not useless!
Hopefully you can get it to work again, but do not despair. if timetrax doesnt work there are some alternatives. Your timetrax "box" is simply a serial-usb converter with the right pins for the XM direct. It doesnt care what software you use with it.
Worried that eventually due to computer crashes or other problems I may find myself with useless timetrax software, I poked around a bit.
google "PCRcommander". Download and install it. Reinstall the timetrax software, even if you cant register it, you might need the 15-minute demo mode. I did.
I can still record songs the following way:
1.Start time-trax to initialize the XM direct. As soon as it loads, close it.
2.Start PCRCommander.
3.Wait for the channels to load, pick your station, and hit "record all"
come back hours later and check what you got.
PCRCommander is useful, but it doesnt have nearly the functions timetrax does. You may be able to use pcrcommander without that first step. It also saves music in WAV format.
Google and download dbPoweramp, and it will batch convert all those wavs into MP3 files, as well as delete the old wav files, let you chose "mono" or "stereo", the sampling rate, and even strip off all that "ID tagging" stuff (you know - the built in artist, album, title, RADIO ID) - if for some reason you dont want it there.
You can also convert your XM direct to an XM commander, and use it alternately in the car and at home. I took my timetrax box apart and built it into my computer so all you see is the DIN connector, so I dont have to worry about anything happening to it. I used my converted xm-direct on two florida vacations this month (about thirty hours of driving - without listening to a single FM station), and within about five minutes it plugs back into the stuff in the car.
Check the XMfan.com site, under the XMPCR section for lots more advice and files to download. just DONT get on there and say "help me with timetrax" - they do NOT like the mention of it anymore on that site. With the xmdirect and your timetrax box, essentially you have an XMPCR.
