iPaq wiring, cradles and mounts for gliders - Ideas??

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

I use the Compaq1550 and I made a very light weight plywood mount out of
3/16 plywood. It has a notch to hold the cable in place and either a strap
to your leg or velcro keeps it in place.
Fred

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??

"Libelle Driver" wrote in message
...
| I use the Compaq1550 and I made a very light weight plywood mount
out of
| 3/16 plywood. It has a notch to hold the cable in place and
either a strap
| to your leg or velcro keeps it in place.
| Fred

Great idea . . this has given you a chance to strengthen the frail
plug arrangement.

Thanks.

Jim

I modified a standard iPaq sleeve, screwing an electronic utility box to the
back and a pair of camera ball mounts to that. Ipaq power supply in the
black box. Into the panel I mounted an RJ45 ( PC networking socket ) with a
corresponding tail on the ipaq ( Grey cable in photo) , my Garmin and my
partners Eagle handheld. Now we can fly with a different combination of
GPS/Logger/Handheld simply by undoing 1 cinch nut and unplugging the RJ45.

Pictures of the mount at
http://www.gliderforum.com/photos/ph...asp?albumid=29 the flat
ali plat is only for standing the unit up for photo's.

Low cost mount - camera ball mounts $10 or less the club only stumps up for
the turned piece on the panel. The RJ45 gets standard wired, everyone gets
12v delivered to the panel front to run their ipaq or whatever and by
jumpering the cable you can drive fixed in final glides computers etc.

Ian

"Jim Kelly" wrote in message
u...
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

| I modified a standard iPaq sleeve, screwing an electronic utility
box to the
| back and a pair of camera ball mounts to that. Ipaq power supply
in the
| black box. Into the panel I mounted an RJ45 ( PC networking
socket ) with a
| corresponding tail on the ipaq ( Grey cable in photo) , my Garmin
and my
| partners Eagle handheld. Now we can fly with a different
combination of
| GPS/Logger/Handheld simply by undoing 1 cinch nut and unplugging
the RJ45.

Sound great Ian! Clever using the box behind the standard sleeve -
the sleeve that has the 'door' attached would work very well (the
door unclips). I have seen them sold by part numbers (check first):
249703-B21, 249707-b21, FA119A, and 170339-b22!

We have decided to fit high efficiency 12v to 5v converters behind
the panel and include +5v and +12v in the socket on the panel. Just
have to work out which socket to use and a safe use of the pins.

The familiar 8 pin Cat5 RJ45 plugs seem ideal, but I like the idea
of using the (also familiar) 9 pin D serial plugs as we may be able
to use the standard cables supplied with the various gadgets to link
them to a PC for transferring waypoints, tracklogs, etc.

If anyone can confirm suitable uses for each pin it would be most
appreciated.
So far we have noted:

Pin 1
Pin 2 used for serial data out (to iPaq) by CAI-302
Pin 3 used for serial data in (from iPaq) by CAI-302
Pin 4
Pin 5 used for data and power ground by CAI-302
Pin 6
Pin 7 used for +12v (to GPS) by Goddard Power Supplies
Pin 8 used for +5v (to iPaq) by CAI-302
Pin 9

I would hate to cause a problem by choosing to send too many volts
to the wrong part of a gadget!

Any electronic wizz able to offer us guidance here??

Cheers,

Jim Kelly

| If anyone can confirm suitable uses for each pin it would be most
| appreciated.
| So far we have noted:
|
| Pin 1
| Pin 2 used for serial data out (to iPaq) by CAI-302
| Pin 3 used for serial data in (from iPaq) by CAI-302
| Pin 4
| Pin 5 used for data and power ground by CAI-302
| Pin 6
| Pin 7 used for +12v (to GPS) by Goddard Power Supplies
| Pin 8 used for +5v (to iPaq) by CAI-302
| Pin 9
|
| I would hate to cause a problem by choosing to send too many volts
| to the wrong part of a gadget!

Answering my own query here . . .
Seems that up to 25v is acceptable on all pins so our +5v and +12v
probably should not cause any problems.
Here is a handy web page for anyone else following along:
http://www.proav.de/index.html?http&...S232-port.html
and no shortage of others that back up this info.

