MountGuys Blog

May 21, 2013

The AMPS Mounting Pattern

Filed under: Other Mounts & Accessories — Tags: , , — mountguys @ 11:33 am

The mounting industry does not have an official standard but the AMPS pattern might be as close as you can get.  The AMPS pattern is a series of four holes aligned in a rectangular pattern.  Some manufacturers use two of the four holes while maintaining the AMPS pattern spacing dimensions.  Manufacturers that have mounts that align to AMPS are RAM, Arkon and Pro-clip.  There are many others as well.

The AMPS pattern consists of four holes located in a rectangular pattern spaced 1.188″ by 1.813 inches.  Some manufacturers also have 2-hole adapters that support the diagonal measurement of 1.912 inches.  The AMPS pattern is fairly well known in the HAM Radio industry where many head plates use that 4-hole pattern.  Another common AMPS compliant area is satellite radio.  Almost all of the recently introduced radio cradles have the 4-hole AMPS pattern on the back.

Certain manufacturers like RAM have made almost all of their custom cradles AMPS compliant and use a series of AMPS adapters to attach it to their ball and socket mounts.

The AMPS mounting pattern

The AMPS mounting pattern

AMPS Camera Attachment

AMPS Camera Attachment

 

The back of a Sirius cradle with Arkon's AP012 adapter

The back of a Sirius cradle with Arkon’s AP012 adapter

RAM's RAM-B-347U AMPS adapter with 1" Ball

RAM’s RAM-B-347U AMPS adapter with 1″ Ball

 

October 10, 2012

Car and Motorcycle Mounts for the Apple iPhone 5 Part I

Filed under: Other Mounts & Accessories — Tags: , — mountguys @ 4:04 pm

The Apple iPhone 5 is one of the most advanced smartphones to ever hit the market.  Although the Apple maps leave something to be desired, there are still plenty of reasons you would want to use your iPhone 5 in your car.  Nothing beats using Pandora on the go and there are lots of other apps that can be used as a GPS instead of the maps used by Apple (although we’re sure Apple will fix them soon).

Our pals at Arkon have expanded their spring loaded line to fit the larger iPhone 5.  These mounts will also fit your iPhone 5 with a case or skin.

Why are we calling this blog post Part I?  All the large manufacturers are scrambling to make custom cradles.  As soon as they are out, look forward to Part 2 of this post!

Powered Lighter Mount for iPhone 5

Powered Lighter Mount for iPhone 5

Car Cup Holder Mount for iPhone 5

Car Cup Holder Mount for iPhone 5

No Glue Dash Mount for iPhone 5

No Glue Dash Mount for iPhone 5

Car Seat Bolt Mount for iPhone 5

Car Seat Bolt Mount for iPhone 5

Suction Cup Travel Mount for iPhone 5

Suction Cup Travel Mount for iPhone 5

Weatherproof Motorcycle Mount for iPhone 5

Weatherproof Motorcycle Mount for iPhone 5

October 9, 2012

Car and Motorcycle Mounts for the Samsung Galaxy S III

Filed under: Other Mounts & Accessories — Tags: , — mountguys @ 11:21 am

The Samsung Galaxy S III is a large phone and mounting options are not terribly plentiful.  The dimensions of the phone often exceed the dimensions of universal mounting solutions.  Fortunately we have uncovered some excellent solutions from our buddies at Arkon that grasp your phone from the top and bottom.  All ports and buttons are exposed and accessible.

We especially like the powered lighter mount which enables you to power your device using the integrated micro USB cable.

As always, we show some pictures and provide links.

Powered Lighter Mount for Samsung Galaxy S III

Powered Lighter Mount for Samsung Galaxy S III

Car Cup Holder Mount for Samsung Galaxy S III

Car Cup Holder Mount for Samsung Galaxy S III

Car Seat Bolt Mount for Samsung Galaxy S III

Car Seat Bolt Mount for Samsung Galaxy S III

No Glue Dash Console Mount for Samsung Galaxy S III

No Glue Dash Console Mount for Samsung Galaxy S III

Suction Cup Mount for Samsung Galaxy S III

Suction Cup Mount for Samsung Galaxy S III

Samsung Galaxy S III Bean Bag Mount

Samsung Galaxy S III Bean Bag Mount

November 24, 2010

Using your Samsung Galaxy Tab or Apple iPad on an Airplane

Filed under: Other Mounts & Accessories — Tags: , , , , — mountguys @ 10:48 am

Sitting in cattle class?  Don’t like the movie they are showing (or don’t want to shell out $5 for the movie)?  Use your iPad or Tab!

Great idea.  The problem is after 15 minutes of holding the device your arm gets tired.  A stand would be nice.

Every time we think we have seen it all for the iPad and Tab, another new concept comes out.  We started our line with three different mounts.  Now we have over twenty.  This one is quite innovative in that it folds up to the size of a skinny stapler and then unfolds to hold your device.  This makes it very easy to carry and off the plane.

