I'm using my iPad on the dash as a VMSpc monitor. Works great. Just one problem. After a few hours traveling into the sun on very hot days the iPad overheats and shuts down. I just need some kind of sun block to protect it. Has anyone come up with a nifty solution that I can knock off? Thanks.
jor
Jor,
How about a RAM mount? Several types with a one inch or one and a quarter ball. Super quality. Don't vibrate. Mount above out of the sun and adjust to where you want it. Pads/tablets are only good for so many shutdown cycles. I had a Garmin GLO GPS do the same. There were forum posts about leaving it in the sun but I forgot.
Pierce
How about a piece of cardboard behind it? Very expensive fix but if it works!!!
JohnH
Jor: You can get shades for anything; phones, ipads, notes on ebay //cheap. attach to back// I have a couple for my samsung tab and note phone.
Pierce: I'm using a similar mount. I've tried it in several locations but prefer this one.
John: See "nifty" in post.
Dan: I'm thinking this is the sought after solution.
Of couse, I could just avoid driving east in the AM. Thanks to all.
jor
I threw a white towel bundled up behind mine. I have the excellent ram mount base and post and use a life lock cover for my iPad Air.
@Jor,
Haven't tried this myself but will be using my iPad to do something similar soon.
I had trouble with my iPhone and found that if when I insert it into the mount I leave an air gap behind it. This allows some convection cooling and it hasn't done a thermal shutdown since. The iPad is much bigger so not sure if an air gap will be enough.
The redneck solution would be a piece of cardboard that you can prop over the top when it's in the sun. :) Maybe a small battery powered fan that can be placed behind it?? Maybe even if you run the defrosters it would help but would be annoying!
Good luck. Let us know if you find a solution.
Don't want to hijack this thread but how do you charge your iPad going down the road. I've tried to use mine instead of my iPhone for GPS but the 12v 2.1amp usb converter I'm using doesn't put out enough to keep it charged. It gradually runs down and I have to turn off the screen for it to charge.
see ya
ken
Several years ago I had a VMSpc and used a small windows laptop as a monitor. To protect it and shade it so that I could read the data in the bright sun, I found a good cardboard box, trimmed it, secured the "hinges" for the side and top shades with black duct tape and fastened it to the top of the laptop and with velcro. The whole affair folded up with the laptop for storage. I painted mine black but in retrospect white would have been more efficient. Basically it consisted of the flap secured to the lid of the computer plus three folding shades for top and each side, you might want more coverage.
Please advise at to where that is stated as a valid Apple problem. Thanks
Ken,
I have found that even with 2.1 amps, not all charging cords are equal. Some are spec specific in the current they carry. Had a couple aftermarket get hot at the connector.
How old/what model iPad do you have?
Suggest the free "Storm" app. Shows wind direction on the ground as well as selectable jet stream directions. Very cool and great for figuring headwinds and approaching storms for awning protection. Great demo at: Storm by Weather Underground | Weather Underground (http://www.wunderground.com/storm) Unfortunately, no Android app yet. The thousands of little wind arrows are mesmerizing.
Pierce
Sorry for the late reply.
Here is a site with photos of the inside of an iPhone after overheating. High temps from the sun and current demand from the internal GPS can make it like the photos in this site: Don't Get Burned! How to Prevent Your iPhone from Overheating « iOS Gadget Hacks (http://ios.wonderhowto.com/how-to/dont-get-burned-prevent-your-iphone-from-overheating-0141163/) As you can see on this site, the side bar has lots of overheating problems on other devices. A lot of photographers are using digital SLRs to make movies. In the movie mode, the camera really gets hot and if you have a black camera in the sun, the problem can be worse.
The company I sent mine to said this was a common problem for phones in the sun and gave me tips to avoid the problem in the future. $200 lesson.
Our Garmin GLO overheated and quit while turning onto a long 10 mile final into Kingman Airport in Arizona. Was nice clear weather so no problem but if had been bad... Read about the problem on a couple of forums but totally forgot. Don't put it up in the sun any longer.
Pierce
The latest apple charger is 12 watts. My iPad Air would also run down on the 10 watt charger over time.
The 20% more might do the trick but testing has not occurred
On long stretches with no info needed I do turn it off to help the charging
Plus I have a small garmin gps on a post setup that keeps a continious trip meter of our excursions
And now a inexpensive hp laptop for the silverleaf stuff as coach is too old for the software to run directly on the iPad.