Also noted that the small Garmins that use the "Eplug" (Summit,
Legend, Vista, etc) run on 2.5v . . . but then I guess their tiny
screens don't lend themselves to panel mounting. Still, some folks
already have them . . perhaps that is what pin 9 is there for??
Their specs claim 12hrs per pair of batteries so perhaps they do not
need to share the glider's power?

Cheers,

Jim Kelly.

"tango4"
Maybe a simpler solution. Contact Richard Pfiffner at Craggyaero.com

He has all kinds of iPAQ solutions for mounting and powering

Gary

I thought the CF sleeve was a perfect mount, glad to see you did too!

I wondered whether it would be possible to "tap into" the required
connections inside the CF sleeve so the iPaq needs no cable plugged in
the bottom, just plug into the sleeve connector.

Has anyone opened up a sleeve? Is it possible to extend the +5V,
Ground and GPS in leads from the bottom connector out through the back
of the sleeve? They must go up to the CF input slot. Might get tricky
though. Lots of winter left to experiment...

Bob



uses the

"tango4" wrote in message ...
I modified a standard iPaq sleeve, screwing an electronic utility box to the
back and a pair of camera ball mounts to that. Ipaq power supply in the
black box. Into the panel I mounted an RJ45 ( PC networking socket ) with a
corresponding tail on the ipaq ( Grey cable in photo) , my Garmin and my
partners Eagle handheld. Now we can fly with a different combination of
GPS/Logger/Handheld simply by undoing 1 cinch nut and unplugging the RJ45.

Pictures of the mount at
http://www.gliderforum.com/photos/ph...asp?albumid=29 the flat
ali plat is only for standing the unit up for photo's.

Low cost mount - camera ball mounts $10 or less the club only stumps up for
the turned piece on the panel. The RJ45 gets standard wired, everyone gets
12v delivered to the panel front to run their ipaq or whatever and by
jumpering the cable you can drive fixed in final glides computers etc.

Ian

Been there done that and it's not that simple.

The serial connections are *not* present within the CF card pack or any
other expansion pack for that matter. The expansion bus has an external
battery pack input that could be used for power supply but without the
presence of the serial its pretty pointless.

The internal bios of the iPaq supports extra serial ports so a hardware
serial to bus adaptor could be used ( and I did use a CF serial port ) but
you are using a steamroller to crack a peanut.

Much more promising is removing the ipaq innards from the handheld casing
and mounting them directly into an replacement bezel which is mounted in the
panel. 1 It's unstealable 2- It takes up less room that way. 3 It's easier
to shade the screen and make visible.

Ian

"Bob Lepp" wrote in message
om...
I thought the CF sleeve was a perfect mount, glad to see you did too!

I wondered whether it would be possible to "tap into" the required
connections inside the CF sleeve so the iPaq needs no cable plugged in
the bottom, just plug into the sleeve connector.

Has anyone opened up a sleeve? Is it possible to extend the +5V,
Ground and GPS in leads from the bottom connector out through the back
of the sleeve? They must go up to the CF input slot. Might get tricky
though. Lots of winter left to experiment...

Bob



uses the

"tango4" wrote in message
...
I modified a standard iPaq sleeve, screwing an electronic utility box to
the
back and a pair of camera ball mounts to that. Ipaq power supply in the
black box. Into the panel I mounted an RJ45 ( PC networking socket )
with a
corresponding tail on the ipaq ( Grey cable in photo) , my Garmin and my
partners Eagle handheld. Now we can fly with a different combination of
GPS/Logger/Handheld simply by undoing 1 cinch nut and unplugging the
RJ45.

Pictures of the mount at
http://www.gliderforum.com/photos/ph...asp?albumid=29 the
flat
ali plat is only for standing the unit up for photo's.

Low cost mount - camera ball mounts $10 or less the club only stumps up
for
the turned piece on the panel. The RJ45 gets standard wired, everyone
gets
12v delivered to the panel front to run their ipaq or whatever and by
jumpering the cable you can drive fixed in final glides computers etc.

Ian

Thanks, Ian, save me a lot of grief!

Bob

"tango4" wrote in message ...
Been there done that and it's not that simple.

The serial connections are *not* present within the CF card pack or any
other expansion pack for that matter.