Lost my Reflex XTR dongle

[Jantje16]

Hello,

My brother and my parents caught Reflex XTR for my birthday.Eleven October.
So until a week ago i played many times on my new sim. But a week ago, i couldn't find my Dongle anymore. I think our 'Cleaning woman' threw my dongle away together with the old paper.. So without my dongle, I can't play :mad:

Does anyone know's a solution for my problem??

Thank you all

Jan

[happy_cz]

What about contacting their support directly ? Or http://www.reflex-sim.de/reflex-sim/shop/catalog/contact_us.php

[Malc C]

Hello,
I think our 'Cleaning woman' threw my dongle away together with the old paper..

Makes a change from the "my dog / cat / pet snake" ate it :) :)

Reflex have a clear policy when it comes to Dongle replacement. If you damage your dongle (oh sound painful :) ) then, no mater what state it is in you can return it for replacement. However, if it is lost or stolen then you have no other choice but to purchase a new retail package - sorry !

The main reason is that (as you probably know) the dongle provides the copy protection for the software, and people have tried so many times to get a dongle out of reflex which will then work with a copy of the CD that they either downloaded or copied from a mate, that they now will only supply replacements on an exchange basis.

Here is the quote from Reflex web site

My courtesy: I replace EVERY defective interface. The chances of a factory broken interface are very low but the CAN HAPPEN. If this happens, it is my duty to replace it. Please send in your defective interface - it will be replaced*. I don't care about the reasons. If you are resoldering the plug to make it suitable for your radio and it doesn't work afterwards - no problem, as above. If you are crossing the interface with your chair - as above. If your dog/crocodile had eaten it - as above but please clean it before shipping. In these cases, a moderate handling charge will apply.

Due to the complex nature of the interface as a technology sensitive part of the product, I will NOT sell the USB interface seperately and will NOT replace lost interfaces. So please watch your interface - it is the key to your Reflex. Also, the Reflex software will not run with any other interface as the way we process the radio signal is very unique and a good part of our simulation quality.


So it looks like you'll have to part with 129 euro's and purchase a replacement dongle and be more careful in where you leave it !!

[Bucko]

Reflex for sale...

http://www.runryder.com/helicopter/t474412p1/?top=1226975263

[neluz6]

Makes a change from the "my dog / cat / pet snake" ate it :) :)

Reflex have a clear policy when it comes to Dongle replacement. If you damage your dongle (oh sound painful :) ) then, no mater what state it is in you can return it for replacement. However, if it is lost or stolen then you have no other choice but to purchase a new retail package - sorry !

The main reason is that (as you probably know) the dongle provides the copy protection for the software, and people have tried so many times to get a dongle out of reflex which will then work with a copy of the CD that they either downloaded or copied from a mate, that they now will only supply replacements on an exchange basis.

Here is the quote from Reflex web site


So it looks like you'll have to part with 129 euro's and purchase a replacement dongle and be more careful in where you leave it !!

it's just funny becouse these people are all just lieing, this ass just downloaded it from an torrent website and noticed you can't play it with the E-sky usb transmitter (0905A).

if he likes to have an dongle he has to purshase the game becouse he hasn't got an dongle that he can send XD

[Malc C]

Oh its obvious in all these posts of this ilk that the OP has just got a copy of the software and then found out it needs the hardware to run. Maybe, if I didn't have nothing better to do, I could search through the forum and make a poll as to what the top excuses are for not having a dongle... but can't be bothered !

[dbcisco]

Oh its obvious in all these posts of this ilk that the OP has just got a copy of the software and then found out it needs the hardware to run. Maybe, if I didn't have nothing better to do, I could search through the forum and make a poll as to what the top excuses are for not having a dongle... but can't be bothered !

Never accuse anyone without proof or unless you are not a US citizen.
That said, Reflex protection has yet to be cracked so your only alternative is to send proof of ownership to Reflex for a possible replacement. They are the only source for it.

[TSnake]

or unless you are not a US citizen.
Just curious, what does that mean ?

[dbcisco]

Just curious, what does that mean ?

Not all countries have "innocent until proven guilty" embodied in their laws and justice systems.
In the US, the courts abide by this and also private citizens who ignore it are subject to legal action for libel and slander (at least).

[Accu157]

The older Reflex XTR dongle was cracked, someone was selling them on the "black market" (internet) from Europe somewhere, the owner of Reflex tracked him down, filed a complaint in court and I believe the guy selling the dongle clone had some accommodation with the law... some sort of fine/imprisonment occurred. Now there's a new dongle made by XTR. Gotta buy the dongle for a replacement, sorry.

dbcisco is right. How often people pursue litigation is unknown to me, but you do not want to be subject to libel suits. It's not a crime pursued by a DA usually, usually a regular lawyer goes after this stuff. Failure to pay a fine, yeah, then it might go to a DA. That's why you look at some movies and they say "for entertainment purposes only." It exonerates them from reality. Fact is, you can only go off of what the OP says in any thread, and that is all I have to go off of well, nor may I suspect anything. Or, you get sued for challenging the truth without evidence as you are attacking the character of a person. Usually there also has to be some evidence that as a result of the libelous accusation, the person suffered in some way, be it emotional, monetary, and they have to provide evidence of that to raise the charge.

