GPS / PDA power question

In article <[email hidden]>,

Rachael the Wiccan Rat said:

Newbie alert ! Please excuse any glaring gaps in my knowledge. I've asked
this in the gps groups but no joy. Searching google usenet posts turns up
some posts in the past in this group that deal with this sort of issue but
none exactly relevant to my query, so I figured I'd ask here and see if
anyone can come up with something.

I have a Jornada 525 pda. I have a Haicom 203e GPS usb mouse. I have a
lovely cable to connect the two to a car cigarette lighter to power thme
both. Champion.

But what I do not have is a way to either connect the two together by
themselves or a way to connect them together and provide them battery power
when I am not in a car. A net search for "ps2 jornada cable" turns up lots
of the combined car and cable widgets but nothing without the ciggie lighter
end on it and nothing with a battery pack option.

Does is Jornada serial to female ps2 (Haicom end) cable exist ? If so will
it suck all the power out of my little pda in a matter of moments and is it
even possible to power the Haicom GPS from the pda ? I don't need hours and
hours but in my newbie-ness I'm not sure it is even possible to power the
gps from the pda.
Or is there a battery pack solution ?

I have seen some modifications using battery boxes on the net but none that
specifically deal with the ps2 / Jornad serial pinouts. I can solder but I'd
need an idiot's guide on which bits to solder to what. :-)

Buying new kit is not an option btw - both these widgets were birthday
presents (albeit the pda years ago and the gps recently) and money in
abundance I don't have. So I'm looking for a solution using the hardware I
already have.

TIA.

Rachael

Rachael,

You could try www.dabs.com or www.expansys.com They both sell that sort
of thing, and are both good to deal with.

Ian

Ian
--
My email address is invalid to prevent spam.
Real contact details are on my website at http://www.drianwalker.com

"Ian Walker" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Rachael,

You could try www.dabs.com or www.expansys.com They both sell that sort
of thing, and are both good to deal with.

Hi Ian,

Have looked on both but as the Jornada 525 is an older pda nobody seems to
stock such things anymore. However expansys do the combined cable I spoke of
in shed loads.
What I did find however after I posted was this handy little thing -
http://www.pc-mobile.net/delorme.htm - if you look at the power accessories
half way down the page you'll see a handy thing which looks to me like a ps2
passthrough thingy with a socket for a dc power source on it --- described
as
"PS2 Power Input Connector
Cleverly designed - Connect between Del-U and PDA interface so you can power
both with just one power source.
The power input is standard 4.0/1.7 socket so you may already have the
car/ac adapter for its use, or use batteries with Battery Extender PB4A
Can also be used with devices which are normally powered through PS2"
And the battery extender pack is listed further down the page. It's not a UK
site nor do they ship from the UK (thus expensive to ship) but desperation
calls.

However I'd still need a Jornada to female ps2 cable to put on it.

Or - if someone could tell me how to cut off the ciggy lighter bit of my
existing cable and stick a battery pack box on it instead I'd be set up.

My brain hurts !

Rachael

In article <[email hidden]>, Rachael
the Wiccan Rat <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Does is Jornada serial to female ps2 (Haicom end) cable exist ? If so will
it suck all the power out of my little pda in a matter of moments and is it
even possible to power the Haicom GPS from the pda ?

I very much doubt that the PDA has any power output so you won't be
powering the GPS from it.

Quoted message said:

I don't need hours and
hours but in my newbie-ness I'm not sure it is even possible to power the
gps from the pda.
Or is there a battery pack solution ?

I expect so.

Quoted message said:

I have seen some modifications using battery boxes on the net but none that
specifically deal with the ps2 / Jornad serial pinouts. I can solder but I'd
need an idiot's guide on which bits to solder to what. :-)

Take a look at the forums on the following site where you may find
people who have tackled a similar problem to yours.

http://www.pocketgpsworld.com

--

Dominic Sexton
http://www.dscs.demon.co.uk/

Rachael the Wiccan Rat said:

Or - if someone could tell me how to cut off the ciggy lighter bit of my
existing cable and stick a battery pack box on it instead I'd be set up.

Ciggy lighter connectors are sometimes just connectors, in which
case you can cut them off and fit whatever you need to connect to
your battery pack. They sometimes contain just a fuse, which can
if necessary be replaced by an inline fuse holder.

But some connectors contain a voltage regulator and other
protection circuitry, so the wires to the PDA aren't carrying
12V. If this is the case (and it probably wil be on the
system you describe), then you need to provide a suitable
voltage from yuor battery pack. This entails measuring the
voltage supplied by the adapter.

