TomTom cradle (Tosh e350)

[Boxbrownie]

Hi,



My TT2 mount also looses grip after a while (30mins or so) the side jaws just open up and cease to grip the Axim, I have used a very high tech rubber band around the top of the axim and mount, this has cured the problem altogether and has the added advantage that you can use a coloured band to co-ordinate with the vehicle interior .



Seriously though I am looking forward to viewing the new TT cradle when it becomes available with built in lead it looks nice and easy.



As to the problem of the lead dropping out I have cured this problem by just winding the cable around the cradle swan neck twice, this takes the wieght of the cable and I have had no problems with the connector falling out even over off road conditions.



Best regards David

[Dave Southend]

Has anyone discovered a decent alternative to the cradle supplied with the Tomtom package? The cradle with the squeezy jaws doesn't remain closed, allowing the PC to drop out.

[dogo]

Hi, I believe you may have a faulty cradle, I also own the above package and although I must admit that the cradle dose not seem like a tight fit I have never experienced the pc dropping out.
_________________
dogo

[Zmurf]

I'm also having problems with the PDA dropping out of the cradle, and I don't think much to the mounts either.



The narrowest the cradle closes to is 78mm between the jaws, narrowed further by the padding to 71mm. As the padding compresses quite a lot, and the iPAQ is 78mm wide, there's not much safety margin.



In desperation I experimented by closing the jaws completely, and holding them closed whilst pushing the PDA in from the top. There's no sign of the ratchet allowing expansion when you do this, however, measuring the subsequent gap reveals that it has opened to 78mm. Consequently the padding isn't compressed, and the unit falls out.



Even if there wasn't this problem, the legs are barely long enough to hold the PDA, and the jaws should really be higher up to held prevent the unit falling out.



I am also having problems with the mounts. Despite the total lack of instructions in the box, I found out how the air vent mount worked by reading the review on this site. But there's nothing to stop the vents swivelling downwards, and then of course the iPAQ hits the deck. The gooseneck isn't any better as it's too short for either of our cars.



The TomTom Nav2 package is keenly priced, the downside is the poor quality mounts and cradle. I've spoken to TotalPDA about the problem and am returning the kit.



Tim

[Dave]

The TomTom mount does this, in most cases it appears to be the rubber going soft that allows the Pocket PC's to slip. What I've done in the past is to have the mount mounted somewhere near the drivers steering wheel arch over the dashboard, and have a corner of the Pocket PC rest on this arch. This stops it slipping out, but not all cars have a dashboard like this.

[Dave Southend]

I've now replaced the Tomtom mount with an Arkon CM652 Multimedia PDA Console Mount Kit from Expansys. So far, it appears to be a better design. The cradle itself has a nice ratchet mechanism, so hopefully my PDA will now stay in place. It also comes with the strongest velcro I have ever seen! However, as soon as there is a hot day, I'm sure I will have to resort to screwing it in place.

[Chorlie]

My friend had the same problem with the mount, the PDA dropping out of the holder, so we did a bit of DIY on it, and now slide the PDA in from the top.



Also the power lead for the PDA (Dell Axim) kept dropping out, after a mile it would work lose and drop out so no power or signal, we sent the cable back and after 4 weeks, several phone calls was told by NavCity they never recieved it back so had to buy a new one from them, for this to be no better. So some more DIY and super glue & now have a holder with the power lead in one, just slide the PDA and it all work.



Summary - The holder and the leads for a Axim are of a very poor design.
_________________
Chorlie
If it isn't broken, play with it some more...

We see you’re using an ad-blocker. We’re fine with that and won’t stop you visiting the site.
Have you considered making a donation towards website running costs?.
Or you could disable your ad-blocker for this site. We think you’ll find our adverts are not overbearing!