Moose Man
08-10-2003, 05:41 PM
Ok there is good news and mostly bad news regarding the Arkon Powered Holder.
The Good: The power connector will connect to the handheld without much extra effort.
The BAD: The Very BAD: The speaker magnet that is directly opposite of the back of the Que causes problems. No damage just problems. Specifically, it will shut down the GPS function if you place the Que to close to the actual mounting surface. If you leave it about 1.5 inches away from the back - it will work but still scrambles the GPS signals enough that it takes awhile for the Que to 3D connect. For those of you wondering. the Arkon unit has two side grippers that extend away from the base about 3 to 4 inches so you can have the grippers hold the unit far enough away from the speaker magnet to work.
OK, how do he know it's the magnet - well with the unit unpowered and the Que moved towards the speaker with the GPS antennae up and running the device will turn off. I also got a similar sized speaker on an old handheld FM radio and got it to do the same exact thing.
With the Arkon unit powered up - there was no apparent difference in reception other then this magnet issue.
For those of you looking for some sort of in car power that will work - Radio Shack sells a iTravel branded car charger model number TCC400P. Works great.
I have seen magnets do "scramble" jobs before with older Star Tac Motorola phones - you couldn't use a magnet holder with them so this is not a big deal but if anyone else is comtemplating this purchase from Arkon - until they shield the magnet better - I wouldn't.
The Good: The power connector will connect to the handheld without much extra effort.
The BAD: The Very BAD: The speaker magnet that is directly opposite of the back of the Que causes problems. No damage just problems. Specifically, it will shut down the GPS function if you place the Que to close to the actual mounting surface. If you leave it about 1.5 inches away from the back - it will work but still scrambles the GPS signals enough that it takes awhile for the Que to 3D connect. For those of you wondering. the Arkon unit has two side grippers that extend away from the base about 3 to 4 inches so you can have the grippers hold the unit far enough away from the speaker magnet to work.
OK, how do he know it's the magnet - well with the unit unpowered and the Que moved towards the speaker with the GPS antennae up and running the device will turn off. I also got a similar sized speaker on an old handheld FM radio and got it to do the same exact thing.
With the Arkon unit powered up - there was no apparent difference in reception other then this magnet issue.
For those of you looking for some sort of in car power that will work - Radio Shack sells a iTravel branded car charger model number TCC400P. Works great.
I have seen magnets do "scramble" jobs before with older Star Tac Motorola phones - you couldn't use a magnet holder with them so this is not a big deal but if anyone else is comtemplating this purchase from Arkon - until they shield the magnet better - I wouldn't.