say "proper" because I believe S4 mini supports FM, but it's a different phone of course.

These days, especially in North America, if you want FM on a phone you should ensure it works before purchase. Preferably it has a stock, supported OEM FM app that won't magically stop working in the future, as some Google/Motorola/Verizon devices have recently.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Yeah, there are still a bunch of unusual audio problems on HTC One GPE and AOSP.

At this point, I'm focusing on Android 4.3 for these; I think 4.2 will quickly fade to oblivion.

Right now, speaker mode doesn't work on 4.3 GPE, ALSA "analog" or digital.

And going to home screen from Spirit etc. can result in volume and I think EQ changes for digital.

I'm trying CM10.2 experimental now and ALSA analog audio seems to have no volume control. I haven't had the time to track that down yet.

So, basically a mess for 4.3 and not TOO much better for 4.2.
[Spirit FM] meduza:
Done :)

m.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Thanks for the GS3 mini log.

The Audio-> Method you used of "Galaxy S3/Note/S2_ICS" is for stock audio libraries, usually on stock devices. I'll make this automatic for next release.

If the ROM ever moves to open source audio libraries, as has happened on official CM for Samsung devices, then audio will likely stop working.

And on review this phone has been out a while (late 2012?) and it has no Spirit customers AFAICT, and almost nobody has asked about it. So I'm unlikely to officially support it, or even try to fix audio if/when it breaks.

Funny, I can't find "GT-I8190" in Google's system to declare devices supported or not. Maybe there's a more official ro.product.device value on stock phones.
[Spirit FM] makbil:
Just to confirm, Sense 4.3 is expected to start rolling out in the near future so your decision is correct.

At any rate, since Google does not include an FM radio application in GE ROMs, Spirit is the only alternative there.
[Spirit FM] fakerli:
Hi guys,

I got an Jiayu G4 with an MTK6589 and my FM is working like a charm with stock radio App.

But I liked Spirit FM on my old Phone and wanted to try it on my Jiayu but it isn't working.

Does someone have any ideas?

Greetings.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
My support for older Android versions on stock ROMs remains, but there is little trouble there since the stock audio libraries support FM audio and Spirit just needs to run a bit of well known code that pretty much copies what the stock apps do. And most of my customers are not on stock ROMs where the stock FM app works.

By now, the GPE crowd is mostly already on 4.3, and much of the CM crowd will be I think within a month or 2.

Same for all AOSP ROMs for HTC One. I posted a bit about the open source Effem app that may be on a few ROMs for older & less popular devices. But I've noted that it uses 3-4 hcitool commands, and Android 4.3 does not support hcitool due to the major Bluedroid changes.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Hi,

I don't support Mediatek based devices and I don't expect to.

I would reconsider if a popular, mid to high-end device from Samsung, HTC, Motorola, Sony or LG used Mediatek, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.
[Spirit FM] fakerli:
Nearly all Chinaphones do have MTK-chips in it.
[Spirit FM] Lagkage:
There is a lot pirates in China, and thats why Mike won't support Mediatek. See this: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=41229526&highlight=mediatek#post41229526
[Spirit FM] guhvanoh:
Hi Mike,

I sent you a log about 15 min ago regarding no sound on a Sony XZ running stock Rom 10.3.1.A.0.244. After trying some of the suggestions in some of the posts I've now got sound back. Solution was to switch to digital auto. Please discard my email and continue the good work.

Regards!
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Great !

I presume you mean Xperia ZX ? The 6" Z ?

Yeah, somebody reported the same on stock Xperia ZL; seems strange that Sony yet again changed the FM audio method from the change I first saw on the Z and that still works on the Z with Android 4.2.

I'll have to decipher the latest Sony FM app again, because otherwise there is no audio option for unrooted phones, or for those without Unlocked (at least after I release with a fix for the bug that allows digital audio on Spirit Free and Light, LOL.)

I might not be in a hurry though, I have VERY few Sony customers.

Fortunately that digital audio mode works on just about all Qualcomm FM/combo chip based devices with Qualcomm audio chip. But I'd think the "non-digital" audio method "HTC OneS/X LTE ALSA" would also work.
[Spirit FM] guhvanoh:
No I meant the Xperia Z. Not a problem. As it works I'm good, else I can go back to using my SGS3.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
EDIT: Got it working now; the OTA came through. :)

Oh. Since I don't have to return my Z until Saturday, that's good news, as I may be able to test this personally.

My Z is running the slightly older 10.3.A.0.423.

Unfortunately, the Generic Nordic Combined SI I have of 1270-7280 does not have an OTA yet; I don't recall if I can flashtool another FTF and I don't want to re-unlock now.
[Spirit FM] savoiu:
LG Optimus F3 on Virgin Mobile

A bit off topic but I was not able to get reliable info elsewhere. Some websites claim that it has FM radio. Has anyone tried it? If so, does Spirit work on it?