An easier, but bulky solution is to plug the ciggy lighter
connector into an inline ciggy lighter socket such as Maplin
part number FE42V. Then connect your 12V battery pack to
that socket.

-adrian

"Adrian Godwin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Rachael the Wiccan Rat said:

Or - if someone could tell me how to cut off the ciggy lighter bit of my
existing cable and stick a battery pack box on it instead I'd be set up.

Ciggy lighter connectors are sometimes just connectors, in which
case you can cut them off and fit whatever you need to connect to
your battery pack. They sometimes contain just a fuse, which can
if necessary be replaced by an inline fuse holder.

But some connectors contain a voltage regulator and other
protection circuitry, so the wires to the PDA aren't carrying
12V. If this is the case (and it probably wil be on the
system you describe), then you need to provide a suitable
voltage from yuor battery pack. This entails measuring the
voltage supplied by the adapter.

Having looked at the specs on the pda and the gps it appears the pda wants 5
volts (I deduce this from looking at its charger) and the gps wants 8 volts.
I think - the print is abit small to read for me. Whatever gubbins is going
on inside the ciggie adapter is obviously earning it's keep in ways I do not
understand. ;-) AV or computer peripheral connectors - not a problem for me.
Things wot carry a current - not my forte !

Quoted message said:

An easier, but bulky solution is to plug the ciggy lighter
connector into an inline ciggy lighter socket such as Maplin
part number FE42V. Then connect your 12V battery pack to
that socket.

Oooh, lovely - that's the very item I was just talking to a friend on the
phone about. We discussed the voltage issue and like you we determined (that
really means it was spoon fed to me and I got the idea when it became
obvious :-) ) that to make something from scratch would need abit of messing
about that I certainly am not qualified nor confident in doing. So the ciggy
lighter socket and battery pack idea was explored. Now we know the part
number for the socket too, thanks ! The trouble with the Maplins site is
that unless you know for sure what you want, it is hard to find anything
IME. I usually felt more at home on that score with the paper version but I
don't have one hanging about anymore.

I was beginning to think I'd never find a way to do it but I am most pleased
to find it can be done. Thanks to all who replied.

Rachael

"Rachael the Wiccan Rat" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Newbie alert ! Please excuse any glaring gaps in my knowledge. I've asked
this in the gps groups but no joy. Searching google usenet posts turns up
some posts in the past in this group that deal with this sort of issue but
none exactly relevant to my query, so I figured I'd ask here and see if
anyone can come up with something.

I have a Jornada 525 pda. I have a Haicom 203e GPS usb mouse. I have a
lovely cable to connect the two to a car cigarette lighter to power thme
both. Champion.

But what I do not have is a way to either connect the two together by
themselves or a way to connect them together and provide them battery
power
when I am not in a car. A net search for "ps2 jornada cable" turns up lots
of the combined car and cable widgets but nothing without the ciggie
lighter
end on it and nothing with a battery pack option.

Does is Jornada serial to female ps2 (Haicom end) cable exist ? If so will
it suck all the power out of my little pda in a matter of moments and is
it
even possible to power the Haicom GPS from the pda ? I don't need hours
and
hours but in my newbie-ness I'm not sure it is even possible to power the
gps from the pda.
Or is there a battery pack solution ?

I have seen some modifications using battery boxes on the net but none
that
specifically deal with the ps2 / Jornad serial pinouts. I can solder but
I'd
need an idiot's guide on which bits to solder to what. :-)

Buying new kit is not an option btw - both these widgets were birthday
presents (albeit the pda years ago and the gps recently) and money in
abundance I don't have. So I'm looking for a solution using the hardware I
already have.

TIA.

Rachael

You could try emailing Norma Pinkerton at

Lynks Cables UK, PO Box 11248, PAISLEY, PA1 3YR. Tel: +44 (0) 141 587
0282

http://www.lynks.co.uk/

she has been really helpful to me in the past in connecting pdas and gpses.

Mike Mason

Rachael the Wiccan Rat said:

Newbie alert ! Please excuse any glaring gaps in my knowledge. I've asked
this in the gps groups but no joy. Searching google usenet posts turns up
some posts in the past in this group that deal with this sort of issue but
none exactly relevant to my query, so I figured I'd ask here and see if
anyone can come up with something.

