What do you keep on your PDA?

Hi all,

I'm thinking about upgrading my Palm V to a Tungsten T and started searching the forums for comments - this being one of the best resources for information that I have come across.

I see recommendations for PDAs as EDC information repositories, but would really like to see what you PDA users have on your machines!

So, what sites do you routinely grab? Which programs are indispensible for your EDC?

Andy

I used to be a palm user but switched over to PocketPC becasue of work. So here is what I have on my device:

MobileEMS - basic software for EMTs out there
PepidEMS - advanced software for EMTs amd Paramedics
Drug Reference Library
HAZMAT Reference Library
Word and Excel
Adobe Acrobat PDF reader
Maps of my area in pdf and jpg format
Games (Snails, Worms and RiverRaid)
On my memory card I have some MP3s and backup of my device.
Plus of course: notes, contacts, etc etc

I use my PDA non stop. I have couple of charges (car and home). Hope that helps.

Matt

My PDA is walking library of first aid, preparedness, and survival knowledge. On it I have:
Detailed maps of the quad-county area from "Mapopolis".
"Biochem 1.6" a program to identify and treat all sorts of chemical and biological threats.
"Torch" which allows me to use the PDA screen backlight as a very weak flashlight.
"COMPASS" which automates the old "wristwatch-sun " finding north trick.
iSilo documents (reader program) covering first aid, KI dosages for nuclear incident, riot gas treatments, five articles on guns/self-defense/gun facts, assorted docs on water finding (urban and rural) and treatment, disaster kits, map-compass use, pet safety, making moonshine, US-Army survival manual FM 21-76, and a list of useful shortwave radio frequencies. I also have assorted contect information for neighbors, friends, family (mine and in-laws), and co-workers.

I use "Print-Boy" and "IR-Pad" to beam and print documents straight from the PDA directly to any IR equipped printer. An occasional trip through CompUSA to test printers gives me my paper back-ups. <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Then there's the usual personal information such as car makes, models, license plates and VIN numbers in case they are stolen. Blood types and any prescriptions of all family members. Insurance data, vet info, and assorted emergency phone numbers. Our area is prone to flooding so I have a checklist of what needs to be moved upstairs, who is responsible for taking it there, and where exactly it is supposed to go upstairs.

I have backups of all this data, both dead-tree and digital. It's a pretty extensive library, but other than the maps it doesn't use up that much memory on my Handspring Visor.

-Blast

I would be interested in know the links to the "Compass" program as well and where you found the first aid docs, water docs, map-compass use etc... I have microsoft's e-reader that i use for e-books.

Andy,

I hope P-L comes up on the net and yaks about this... anyway, I carried an M-500 (loved it) and now use a T. See, I got hooked on the small size with the M-500... but I still fret about the T with the slider and lack of a simple flip-cover like the M-500. Probably needless concern... Now Palm has three new Tungsten models - the E, the T2, and the T3. And the Zaire 71 (?sp?) is no slouch, either. If the E was a bit smaller, it would tempt me - but it apparently does not have the universal connector, if that matters.

One of my initial concerns with the T was battery life, but that has NOT been an issue. I do keep the 12v lighter/USB charger kit in my daily briefcase just in case, and if I had a reason to need to, I would build an alternative means of recharging it. My data is synched daily with both work and home computers and weekly or so on my personal laptop, so it's fairly redundant. Sensitive stuff is encrypted, of course, although I haven't settled on any single encryption method yet.

I carry my Palm on weekend and longer outings and both the M-500 and (so far) the T are doing great, but I live in a pretty benign climate - midwest USA. This is the most compact way to carry instantly useable information so far, and the Li-ion battery beats the pants off using AA batteries (OK; there's an older Palm model in my past... I don't talk about that).

Drop an SD card in the slot and (try to) load it up - if nothing else, the T comes with Data-Viz software, so you can pretty much put anything you want in the T. You will be flabbergasted at the amount of info you can carry now that your have gigantic instant memory expansion (vice the Palm V) Better to have more info than less, eh?

Regards,

Tom

I have a program that shows twilight and the direction of the sun. When You point the line to the sun, the IR module points north. It´s available here: Palm Globe
BTW: It does not automate the old watch trick. It does a little more math, so it´s a little more accurate.

