iPaq screen reflections - anyone really happy with their solution?

Hi,

I agree with others that the old Compaq Aero 1550 had the best contrast I've
seen to date. The slow processor is a bit of a pain, but Glide Navigator II
still runs great on it.

I've flown with 1550s, iPAQs, and Dell Axims. I find them all usable as
long as you can adjust the viewing angle in flight.

I think the idea of a shield or shroud over the iPAQ is an interesting idea,
but I've never tried it.

Paul Remde
Cumulus Soaring Supplies

"Ian Forbes" wrote in message
news
On Tue, 02 Dec 2003 11:51:00 +1100, Jim Kelly wrote:

Summer has begun down under, and my first flight with an iPaq reminded
me
just how bad the reflections are in bright light . . . sooo hard to
read,
especially when wearing sunglasses.

I have an old Palm PDA with a black and white screen. I have loaded
Soaring Pilot on it and played with it but I never bothered to put it in
the glider.

However on the ground the display seems perfectly legible in bright light.

For those who have tried old PDA's, how do black and white screens shape
up against the latest colour ones?

Maybe it is worth trading some CPU power for a clearly readible display
and a decent battery life.


Ian

On Tue, 2 Dec 2003 11:51:00 +1100, "Jim Kelly"
wrote:

Greetings!

Summer has begun down under, and my first flight with an iPaq
reminded me just how bad the reflections are in bright light . . .
sooo hard to read, especially when wearing sunglasses.

Were there any solutions that worked well for you Northerners this
season??

Yep, PDA's almost work in a sailplane cockpit.

Next question - while footling with the PDA how is your lookout?

Next question - do you have it mounted where it blocks the forward and
down view from the cockpit?

Mike Borgelt

| Next question - while footling with the PDA how is your lookout?
| Next question - do you have it mounted where it blocks the forward
and
| down view from the cockpit?
| Mike Borgelt


Glad you asked Mike!

We advocate mounting the 'gadget' centrally on the panel, as high as
possible without obstructing any forward view. This allows a pilot's
peripheral vision to have a half decent chance of alerting him/her
to outside movement. I am dead against these gadgets being left on
one's leg where the heads down to read must be a serious safety
problem.

Winpilot has been designed with the pilot in mind and the interface
is very slick, with many functions just a finger prod away (never
need to use the stylus in flight). It is expected that learning to
use it is done outside of the cockpit (using the free simulator
mode, or even the free Desktop version for folks still deciding to
buy an iPaq or not).

With the mounts and wiring the way we envisage, we will be catering
for any gadget without the tangle of wires and brackets, etc, so
often seen. By keeping the display near the panel one's focus should
be no worse than glancing at the conventional gliding instruments.

Cheers,

Jim Kelly

Mike Borgelt wrote:

Next question - while footling with the PDA how is your lookout?

Much better than when trying to decipher a sectional chart. And, once
set, GN II really doesn't require much "footling".

Next question - do you have it mounted where it blocks the forward and
down view from the cockpit?

See http://home.comcast.net/~verhulst/SOARING/cockpit_3.jpg

Tony V. LS6-b "6N"

I started using my Ipaq last spring and had a lot of trouble with
glare. Definitely not as good a view as with my Compaq Aero. Tried a
black glare shield, not much help. Then the ClearTouch Richard
suggested. Much better. But in order to use the Ipaq effectively and
easily I had to turn off the color.

In B&W it is easy to read. Too bad, spent all that money on an
Ipaq.....

"tango4" wrote in message ...
These things are known as 'enhanced reality' displays. Much more practical
than HUDIS ( Fixed colimator projected head up display ) since in a
sailplane one needs to be looking about all the time.

I have seen a few at shows. Most are a complete waste of time in terms of
resolution, power drain and interface capabilities or are simply too large
to get onto your head with the canopy closed!

http://www.crd.ge.com/esl/cgsp/projects/er/

Ian

What are you doing, flying with your left hand?

"Tony Verhulst" wrote in message
...
Mike Borgelt wrote:

Next question - while footling with the PDA how is your lookout?

Much better than when trying to decipher a sectional chart. And, once
set, GN II really doesn't require much "footling".

Next question - do you have it mounted where it blocks the forward and
down view from the cockpit?

See http://home.comcast.net/~verhulst/SOARING/cockpit_3.jpg

Tony V. LS6-b "6N"

Libelle Driver wrote:
What are you doing, flying with your left hand?

Yeah. Not much choice because of the location of the shutter button.
Also on the LS6, the gear handle is on the right so have to fly with the
left hand on the stick for a short period of time. Not really a problem.

Tony V.
http://home.comcast.net/~verhulst/SOARING

Hi,

How did you "turn off the color"?

Paul Remde

"JohnD" wrote in message
om...
I started using my Ipaq last spring and had a lot of trouble with
glare. Definitely not as good a view as with my Compaq Aero. Tried a
black glare shield, not much help. Then the ClearTouch Richard
suggested. Much better. But in order to use the Ipaq effectively and
easily I had to turn off the color.

In B&W it is easy to read. Too bad, spent all that money on an
Ipaq.....

"tango4" wrote in message
...
These things are known as 'enhanced reality' displays. Much more
practical
than HUDIS ( Fixed colimator projected head up display ) since in a
sailplane one needs to be looking about all the time.

I have seen a few at shows. Most are a complete waste of time in terms
of
resolution, power drain and interface capabilities or are simply too
large
to get onto your head with the canopy closed!

http://www.crd.ge.com/esl/cgsp/projects/er/

Ian

| See http://home.comcast.net/~verhulst/SOARING/cockpit_3.jpg
| Tony V. LS6-b "6N"

Tony, that iPaq mount seems to handle the wiring nicely. Which
brand/model is it??

Cheers,

Jim Kelly

Tony Verhulst wrote:

Libelle Driver wrote:

What are you doing, flying with your left hand?


Yeah. Not much choice because of the location of the shutter button.
Also on the LS6, the gear handle is on the right so have to fly with the
left hand on the stick for a short period of time. Not really a problem.

An awfully nice day to be flying with a zero Macready setting...
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Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA