HowTo: Use bcharge to charge your BB under linux - Page 2 - BlackBerryForums.com : Your Number One BlackBerry Community

rivviepop · 05-16-2007, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by breakerfall

feisty, charge icon stays on for about 2 seconds...

Not that I know what's wrong, but have y'all watched your syslog and/or dmesg output, looking for entries that might provide a clue? It sounds like bcharge runs, adjusts the current, then 'something else' runs and re-resets the port.

The question is..... what's 'something else'.

breakerfall · **OS:** 4.7.0.90

good idea...
ill check when i get home...

should i see anything special along with the plug-in event?

rivviepop · 05-16-2007, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by breakerfall

should i see anything special along with the plug-in event?

You should see a typical pattern of "detected new USB device", followed by an invocation of 'bcharge' at least once to set the flow. What you're looking for is something after that pattern, but what exactly that is I don't know yet (just going on gut instinct at this point).

Do this: as root, do 'tail -f /var/log/messages', then hit ENTER a couple of times to clear the screen. Plug in your device and let the messages flow, then cut&paste everything from that window from where it started into the forum here (use the CODE + /CODE forums tags around it to protect the formatting).

HuwSy · 05-16-2007, 05:49 PM

Iv had the same problem for a while, ever since i went from edgy to feisty. But since gutsy it sometimes charges other times behaves in this way. Iv yet to determine whats different either time. But even running bcharge manually says it changer the current to 500mA but most of the time the charge icon on the phone doesn't stay and it doesn't charge.

breakerfall · **OS:** 4.7.0.90

Code:

May 16 21:36:27 kmiketop kernel: [14284.728000] usb 2-1: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 3
May 16 21:36:27 kmiketop kernel: [14284.892000] usb 2-1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice

nothing exciting here...

the above is the result of "sudo tail -f /var/log/messages" after plugging in and running bcharge (which indicates that it does adjust charge setting)

lsusb never indicates a change in the MaxPower from 100mA, even if i run it when the charge indicator is showing (all 2 secs of it)...

cregmak00 · **How! Do I install bcharge (in english please) -** 05-31-2007, 12:05 AM

Help! I'm new with linux, and it seems to be impossible to find any kind of decent instructions on how to install bcharge. Where can I just find "do this.. do this.." type instructions on how to install this for a blackberry pearl. Please direct to newbie instructions (i don't know how to compile and run scripts). If there is an .exe type install file that would be grrrrrreat too.

Thanks!

rivviepop · 05-31-2007, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cregmak00

Help! I'm new with linux, and it seems to be impossible to find any kind of decent instructions on how to install bcharge. Where can I just find "do this.. do this.." type instructions on how to install this for a blackberry pearl. Please direct to newbie instructions (i don't know how to compile and run scripts). If there is an .exe type install file that would be grrrrrreat too.

If you run Fedora Core 6:

1) download these files:
http://downloads.sourceforge.net/bar...7&big_mirror=0
http://downloads.sourceforge.net/bar...1&big_mirror=0

2) as 'root' on your machine in the directory you downloaded to, type:

Code:

rpm -Uhv barry-* libbarry-*

3) drink a beer and congratulate yourself on being a nerd.

rivviepop · 05-31-2007, 03:36 PM

FYI: for all you Ubuntu folks having problems, the mailing list indicates it's a problem with your prepackaged kernel. Compiling your own or whatnot 'fixes' your charging problem.

see here (towards the bottom):
http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/f...me=barry-devel

breakerfall · **OS:** 4.7.0.90

ugh, its been soooo long since i 'rolled my own' ...
think 3+ hours on a 486DX2/50 !!!!

Dwaine · 06-11-2007, 09:29 PM

Looks like the new BlackBerry charger module is now in the official kernell

[root@www ~]# btool -l
Blackberry devices found:
Device ID: 0x92ec588. PIN: 205a66cc
[root@www ~]# lsmod
Module Size Used by
berry_charge 8133 0
vfat 16321 0
fat 53877 1 vfat

lib/modules/2.6.21-ARCH/kernel/drivers/usb/misc/berry_charge.ko

Greg must of added the 8800 ID to the module. The computer is charging the 8800 fine.

rivviepop · 06-11-2007, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by breakerfall

ugh, its been soooo long since i 'rolled my own' ...
think 3+ hours on a 486DX2/50 !!!!

I was still running OS/2 on that motherboard.