I have a Palm Vx and a Psion 5mx Pro. The Palm is EDC. I have a stop watch, a timer, Palm Globe , a dictionaire, Fugawi and route calculators for cities and for european countries on it. The map programs work together with my GPS. I also have a calculator, a unit converte, a scetch program (Scratch Pad)r and morse code generator and various reference files.
The PDA ha s to hold my notes (mostly check lists and shopping lists)
My document reader is the Teal doc reader. I´m experimenting with Mobibook tools. They allow you to create your own documents from a set of HTML documents.
I rate all of the programs as handy but not indispensible. I usually look on Palm´s website to look for new programs and documents.
I´m about to install Linux on my Psion. So it´ll be easier to write programs for it.

Qrtermoon,

You can get the compass program from www.palmgear.com by searching for "Compass". The direct link is http://palmgear.com/index.cfm?fuseaction...mp;prodID=42877

I made most of the other documents using iSilo. This is actually two programs. The main part is the reader program which resides on your Palm. The other program sits on your computer and allows you to turn .txt, .html, and other assorted documents into the iSilo format. This converter is available for both Mac and PC computers. I think this is the second-most used program I run on either my Mac or Palm! Along with all my preparedness files I have a ton of books downloaded from http://www.memoware.com/ They are great way to pass the time when I'm stuck in line somewhere.

-Blast

I think that Psion devices are (were) the best in the world. Too bad they are not so popular here in the US and I broke about 5 of them in my lifetime.


Matt

The Psions aren´t very popular around here either. Those devices require rather deep pockets. I really like the option of booting from the CF card and the use of exchangeable batteries.

I used to work for the store (98/99) that was an authorized Psion reseller and we were under the impression (made by reps) that entire Europe is run by Psion. And yes you are right... being able to change batteries (which lasted long time anyway) is a good thing.

Matt

I knew it was too good to be true... Palm Globe does not exactly work correctly on my Tungsten T. To be specific, the menus do not work - pulls down and then nothing - I have to hit a function button to break out of Palm Globe. Probably something in OS 5.2.1 that causes the old program to freeze up. If anyone figures out how to fix Palm Globe for newer version OS Palms, please let us know.

Tom

I sold my psion 5 - I found it was too big for an EDC and psion deciding to pull out of the PDA market was the last straw!

I miss the user interface, superior in almost all respects to palmos, but the display was poor compared to my palm V.

A colour psion with some sort of pen interface would have been a world beater.

Andy

Thanks for all of the info so far, I was kinda hoping for URLs to interesting information to be isiloed/pluckered/avantgoed!

Andy

Any software you need for palm can be found here. You can download free trail versions and than upgrade/purchase to full ones.

www.palmgear.com
www.palmblvd.com
www.pdarcade.com

Matt

Andy,

wasn't psion 7 a color version?

Matt

I had a palm Vx, M505 and am now currently on a Sony Clie TG-50.

I must say the Clie is superior to the palms I had in the past. (Don't know about the newer models though).
I keep in it:
1. Medical Drug Reference
2. Medical Text reference (Clinical Medical Consult in Isilo)
3. Database files - some patient's records
4. Chest X-ray/ ECG references in Isilo format
5. USAF Survival Manual in Isilo format
6. Various medical calculators
7. Loan calculator
8. Lots of jpg photos of my family
9. MP3s for when i'm bored
10. Electronic NIV bible

Memory is boosted via a 128M memory stick!

Sorry about that... I don't have any "gee-whiz" applications on mine that I can think of. In fact, I have fewer 3rd party applications on my Tungsten T than I did on my M500. What I do have is a lot of important personal information on/for me and family members, as well as a bunch of accrued information on other folks (mostly contact info, but also notes on specific areas of expertise/interest).

Here's a partial list:

Vehicle info from VIN to license plate to mechanical particulars for us and most of my sibs and parents.
SSANs, Driver's licenses, etc for all members of the family
Various insurance information + telephone numbers
Combinations to safes and pertinent manufacturer info - things like that (NOTE: the only jewels I have are my wife and our kids, LoL)
Electronic NIV Bible and KJV
various books, including Survival FM, fiction, classics, etc.
Tons of notes on many topics
...and so on.

One of the powerful things about keeping info this way is SEARCH

I'm tinkering with scans of some key documents - haven't decided how to make that a useful thing YET

So I guess it's all the info on it that is important to me, not any particular application. I'm mulling over what is the most versitile format and am drifting towards Adobe for what I hope are obvious reasons - I keep a lot of stuff in Office formats right now, but will an alien PC host have Documents to Go? Probably not...

I'm hoping to read about what nifty things others are stowing on their PDAs - looking for good ideas.

