Keyboards - Bluetooth

[DitchDoctor]

Someone went into one of my conference rooms and removed the USB dongle (must have thought it was a Thumb Drive, surprise on them) Logitech says that the dongle is not available for sale alone. IS there another way to connect to the computer or do I now have a 150 dollar matching set of paper weights?

Thanks

[MrToad]

You can use an standard BT dongle of any flavour to connect the keyb/mouse. There's many people that use this combo with the built-in BT solution of their laptops.

But... there's allways a catch.

What makes the Logitech dongle special is that's sort of 2in1 device.

Is a BT dongle and a normal RF "hub", which's what allows you to use the keyb/mouse when the BT drivers are not loaded. Therefore forget about using them before the OS has fully booted and logged on without the supplied dongle.

[DitchDoctor]

I'm not sure that I understand the last part of your post - can you clarify?

[MrToad]

Well, I guess you've seen non-BT wireless desktops before.

They have a RF (Radio Frequence) transmitter/receiver (short form: transceiver) to allow communication between the keyboard/mouse and the computer.

An example of this would be the "Logitech Cordless Desktop MX".

These kind of devices don't require additional drivers to work. To put it as simple as possible, think that the wire that goes from the keyboard/mouse to the ps2/usb port has been substituted by radio waves. The software provided with these devices enhances functionality (better configurability, more buttons...), but it's installation is not mandatory for basic operation.

Most of these devices are not interoperable. In other words, for these devices to work, the keyboard/mouse and the transceiver must be capable of "talking the same language", so if you try to mix a RF keyboard made for instance by Micro$oft with a RF transceiver made by Logitech is not going to work.

Now we have bluetooth. BT is also a RF protocol, which means that the signal travels wirelessly through radio waves, but in this case is an industry standard. In theory any BT compliant device can connect to any BT dongle.

But due to the complexity of BT, that goes far beyond the simple task of connecting a keyboard and a mouse to a port in the computer, the transceiver (or dongle) can no longer perform by itself, introducing another player in the game: the software (or BT Stack). Think on it as an interpreter and organizer that will determine how to deal with an specific device considering it's nature and capabilities.

Now, what did Logitech do about this? Well, include both (the RF transceiver and the BT hub) in the same device: the provided dongle.

This way, while there's no OS loaded (BIOS setup, RAID setup, OS boot menu, login screen...) the RF transceiver will ensure communication between the keyboard/mouse and the computer, and once the OS is loaded the BT stack will take over, providing the advanced functions plus all the "bells and whistles" of a BT hub.

The above paragraph is not allways true... in some configurations it won't work properly in "RF mode" for BIOS setup etc. etc., but this is completely off-topic.

On topic: As you can see, if you remove the Logitech dongle from the equation, your keyboard mouse will no longer be usable w/o a fully loaded OS, because no other BT dongle available is going to include the Logitech RF transceiver.

This is not a big issue on laptops, because you have the integrated keyboard/touchpad for operation outside the OS, but it can be a pain for desktops, as it will require an alternative keyboard (and mouse) for use outside BT capable environment.

Hope this was a bit more explanatory.

Message Edited by MrToad on 08-01-200602:08 PM

[dashn]

I also lost my bt dongle for my di novo media desktop. I bought another bluetooth dongle (non-logitech) but the setpoint installation software requires you to connect the logitech dongle. Any ideas?

[bluja000]

Don't install the software if you aren't using the supplied dongle. The software is trying to detect a keyboard and mouse through the receiver, but if the receiver isn't a logitech one, the software gets confused. You can use the keyboard and mouse without any software, just won't have the ability to customize the buttons or get the special features. The set will function as a standard mouse and keyboard, ONCE you get into windows. You can't use it in the bios, but otherwise should be fine.

[DerMartin]

Holla from Germany,

I do have the same problem. My dongle is gone after moving homes. Bought another mouse mx1000 laser and hoped that there would be a dongle included (cheapest way). Nope. Called the german hotline + said said that the diNova dongle has nothing to do with the mx1000 laser mouse. They do use different frequenzy, no BT or whatever - keep it short - diNova and the new mouse do not work togehter.

Still had a BT Dongle from a EPox mouse - seems like the same provider widcom (?) as for logitech. That did not work out eather. Tried different homepages, drivers, changing of dongles - DOES NOT WORK...

So, seems like the only chace I have is to get another LOGITECH DONGLE - please help me! Here in Germany the answer from the hotline was that there are no such dongles left!

Thanks a lot for your thoughts

Martin

PS: @MrToad: You helpded me a lot to understand the background of the dongle quest! Keep explaining that way, thanX!

[eskimo]

Howdy... I have a MACbook and use the S 530 Keyboard, Mouse package when in the office to take advantage of my flat screen display. The Dongle is now missing. Say it isn't so! Please tell me I do not have to spend one hundred and fifty bucks just to get a replacement Dongle!!!! I know the combination of BT etc makes it unique but WHY will Logitec not sell me one. Clearly this is not a new problem>