Oh man, the day I went from 4 up to 8 megs of RAM was I twitterpated....

rivviepop · 06-11-2007, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dwaine

Looks like the new BlackBerry charger module is now in the official kernell

As of 2.6.21 it's in the mainline kernel, but...

Quote:

Greg must of added the 8800 ID to the module. The computer is charging the 8800 fine.

...at 100mA, not 500mA (check your lsusb -v output). I was on the email CC from Greg, and the problem with adding the 8100+ to the module for proper detection is that usb-storage conflict (the devices with SD cards *always* present a USB Mass Storage interface, even if you've disabled it on your 8x00 device).

Last I heard (which was awhile ago) he was going to work with the usb-storage people (??) and try and figure something out. That module, though, *should* be working for the 8700 and older devices!

Linux Headquarters - Kernel v2.6.21 /drivers/usb/misc/berry_charge.c

Notice the #define BLACKBERRY 0x0001 -- it doesn't support our newer 0x0006/0x0004 SD-enabled devices. :-/

HuwSy · 06-12-2007, 01:00 AM

hum... im using 2.6.22 but still cant get it to charge. I get

Code:

Bus 002 Device 006: ID 0fca:0001 Research In Motion, Ltd. Blackberry Handheld
Device Descriptor:
  bLength                18
  bDescriptorType         1
  bcdUSB               1.10
  bDeviceClass          255 Vendor Specific Class
  bDeviceSubClass       255 Vendor Specific Subclass
  bDeviceProtocol       255 Vendor Specific Protocol
  bMaxPacketSize0        64
  idVendor           0x0fca Research In Motion, Ltd.
  idProduct          0x0001 Blackberry Handheld
  bcdDevice            1.04
  iManufacturer           1 
  iProduct                2 
  iSerial                 0 
  bNumConfigurations      1
  Configuration Descriptor:
    bLength                 9
    bDescriptorType         2
    wTotalLength           46
    bNumInterfaces          1
    bConfigurationValue     1
    iConfiguration          0 
    bmAttributes         0x80
      (Bus Powered)
    MaxPower              500mA
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        0
      bAlternateSetting       0
      bNumEndpoints           4
      bInterfaceClass       255 Vendor Specific Class
      bInterfaceSubClass    255 Vendor Specific Subclass
      bInterfaceProtocol    255 Vendor Specific Protocol
      iInterface              0 
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x81  EP 1 IN
        bmAttributes            2
          Transfer Type            Bulk
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0040  1x 64 bytes
        bInterval               0
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x02  EP 2 OUT
        bmAttributes            2
          Transfer Type            Bulk
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0040  1x 64 bytes
        bInterval               0
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x83  EP 3 IN
        bmAttributes            2
          Transfer Type            Bulk
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0040  1x 64 bytes
        bInterval               0
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x04  EP 4 OUT
        bmAttributes            2
          Transfer Type            Bulk
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0040  1x 64 bytes
        bInterval               0
cannot read device status, Operation not permitted (1)

from lsusb -v and dont have any udev rules inplace for it anymore, seeing as bcharge very rarely worked. Do i still need a udev rule for it invoking the kernel module at all? Even loading the module through modprobe does nothing.

rivviepop · 06-12-2007, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuwSy

Code:

    MaxPower              500mA

Huh, that lsusb says that the computer has adjusted to 500mA, which means *something* worked. Do this:

1) unplug BB
2) rmmod berry_charge
3) modprobe berry_charge debug=1
4) tail -f /var/log/messages

...now plug in your BB and you should see the debug info of "device detected" blah blah blah. I suspect that the problem is the same as you were having before; the charging indicator on the device isn't staying on, which I guess was an Ubuntu kernel bug?

HuwSy · 06-13-2007, 05:44 PM

After connecting i get the following appear.

Code:

Jun 13 22:38:52 Demon kernel: [ 1146.709787] usb 2-2: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 8
Jun 13 22:38:53 Demon kernel: [ 1146.883475] usb 2-2: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
Jun 13 22:38:53 Demon kernel: [ 1147.428706] usb 2-2: USB disconnect, address 8
Jun 13 22:38:53 Demon kernel: [ 1147.668288] usb 2-2: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 9
Jun 13 22:38:54 Demon kernel: [ 1147.841747] usb 2-2: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
Jun 13 22:38:54 Demon kernel: [ 1148.379182] usb 2-2: USB disconnect, address 9
Jun 13 22:38:54 Demon kernel: [ 1148.618773] usb 2-2: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 10
Jun 13 22:38:54 Demon kernel: [ 1148.792082] usb 2-2: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice

then nothing else adds until i remove it and get the following

Code:

Jun 13 22:43:34 Demon kernel: [ 1427.506375] usb 2-2: USB disconnect, address 10

is there any known conflicting kernel modules?

smoosh · 08:03 PM

I too was experiencing the problems that many are describing where the charging icon would stay on for about 2 seconds and then disappear.