I see limited use for "how-to" info that I already know cold because I can't imagine realistic scenarios where someone ELSE might need to know that info - the emphasis in "PDA" is the "P" as far as I can see. Now, if my WIFE starts packing a PDA... I've got some ideas of info I'd like to park on hers - not too much, but some additional things that would be especially useful to her.

Regards,

Tom

I agree with Tom. The search capabilities on a PDA are awesome. You never have to remember what format your stored information was authored; memo, data, reader, etc.

I have way too much info stored on mine (Palm V). I synch it with memo folders from Sidekick, the PIM I’ve used for about 10 years. And I still have info and contacts from 10 years ago, which is why I’m reluctant to switch to Palm Desktop even though Sidekick is no longer sold or supported. Some examples of memos I have include personal info (car data, meds, allergys, voting districts, children’s’ school data, etc.), scouting info, songs, skits & recipes, tropical fish notes, equipped to survive info on gear, kits & techniques; and much more.

Using Avent Go I’ve synch up several web sites, mostly scouting such as Meritbadge.com. This lets me have all of the requirements for all of the ranks and badges handy at meetings.

Using HanDbase I have several databases. Several I use for tracking advancement for scout merit badges. I have one on camps that lets me track al sorts of info, including a link to a S.A.M.E database for weather radio settings. Another to track medical record and contact info for scouts. This let me carry emergency info on all of the scouts with me no matter where I was in camp. I also have a fish auction (yes, there are such things) to track auction items I want to bid on. It links to master species list for killifish, the type of fish I keep. Unfortunately, I’m usually too busy working at the auctions to have actually put this app to test! Lastly, in my previous employment, I synched up several critical reference tables on a SQL database. This let my carry valuable reference info and values no matter where I was in the building, even if I had difficulties logging into the server.

Quick Office lets me synch Word and Excel documents between the Palm and PC. I do retain several reference documents, but usually export such documents to memo format as it takes less memory. The advantage is that I can draft documents on the PDA without having to boot up my laptop and it’s easier to carry around, even with the separate folding keyboard. And the batteries last longer. Although it’s awkward to compose using Quick Sheet the small screen form factor makes it difficult to build a large or complex spreadsheet. So I have a few reference sheets such as a train schedule, troop calendar and survival kit contents (reformatted from ETS pages). The calendar is a file I received from another leader so it’s easier to synch it to my Palm instead of reformatting it into another application.

I also have Mirror and Planetarium loaded. Mirror is so-so in usefulness, but very small in size so I keep it. Planetarium is a VERY cool Palm app. It also doubles as a compass by selecting the Sun and aligning its icon and center point with the sun. You can also use this technique with moon or any visible planet or star (or comet or asteroid, etc.)

Lastly, I have Hackmaster and a bunch of Hacks: Invert Hack, MenuHack, AppHack, Phonelookup Hack, Launch Em Hack, Select Time Hack, Pop Up Names, GlowHack, Dayligh Savings Hack, Drag&Drop, and AfterBurner Hack. Note on Afterburner, which increased the systems clock speed, it affects serial communications, such as beaming and my keyboard. So I have to remember to toggle it on and off all the time. But it does improve performance for my larger databases, such as the S.A.M.E. codes. Also, there was a search hack I tried and liked once that I my look for again and buy.

I’m getting a Blackberry as part of my company issue equipment. I have no experience with it so it’ll be interesting for me to see how it compares. Depending upon that experience, I’m considering upgrading my palm for more memory, expansion slots and a color screen. And then I’d likely add a mapping app and GPS. The grey scale screen makes maps less than optimal.

Willie,

Do you (or anyone else) know if Planetarium works OK with OS 5.2.1 devices? I couldn't tell from their website... that app is on my round-to-it list.

If you switch to a newer model that uses some form of removable RAM (SD/MMC, Memory Stick, or CF), you're gonna lose your mind for a while - the amount of info that is possible is insane. And the newer PDAs are screamers for speed compared to the older ones - good thing.

I didn't migrate the Hackmaster stuff over, but I think I will move Jackflash and TealMover over.

Hadn't thought about importing MeritBadge.Com - great idea.

OT Scouting question - do you guys have a Campmaster Corps up and running? If so, what's your take on it?

Regards,

Tom

>>Campmaster Corps

Never heard of it. Post some more info about it in the Campfire Forum.

I just installed Planetarium. What a great program! Very robust!

Planetarium v 2.2 works fine with OS 5.2.1 - I use it on my T3. In fact, it looks better than ever!

http://www.aho.ch/pilotplanets/

Awesome program! Thanks to both of you for the info...

T3, eh? Very cool PDA!

Regards,

Tom