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Wiki > Main > IpodTimeSync

Time synchronisation is not supported in rockbox 3.3. You should wait till 3.4 or use a daily snapshot newer than r22259.

We have have successful report for :
  • iPod mini 2G running rockbox r22307.
  • iPod nano 2G (not supported by rockbox) running the original firmware (1.1.3).
  • iPod Video 5.5g.
  • Sansa e200 (r22648)
Linux users must use ipod-time-sync.

Installing ipod-time-sync

ipod-time-sync can be found in tools directory of libgpod (version >= 0.7.2) archive. If the libgpod package of your linux distribution provide ipod-time-sync just install it.

With ipod-time-sync installed, you can synchronise your DAP clock with:

ipod-time-sync /dev/sdX # where sdX is your DAP SCSI linux device

Alternatively, you can find an adapted version in utils/time-sync in Rockbox SVN. Just run:

make
make install

and it'll be installed in /usr/local/bin/time-sync

Compile it your-self

Get libgpod >= 0.7.2 archive. You must have glib-2 and sg_utils include/lib installed.

tar xvfz libgpod-0.7.2.tar.gz
cd libgpod-0.7.2/tools
gcc pkg-config --cflags glib-2.0 -c ipod-scsi.c
gcc pkg-config --cflags glib-2.0 -c ipod-time-sync.c
gcc -o ipod-time-sync pkg-config --libs glib-2.0 ipod-time-sync.o ipod-scsi.o -lsgutils2
cp -p ipod-time-sync /usr/local/bin

Configuring udev

Under Linux, udev can run ipod-time-sync automaticaly for you every time you plug your DAP. It's must easier than running ipod-time-sync by hand.

Get your DAP usb id

They are many different way to get those id.

the easier : lsusb

Just type "lsusb" in a shell and look for your DAP.

$ lsusb
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 05ac:1205 Apple, Inc. iPod Mini 1.Gen/2.Gen
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 046d:c044 Logitech, Inc. LX3 Optical Mouse
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub

Here idVendor is 05ac and idProduct is 1205.

search in syslog log file

You can find them in your syslog log ( /var/log/messages on Fedora).

Aug 21 12:03:40 kalis kernel: usb 1-3: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 7
Aug 21 12:03:40 kalis kernel: usb 1-3: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
Aug 21 12:03:40 kalis kernel: scsi7 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices
Aug 21 12:03:40 kalis kernel: input: Rockbox.org Rockbox media player as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.1/usb1/1-3/1-3:1.1/input/input7
Aug 21 12:03:40 kalis kernel: input,hidraw1: USB HID v1.10 Keyboard [Rockbox.org Rockbox media player] on usb-0000:00:02.1-3
Aug 21 12:03:40 kalis kernel: usb 1-3: New USB device found, idVendor=05ac, idProduct=1205
Aug 21 12:03:40 kalis kernel: usb 1-3: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
Aug 21 12:03:40 kalis kernel: usb 1-3: Product: Rockbox media player
Aug 21 12:03:40 kalis kernel: usb 1-3: Manufacturer: Rockbox.org
Aug 21 12:03:40 kalis kernel: usb 1-3: SerialNumber: 900000000000A27001423DE92

idVendor is 05ac and idProduct is 1205.

the hard way : udevinfo

udevinfo give you a lot of info about your usb device. So it can be a little confusing.

You must know the SCSI device used by your DAP. Mine is sdc.

# udevinfo -a -p /sys/block/sdc

  looking at parent device '/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.1/usb1/1-3':
    KERNELS=="1-3"
    SUBSYSTEMS=="usb"
    DRIVERS=="usb"
    ATTRS{configuration}==""
    ATTRS{bNumInterfaces}==" 2"
    ATTRS{bConfigurationValue}=="1"
    ATTRS{bmAttributes}=="c0"
    ATTRS{bMaxPower}=="500mA"
    ATTRS{urbnum}=="856"
    ATTRS{idVendor}=="05ac"
    ATTRS{idProduct}=="1205"
    ATTRS{bcdDevice}=="0100"
    ATTRS{bDeviceClass}=="00"
    ATTRS{bDeviceSubClass}=="00"
    ATTRS{bDeviceProtocol}=="00"
    ATTRS{bNumConfigurations}=="1"
    ATTRS{bMaxPacketSize0}=="64"
    ATTRS{speed}=="480"
    ATTRS{busnum}=="1"
    ATTRS{devnum}=="7"
    ATTRS{version}==" 2.00"
    ATTRS{maxchild}=="0"
    ATTRS{quirks}=="0x0"
    ATTRS{authorized}=="1"
    ATTRS{manufacturer}=="Rockbox.org"
    ATTRS{product}=="Rockbox media player"
    ATTRS{serial}=="900000000000A27001423DE92"

idVendor is 05ac and idProduct is 1205.

Writing udev rule

You must have 3 values to setup udev :
  • your DAP idVendor (05ac in this example).
  • your DAP idProduct (1205 in this example).
  • the full path of ipod-time-sync ( /usr/local/bin in this example).
The following setup has been tested on Fedora Core 10. I guess it should works on many other linux distrubution.

udev rules files are generaly located in /etc/udev/rules.d. Create a file 99-local.rules or add the 2 following lines:

# automaticaly adjust my Rockboxed DAP RTC
ACTION=="add", ATTRS{idVendor}=="05ac", ATTRS{idProduct}=="1205", KERNEL=="sd?", NAME="%k", RUN+="/usr/local/bin/ipod-time-sync /dev/%k"

Testing your setup

The clock is only adjusted when your DAP in plugged in. Your DAP get the date and time for your linux system, so if it is wrong on linux, it will be wrong on your DAP.

To test your setup: - unplug your DAP - set the time to a wrong value - plug your DAP

If everything is fine, the time should change.

r6 - 02 Apr 2021 - 20:46:06 - UnknownUser

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