I am using Ubuntu 7.04 and a Blackberry 8700r with OS 4.2.

What appeared to be happening was that when bcharge ran, it did indeed set the power output to the appropriate level, but then something else seemed to drop it back down about 2 seconds later.

The work around I found...which is by no means a fix in the strictest sense...was to write a script that runs bcharge every 1 second.

Now I plug in the blackberry, run the script and blammo...a charging blackberry.

My detailed procedure if required is Here

titetanium · 06-27-2007, 12:55 AM

I found out in the kernel mailing list that somewhere in 2.6.20+ kernels, the libusb code changed somewhat. Apparently, if you have usb suspend enabled in the kernel, it will stop charging due to autosuspending. There is a patch that works around this issue by telling the kernel not to autosuspend when blackberries are connected via usb. I'm using it with usb suspend enabled in the patched kernel and it works.

If you need the link, i can't remember exactly how I found the patch, it was through google.

rivviepop · 06-27-2007, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by titetanium

If you need the link, i can't remember exactly how I found the patch, it was through google.

It made it's way onto barry-devel as well, from the linux-usb-devel list.

http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/f...me=barry-devel

titetanium · 06-27-2007, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rivviepop

It made it's way onto barry-devel as well, from the linux-usb-devel list.

SourceForge.net: barry-devel

That was the exact patch, thanks Rivvie for providing the link. I've already compiled my kernel with the autosuspend fix patch and it works flawlessly, so far.

erroneus · 06-28-2007, 02:48 AM

I just installed F7 recently and am slowly putting things back into place. Bcharge is among the important things, and while I successfully added what I believe to be the more current or correct RPM from before, I would like to know if there is a most current and up-to-date package I should be using?

(F7's kernel did not automatically load anything to make the charger do its thing though... tried that first.)

rivviepop · 06-28-2007, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by erroneus

Bcharge is among the important things, and while I successfully added what I believe to be the more current or correct RPM from before, I would like to know if there is a most current and up-to-date package I should be using?

Download the .src.rpm from Sourceforge and rebuild it (as non-root) to be FC7 friendly, it's a basic 'rpmbuild --rebuild <FOO>.src.rpm" type of thing, it worked cleanly and without hassle for me.

Quote:

(F7's kernel did not automatically load anything to make the charger do its thing though... tried that first.)

Yeah -- there are patches I've seen (see the comments/threads about the USB AutoSuspend above) that might make it into the next kernel but I don't know for sure yet myself, just what the mailing lists say.

ssc351 · 07-01-2007, 11:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rivviepop

If you run Fedora Core 6:

1) download these files:
SourceForge.net: Downloading ...
SourceForge.net: Downloading ...

2) as 'root' on your machine in the directory you downloaded to, type:

Code:

rpm -Uhv barry-* libbarry-*

3) drink a beer and congratulate yourself on being a nerd.

Can someone tell me how to compile this for ubuntu...I've tried for like 2 hours and I can't figure it out...newbie. Errr. I am sure I am just missing something simple but I guess I need a step by step. Thanks!

MarkARichards · 07-10-2007, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rivviepop

As of 2.6.21 it's in the mainline kernel, but...

...at 100mA, not 500mA (check your lsusb -v output). I was on the email CC from Greg, and the problem with adding the 8100+ to the module for proper detection is that usb-storage conflict (the devices with SD cards *always* present a USB Mass Storage interface, even if you've disabled it on your 8x00 device).

Last I heard (which was awhile ago) he was going to work with the usb-storage people (??) and try and figure something out. That module, though, *should* be working for the 8700 and older devices!

Linux Headquarters - Kernel v2.6.21 /drivers/usb/misc/berry_charge.c

Notice the #define BLACKBERRY 0x0001 -- it doesn't support our newer 0x0006/0x0004 SD-enabled devices. :-/

This module has been back ported to SUSE Enterprise Linux Desktop 10 SP1 kernel 2.6.16.46-0.10 and above. Module called berry_charge.
Suspend works well and more importantly resume works. The BB will not charge while suspended to ram or disk.

