ipaq holder

[Stillo]

Could someone please help me to choose the correct holder for my compaq 3950 i have been using the one supplied by tom tom but i have just broken it so need a new one i would like a broadit mount but i don't know which one to choose i know i need a pro clip but i don't know which mount i need i don't know the difference between passive and active and can you use the ipaq with the protective cover opened or can you remove the cover sorry for so many questions but i don't want to end up with the wrong mount.

Cheers Stillo

[DavidW]

Unfortunately the Brodit web site is partly down at the time of writing - which doesn't help. You can't click on a product number to get a picture as you usually can.

There are three basic families of Brodit mounts. Passive mounts are just that - a holder. Active mounts contain a car charger lead permanently built in. The third type, called "for cable connection", are designed to have a separate cable connected - traditionally this was done by unscrewing a plate and inserting the connector and possibly some wedges, though with the most recent Brodit mounts, you just plug your cable into a socket in the bottom (which dramatically reduces the number of options needed!).


With 3000 and 5000 series iPAQs, the added complication is whether or not any kind of expansion pack is in use.

My understanding is that those Brodit mounts marked "no expansion pack" are just that - I suspect you may have to remove the Cover Pack if you're using it to get the iPAQ to seat properly.

The next type are those marked "Expansion pack (including Plus)". My understanding is that these mounts are wide enough to take the extra width of an expansion pack (or, indeed, the cover pack), are deep enough to cope with the bulk of an expansion pack and the are cut away so that the "screen protector" can be opened and closed with the iPAQ in the mount.

Then there's mounts deep enough for either the Dual PC Card pack or a Navman.


The mount I use with my 3970 is Active, and is actually a Dual PC Card one (in other words, 968529). I find this works better than the Expansion Pack (including Plus) one. My iPAQ 3970 lives in a PC Card Expansion Pack Plus, and is used with a CompactFlash GPS in a PC Card / CompactFlash adapter.

I found that once I polished the insides of the mount with a plastic polish (in my case, Autoglym Vinyl and Rubber Care), I could fold the screen protector of the expansion pack behind the iPAQ and slide it into the mount like that - so that the screen protector was out of the way and not swinging freely.

I would think that you could do exactly the same with the Cover Pack or the CompactFlash Expansion Pack Plus, as neither are as deep as the PC Card Expansion Pack Plus - but I won't guarantee it!

My thinking was that I'd rather not have the screen protector swinging around - and if I did happen to switch to the Dual PC Card pack for any reason, I wouldn't need a new mount. In fact, I think a Navman would fit in a Dual PC Card mount - but again, I won't guarantee it.


Does that help any?



David

[Stillo]

Thanks for the reply Davidw at least i now know the difference between active and passive.

Cheers Stillo

[DavidW]

Hopefully the various cable and expansion pack options will make sense now that the www.brodit.com web site is working properly.


The "fits all cables" variant can be seen if you look here - as you can see, there's a socket at the bottom of the mount to plug in any cable you like. This seems to be Brodit's latest idea - it saves the need to come up with mounts that accept the differently shaped plugs used by different GPS vendors.

The particular mount linked here is a "no Expansion Pack" one - note that you have to remove the cover pack to use it as I thought you would. Obviously that mount is no good if you need an expansion pack. This one is the expansion pack version - note the room to hinge back the door of a 'Plus' expansion pack.



David

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