Garmin GPS navigation

Back in the day, I had a classic, original Garmin 45 GPS and it was good.  THE references at that time were:

•  Lane A. Holdcroft's FAQ, and
• if you were into being a bit of a hobbiest Larry's p(urple)Plug page bridged the gap of the proprietary garmin power/data connector with the world of other standardized, easily accessible electronic components... in short, they provided you the goods, and the instruction on how to build power, data and power/data cables while at the same time saving a few bucks. A first in open hardware development and manufacturing.  Great stuff-- hours of fun, followed by years of satisfying use.
• With respect to software...
  • i still use those cables today in '05 when i connect my GarminIII+ to my laptop running Microsoft Streets & Trips when i go road tripping.
  • and for the boaters out there, there's Nobeltec's software for state-of-the-art nautical use.  This stuff is serious (as the nautical navigation hardware boys eventually realized as their buyout history reflects)!

ScubaPro/Uwatec/Aladin SCUBA dive computers

Even as i start writing this about ScubaPro's line of Uwatec dive computers i feel compelled to make a mention of Suunto dive computers which are hot on the Aladin product line's fins... the new Suunto D9 appears to be a force to be reconned with, though i haven't yet dove it and for now stand by my trusty Uwatec Air Z Nitrox, along with a ScubaPro MK20 first stage, and G250HP 2nd stage.  I think in general, the lifetime warranty on ScubaPro's regulators (provided you service it every year) is the best in the industry... and this is the equipment i bet on when below the surface.  I am also intrigued by the promise of Alon Bodner's work... and I would LOVE to be an alpha tester, though no doubt i'd do so w/the 'kit' i mentioned hooked up to at least a pony bottle as backup should the batteries run low, or the electronics short out, etc.

Back to the Aladin line of dive computers... a bit old school perhaps at this point, but a great friendly model to dive, big enough on your wrist so that you don't have to strain to see the key limiting factors, etc... and smart enough they can handle Nitrox, and deco cases for the recreational diver who's spreading his wings a bit... this line of Aladin models (irrespective of whether it was nitrox enabled, or air integrated as the Air Z Nitrox is) were somewhere between:

• the techy Cochran computers (good for the SEALs and those tech diving w/TriMix, etc) w/more data than you can shake a stick at which might as a recreational sport diver overcomplicate the key decisions you need to make at any one time to minimize risk, and the
• so-GUI-it oozes, color graphical animated displays (various models not named built of the same core and OEM'ed by various Scuba manufacturers who needed a dive computer to add to their line) which are arguably a little too smart for their own good in making key decisions for you v. giving you the data you want to make life/death decisions for my taste, AND are missing the more hobbiest community following for software and downloading harnesses.

So again, back to the Aladin line (could swear i said that before)... this is a line of proven dive computers (back by a proven dive model) and for the last decade has been somewhat of the defacto standard in the industry.  And it has a has a community of hobbiest, PC savvy followers.

• Namely, there are folks on the software side of things... while i won't attempt to recreate and maintain THE Linked List; rather i'll point you at a good one.  I always found Thomas's W(indows)Log, Jochen's ADLT, & Dive Talk worth playing with. 
• And there are the folks on the download harness hardware side, starting with Matthias whose design i built years back and still use to this day. And others notably DDouxchamps who squeezed the BiDi-OpAmp design down via SMD to fit into a DB9 connector-- still beyond my ability to create at home.  Nevertheless, for a few bucks and a bit of sweat and persistence these guys enabled you to download your data.  This was a great alternative, in contrast to the several hundred ScubaPro/Uwatec charged/es for its bulky, overengineered and now antiquated MemoMouse.  While the folks at Uwatec have at this point moved on to InfraRed (why not straight to BlueTooth, which doesn't have the line of sight positioning limitation?) for their newest "Smart" devices, they basically have sold out on all their existing Aladin line customers, still providing no simple, cheap solution to download data, nor change the 3 settings via upload that you can't change on the device's UI (psi/bar, ppO2, buzzer on/off ).  I suppose they know the online community exists for the geeks that really care about downloading data to their PC anyway... so all's good in the end i suppose.

When worlds collide... Pfranc.com meets the online Aladin dive community (June '05)

So fast forward close to ten years from my original purple connector cable build experience courtesy of Larry, and my first Aladin download-only OpAmp interface buildout courtest of Matthias... and I'm living in Hong Kong.

And out and about on the streets of HK, there are some computer shops here and there where you can find various USB dongles (with detailed SMD internals) for ~ US$10-$15.  I'm talking some pretty impressive stuff, like this Audio adapter or BT adapter all crammed into a tiny, colorful finished package.  So i started reaching out to these companies to see if any would be interested in manufacturing small quantities of the SMD bidi-OpAmp integrated into an existing USB->DB9 serial converters... eg. using the existing proven Windows driver as if it were a serial device... but removing the DB9, adding in the small circuit, and terminating it in the two wires for connectivity to the dive computer.  All, of course in a nice, small, sealed, finished package...

And so among others with a proven driver, I (re)approached Larry at Pfranc.com and we got to talking about part# USB_G4... Aladin, meet Pfranc... Pfranc, allow me to introduce you to Aladin.  Here's what Larry told me...

<in process-- stay tuned>

'88 Mazda RX7 diagnostic code test harness

though no longer an owner, after having my trusty, clean 2nd generation RX7 stolen & gutted like a fish in early '05, that had been with me since '89... i did ~2000 build one of these onboard diagnostic code test devices, which worked as advertised... these guys know their stuff.

'88 Mazda RX7 wiper switch revitalizations

similarly, on a couple occasions during the time i owned that car, i needed to revamp the wiper switches... replacements are quite expensive (even at the junk yards) and the repairs are generally quite straight forward if you have a little time and a willingness to tinker.

Motorboat rewiring

during the week of 5/25/02 i rewired the rats nest of decaying wires in my 21' '79 Wellcraft Sunhatch (powered by '82 Evinrude 235), and made this diagram of the wiring buses.

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