:: Goddard ::
Sailplane Data Communications Products

Cables and Power Converters for Use With a Wide Variety of Soaring Instruments and Pocket PCs
We offer cables for connecting your Cambridge Aero Instruments GPS-NAV or 302, Volkslogger, Borgelt B50, LX Navigation Colibri, Filser LX20, LX5000 or DX50, ILEC SN-10, Garmin GPS or any other GPS or flight computer or logger to your Pocket PC or Palm device.  They provide 5 V power to your PDA as well as 12 VDC power to your GPS or data logger. 

Modular Design
Some systems utilize the PS-5a High Efficiency Power Conversion Unit which incorporates an efficient DC-to-DC voltage converter to step 12 VDC power down to 5 VDC.  A 2 m cable exits the box for connection to your glider's 12 VDC power system.  The box also has two DB-9 connectors.  One accepts cables for your Pocket PC.  The other accepts cables for your flight computer, flight logger, or GPS.  This modular solution provides great flexibility using the cables listed below.  A complete system from us will be in your glider for years because you will only need to swap one cable when you inevitably upgrade your Pocket PC or GPS in the future.  The system is also great for clubs or syndicates because pilots with different Pocket PC's can each have their own cable for use between the PS-5a power converter and their Pocket PC.  There is no need to swap out the entire system, just replace a single cable.

SPS-1 Dual Power Supply and GPS Data Splitter
The new SPS-1 is designed for use in 2-seat gliders.  It can provide 5V power and pass GPS data through to 2 Pocket PCs.  Details are available here.

 
GPS-NAV Owners - Read This
GPS-NAV units can provide enough 5V power (500 mA) to run a Compaq Aero 1500 without any issues.  However the power supply is only marginal for powering an iPAQ.  I have been told by customers that their iPAQ h3800 units run fine with the GPS-NAV as long as they fully charge the iPAQ before connecting it to the GPS-NAV.  I use my GPS-NAV to test iPAQ cradles all the time, so I know it can power an iPAQ.  However, if the iPAQ battery is more than a little bit discharged it can draw up to 1A of power.  The GPS-NAV cannot supply that much current.  There is a "resettable" fuse in the GPS-NAV that will stop current flow to the iPAQ.  I believe there is a chance that the GPS-NAV may not log your flight while the fuse is tripped.  A good practice with any PDA is to keep it powered in its cradle on your desk at home when not flying so that the battery will never completely lose its charge.  If you follow that practice you should be fine connecting an iPAQ h3800 or similar directly to a GPS-NAV.  If you don't always keep your iPAQ fully charged, I highly recommend using a Goddard PS-5a and either a PC-x or PGNAV-1 cable.  The PS-5a takes 12V power from your glider battery and provides 5V power to the PDA.  The PC-x cable provides a data connection from the GPS-NAV to the PS-5a.  The PGNAV-1 provides a data connection from the GPS-NAV to the PS-5a and also provides 12V power from the PS-5a to the GPS-NAV - which is nice for portable use.  In my cable and cradle selection table below I recommend the use of a PS-5a.  If you don't use the PS-5a I highly recommend that you keep your iPAQ fully charged.  Newer iPAQs such as the hx4700 or hx4705 draw much more current than the h3800 units so a PS-5a is an absolute necessity with those units.  Note: This is not a problem with the Cambridge 302 and 302A because they can supply much more current to the PDA (900 mA).

Do I really need to Provide Power to My Pocket PC?
I've received a few questions from customers wondering if they really need to provide power to their Pocket PC.  While it's true that the internal battery may last many hours on one charge in normal operation, don't forget that the Pocket PC is using its serial communications port at all times.  Serial communications can reduce battery life dramatically.  So, unfortunately the answer is yes, you will want to power your Pocket PC from an external power source.

Cable Lengths
Our standard cable length is 1 m (3.281 feet).  Some cables are also available from stock in 3 m (9.843 feet) lengths.  Custom lengths are available upon request.

Custom Cables
We are willing and able to provide custom cables for use between any two devices.  Let us know if you are looking for a cable not shown here.  The cables show below should give you a good indication of what is possible.