Hello,

Is it possible to use two Bluetooth-equipped computers to send files back and forth using Bluetooth? Sort of like FTP or even Kermit? (All posts I could find on this subject are regarding transferring files to/from phones and PDAs.)

I've satisfied my Bluetooth curiosity by buying a dongle ("Billionton Class 1", with small external antenna) and studying the hcitool CL switches. I understand the concept of base addresses, master/slave, etc. and I have successfully seen my dongle with "hcitool dev".

It seems I would need to somehow either make a filesystem connection from hci0 to /media/bluetooth or something, or maybe have a higher-level (than hcitool) program that could act as a mediator between hci0 and the file system.

(My neighbor across the lane and I would like to be able to hang our dongles from USB extensions out our windows (the good kind) and transfer files across the lane.)

Notes:
Using FC5 (upgraded from 4); hcitool, I think, was already part of FC5; billionton dongle.

Thank you very much if you can point me in the right direction.

Never tried bluetooth myself, but this can be a good start.

http://www.bluez.org/
http://www.holtmann.org/linux/bluetooth/
http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/bluetooth-guide.xml

Don't forget to post how you suceeded .

There are a few options varying from full blown ObexFTP servers to a simple device-to-device transfer. Btw a Class 2 dongle would have been better if you want a decent range but if you can find the other computer then you'll be fine. If you haven't got this far yet, 'hcitool scan' will look for other devices so you can use that to try and find your neighbours machine.

Firstly, what is the other computer running? Windows or linux? If the other machine runs Windows I'd suggest setting up a PAN (think LAN but smaller scale) and then you can just use Samba or whatever else runs over a standard network connection. If the other computer is a linux user then one could run sobexsrv which is similar to a FTP server and you could easliy transfer files that way. Yet another option would be to simply create an RFCOMM connection between the computers and then you have the makings of an old-style serial connection. Then you could just use Kermit or whatever to push files over that link.

You know your situation better then I do, which sounds easier for you? PAN is almost as easy if both machines are running linux I may have been unclear before, however most Windows Bluetooth stacks require no configuration to use it.

If you're interested in learning Bluetooth, I can't help you there. If you're interested in transferring files, I'd say if the computers are close enough for Bluetooth to work between then, they're close enough to run a crossover CAT5 cable between them. Cheaper, faster, more secure, easier. But if the objective is to learn Bluetooth (no a bad objective), then cabling between them won't help.

Linux.tar.gz and cs-cam, you've given me some good options here. With these specifics, I now have options to explore and hopefully realize.

http://www.bluez.org has been unavailable every time I have checked until now. I have now got that page up. That's a good starting point, I'm sure.

cs-cam, I'm now aware that there is "class 2" USB. The instructions say that my dongle is good for 20m. From my first floor window to my friend's second floor window is roughly 8 or 9 meters via pythagorian theorem.

My friend has an Apple Powerbook G4 (or something like that). I just got off the phone with a Canadian friend who will sell me her computer, monitor and printer before she leaves the country. All I need to do is buy another dongle and experiment "in house" before I work with my friend across the street (who is not due back to Taiwan for another month).

I am determined to make this work and will post again as things develop.

Thanks again Linux-tar-gz and cs-cam.

Actually I apologise, I got my numbers mixed up and Class 1 will be fine