AbuAnsar · 07-22-2007, 12:52 PM

Hi. I'm a newbie in Linux and using Ubuntu 7.04. It's been few days now that I'm trying ti figure out how to charge my Blackberry 8100 (Pearl) thru the USB cable. I failed to follow the steps provided in BB forums to properly download and istall bcharge. Nevertheless, to my great surprise, I just found out that it DOES CHARGE! The yello Charging Icong on BB's screen stays on, an error message "USB power is insufficient......" appears for few seconds but it does charge to 100%.

My concern is whether it will damage anything in my Blackberry or not. If you guys ever encountered with the same problem please enlighten me on this issue. Thanks.

AbuAnsar

rivviepop · 07-22-2007, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AbuAnsar

My concern is whether it will damage anything in my Blackberry or not. If you guys ever encountered with the same problem please enlighten me on this issue. Thanks.

You'll be fine -- the default current on the USB port is 100mA so your device is charging, just very slowly (aka "trickle charge"). Normal charging current for a BB is 500mA - so if 500mA charges in 1 hour, 100mA would charge in 5 hours. I've read in various articles that trickle charging actually is better for a Lithium Ion battery, increasing it's longevity -- I can't confirm that, though.

(the charge curve is also not a direct 1-to-1, it's actually an exponential I think)

AbuAnsar · 07-22-2007, 01:45 PM

rivviepop, thanks for your explanation, i didnt know anything about it. You ever tried to use your BB as a modem under Linux? Does it work?

rivviepop · 07-22-2007, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AbuAnsar

rivviepop, thanks for your explanation, i didnt know anything about it. You ever tried to use your BB as a modem under Linux? Does it work?

I haven't but others have -- hit the main Linux forum and there are 1 or 2 threads about it with lots of good info...

AbuAnsar · 07-22-2007, 11:42 PM

rivviepop thanks a lot. I will do what you said. thanks again!

*&)) · **OS:** 4.7.0.148

So i tried to use '$ sudo alien' to convert the rpm into a deb. I successfully completed that task and then I ran '$ sudo dpkg -i' to install deb. Everything installed and ran as usual but when i plug in my blackberry i still get the same error 'USB charging current is not...' from what I understand the driver that controls current which was know as bbcharge is apart of the package. I have also tried to run the Barry in the terminal to get every thing up and running. But still no luck, can any one offer any help.

Oh sorry
dude i get a dell
1501
amd
2gb ram
running dual boot Vista business and Ubuntu 7.04

blackberry 8830 vzw

xullux@xullux-laptop:~$ sudo aptitude show barry
Package: barry
State: installed
Automatically installed: no
Version: 0.7-3
Priority: extra
Section: alien
Maintainer: xullux <xullux@xullux-laptop>
Uncompressed Size: 778k
Description: BlackBerry(tm) Desktop for Linux
Barry is a desktop toolset for managing your BlackBerry(tm) device. (BlackBerry
is a registered trademark of Research in Motion Limited.)

(Converted from a rpm package by alien version 8.65.)

jtoque · 08-07-2007, 11:24 AM

Hello

I am using a Blackberry 7290 connected via USB to a PC with Linux Red Hat 2.4.18. and the message about insufficient power for charging on USB appears.

I have tried to use the bcharge utility from the Barry project v0.7. I compiled it with "g++ -o bcharge bcharge.cc -lusb" but it doesn't seem to work. Bcharge says "Scanning for Blackberry devices... Found device #002... adjusting charge settings... no Pearl adjustment... done"
But lsusb shows that the MaxPower value for my Blackberry continues to be 100mA instead of the supposed 500mA.

The libusb version used to compile the bcharge utility is libusb-0.1.so.4. The firmware version of the Blackberry is 4.0.0.255. I have also tried using kernel 2.4.20 but the same problem occurs.

Also, If I let the Blackberry connected via USB during a long time it gets switched off or enter in a kind of suspended mode and then I have to switch it on manually. Is this normal? Is it related to the insufficient power for charging issue?

Does anyone have the same problem or has any idea about what is happening and/or why bcharge is not working?

Thanks very much

buanzo · 12-01-2007, 07:07 AM

There are lots of people frustrated at getting bcharge to work.

I was one of them too, until I got angry and worked-around the problem.

