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Recent Pocket PCs and other user interface devices do not have RS-232 serial ports - making it difficult to connect them with soaring GPS units.  However, most current PDAs (Pocket PCs and Palm devices) and PNDs (Personal Navigation Devices - such as the HP iPAQ 310) do have a built-in BlueTooth radio.  But no soaring GPS offers BlueTooth capability - which is where the K6 Bt comes in.  The K6 Bt is a BlueTooth transceiver which makes it possible for soaring GPS and flight computer units to talk through the K6 Bt over BlueTooth to the PDA or PND.  It is a 2-way communication so data such as MacCready and water ballast settings can be exchanged between the PDA and soaring flight computer.  The BlueTooth connection is even password protected so that it cannot be intercepted or received by another device.

Example Systems
Click on the images below to view larger versions.

In the example shown above, an LX Colibri or EW microRecorder is connected to a K6 Bt.  The K6 Bt enables 2-way communications between the LX Colibri or EW microRecorder and the PDA (HP iPAQ 210/211/214 shown) or PND (HP iPAQ 310/314 shown).  A Cable-K6Bt-Pwr-2 is used to provide 12V power to the K6 Bt.  A Cable-K6Bt-Colibri-0.3 or Cable-K6Bt-EWmicroRec-0.3 power/data cable is used to connect both 12 V power and 2-way data between K6 Bt and the Colibri or EW microRecorder.  Click on the images to view larger versions.  For a breakdown of all the required parts, please see the links below.
EW microRecorder with K6 Bt and iPAQ 310
LX Navigation Colibri with K6 Bt and iPAQ 310

In the example shown above, a K6 Bt receives both data and 5 V power from a Cambridge 302 or GPS-NAV.  The K6 Bt enables 2-way communications between the 302 and the PDA (HP iPAQ 210/211/214 shown) or PND (HP iPAQ 310/314 shown).  A Cable-K6Bt-302-0.3 power/data cable is used to connect the 302 or GPS-NAV to the K6 Bt. Or, if you want the 302 to also power the PDA, you can use the Cable-K6Bt-302-0.3-miniUSB-1 wiring harness. Note: The 302 does not seem to be able to power both the K6 Bt and an iPAQ 310, but it works fine with an iPAQ 210 or similar.  Click on the images to view larger versions.  For a breakdown of all the required parts, please see the links below.
Cambridge 302 with K6 Bt and iPAQ 310
Cambridge 302A with K6 Bt and iPAQ 310

In the example shown above, a K6 Bt receives both data and 5 V power from an LX7007 Pro IGC.  The K6 Bt enables 2-way communications between the LX7007 and the PDA (HP iPAQ 210/211/214 shown).  A Cable-K6Bt-LX7007-0.3 power/data cable is used to connect the LX7007 to the K6 Bt.  A Nimbus cradle with a RAM mounting arm is also shown.  The Nimbus cradle includes a power cable with a USB "A" connector that is shown plugged into a Socket Mobile Power Pack.

Comm Port Baud Rate Switching
Some soaring GPS, flight recorder and flight computer products automatically switch baud rates when doing jobs such as transferring waypoints, task declarations and flight logs.  The K6 Bt has established a freely available protocol which makes baud rate changes possible, as long as the software on the PDA is setup to support the baud rate switching.

Compatibility - PDA or PND
Most current PDAs (such as the iPAQ 110/111/112, or iPAQ 210/211/214) and PNDs (Personal Navigation Devices - like the HP iPAQ 310 series) have BlueTooth radios built in.  Any device with a built-in BlueTooth radio should work fine.

Compatibility - Soaring GPS or Flight Computer or GPS Flight Recorder
Any soaring instrument with a standard RS-232 serial port (every one I can think of) should work fine - as long as the soaring software on the PDA or PND supports the K6 Bt and the desired soaring instrument.

Great for 2-Seat Gliders!
The K6 Bt makes it much easier to install a PDA in the back seat of a 2-seat glider.  The BlueTooth radio signals can reach easily from the nose of the glider to the PDA in the back seat.  Therefore, there is no need to run PDA power/data cables from the nose of the glider to the back seat.  However, a K6 Bt unit is required for every PDA.  It is not possible for more than 1 PDA to talk to a K6 Bt.  It is possible to connect 2 K6 Bt units to a single soaring GPS unit (such as a Cambridge 302, or LX Colibri, or EW microRecorder, etc.).   Another thing to consider is that the PDA's built-in battery may not last through a long glider flight.  See the note Power for the PDA or PND below for suggestions.

Compatibility - Soaring Software
It appears that special communications protocols are used - especially where baud rate switching is required.  Therefore, the K6 Bt will only work with soaring software that is customized to work with the K6 Bt.  SeeYou Mobile has been tested and works well for sending GPS data to the PDA and exchanging MacCready and other data between the PDA and a Cambridge 302.  However, at this time I have not been able to successfully send a task declaration from SeeYou Mobile to a Cambridge 302 or download a flight log from the 302 using SeeYou ConnectMe.  SeeYou says they are certain those functions will be working soon.  I tested using iPAQ hx4700, iPAQ 210 and iPAQ 310 units and a Cambridge 302.  I was not able to establish a connection between the 302 and the PDA or PND when using Glide Navigator II or the Cambridge 300 Utility.  It may be that I just need to more testing.  It is my understanding that the Cambridge 300 utility doesn't work with the K6 Bt because the baud rate is changed for flight log downloads.  The K6 Bt can handle that, but the Cambridge 300 Utility does not support the K6 Bt.  I would think that Glide Navigator II would work with the K6 Bt since there is no baud rate switching, but so far my tests showed that it did not work.

Testing by the K6 Team
The K6 Team has done some additional testing with several different hardware and software combinations.  They have been able to do task declarations and flight log downloads with some combinations.  The results available here: http://www.k6-team.de/content/view/122/77/.  The text is in German, but the results are displayed graphically and clearly.

Videos by the K6 Team
The link below is to a nice video showing a flight log download using an iPAQ hx4700.  The video goes on to show that it is easy to upload the flight log directly from the PDA to the OLC using the olc-pda.org web site.  As long as the PDA has internet access (through a PC or wireless connection) it is easy to upload the flight log directly from the PDA.

Power for the PDA or PND
Although there is no data cable connection to the PDA or PND, you will probably want to power the device with 5 V power to ensure that it will have enough power to last through a long soaring flight.  Two good options for providing 5V power would be the Goddard PS-5a or the Socket Mobile Power Pack.  Nimbus cradles can be purchased with a DBCAI connector for connection to the Goddard PS-5a or a USB-A connector for connection to the Socket Mobile Power Pack.

Specifications

Power/Data Cables
Cable-K6Bt-Pwr-2
Cable-K6Bt-302-0.3
Cable-K6Bt-302-0.3-miniUSB-1
Cable-K6Bt-Colibri-0.3
Cable-K6Bt-EWmicroRec-0.3
Cable-K6Bt-FLARM-0.3 (also works with Volksloggers)
Cable-K6Bt-LX7000-0.3
Cable-K6Bt-LX8000-0.3
Cable-USBA-mini-USB-Pwr-1

Example Systems
Cambridge 302 with K6 Bt and iPAQ 310
Cambridge 302A with K6 Bt and iPAQ 310
EW microRecorder with K6 Bt and iPAQ 310
LX Navigation Colibri with K6 Bt and iPAQ 310

Links
Video showing the establishment of a data connection between an iPAQ 314 and a FLARM unit - using a K6 Bt BlueTooth connection.

Downloads

• Manual

Paul E. Remde

8661 Connelly Place
Savage, Minnesota 55378
USA

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