[dbcisco]

The older Reflex XTR dongle was cracked, someone was selling them on the "black market" (internet) from Europe somewhere, the owner of Reflex tracked him down, filed a complaint in court and I believe the guy selling the dongle clone had some accommodation with the law... some sort of fine/imprisonment occurred. Now there's a new dongle made by XTR. Gotta buy the dongle for a replacement, sorry.

dbcisco is right. How often people pursue litigation is unknown to me, but you do not want to be subject to libel suits. It's not a crime pursued by a DA usually, usually a regular lawyer goes after this stuff. Failure to pay a fine, yeah, then it might go to a DA. That's why you look at some movies and they say "for entertainment purposes only." It exonerates them from reality. Fact is, you can only go off of what the OP says in any thread, and that is all I have to go off of well, nor may I suspect anything. Or, you get sued for challenging the truth without evidence as you are attacking the character of a person. Usually there also has to be some evidence that as a result of the libelous accusation, the person suffered in some way, be it emotional, monetary, and they have to provide evidence of that to raise the charge.

And you would be surprised at what constitutes "damages" and what often huge monetary amounts are awarded to victims.

[Malc C]

In all honesty, even the new dongle could be cracked by anyone with the right tools. These dongles use a PIC micro chip (typically 18F2550 / 16C745). They simply encrypt the data sent to the PC via the use of algorithms. If you work out the encryption then its a relatively simple matter to reverse engineer the dongle and program a new PIC to do the same thing. This is what the chap in Europe did a few years back, however as far as I remember in a bid to co-operate and keep himself out of the courts he handed over his customer database, plus a few thousand euro's. Reflex (owned by Wolfgang Nitchman at the time) then contacted all the chaps clients and requested them to send back the "compatible" dongles plus a fee equal to half the cost of a genuine replacement.

As you can gather this generated a lot of traffic in the forums, mainly from those who had purchased these devices, about how legal Reflex stood, especially as they came from various parts of the world, which all have different legal systems.

Whilst dbcisco is right, I can't prove that his cleaning lady didn't indeed throw away his XTR dongle, I still find it hard to comprehend that she would do such a thing. And for anyone who's family can afford to employ a cleaning lady, then it shouldn't be too much of a problem to purchase another retail copy of the product.

[Charlie06]

Does anyone know's a solution for my problem??
PM sent

[Malc C]

PM sent

Now this raises suspicion.. :)

[Michael211_2000]

Does anyone know the solution for when the dongle USB driver will not load? I upgraded to a newer motherboard with USB 2.0 (backwards compatible with USB 1.1 of course) and now the Reflex USB Device driver will not load... I've uninstalled and tried to reinstall it (from the original Reflex XTR CD), uninstalled ALL USB drivers (in Windows Safe mode) then rebooted back to regular Windows and let Windows reinstall the USB Hub drivers THEN tried to reinstall the Reflex USB Device still to no avail!

The dongle worked fine before the motherboard upgrade, so I doubt there's anything physically wrong with the dongle hardware... immediately after booting up (Win 2K Workstation) with the new motherboard Windows re-installed all USB devices including the Reflex USB Device (which did not and will not re-install). My USB scanner device reinstalled and is working just fine, but the Reflex USB Device won't and doesn't.

How do I get support from Reflex XTR on this problem? I *have* my original XTR box, original CD and this IS the original (kinda red colored) USB dongle... but now it's pretty useless. *Frustrated!*

Does this mean I have to go buy Realflight G4.5 instead? Ughhh! :censored:

- Michael

[Michael211_2000]

ps. I've Googled the USB device driver message (Code 28) and read tons now on similar problems with other USB hardware... I've even tried the most likely of fixes, to no avail. Nothing seems to work. I've even opened the REflex.inf file and looked into it but no light was shed. I have a BS in Computer Science and am a Microsoft Certified Professional in Windows operating systems... but this has me stumped! The Device Manager error message (Code 28) just does not give enough info to even guess at what the problem is.

- Michael

[BurkhardE]

Did you really mean Win2k? There was an issue with USB, if memory serves me, and Reflex worked only if all patches and service packs were installed correctly. Besides, it would help if you'd post what exactly happens (is there a Reflex error message?).

[Malc C]

Michael, did you have W2K on your old PC before the motherboard upgrade ? My gut feeling is that XT isn't supported under 2000, but since Wolfgang sold XTR to this other company a lot of the excellent info that used to be on the old XTR website no longer exists. Simple way to check there is no hardware failure is to plug the dongle into an XP machine and see what happens

[Michael211_2000]

Yes, I really really mean Windows 2000 Workstation, AKA Win2K... sorry guys, I was fading fast late last night when I finally made those 2 posts. I'd been at this problem for nearly 8 hours straight Saturday afternoon, reading everything I could using Google on this USB problem. This Win2K is at SP4 level (and I reapplied SP4 yesterday, just to be certain everything was up to spec).