Take a look at this (in Spanish, but the code sections are quite obvious) post from my blog:

COMO cargar bateria de BlackBerry o iPod | Buanzolandia

If there is enough request, I'll translate it to English.

Basicly, the usb_storage kernel module resets current to 100mA. Also, I use acharge instead of bcharge (binary and source download links available in the post).

Let me know if this works for you!

bajjisw · **Works well with Debian 4.0 -** 05-10-2008, 12:05 PM

I used *.deb files from SourceForge.net: Files

milomak · 03:51 PM

any chance of updating the fedora files for fedora 9?

I get the following when I use make when trying to compile from source

Code:

data.cc: In function 'bool Barry::IsHexData(const std::string&)':
data.cc:47: error: 'strchr' was not declared in this scope
data.cc: In constructor 'Barry::Data::Data()':
data.cc:72: error: 'memset' was not declared in this scope
data.cc: In constructor 'Barry::Data::Data(int, size_t)':
data.cc:83: error: 'memset' was not declared in this scope
data.cc: In copy constructor 'Barry::Data::Data(const Barry::Data&)':
data.cc:106: error: 'memcpy' was not declared in this scope
data.cc: In member function 'void Barry::Data::MakeSpace(size_t)':
data.cc:119: error: 'memcpy' was not declared in this scope
data.cc:120: error: 'memset' was not declared in this scope
data.cc: In member function 'void Barry::Data::CopyOnWrite(size_t)':
data.cc:135: error: 'memcpy' was not declared in this scope
data.cc: In member function 'void Barry::Data::Zap()':
data.cc:264: error: 'memset' was not declared in this scope
data.cc: In member function 'Barry::Data& Barry::Data::operator=(const Barry::Data&)':
data.cc:275: error: 'memcpy' was not declared in this scope
data.cc: In function 'bool Barry::IsEndpointStart(const std::string&, int&)':
data.cc:389: error: 'strncmp' was not declared in this scope
data.cc:392: error: 'atoi' was not declared in this scope
make[2]: *** [data.lo] Error 1
make[2]: Leaving directory `/opt/barry-0.12/src'
make[1]: *** [all-recursive] Error 1
make[1]: Leaving directory `/opt/barry-0.12'
make: *** [all] Error 2

HuwSy · 06-19-2008, 05:37 PM

I've been getting something similar under ubuntu until a few days ago from cvs source, think a few parts are in the process of being updated for newer code. Best reporting errors like this on the source forge bug reports for it tho.

milomak · 06-22-2008, 03:59 PM

I'll certainly post that in the sourceforge site. How do I go about downloading the CVS version? More specifically what do I need to put as modulename in the below?

Code:

cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@barry.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/barry co -P modulename

rivviepop · 06-22-2008, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milomak

I'll certainly post that in the sourceforge site. How do I go about downloading the CVS version? More specifically what do I need to put as modulename in the below?

Code:

cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@barry.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/barry co -P modulename

The module name is 'barry' - in CVS parlance, a module name is nothing more than the top level directory name in the repository, nothing more. The name 'module' confuses a lot of people... I usually find module names by looking at the web CVS for the project, e.g.:

http://barry.cvs.sourceforge.net/barry/

milomak · 06-22-2008, 08:37 PM

ah thanks. if you can it might help to change what is displayed on the barry sourceforge.net site to reflect the actual steps needed to go the cvs route.

some of us non-technical folk are willing to take the extra step if guided properly.

rivviepop · 06-22-2008, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milomak

ah thanks. if you can it might help to change what is displayed on the barry sourceforge.net site to reflect the actual steps needed to go the cvs route.

some of us non-technical folk are willing to take the extra step if guided properly.

You'll want to email/contact the admins over there, I'm not part of the barry project or anything like that - just a random guy. To be honest I haven't looked at barry in quite some time...

milomak · 06-25-2008, 03:21 PM

oh my mistake. i thought you were. but thanks for your help. I was able to compile it and now bcharger runs on Fedora 9 from the CVS source.

bajjisw · **Mythdora FC 8 -** 10-12-2008, 12:46 PM

I had trouble compiling and using bcharge. So I tried barry per instructions on sourceforge. This did not work well either.

So here is my recipe.

Download, configure and make barry (do not install, doing install did not work for me)
copy bcharge and breset to /usr/sbin
copy 10-blackberry.rules to /etc/udev/rules.d
copy 10-blackberry.perms to /etc/security/console.perms.d
reboot