I have a Jornada 525 pda. I have a Haicom 203e GPS usb mouse. I have a
lovely cable to connect the two to a car cigarette lighter to power thme
both. Champion.

But what I do not have is a way to either connect the two together by
themselves or a way to connect them together and provide them battery power
when I am not in a car. A net search for "ps2 jornada cable" turns up lots
of the combined car and cable widgets but nothing without the ciggie lighter
end on it and nothing with a battery pack option.

Does is Jornada serial to female ps2 (Haicom end) cable exist ? If so will
it suck all the power out of my little pda in a matter of moments and is it
even possible to power the Haicom GPS from the pda ? I don't need hours and
hours but in my newbie-ness I'm not sure it is even possible to power the
gps from the pda.
Or is there a battery pack solution ?

I have seen some modifications using battery boxes on the net but none that
specifically deal with the ps2 / Jornad serial pinouts. I can solder but I'd
need an idiot's guide on which bits to solder to what. :-)

Buying new kit is not an option btw - both these widgets were birthday
presents (albeit the pda years ago and the gps recently) and money in
abundance I don't have. So I'm looking for a solution using the hardware I
already have.

TIA.

Rachael

Try a search for PDA solar chargers. There are several good ones that will
charge a PDA when out and about and they have universal adaptors. Between
$25 and $80. You will need to get them from the USA though - no decent UK
suppliers.

Can the mouse not power itself from the USB? Connect it up and do a trial
run. The electronics in a mouse will take naff all current unless it's a
wireless radio mouse in which case you would be better off getting a wired
one. Compared to the current draw that a pda backlight wants I'd have said
a mouse would be insignificant.

On Tue, 12 Oct 2004 12:31:26 +0100, "Rachael the Wiccan Rat"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

Howdy!

Other more technical people are answering your question, but in the
meantime I'm wondering what a Wiccan Rat is? 🙂

(We oddly named creatures ought to stick together...)

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

The message <[email hidden]>
from Peewiglet <[email hidden]> contains these words:

Quoted message said:

Other more technical people are answering your question, but in the
meantime I'm wondering what a Wiccan Rat is? 🙂

Quoted message said:

(We oddly named creatures ought to stick together...)

I think it takes 13 to form a coven./ :-)

--
Roger Chapman so far this year 69 summits
New - 47 (Marilyns 13, Sweats 5, Outlying Fells 35)
Repeats - 22( Marilyns 7, Sweats 16, Wainwrights 16)

Peewiglet said:

On Tue, 12 Oct 2004 12:31:26 +0100, "Rachael the Wiccan Rat"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

Howdy!

Other more technical people are answering your question, but in the
meantime I'm wondering what a Wiccan Rat is? 🙂

(We oddly named creatures ought to stick together...)

If you stick together the mind boggles!

Chris Street said:

Quoted message said:

(We oddly named creatures ought to stick together...)

If you stick together the mind boggles!

Perhaps we could be a PeeWiccan Ratlet! 🙂

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

"Roger" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The message <[email hidden]>
from Peewiglet <[email hidden]> contains these words:

Quoted message said:

Other more technical people are answering your question, but in the
meantime I'm wondering what a Wiccan Rat is? 🙂

Quoted message said:

(We oddly named creatures ought to stick together...)

I think it takes 13 to form a coven./ :-)

Well, in my experience rats would take over the world if they had opposable
thumbs so to form a mere coven only takes a couple. ;-)

Rachael

"Peewiglet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Tue, 12 Oct 2004 12:31:26 +0100, "Rachael the Wiccan Rat"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

Howdy!

Other more technical people are answering your question, but in the
meantime I'm wondering what a Wiccan Rat is? 🙂

Er --- that would be a me. If I am to be seen as religious in any way I
would be what most people call "Wiccan" - or a witch (though I am more of
the traditional sort than the new age sort) and I like rats. I have a long
standing pet rat related website so I am often refered to as the rat lady. I
was thinking up posting names and though I'd combine the two things.

Quoted message said:

(We oddly named creatures ought to stick together...)

Now I have to ask ---- what is a Peewiglet ? :-)

Rachael

"Peewiglet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Chris Street said:

Quoted message said:

(We oddly named creatures ought to stick together...)

If you stick together the mind boggles!

Perhaps we could be a PeeWiccan Ratlet! 🙂

Or a WiganWicc LetRat.

Just as long as we're not a RatPee anything !

LOL !

Rachael

"Chris Street" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Rachael the Wiccan Rat said:

Newbie alert ! Please excuse any glaring gaps in my knowledge. I've

asked

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

this in the gps groups but no joy. Searching google usenet posts turns

up

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

some posts in the past in this group that deal with this sort of issue

but

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

none exactly relevant to my query, so I figured I'd ask here and see if
anyone can come up with something.

I have a Jornada 525 pda. I have a Haicom 203e GPS usb mouse. I have a
lovely cable to connect the two to a car cigarette lighter to power thme
both. Champion.

But what I do not have is a way to either connect the two together by
themselves or a way to connect them together and provide them battery

power

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

when I am not in a car. A net search for "ps2 jornada cable" turns up

lots

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

of the combined car and cable widgets but nothing without the ciggie

lighter

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

end on it and nothing with a battery pack option.

Does is Jornada serial to female ps2 (Haicom end) cable exist ? If so

will

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

it suck all the power out of my little pda in a matter of moments and is

it

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

even possible to power the Haicom GPS from the pda ? I don't need hours

and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

hours but in my newbie-ness I'm not sure it is even possible to power

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

gps from the pda.
Or is there a battery pack solution ?

I have seen some modifications using battery boxes on the net but none

that

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

specifically deal with the ps2 / Jornad serial pinouts. I can solder but

I'd

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

need an idiot's guide on which bits to solder to what. :-)

Buying new kit is not an option btw - both these widgets were birthday
presents (albeit the pda years ago and the gps recently) and money in
abundance I don't have. So I'm looking for a solution using the hardware

I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

already have.

TIA.

Rachael

Try a search for PDA solar chargers. There are several good ones that will
charge a PDA when out and about and they have universal adaptors. Between
$25 and $80.

Yikes.

You will need to get them from the USA though - no decent UK

Quoted message said:

suppliers.

Can the mouse not power itself from the USB?

USB to what ? My poor old Jornada is only serial.

Connect it up and do a trial

Quoted message said:

run. The electronics in a mouse will take naff all current unless it's a
wireless radio mouse in which case you would be better off getting a wired
one. Compared to the current draw that a pda backlight wants I'd have said
a mouse would be insignificant.

I have tried just connecting the existing cable - which has the ciggie thing
on one end then a y splitter with one cable for the gps and one for the
Jornada - without connecting the ciggie end but no power to the gps. I
suspect the cable is wired to pull power from the ciggie lighter for both
pda and gps but as the pda has it's own battery it will work but the gps has
none so it doesn't.

If I could find a plain Jornada to ps2 female lead to connect the gps to I
would know if power could be drawn out of the pda but I can't find one.
Anywhere !

I think I'll go for the battery box idea. It seems the least possible
cutting of cables (i.e. none) and will probably last a long time.

Rachael

Rachael the Wiccan Rat said:

"Peewiglet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Chris Street said:

> (We oddly named creatures ought to stick together...)

If you stick together the mind boggles!

Perhaps we could be a PeeWiccan Ratlet! 🙂

Or a WiganWicc LetRat.

Just as long as we're not a RatPee anything !

That's an image I'm going to try to forget. Unsuccessfully. Especially
since I'm watching the last episode of Fawlty Towers.

Quoted message said:

LOL !

Rachael

"Chris Street" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Wed, 13 Oct 2004 00:30:41 +0100, Rachael the Wiccan Rat wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Just as long as we're not a RatPee anything !

That's an image I'm going to try to forget. Unsuccessfully. Especially
since I'm watching the last episode of Fawlty Towers.

Just remember; it's a Siberian Hamster.

Rachael

Rachael the Wiccan Rat said:

"Chris Street" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Wed, 13 Oct 2004 00:30:41 +0100, Rachael the Wiccan Rat wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Just as long as we're not a RatPee anything !

That's an image I'm going to try to forget. Unsuccessfully. Especially
since I'm watching the last episode of Fawlty Towers.

Just remember; it's a Siberian Hamster.

Can't be. Franco shot them all.

(Ok this is getting seriously off topic. Just don't mention the war.)

In article <[email hidden]>, Rachael
the Wiccan Rat <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

"Peewiglet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Chris Street said:

> (We oddly named creatures ought to stick together...)

If you stick together the mind boggles!

Perhaps we could be a PeeWiccan Ratlet! 🙂

Or a WiganWicc LetRat.

Just as long as we're not a RatPee anything !

LOL !

Rachael

Judith this NG is getting cliquey - you're being left out :-)
--
Bill Grey
http://www.billboy.co.uk