Velcro Alternatives?

sniglet999 asks: "I've got a PDA and a Nokia cellphone that can connect to the net. However the IR port on the phone is on the side, and the port on the PDA is on the top. This means I've got to hold the two together, line of site for the connection to work (with increasingly cramping hands, I might add). The idea of mounting velcro to a notepad, so that you could stick the PDA and the phone in the proper position sounds good, but I don't want velcro and it's associated adhesive attached permanently to either expensive device. 3M has some cool hooks that adhere to the wall with a pull strip. Pull the strip and the hook is removed, leaving no residue on the wall. Is there something like this on a velcro backing? Is there another solution? (Short of making and attaching a light pipe. The whole objective behind all of this was to carry less)!" These aren't the "cool hooks" the submittor had in mind, but might these serve as a way of mitigating the problem (since they are self mating, they don't suffer the major problems of velcro). Does anyone else have alternatives to velcro which they use and prefer?

Hooks/holster and gravity...

[yabHuj]

You could build a board equipped with hooks or partial holsters where you just slip phone and PDA into. You either use generously spaced (=open) hooks so you have to hold the board a bit upright to keep the stuff from falling out, or you could use a few straps (velcroed or buttoned down) to secure the gadgets from falling out of the holsters.

Two words

[F.O.Dobbs]

Duct tape.

F.O.Dobbs

Duct Tape.

[Lux]

When things don't stick that should, duct tape.
When things stick that shouldn't, WD-40.

Anyone who tells you differently probably eats quiche.

IR redirector cable

[erpbridge]

I've heard of IR redirector cables. Usually made for a Home Entertainment Center, when you have appliances hidden away in a cabinet, or for some other reason out of line of sight, they have an IR pickup on one end, and an emitter on the other. Not exactly what you need, and I have a feeling the minimum length is 6 foot. But, you may be able to find better. I can't think of any web sites off the top of my head who have the redirector, but I saw a post about it in the TiVo AVSforum. Or, to paraphrase Neo: We need Duct Tape. Lots of Duct Tape.

[e-mail] aint my address.

"Command Adhesive"

[pete-classic]

is available seperately. I belive that the idea is to re-use the hooks, but the possiblities are endless.

Attach your velcro to the adhesive strips, then pull the tab for a clean get away.

It should be in the same cardboard display-thingie as the hooks themselves.

Good luck.

-Peter


"There is no number '1.'"

Wonderbra

[acacia]

You need a wonderbra. Keep other geeks away, though, or you'll have to remove sticky residue.

Dotting i's and crossing t's

[unitron]

You need to hold these 2 devices in a T-shaped relationship to each other, right? PDA as upright, phone as crossbar?

Do you want to pull both out of your coat and use them together in places where you don't have a table or even a clipboard to support them? I assume that you hold the PDA in one hand and push the buttons on it with the other when using it alone. Try holding the phone in your hand and laying the PDA on your wrist and forearm, securing it with one of those musician's cable straps that have velcro on each end. Or put a flat hook on the back of the PDA and slip it under your watch band.

If you have to have the PDA in your hand and the phone hanging out in space, Velcro wouldn't support the phone's weight anyway. For that scheme you need to disassemble a coat hanger and construct a cradle for both devices that holds them in that "T" relationship. You'll need to hold the bottom of the cradle to the PDA the whole time to cause it to support the phone hanging out there in thin air, but eventually you'll be able to figure out stuff like hinges that let you fold the cradle up for storage but only let it open flat instead of folding the other way. Then you can start a company to manufacture them and get filthy rich :-)

If you need a drawing of what I'm talking about, e-mail me your meatspace postal address.

Goobegone

[The Mayor]

Use goobegone, or something like that, to remove the adhesive. The stuff is amazing. A little of it on a cotton swab will remove any adhesive, no matter how old. This would allow you to use the velcro.

I feel your pain.

