| Windows Mobile Hardware |
|
| True Pocket PC devices
are almost gone |
| in the last year or two there are less
and less true Pocket PC devices. At this time only HP is producing true
Pocket PC consumer devices and there are no devices with RS232
interface. This means, that you cannot connect device with your
instrument. The only way out are second hand devices or interface cards
or adapters. |
| are more and more PDA phone devices and
navigation devices. They both run Windows Mobile operating system, bit
do not have serial port. Some devices (all navigation devices) have
built in GPS and most PDA phones have Bluetooth. This should be enough
for basic navigation, but for advanced features you will still need
serial connection to receive extended NMEA sentences generated by glider
instruments. PDA phones have also smaller displays and in later time
higher resolution, which will result in smaller and less visible
display. |
|
| Buyer's guide |
| 1. Operating system |
|
Anything newer than Pocket PC 2002 will be OK. |
| 2. Display type |
|
Display is the most important part of the Pocket PC device. You should
pick device with color display, which has also good visibility under
direct sunlight. |
| 3. Display resolution |
| Now you can buy devices with QVGA (320 x 240) or VGA (640
x 480). High resolution would result in better picture, but will also
consume more processor time. |
| 4. Microprocessor |
|
Buy device with ARM microprocessor (or ARM
compatible processor). Avoid devices with SH3 or MIPS processors. |
| 5. Expansion
slot |
| New programs will also need more disk space to store
maps. Because of that a memory expansion slot is a big plus. |
| 6. Connection interface |
|
Devices with
RS232 communication are rare. You can find second hand devices which do
have normal serial port. Later I will display how you can solve this
problem. |
| 7. Integrated GPS |
| Several Windows Mobile devices are available with integrated
GPS receiver. |
|
|
Common misconceptions |
| USB only port is not a problem,
because I can use USB to serial converter like on my laptop. |
| Yes it is a problem. You can use this
adapter only on USB host devices, which is your PC or laptop. Pocket PC
is a client USB device and on client device this adapter will not work. |
| If there is no serial port, than I
will use Bluetooth GPS. |
| This will work, but you should also
think about the power consumption. It is better to go with the wired
option and preserve the battery (and avoid any interference between the
cockpit instrumentation and Bluetooth signal). |
| I have a fast VGA Pocket PC and now
all my software will run faster. |
| Wrong! VGA device has 4 times more
pixels than QVGA device. This means that it will also take 4 times more
time to prepare a bitmap image of the map. On the other hand the
processor frequency increased only 1.5 to 3 times (from 200 MHz to
300 MHz or 600 MHz on faster devices). Because of that some programs
might run faster on old QVGA devices. |
| If memory will be a problem, than I
will simply buy bigger memory card. |
| Yes you can, but this is only for storage
memory. Sometimes program needs extra (internal RAM) memory in which the
bitmap map is generated. For this external memory or internal Flash can
not be used. |
|
| Recommended devices |
| In the past I had here long list of
devices from which you could pick the most appropriate device. If you
are buying second hand device the list is still useful and you can find
it here - old
Pocket PC models. |
| Now I would recommend device with big
display and maybe integrated GPS (which would simplify the installation
and device use). You should check the display under direct sunlight so
that you will be sure you can see the display when you will be flying. |
| You will also have to make sure to
prepare some kid of power supply for your device. You can simplify
things by buying simple USB 12V car charger and then connect the device
via USB cable to the charger. Device will not charge as fast, but if you
have fully charged device this will not be a problem. Also most new
devices have Mini USB connector so you will avoid buying extra cable. |
| |
| Ways
around RS232 |
|
There are certain ways how you can connect device that does not have
RS232 to your instrument or GPS. |
| 1. You can use adapter
which plugs into your memory card slot. One sample is device from
Socket
Mobile - Serial I/O CF Card. Before you buy the adapter you make
sure that your device has this memory slot and that is compatible with
the adapter. The down side is that there is something hanging from your
Pocket PC beside the power cable. |
| 2. You can but the RS232 to
Bluetooth adapter. There are several manufacturers that offer this
solution. Again you will have to make sure that your mobile device has
integrated Bluetooth interface and that it is compatible with certain
adapter. |
| 3. Another very strange
option is USB to RS232
adapter. I am pretty sure that first two options will work in 99% of
all cases, but I do not know if this option work. If you will test the
device please let me know. |
| 4. I took the easy way out
and decided not to bother with the "exact data" from the instrument and
I am using only GPS receiver. |
