The Palm Multi-Connector (also Athena Connector) is a power, audio and data interface connector designed by

Palm, Inc. Palm, Inc. was an American company that specialized in manufacturing personal digital assistants (PDAs) and various other electronics. They were the designer of the PalmPilot, the first PDA successfully marketed worldwide, as well as the Treo 60 ...

Use

The connector is used by:

LifeDrive The LifeDrive is a Palm OS-based handheld personal digital assistant device that was produced by PalmOne, a former incarnation of Palm, Inc. The device was PalmOne's first and only foray into the "Mobile Manager" device category. As its name sugge ...

Tungsten Tungsten, or wolfram, is a chemical element with the symbol W and atomic number 74. Tungsten is a rare metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively as compounds with other elements. It was identified as a new element in 1781 and first isolat ...

E2,

T5,

Treo 650 The Palm Treo 650 is a Palm OS-based smartphone, the successor to Palm's Treo 600. It began shipping in November 2004, and was discontinued in 2008. Specifications Carriers The following GSM and CDMA2000 mobile phone operators currently or p ...

Treo 680 The Palm Treo 680 is a combination hybrid PDA/cellphone, or smartphone as the successor to the company's Treo 650. It was the first-ever Palm OS Treo with no external antenna. The Treo 680 is older, larger, and heavier than the Palm Centro. But ...

Treo 700p The Palm Treo 700p was a cell phone with advanced capabilities, commonly referred to as a smartphone. Unlike the slightly earlier Treo 700w, this model is based on Palm OS. This is the first Palm OS-based Treo model to feature high-speed cellul ...

, Treo 750,

Treo 755p The Treo 755p is a smartphone developed by Palm, Inc. It was released on May 15, 2007 as the first CDMA Treo without an aerial antenna. This Treo has a form factor similar to that of the GSM Treo 680, and is equipped with the full Palm OS. It ...

Palm TX The Palm TX (written as "Palm T, X" in official documentation) was a personal digital assistant which was produced by Palm, Inc. It was announced and released as part of Palm's October 2005 product cycle, and was in production until March 2009. ...

Palm Centro The Palm Centro is a smartphone marketed by Palm, Inc. beginning its release on October 14, 2007 offering the functionality of the larger Treo 755p in a smaller size. The Centro is one of the last devices to run the Palm OS operating system. The ...

Changes

has changed the connectors it uses over time: * some early models used model-specific connectors or

Palm Serial The Palm Serial were 3 successive proprietary 10-pin Serial connectors on the bottom of the first 3 series of models of PDAs from Palm, Inc. to provide serial communications: 1) pre-IrDA models; 2) the 1st IrDA models; 3) the 1st thin, metal-body ...

. * some models connected via

Palm Universal Connector The Universal Connector was a standard port fitted to the bottom of many Palm PDA's from 2001 to 2004 and on units from other manufacturers that licensed Palm technology, including Garmin. Out of the box, it is used to connect to the sync and char ...

(Older Standard for Palm Handhelds, circa 2001-2004) * some machines used a standard Mini

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad v ...

(Some Low-Budget Handhelds) * some machines used a Multi-Connector (Newer standard for palmOne and Palm Handhelds) The Connector can be used to charge the device, transfer data to a computer,

HotSync Palm OS (also known as Garnet OS) was a mobile operating system initially developed by Palm, Inc., for personal digital assistants (PDAs) in 1996. Palm OS was designed for ease of use with a touchscreen-based graphical user interface. It is provi ...

, and play audio. It is the new standard to replace the previous

, which performed similar functions but did not have an audio output capability. This port has also been used to connect to a
external microphone
or t
GPS units

Specification

The connector is divided in two sections: the longer one has thirteen pins numbered from right to left (5 to 17); the shorter one has three pins, on the left (3), top (2) and right (1). The cable shield connectors (4,18) are located on each side of the thirteen pins. {, class="wikitable" , - ! Pin # on device/Multiconnector ! Pin # on charger/adapter connector ! Pin# on data/cable connector ! Name ! Direction with respect to the device ! Default state with no attachment ! Function , - , 1 , 1 , , VDOCK , Power , CHRG_IN , DC charging voltage, 5 V , - , 2 , 2 , , ADAPTER_ID , Input , VCC, weak pull-up , Adapter identification , - , 3 , 3 , , VDOCK_RTN , Power , GND , DC charging return , - , 4 , , 1 , SHIELD , Shield , GND , Cable shield , - , 5 , , 2 , VBUS , Power , VBUS_IN , USB charging voltage, 5 V typical, 500 mA max , - , 6 , , 3 , USB_DP , Input/Output , Floating , USB Data + , - , 7 , , 4 , USB_DN , Input/Output , Floating , USB Data - , - , 8 , , 5 , DGND , Power , GND , Digital ground, and VBUS return , - , 9 , , 6 , Reserved , NA , NA , Do not connect , - , 10 , , 7 , TXD , Input/output , VCC, weak pull-up , Transmit data, 3.3 V logic level , - , 11 , , 8 , RXD , Input , VCC, weak pull-up , Receive data, 3.3 V logic level , - , 12 , , 9 , HOTSYNC , Input , VCC, weak pull-up , HotSync input, active low, pulled up on device , - , 13 , , 10 , POWER_OUT , Output , High impedance , Power output to external devices , - , 14 , , 11 , SPKR_L , Analog output , AC coupled , Speaker output left , - , 15 , , 12 , SPKR_R , Analog output , AC coupled , Speaker output right , - , 16 , , 13 , AGND , Power , GND , Analog ground , - , 17 , , 14 , MIC_IN , Analog input , DC coupled , Microphone input , - , 18 , , 15 , SHIELD , Shield , GND , Cable shield Pins 10 and 11 have TTL levels and cannot be directly connected to the

RS-232 In telecommunications, RS-232 or Recommended Standard 232 is a standard originally introduced in 1960 for serial communication transmission of data. It formally defines signals connecting between a ''DTE'' (''data terminal equipment'') such a ...

port.

Opinion

The Multi-Connector has received criticism from users who were familiar with previous connectors such as the Universal Connector. Users have been frustrated with the requirement to replace their Universal Connector cables, cradles, keyboards, sleds, and attachments as they have become incompatible. Another criticism is that the connector is fiddly, harder to remove and feels fragile. All that is needed to charge the Treo is to connect +5 V to VDOCK and 0 V (negative) to VDOCK_RTN.

External links

Palm Developer Guide, Palm OS Platform.
Look at section 14 for Multi-connector pinout
Palm Multi connector pinout

Palm Developer Network
Palm OS devices