JPI 700 cell phone serial data cable

[msh9]

To start with this is not an original idea, credit to @Deb for linking to a post on BeechTalk about another person, Mike Dodge, that wrote a little Android application for pulling data over the JPI serial connection. I'm just adding some additional notes to help with others using that post for their benefit.

I have a JPI 700 with fuel flow and a serial data connector in my plane. I have wanted to get data off of it and into Savvy Analysis for a little while now.  For various reasons I'm not a fan my 'easy' options,

• I objected to paying $200+ for the little USB box or sending the unit back in
• I also objected to ~$35 dollars for JPI's serial interface cable

Nothing against JPI here or other's taking the above approaches, I just found these prices high relative to their component costs, taking the unit out is too much hassle, and I wanted the convenience of using my cell phone for data capture.

I opted instead to build my own cable and use the app linked from the above post. For me, this means I can transfer data to my cell phone at the end of a flight. No laptops. No USB sticks. The major caveat here is that this is Android only until some enterprising individual writes an equivalent iOS app. Components are as follows,

• 5.5 mm OD x 2.5 mm ID Right Angled Power Cable
• YIOVVOM DB9 Breakout Connector to Wiring Terminal RS232 D-SUB Male Serial Adapters Port Breakout Board Solder-Free Module with case(Female Serial Adapter)
• TRENDnet USB to Serial 9-Pin Converter Cable, TU-S9, Connect a RS-232 Serial Device to a USB 2.0 Port, Supports Windows & Mac, Supports USB 1.1, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, 25 Inch Cable Length, Plug & Play
• USB C to USB Adapter, CableCreation 0.5 Feet USB-C to USB-A 3.0 Female Adapter OTG (on-The-go) Cable, Compatible with New MacBook (Pro), Dell XPS 13/15, Galaxy S20/S10/S9/S8 etc, Space Gray

 

I included the Amazon links, the links may break but hopefully they give an idea of what to search for in the future. Total cost at time of purchase was ~$36 including a serial to USB-C converter which needs to be purchased if using the original JPI cable with a modern laptop. Assembly consists of connecting two wires. JPI, perhaps envisioning that people would want to do this, helpfully provides the serial pin out assignment here under the FAQ heading "Black PC Interface cable pin assignments."

 

And finally the completed cable,

 

 

Using the app is fairly straightforward, basically install, hit the start button and then start the data dump from the JPI unit. I hope folks with these older JPI units find this helpful as another way of easily getting data off of them.