The Pilot Crafts Pages
Do-it-yourself add-ons for the 3Com PalmPilot
The Brass Cannon Modem Holster
Once I had owned the Pilot modem for a while, I decided I'd like to carry it
along with my Pilot -- but only some of the time. Here's my first try at
that... click the
thumbnail to see how it works. I'm rather proud
of the two-level flap idea, and the fact that it resembles the original
Star Trek tricorder is merely a bonus. :-)
It's a loose fit to accomodate the plastic
"Stetson" slide-on cover. For that reason it does not have any metal stiffening
built into the holster itself. It's a simplified wrap-around design, with
finger holes at the bottom to allow "popping" the Pilot out. With a bit
of practice I found I could do that while leaving the Stetson in the
holster. Putting it back is just a little trickier; half the time I'll
line it up and slide it home with a satisfying "click," but the other half
I find myself pulling out the Stetson and mating it with the Pilot, then
holstering the whole thing.
I was a bit paranoid about bumping the modem off of the Pilot and losing
it, hence the initial decision to go with a full flap. When
not carrying the modem, the flap reaches all the way down the front of the
case and is retained with a strap. With the modem attached, the flap tucks
into the top of the case. The whole rig is a bit more obtrusive than
my regular holster, but not impossibly so.
The margins where the leather meets are generous enough that the contact
cement holds without rivets or stitching. (This was the inspiration for
my slimmer Technocrat™
holster -- see below.) Note the pocket in the back
for a
self-storing cassette-sized phone cord. The result is a
self-contained Internet-enabled system in one compact, attractive package.
After a few business trips with this setup, I decided that the flap-over
design was overkill, and the Stetson is a pain in the butt -- if I
got in the habit of taking the Pilot out of the holster and leaving the
holster behind, I might feel different, but the holster can and should
make the Stetson redundant. I just don't carry my Pilot in a suit pocket,
period. And I quickly got tired of fumbling to reholster the Pilot after
passing through airport security. The flap-over design simply requires
two hands, so I prefer an open-top design.
I made another, similar holster that follows the same "wrap-around"
design as the flap-over model but has the open top and metal lining of
the original. It's somewhat easier to construct since the only rivet
is the one that secures the belt clip, and there's no wet-molding involved.
The front reaches high enough to protect the joint where the modem attaches.
The Pilot goes in "head-first" and I squeeze the modem's clips for luck
when I draw it out. With the modem removed, I can just about reach the
Pilot. If I'm travelling without the modem, I drop a couple of spare AAA's
into the bottom of the holster. That positions the Pilot at about the same
height as in my regular holster.
I also experimented with using thin "lining leather" instead of the Presto
felt. Some people say that felt can collect grit over time, whereas
smooth leather easily wipes clean. It's a tossup as to which is better,
in my opinion.
As you may have gathered, this page dates back to my PalmPilot
Professional days. The wedge shape of the IIIx doesn't lend itself so
well to being carried "head down," so the Palm modem now stays in my
attache case with my Vaio. The retractable phone cord is still nice,
since it can be used with the Pilot modem or the Vaio's built-in modem.
As of late 2001, I'm carrying a Handera 330, same form as the Palm
III, in a plain "Series III" holster very similar to Mel's original
design. The only difference is that the flip cover has made the
brass sheet screen protector redundant.
The Technocrat™
The wraparound design of the Modem Holster led me to experiment with
heavier leather which would not easily make molded corners. I came up with
a design where the back plate is built up separately (including optional
pockets for credit cards or Compact Flash-sized accessories), and is
mated with a wraparound front. The front meets the back plate at the
bottom and both sides; the original Technocrat was riveted at the bottom,
which then swung upward and was finished at the top with a pair of
aluminum screw posts. A glued-in liner completes the holster by covering
the heads of the posts. The screw posts can be loosened and retightened
to allow for adjustments in fit, and give a more consistently reliable
result than rivets -- I now use them in place of rivets in all my designs.
2007 - my, how times change. The Pilot modem is long gone, now that the T|X
has built-in WiFi. Oddly enough, the T|X still fits perfectly in the original
Technocrat holster, which is still going strong after six years. The only
downside of using screw posts is that they do loosen over time and need
to be checked and retightened. Rivets, properly set, are permanent.
Back to the PilotCrafts holster page
thumbnail to see how it works. I'm rather proud
of the two-level flap idea, and the fact that it resembles the original
Star Trek tricorder is merely a bonus. :-)
It's a loose fit to accomodate the plastic
"Stetson" slide-on cover. For that reason it does not have any metal stiffening
built into the holster itself. It's a simplified wrap-around design, with
finger holes at the bottom to allow "popping" the Pilot out. With a bit
of practice I found I could do that while leaving the Stetson in the
holster. Putting it back is just a little trickier; half the time I'll
line it up and slide it home with a satisfying "click," but the other half
I find myself pulling out the Stetson and mating it with the Pilot, then
holstering the whole thing.