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Kindle or
iPad from the links below.
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Amazon.com
Q. How do I get the PDFPlates on to my Kindle DX?
A. Download the files from our website on to your PC. Attach the Kindle to the
USB port, and open up explorer. The Kindle should appear as a drive on your
system. Drag and drop the PDFPlate files into the "documents" folder. Disconnect
the Kindle and you will see the files in the menu.
Q. How do I find my (airport, approach, etc) using the Kindle DX?
A. Unfortunately, the navigation within a document is one area that is lacking
in the Kindle DX. This version of the firmware does not support the table of
contents that we generate for each file (these are available on all other
platforms, however). We include an index of airports on the first page of each
PDF document. Find the airport of interest in the index and use the Kindle's 'go
to page' feature to jump to the first page of the airport. Then, you may use the
'next page' and 'prev page' buttons to navigate within the document.
Q. Is there a way to have my own bookmark within the document?
A. Yes, the Kindle DX has a feature which allows you to 'dog ear' a page, and
create a user defined bookmark. This allows rapid navigation to any page of the
document. There is no limit to the number of user defined bookmarks you may add.
We recommend you do this for the approaches you expect to use, so that they are
easily accessible.
Q. Is there a way to turn off the screen saver?
A. There is no built in setting that disables this feature. However, several
resourceful programmers have developed ways around this.
This link has instructions to change the
screen saver image to the last viewed page. You can also
implement this hack that allows you to change
the timeout setting to 60 minutes.
Many users have implemented both of these items with excellent results. However, it is up to each user to decide to modify the
stock configuration of the Kindle DX. PDFPlates makes no warranty on either of
these alterations.
Q. Is there a way to stop the auto-rotate feature?
A. Yes. Press the 'Aa' key. You will be presented with a menu
that allows you to lock on a landscape or portrait orientation.
Q. How does the display look in sunlight?
A. The eInk display used in the DX actually looks better in sunlight than in
indirect light. The contrast is excellent, and glare is not an issue. Note that
there is no backlight, so at night you may need a flashlight to read the
display.
Q. How long do the batteries last?
A. It depends. If you disable the Kindle's 3G wireless modem, battery life can
be measured in weeks. The display only uses power when the screen changes.
However, much shorter times will be realized when the modem is left on.
Q. Is this legal?
A. Please read the
advisory circular linked here to see what the FAA has to
say. There are no copyrights on the NACO publications. PDFPlates simply compiles
and combines individual approach plates into a single document.
Q. Do I still need to print out copies of plates?
A. It is up to each user to decide what works best for them. Our intended usage
of PDFPlates is for the user to print out hard copies of at least the
destination and alternate airports for the planned flight.