Thanks,

Nick
[Spirit FM] Lagkage:
You can try the free version of Spirit linked in the 1st post.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Spirit Free August 9: http://d-h.st/khF

Not very well tested on many phones, so no Play release.

- HTC One GPE enable speaker for digital and non-digital modes.

- Fix for Xperia Z and similar audio, especially on stock, unrooted.

- Experimental Bluetooth on support for Android 4.2+ on Broadcom based devices such as HTC One AOSP or Android 4.3 GPE. Among other things, this can provide FM over Bluetooth.

This is "bleeding edge" so don't consider it unless you're adventurous and don't mind some risk.

It remounts the /system partition as RW briefly to modify libbt-hci.so and rename it to libbt-hcio.so . Stuff like this makes me nervous if dozens of people are trying it before it's tested very well.

This remount can be repeated each time a new ROM is flashed and Spirit is started.

I've really only tested on HTC One w/ GPE and AOSP, but it may/should work on other devices like HTC Desire HD.

To install the "Bluedroid Shim":

Set Debug-> HCI Access to Bluedroid Shim and turn FM/Spirit off.

Turn Bluetooth off.

Reboot phone.

With Bluetooth still off, start Spirit.

In theory, it should work now. Spirit changes the system files, starts BT and uses the shim. A reboot may fix any problems.

Spirit still doesn't like when BT is turned on or off while it's running.

If you try this, please report.
[Spirit FM] savoiu:
RE: LG Optimus F3 on Virgin Mobile

I don't have the phone but might get it if it has FM radio.
[Spirit FM] rienkandroid:
Ever since going to JB I have the problem that my audio is being messed up. I'm using the latest Spirit Unlocked (August 8). I see that speaker mode is confirmed to be broken. That's thru indeed for me. But when I've used SU my (ear)phone speaker won't react. Speaker mode works as expected. Only a reboot can fix this. It's like the internal speaker isn't turned on when removing the headset.

Device is the infamous i9000 with Mackay Rom 3.0.0 (Alpha but stable enough) using digital mode.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
There's no August 8 release of Spirit, do you mean August 5 IE the latest on Play ?

By "going to JB" do you mean Mackay ROM, or have you seen this on other JB ROMs ?

I'm not sure why you say "...speaker mode is confirmed to be broken" and I can't understand what "That's thru indeed for me" means.

Have you tried the non-digital mode ? There have been some speaker breakage risks from the non-digital mode, but it often works better.

Plugging and unplugging headset while Spirit is running has caused some issues, and I know people do this when taking phone calls for example.

Please send a debug log. Use Menu-> Test-> Email-> Logs and press Send after 20 seconds.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Spirit Unlocked displays station and RDS PS info on BT headsets with AVRCP or "Audio/Video Remote Control Profile" version 1.3+, such as the Sony MW-1 I have.

It also supports the Pause/Play, Previous and Next buttons. I think AVRCP v1.0 supports only these controls, no display.

I've only been noticing this recently on Android 4.3 and I think some 4.2 ROMs.

Was a cool unexpected surprise the first time I saw it, LOL. Had to ensure I wasn't running the MW-1 FM function.

AFAICT you need this, besides the Unlocked version of Spirit using digital audio mode over BT on phones/ROMs that support that mode:

(1) - A phone running system software whose Bluetooth stack supports AVRCP or "Audio/Video Remote Control Profile" version 1.3 or higher.

(2) - A remote device, such as BT headset or smartwatch, that also supports AVRCP v1.3+.
[Spirit FM] mikereidis:
Spirit Free August 10: http://d-h.st/roB

Unlocked and Light are updated on Play.

Now requires Android 4.03 ICS or later.

Bluedroid shim tests otherwise OK on Desire HD, but kills audio.

I see that Galaxy S GT-I9000 digital audio mode speaker no longer works on CM. I'm not sure anyone has even reported this & I need vacation time again, so...

Otherwise same as August 9:

I think the biggest bugs, issues (such as Android 4.3, GPE), and viable feature requests for the short term are pretty much satisfied now.

So I think/hope the rest of August I'll be maximising my off-time.
[Spirit FM] rienkandroid:
So my speaker isn't working and it's a confirmed problem. Or is this only for the HTC One?

I've been using Slim Bean roms for a while but they tend to slow down my device to much (slim but not fast). Later switched to Mackay Roms. Problem is the same. I thought it had something to do with voodoo sound so to make sure i uninstalled it. It had no effect.

Problems I have:

Switching from headphone to external (backside)speaker gives a stutter, shuts down headphone briefly en sound is back again for the in the headphone. No external sound. Only when i start Spirit without headphones my external speakers gives (understandable :)) white noise.

When ending Spirit FM more often then not my internal (frontside)speaker won't work.

Debug is send

As for the release. I checked the play store and it did say aug 8. Right now your latest release is from aug. 9?