PIREP: Nexus 7 Mounting

[airdale]

Spurred by all the positive reports here, I bought a Nexus 7 a few weeks ago, happily selling my iPad with its crummy Apple software and obnoxious Apple restrictions.

After some false starts, I now have a mount that uses this eBay tray: http://www.ebay.com/itm/221123167243?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649 (If the link doesn't work, search "tabletop desktop Nexus 7" The tray comes with a little "foot" that you just throw away. The Nexus 7 snaps into the tray easily and securely. $12 delivered.

RAM has a semi-rare "A" size line of balls and arms where the ball is 9/16" rather than the more common (and bulky) "B"-series 1" ball line. I am using the "A" line with their short link and their standard cam-actuated suction cup. My ball and tray are attached with Scotch Dual-Lock mounting tape but their VHB adhesive would work, too, and it's easier to find. Try OfficeMaxMartDepot. I would not recommend Velcro.

So far I have tested it in PA-28s, a 172, a 182, a 195, and a Mooney M20J. In the Mooney it works best when sucked onto to the side window. In the 195 you can go either with the side window or the lower corner of the windshield, and in the others it goes nicely in the lower corner of the windshield. Mounted like this it blocks few if any gauges and the screen ends up very close, so it is a lot easier to read than even a 10" screen on a kneeboard.

I have not tried to set up a mounting tray with the larger "B" size RAM system but I think it would be too bulky at least in the Mooney and the 195.

 

[Jay Honeck]

Just curious why you didn't go with the yoke mount?

I tried a window suction mount with my old (too-big) iPad, and it just blocked too much of the view. Sure, the N7 is smaller, but why not just stick it on the yoke? It works great there!

 

[airdale]

... why you didn't go with the yoke mount?

Short question, somewhat long answer.

I may still move it to the yoke. My habit though is to fly with a yoke board that carries a speed reference card, my checklists and, as necessary, a paper/printed plate. I am not sure that the mini-plate on the N7 screen will be acceptable vs big, bright, paper. Also, if I need an emergency checklist I do not want to be fooling with an electronic gadget.

I have been beta-testing for one of the (formerly) big players in the EFB world for maybe six or seven years, so I have kind of lost the thrill of having moving maps, etc. displayed on screens that are barely bright enough to read. They are fun, and the backup of having a full set of off-route plates is huge, but for me they are not the holy grail of aviation. So ... it is not a goal of mine to rely on an EFB display for flying the airplane. (Maybe that will change when we get color e-ink/e-paper.)

All that said, I am working on a two-sided yoke board design where the board will flip over between the N7 side and the conventional side. That might be the ideal if I can make it compact enough. But for now the window mount works.

 

[Jay Honeck]

Makes sense.

If I was in a larger aircraft, I would love to have the N7 mounted to the side window. In my Pathfinder, alas, there just isn't room.

 

[airdale]

In my Pathfinder, alas, there just isn't room.

Have you tried holding it there to see? In a PA-28 I am putting the suction cup on the lower left windshield. A large part of the N7 ends up against the pillar between the windshield and the side window rather than blocking my view. But I'll underline the fact that I am using the RAM "A" series which is not as bulky as the big "B" series hardware.

 

[Jay Honeck]

Have you tried holding it there to see? In a PA-28 I am putting the suction cup on the lower left windshield. A large part of the N7 ends up against the pillar between the windshield and the side window rather than blocking my view. But I'll underline the fact that I am using the RAM "A" series which is not as bulky as the big "B" series hardware.

Yeah, we actually had a suction mount for our old iPad. Bought it at OSH, and broke it on the flight home. lol

It was NOT a RAM mount.

While the N7 is smaller, and might work fine on the glass, I bought it specifically because it fits so perfectly on the yoke.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3...