Accident report - PDA's can restrict emergency exit

Ever tried to pull off an USB connector by pulling across ?!
Any cable on the canopy system is a serious thread.

"ContestID67" wrote in message
ups.com...
Interesting topic. I had considered putting the PDA on the rail of the
canopy.

One possible simple "break away" connector that was recently
recommended to me is a USB connector. They are simple and inexpensive
gold plated slide connectors with four contacts. Purchase a USB
"extension cord" which has a male and a female connector (don't ask me
which is which). Cut the cord in the middle and splice it into your
serial connection to the PDA

All you need are four connections;

USB Pin 1 - Power +5Vdc - DB-9 pin 8 (may be vendor specific)
USB Pin 2 - Transmit - DB-9 pin 2
USB Pin 3 - Recieve - DB-9 pin 3
USB Pin 4 - Ground - DB-9 pin 5

Anyway, if you cut the PDA cradle cable, there should only be four
wires. Three may be a shield which you should connect to the shield of
the USB. Connect each to whatever you want at the USB connector and
call it the "fill in your last name proprietary cabling standard".

- John

At 14:36 08 December 2006, T O D D P A T T I S T wrote:
wrote:

new mac laptop and they made the
power cord attach w/a magnet, to keep the computer
from hitting the
ground when someone trips on the power cord.

My wife has a hot pot that constantly holds near-boiling
water and dispenses with a pump on request. It uses
one of
those magnetically attached power cords to prevent
anyone
from getting burned if you trip over the cord. They
must be
sold somewhere.
--
T o d d P a t t i s t - 'WH' Ventus C
(Remove DONTSPAMME from address to email reply.)


Wouldn't the magnet ideas cause compass issues?

Simon Taylor wrote:
At 14:36 08 December 2006, T O D D P A T T I S T wrote:
wrote:

new mac laptop and they made the
power cord attach w/a magnet, to keep the computer
from hitting the
ground when someone trips on the power cord.
My wife has a hot pot that constantly holds near-boiling
water and dispenses with a pump on request. It uses
one of
those magnetically attached power cords to prevent
anyone
from getting burned if you trip over the cord. They
must be
sold somewhere.
--
T o d d P a t t i s t - 'WH' Ventus C
(Remove DONTSPAMME from address to email reply.)


Wouldn't the magnet ideas cause compass issues?

Microphones and radio speakers have magnets. I don't know how magnetic
shielding works but it exists. TV speakers are shielded so they don't
interfere with the CRT-at least in those old fashioned TVs :-)


Shawn

Here's an accident report from a mid-air in which the cabling between
canopy-frame mounted equipment and the panel may have played a role.
Unfortunately, the pilot did not survive.
http://www.dg-flugzeugbau.de/Data/unfallbericht-pda.pdf
The accident happened in the UK, the link is copied from the DG monthly
newsletter.

Herb


Ramy wrote:
http://tinyurl.com/yzfpzb

With the increase of use of gizmos in the cockpit I think it is worth
warning the fliying community of this potential deadly mistake,
especially with glare shield instalations of instruments such as TPAS.
I almost fell trap to it myself when considered wiring my glare shield
installed TPAS to the glider battery. Make sure you can jettison your
canopy and bail out easily.

Be careful out there,

Ramy

Herb, if you had followed the link in the first post in this thread,
you would have seen that you were about to link to the exact same
accident report.


Dan

Herb wrote:

Here's an accident report from a mid-air in which the cabling between
canopy-frame mounted equipment and the panel may have played a role.
Unfortunately, the pilot did not survive.
http://www.dg-flugzeugbau.de/Data/unfallbericht-pda.pdf
The accident happened in the UK, the link is copied from the DG monthly
newsletter.

Herb


Ramy wrote:
http://tinyurl.com/yzfpzb

With the increase of use of gizmos in the cockpit I think it is worth
warning the fliying community of this potential deadly mistake,
especially with glare shield instalations of instruments such as TPAS.
I almost fell trap to it myself when considered wiring my glare shield
installed TPAS to the glider battery. Make sure you can jettison your
canopy and bail out easily.

Be careful out there,

Ramy