Greetings!

Anyone found a cradle for an iPaq that suits use in a glider and
doesn't require amputation of a limb to pay for it??

We are considering standardising the mounting facilities in our club
fleet and the costs of multiple cradles seem prohibitive at this
time.

The main hurdle to overcome is to protect the delicate plug/socket
interface at the base of the iPaq. Using a simple cradle with a
built in strong connection would be ideal, especially if the wires
exit backwards (much like the iPaq desktop cradles).

One possibility is to use NO cradle! A system of using Velcro on the
iPaq back (and on the mount plate closest to the pilot) will do if
necessary and this would mean that our mounts cater equally well for
pilot's with handheld GPS units. So then we would just need nice
short strong plugs to suit the iPaq that turn the cable out of the
way of the pilot's knee.

Anyone "been-there-done-that" who can help??

I guess the next questions to come to mind involve the cable's
electrical connections. Presumably +5v, Ground, DataOut, DataIn. Any
others needed? We have pondered many alternatives for 'the other
end' of the cable (RJ45, etc) but have pretty much decided to use
9pin-D connectors as many folks already have (or will need) a
similar (serial) cable to connect (say) a gps to their desktop
computer. CAI 302 varios also use this and we have several of them
to include in our thoughts. Here are some useful links re iPaq
pinouts etc fyi:
http://bevhoward.com/SERIAL.htm#38xx
http://www.handhelds.org/Compaq/iPAQ...PAQ_H3600.html

Anyone able to tell if it is safe to allocate one pin (which one)
for +12v for use by Garmin GPS units, etc?? I fear that if we choose
the wrong pin someone might use the cable in another manner and
damage either piece of equipment. Am I being over anxious here? Are
there already established conventions for which [9pin-D] pins to use
for the +5v, Ground, DataOut, DataIn connections.

Finally there seems to be a number of adjustable mounts available,
from RAM, etc. Seems like a 3" to 4" overall length would be good
with a clamping thumbscrew and 1" diameter balls, one to screw to
the panel, other fitted to either a flat plate covered in Velcro, or
to an iPaq cradle. Are we on the right track here?

Thanks for your helping if you can,

Best regards,

Jim Kelly