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By mcluvin
#399991
Does anyone know of a good way to mount a cell phone on a HG for use with XCSoar? My setup sucks. I've searched a ton. Surely I'm not the only one? Thanks in advamce!
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By red
#399993
mcluvin wrote: Tue Aug 15, 2017 9:20 amDoes anyone know of a good way to mount a cell phone on a HG for use with XCSoar? My setup sucks. I've searched a ton. Surely I'm not the only one? Thanks in advamce!
mcluvin,

Better check first, I believe it's illegal to run a cellphone from a flying aircraft in the USA. Something about using too many towers, I think. The phone you have may have a setting to make it okay for what you want, so check with the maker or service provider. I turn mine off before flying, so I will not have a weak battery when I land.

In my experience, I have seen that the FCC has no sense of humor on the airwaves. First offense, it can be a stiff fine and confiscation of the vehicle and equipment, so you do not want to cross those guys. Please do not shoot the messenger. 8)
By mcluvin
#399994
Hmmm, I'll have to look into that. I'm an airline pilot and we use iPads now instead of charts. Seems like the same thing. I'm just using it as a flight instrument and map, all rolled into one. XCSoar is pretty widely used in gliders and hang gliders/paragliders. But, no, not shooting the messenger. I'll look into it. Thanks.
By maaglide
#400000
This is what i've been using, though its pricey (I use them for a photo business) and the friction arm is too short (the next longer one would be better):

My iphone is held in a Manfrotto twistgrip:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... clamp.html

attached to a manfrotto mini friction arm:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... n_arm.html

which grips my round base bar using a manfrotto nano clamp:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... clamp.html
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By DMarley
#400203
The Ram mounts are extremely robust and hold any phone quite securely. They are normally ordered by individual piece so that you can build the system that suits you best. However, because they are so sturdy, they are not extremely light weight. Not inexpensive, either. But then, nothing of high quality is ever cheap.
The military, law enforcement, com/GA pilots, etc. use Ram a lot.
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By uberzone
#400328
miraclepieco wrote:Can you guys actually see the screen on a cell phone in flight?


Some cellphones have transflective displays which allow for this. Dell Streak 5 was a popular one for the XC Soar community but this phone is quite dated now.
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By miraclepieco
#400457
uberzone wrote: Wed Sep 13, 2017 5:32 pm
miraclepieco wrote:Can you guys actually see the screen on a cell phone in flight?


Some cellphones have transflective displays which allow for this. Dell Streak 5 was a popular one for the XC Soar community but this phone is quite dated now.
Thanks. I looked it up - sound like transflective technology has (ironically) disappeared. There are lots of great apps I'd love to use, but alas on a bright day my Samsung screen looks like the proverbial black cat in a coal bin at midnight. Oh well, I'll have to be content to have more time to actually LOOK where I'm flying, enjoy the scenery and be a more alert and safer pilot, I guess.
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By TjW
#400470
I think the best option for sunlight readable devices is currently OLED technology. Each pixel is actually 3 LEDs.
So instead of making a bright back light everywhere that you obscure more or less with an LCD, you light up those pixels you want to see directly.
It's higher power, I think, if all the pixels are lit, but a line image on an unlit background could be lower power overall when they're bright enough to be sunlight-readable.

The bistable LCDs in e-ink displays are sunlight readable and zero power. It only takes power to change them. Unfortunately, they're very slow (80 -100 mSec) to update.
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By AIRTHUG
#400491
A local pilot here works on the hardware-side of developing the stuff on the top of cell towers that make our phones work- voice and data. Look at any cell tower anywhere in America and you see the hardware he and the team he manages developed! After a long road trip to Utah and back, I learned quite a lot about the tech... though I'm no expert.

Short and sweet version: He turns his phone off when he flies... not because it messes with the cell provider's systems (but it does), but because the tech is designed to transmit a "flat" signal out... not wasting power or bandwidth transmitting up into the sky... and so leaving your phone on while you fly will drain the battery a lot faster as it's working harder to find or maintain service.

Personally, I leave mine on. I like to take pics with it while I fly sometimes. Sometimes even post in "real-time" 8)

Regarding mounts- I use this on my bike, and it should fit on a round downtube just fine. It's very light weight, but rigid enough for cycling, and I really like/trust the way the phone locks in there, so I'd recommend it. It's also pretty damn inexpensive which is nice...
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B06 ... UTF8&psc=1
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By miraclepieco
#400494
My phone also stays on as a tracker. Life360 Family Locator app has transformed my wife's (ie chase driver) involvement in my flying. She sees my real-time location in Google Satellite View and can follow my every move. When I land it automatically transmits turn-by-turn driving directions to her, then I can track her progress as she drives to pick me up. It's rendered all other communication and retrieval systems obsolete.
#400495
A good solution may be to carry a second, fully charged phone battery, or one of those backup battery packs with oodles of power. I would never leave my phone on in the air unless I had some sort of backup battery plan for use after landing.

I did once send a text while flying, telling someone on the ground he could fly my other glider if he wanted. I think I also posted to the org once.

Steve
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By red
#400498
miraclepieco wrote: Fri Sep 29, 2017 8:08 pmMy phone also stays on as a tracker. Life360 Family Locator app has transformed my wife's (ie chase driver) involvement in my flying. She sees my real-time location in Google Satellite View and can follow my every move. When I land it automatically transmits turn-by-turn driving directions to her, then I can track her progress as she drives to pick me up. It's rendered all other communication and retrieval systems obsolete.
Miraclepieco,

I bet there are a bazillion wives out there who can't wait to get that APP going on their hubby's phone, flying or not.
Especially the "not" part. :lol:

. . . :mrgreen:
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By DMarley
#400531
...And Life360 is free. Wait.... nothing in life is free. What's the catch? Nope. I don't trust that stuff or the providers. I'd rather use APRS with brain required.
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By red
#400538
DMarley wrote: Tue Oct 03, 2017 10:45 pm...And Life360 is free. Wait.... nothing in life is free. What's the catch? Nope. I don't trust that stuff or the providers. I'd rather use APRS with brain required.
DMarley,

The cost is this: hand over everything in your phone, which the APP may change or even delete. Your every move will be tracked, and according to the reviews, it may report to your family that you left a place and returned, when you did not. You have already agreed to all that, as part of the installation. It also may change itself, and what it can do, without your approval. Go to the Google APPs store, find the page for Life360, and read the Permissions (which is only a partial list of what the APP wants).

One review talks about the monthly charges, and not being able to get a refund, so I guess you must pay for the privilege of having no privacy at all.
Such a DEAL !! _ _ :shock: _ _ :cuss: _ _
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By miraclepieco
#400603
Yeah, and don't let your picture be taken because a camera steals your soul :crazy:

Why do you need "privacy" when you're on an XC flight? The whole point of a tracker is TO FIND YOU, duh. Turn on the tracker for the flight, turn it off when you land - simple. And "monthly charges" - WTF are you talking about - it's totally free. No ads either.

My god, I can't believe the level of primitive superstition on this, a hang gliding forum. Rest assured, you technology paranoiacs and strip club denizens hiding from your wives can deactivate both the app and the location function of your phone when the app is not actually in use. :goodidea: But pull your hat down over your face and cover your license plate when you drive past all those thousands of road cams out there - Big Brother is watching YOU.

PS: You do realize that everyone who uses a cell phone is trackable through through the towers and every message you leave on this forum is traceable through your ISP, don't you? :ahh: