DIY PDA Holder

by Ken Ng

 

 






The Procedure

Here's the deal. Imagine the shape of the metal sheet. Bend a little of both ends (Step one). Now, the bent area will be covering the front of the PDA at the end of the procedure. So, don't bend off too much because you don't want half your PDA to be covered up now, do you? :D


Step one                                                   Step two                                              Step three   

Next, bend off a little more off both ends (Step two). This should be just a little more than the thickness of your PDA. Remember to leave a little space for you to attach place some soft material over the metal sheet so that your PDA will be protected from any scratches. After this, use your PDA (temporarily wrapped with the soft material) to gauge how much more of the metal sheet should be bent to fit it perfectly.

Then go on to step three. There is usually a hole right in the middle of the metal sheet. So, make sure the area around it is flat so that you'll be able to screw the PDA holder to another metal sheet. Besides being easy to make without any measurements and being flexible and adjustable, this design also serves a very special purpose - it allows the head of the screw to be tucked in, away from where the PDA will be.

Once it is shaped to your satisfaction, you can then cover the inner part of the holder with some soft material to protect your PDA from scratches. I used some soft foamy packaging material that came with my computer table. But you can use any other suitable materials. BTW, I used some double-sided tape to hold down the packaging material.

So, now you've got the first part of the PDA holder finished. Let's move on to the second part. Shaping the second part is relatively easy. Shape another metal sheet into an L shape (Step four). Next, leave some area of the bent area free so that you can attach the first part. Now you will need to bend the sheet several times more, depending on how you want to install the PDA holder in your car. For my PDA holder, I bent the metal sheet as shown in the picture below (Step five).

         
   Step four                                                       Step five       

After this, you should wrap a little bit of some soft material on the second part. Again, I used some double-sided tape to hold the material down. Finally, screw both parts together with a nut and a bolt and voila, you now have a PDA holder!


PDA Holder in console

     

     

Installing The Holder

Now, all you have to do is insert the PDA holder into the space allocated for it and adjust it so that it fits snugly and won't move during your car's motions. You can also screw the holder down. As I mentioned earlier, the installation of your PDA holder depends on your car.

 

  
 

 

  
     
   

 

  
   

 
     
 

                   

 
   

 

  
 
Last Updated 10-06-2001

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