Try one.  They will make that long flight seem much shorter.

These will also work for the Blackberry Play Book.

This guy looks thoroughly entertained

This guy looks thoroughly entertained

Another view of the desktop stand

Another view of the desktop stand

October 4, 2010

Jogging and Biking with your Droid iPhone or Any Smartphone

Smartphones are rapidly taking the place of your favorite MP3 player.  They also are introducing many exercise apps.  It’s difficult running while holding your Droid or iPhone.  What to do?

Well if jogging, the best place to attach your Droid, iPhone or any smartphone is probably your arm.  As long as the fitting is snug around the device and your arm, you will be in excellent shape.

Like to bike?  Whether stationary or moving, there are several excellent options for your handlebar.  These fit handlebars on both motorcycles and bicycles.  They also fit stationary bikes.  Anything with a round bar to attach to up to an inch in diameter.

August 8, 2010

Motorola Droid and Other SmartPhone Charger Mounts

It’s a mount, no it’s a charger.  Actually it’s both.  Car lighters seem to be a logical place to double up as a mounting point.  Integrating a micro-USB cable into a mount isn’t as easy as you might think.  Don’t worry though, we figured it out!  These mounts make an excellent resting place and in some cars, it’s at an excellent viewing angle.  You will need roughly 5 inches of clearance from the lighter to the end of the cradle to use these.  The integrated mico-USB will charge your phone while mounted.  Another genius mount from the mount labs!

These work extremely well for the Motorola Droid, Droid X, Cliq.  Also for the HTC Droid Incredible, EVO, Aria.  The Samsung Galaxy S, Epic 4G, Fascinate, Vibrant, Captivate and Intercept will also work well with these mounts.

February 22, 2010

TomTom Ease and Start GPS Mounting Options

Filed under: GPS Mounts and Accessories — Tags: , , , , , — mountguys @ 10:12 am

With all the low priced options coming in from Asia, TomTom is trying to compete at the low end.  Recently announced models are aimed to the entry level market.  Lower priced without a lot of bells and whistles, these are easy to find at less than $100.  The Ease is sold in North America and the Start is sold in Europe and Australia.  You will find the Start Europe, Start UK, Start Australia and several deviations throughout the world.

The Ease and Start both use a deviation to TomTom’s Easyport mounting system.  There is a round attachment on the back and the mount fitting will snap in place around the GPS.

The mounting options for the Ease and Start are almost limitless.

August 31, 2009

XM and Sirius Satellite Radio Mounts

Filed under: Other Mounts & Accessories — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — mountguys @ 11:01 pm

Ever wonder how a company started that specializes in electronics mounts?  The first mount we ever sold was a seat bolt mount for a Delphi Skyfi XM Radio.  Tired of having our personal radio plop onto the floor because the sticky tape didn’t hold, we found a mount that attached to the back of the Skyfi cradle that also attached to the car seat bolt.  We were so impressed with ourselves, we put one on eBay.  That was a long time ago.  We now sell thousands of mounts every year for everything from XM radios to Garmin GPS units and even cold drinks!

Satellite Radio has come a long way since we sold our first mount.  There are millions of subscribers and some pretty cool music and personalities on XM and Sirius.  Remarkably though, the mounts are as bad today as they were many many years ago when our radio plopped onto the floor.

Today, there are a variety of mounting solutions available for your car, motorcycle, bike or boat.  All have one thing in common:  they need a car kit to attach to.  A lot of customers are hoping otherwise, but the car kit and accompanying cradle, antenna and power are needed to attach to any mount.  Most XM Radios have a slot on the back and the mounts have a T that fits into the groove.  Most Sirius Radios have a 4-hole mounting pattern on the back of the cradle (called an AMPS mounting pattern).  So you need to ensure that the mount that you purchase can accomodate the pattern on the back of the cradle.

The most popular mount for satellite radios remains the car seat bolt mount.  The attaches to the bolt on your seat bolt.  A lot of people ask us if our mount will fit their car model.  Our answer is always the same:  if the seat bolt is exposed these ought to fit fine.  But just in case the bolt isn’t exposed, we include hardware to attach it right to the floor.  These are the sturdiest mounts we sell for satellite radios.  It sits at the perfect height for you to switch stations and see the display.

The next most popular is the vent mount.  We sell a lot of these for GPS units too.  As long as your vent mounts are horizontal, these should fit fine.  We find they fit most cars except Pontiacs and some Lexus models which have either circular or vertical vents slats.  Satellite radios aren’t very heavy so don’t worry about damaging your vents.  And the temperature of the air coming our of your vents won’t damage your radio either.

All of our satellite radio mounts come with both XM and Sirius attachments to fit the vast majority of radio car kits.  And by the way, if you like that old style mount that sticks to your car dash, we have them too!

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