Color moving map installed in my Aircraft for under $500

I now have a color moving map installed in my Aircraft for under $500 plus cost of S/W (shareware).  Unfortunately will not be able to try it out under actual flying conditions until next spring when my aircraft is completed.
Have used the system, however; in my car and it appears to work very nicely.

Here are the details

      Purchased the PDA on Ebay from [email protected].  It
is
a refurbished Compaq 3955 with full manufacturers warranty.  Cost -
$300.
It includes a plastic sheath that it snaps into.  The sheath makes a
nice
cradle for aircraft installation and attaches to the panel using self
stick, 2" wide velcro.

      To enhance the storage capabilities of the PDA, purchased 256 meg
of
additional memory on Ebay from [email protected].  Cost - $66. 
The
memory chip is called Sandisk and it easily plugs into the top.

      Purchased the GPS engine on Ebay from http://www.deluo.com. 
Called a
Universal GPS engine for PDA's, P/N-GPSUN.  Cost - $100.  Also needed
to
purchase a PDA  Adapter Cable, P/N- GPSUPDA.  Cost - $20.

      Purchased a 12v Cigarette adapter from Radio Shack, P/N 270-1539.
Cost - $6.

      Finally, downloaded the Moving Map software come from
http://www.pocketfms.com.  This is Shareware, so if you find it useful,
a
donation is requested. 

      As can be seen in the pictures, the adapter cable turned out to
be
perfect for this installation.  The GPS engine (size of a matchbox) can
be
mounted on top of the turtle deck and the cable wrapped around and
tucked
in next to the 6-E-1-2 tubular brace.  Next the cable is brought
forward
under the 6-F-13-5 Longeron Doubler.

      The GPS cable hooks up to the PDA adapter cable as shown in the
pictures using a 9 pin DB connector system.  The other end of the
adapter
cable  then connects to the PDA as well as plugging into the cigarette
lighter adapter.  12v is needed to power the GPS as well as charging
the
PDA.  A stress relief bracket (fabricated) is recommended for the
connector
as it plugs into the PDA.

      The whole hardware system costs less than $500 plus shipping. 
Add to
that an additional donation for the Software.  What great navigation
capability for the money!  I would encourage everyone to check out the
Web
sites and best wishes on your projects!

Chuck Long, N601LE, 80% complete.

 

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