Yes Reflex worked just fine on this PC before the motherboard change, and no I did not change the operating system it was Win2K before the motherboard change and still same Win2K after the upgrade. The newer board sports almost twice as fast a CPU.

However I did note that while most of the reported USB device problems were with Win2K (it's been around longer after all), there were some of the same problems being reported with Win XP... ergo, it's not limited to Win2K by any means. I haven't upgraded this computer because there's been no need to... it does everything I require, has all my development environments I need running on it. If it isn't broke, why fix it? My other computers are Tablet PC's running Win XP Tablet Edition, but I tried Reflex XTR on 1 of them and while it kinda ran the graphics processor on the built-in video subsystems was just not up to the task of running this (or any!) simulator... it only got max 4 to 5 fps. Eeek! However I did check again last night and the dongle is still detected and works fine on that Tablet PC I have.

I'd upgrade this Win2K machine to XP, but I'm not really convinced that is going to solve the problem. Oh and I also tried reinstalling the Reflex RC USB device without the USB scanner plugged in, with nothing but the Reflex dongle plugged into the USB port, but still no joy.

The *exact* error message I receive when attempting to install the device driver (pointing Device Manager to the specific Reflex.inf file on the original Reflex XTR CD) is:

"An error occurred during the installation of the device.

The installation failed because a function driver was not specified for this device instance."

I've read reports of this same error message being generated by Win XP for devices seemingly at random, devices that had previously worked for no apparent reason suddenly need to be reinstalled and then the reinstallation fails with that message.

So what is the general status of Reflex XTR these days? Who owns it now, what are they doing with it? I found a Reflex XTR website last night with stuff about newer versions of Reflex but it was all in German (I think) so I couldn't make out much about it. I've flown the Realflight G4.5 at the LHS and frankly I still think Reflex XTR is a much more realistic simulator than Realfight... I really *don't* want to change sims! I miss my Reflex XTR dangit and it's been windy as heck here in Texas so far this year... I haven't flown (for real) since New Year's Day. :-(

- Michael

[BurkhardE]

Well, I've had Reflex on Win2k, XP, now Vista and also a tablet, but no problems. I know some folks were in bad luck but I couldn't copy any problem. The only issue I had was that Reflex meant the dongle wasn't there, and that was cured by unplugging, waiting for the signal tone, and replugging. That's easy but your problem is hard.

I hadn't even to install the Reflex HID driver, at least on XP. What you could do is remove the dongle, uninstall the USB/HID driver and then plug in the dongle. It should install automatically or ask for the driver CD (or file). Or like it always was, the other way around: Install the driver unplugged, only then plug in.

Reflex is still living and getting better slowly (but at least at all), still by the same programmer. Your red dongle is not the latest, I suppose, but that's not bad at all. www.simwerk.de is the current distribution, and the Englsh version is past due. What you need is support, so just mail them. It's as well possible to post at www.rc-sim.de in English, there are several computer geeks able to cope with such problems.

[Malc C]

Reflex is still living and getting better slowly (but at least at all), still by the same programmer.

I gather by that statement Wolfgang has now gone his own way with his GPS navigation projects, leaving the other chap (can't for the life of me remember his name) to continue with the development and distribution of XTR ?

[Malc C]

Michael

One possibility is that your new board has a different chipset (VIA possibly) compared to the old board. Going back a few years I used to work for Epson and there were stacks of issues with W2k when they introduced the first USB scanner, and the common denominator was the VIA chipset. I think that a patch was introduced, and i would of thought that by now most VIA chipset boards would have resolved the issues, or the various windows updates included the patch, but you never know.

[Michael211_2000]

there are several computer geeks able to cope with such problems.

Funny that, I *am* a "computer geek" as well as a "heli geek" and I haven't been able to solve this problem.

What you could do is remove the dongle, uninstall the USB/HID driver and then plug in the dongle

Been there, done that... 4 different times in fact already. Even in safe mode, and leaving the scanner off the system... still no joy. I think the problem lies in the Windows Registry somewhere, but for the life of me can't figure out where. If I thought that simply upgrading the PC to WinXP would solve the problem I'd just do it... but I'm not yet convinced of that.

It'sa perplexing problem to say the least.

- Michael

[BurkhardE]

Funny that, I *am* a "computer geek" as well as a "heli geek" and I haven't been able to solve this problem.

So I should have said "other computer geeks", and you would not be alone. No help, I know, sorry. But the VIA issue is hot, I had it too. I mean the need to install hardware drivers from the manufacturers (especially VIA), not only the Win2k patches and service packs.