[Kris_J]

I have a Nokia 8810 and a TRGpro, thus I have exactly the same problem as you describe. There is no solution using IR. You need to find a cable-based solution (not an option for the 8810, unfortunately) or wait for Bluetooth, again needin new hardware. I recently purchased an Ericsson T28 for just this reason and currently have my name down for the first Bluetooth headset that arrives at the place I bought my phones (already on backorder). Then I just need a BT solution for my TRGpro. When will socketcom [socketcom.com] produce their CF BT card already?

--

Just ...

[funkman]

Use some glue and magnets.

Velcro....

[Chanc_Gorkon]

Sorry! I can't think of ANYTHING that would be better. One thing I can tell you is that they have this stuff they advertised on TV ...man I can't remember what it's called, but it has a littl eblack plastic scraper built into the bottle and a dropper. Put a couple drops of that stuff on the velcro and scrape with the scraper. After you get the majority of the stuff off, put a littl emore solution and scrap it off. Then, take a soft cloth and wipe it down with a appropriate cleaner. Good as new. I used this same stuff to take a glass mount antenna off of a leased car and it came off and the leasing company was non the wiser! Oh and this stuff was seen on TV too, so you might know what I mean!

Wire...

[chrysrobyn]

There used to be this product on the marked called 'wire'. I don't think it was trademarked. Anyway, they used 'wire' to make 'cables' (many wires packaged as one). If your product had the ability to plug in a 'wire' or even a 'cable', it didn't matter what orientation your phone or PDA had.

It's easiest to think of it as ethernet but much slower.

I've heard that you can still get some vintage PDAs and cell phones that accept the technology. The downside is that these 'cables' are one more thing to carry. The upside is the always on characteristic that they have.

Tried Goo Gone?

[CritterNYC]

Using Velcro (with its adhesive backing) would be fine if it weren't for the residue and stuff, right? Well, try getting it off with Goo Gone [magicamerican.com]. It does a great job of getting adhesives off. It does warn that it "may dull some plastics", so try it on an inconspicuous place first (like the inside of the battery cover, but please don't squirt any inside).

Re:Velcro....

[TVmelissa]

Forget buying some special liquid, butane (lighter fluid) is great at dissolving adhesives, and it only costs a couple of bucks for a bottle that'll last thousands of cleanings. I use it all the time to get price tags off objects. Just pour a little bit on a cloth and wipe the surface. In the case of de-sticking Velcro(tm), I'd try dribbling a bit directly over one edge, while holding the object vertically, trying to get it to soak downwards into the joint, and then slip a finger nail under it, adding more fluid as necessary. Just make sure it's dry before you light a match ;), and, like any solvent, try it in an inconspicuous spot first to make sure it doesn't attack the plastic.

Re:Duct Tape.

[unitron]

Use the WD-40 to remove the duct tape or Velcro adhesive residue.

You might be able to remove the Velcro adhesive residue with those alcohol impregnated pop-up wipes that computer stores sell at ridiculously high prices. If not, wet the wipe with de-natured alcohol or WD-40.

Rubber Bands?

[Royster]

I already use a rubber band to keep the antenna from breaking off of my cell modem. A card board backing cut to the shape of the units and a few rubber bands should keep everything in place without glue.

Reflector?

[SEWilco]

You could redirect the beam with a reflector or an IR repeater. One possible use would be to bounce the beam from the top of the PDA toward the side, with the phone next to the PDA.

This configuration can be more portable by fastening it on a board, such as Velcro loops to hold the two devices -- and the Velcro fastened to the board (or passed through slots on the board). There are small clipboards which may be useful.

Also note that by using a reflector, the phone can be mounted in a vertical position and held in place with a belt clip or cradle.

For the reflector, I suggest polished copper. Copper is a very good IR reflector. You can get copper sheets at hobby and craft shops -- although it's easy to test with a shiny copper coin just to see if it works. Copper should be coated with a sealer to protect it from oxidation, unless you find that an old penny works for you.