Warthog Manuals In Kindle Format? (MOBI)

[HitchHikingFlatlander]

Is it possible to convert the warthog manuals into the MOBI format. Or better yet has anyone successfully converted them into that and would like to share? I have the Kindle app on my iPhone and thought it would be useful to have the manual close at hand. Apparently the kindle is supposed to support PDFs but the iphone app DOES NOT let you. I've loaded the files into it but they don't show up.

 

I then tried a converter called "Calibre" and while it has worked before the output of this conversion was pretty horrible. No chapter links and some of the conversion left a lot to be desired.

 

So has anyone converted these files over and if so would you be willing to share them?

 

Thanks

HHF

[Wichid]

Yeah the Iphone can read the PDF easily. Get iBook for free or just email it to yourself. I use this for files I like to keep at hand: https://www.dropbox.com and read PDFs from it.

 

It's free and has a iphone, ipad app as well as syncing files between all your PCs.

[HitchHikingFlatlander]

How well does it work in re-sizing documents for iPhone viewing though? A great deal of PDF readers I've tried only allow for zooming in or out and/or require a lot of side scrolling. The thing I like about the Kindle app is that everything fits on the screen with no side scrolling. And to add its still legible, I'd rather flip the page every two seconds than get lost scrolling side to side and back. Lastly space on the iPhone is precious so if I can avoid adding another app (regardless of size) all the better. Thanks for the advice Wichid.

[blaster454]

Probably not a help in your case, but the Kindle DX does a bang-up job with PDF files. I have a ton of stuff loaded in and so far it has displayed everything perfectly, including tables and diagrams...and no converting: just transfer the PDF files to the doc folder on the Kindle.

[Wichid]

It views it the same as a web page in that you can pinch and zoom and scroll etc.

 

I think the problem with ePub type formats is they are really just designed for plain text (AFAIK) so you'd need a PDF for the flight manual with it's formating and layout.

 

Here's the flight manual screenshot from my iphone:

photo by __Wichid__, on Flickr

[HitchHikingFlatlander]

Actually thats not bad I'll give it a try, thanks Wichid. In the meantime if anyone was able to convert it to the Kindles native .MOBI format let me know how it worked out for you.

[Wichid]

Which Iphone do you have? 3, 3GS or 4? the 4 has a nicer screen but you can read them on all.

[HitchHikingFlatlander]

I have a 3GS and the screen is fine for reading that's not the issue. Its more presentation that is leading me to seek out a Kindle formatted copy. On iPhone the kindle resizes the file according to screen size while maintaining a legible format with NO side scrolling required. I just tried the Dropbox solution you suggested but its no different than any other PDF viewer I've used which requires you to side scroll the document left to right to read text at a readable size. I really appreciate the help though Wichid

 

That said I'm back to figuring out a kindle solution. I need to find a decent converter online to change the PDF format into a .MOBI file.

[Ragtop]

I use it as a PDF in iBooks, and it's very comfortable. I have a 3GS and while I think the 4 would be a better experience, the 3GS is still very usable. At the end of the day why not just try it? The app is free and it'll take you 2 minutes to sync it over and have a go.

[VMFA117_Poko]

I have pdf with DCS manual on my iPhone 3G already (it's done with free iBook application and iTunes IIRC) but it works kinda slowly. I got Adobe Acrobat Pro at work which can easily optimise weight of file by compresing photos, changing their resolution, resizing, cleaning, etc. I'll try to resize it on monday and post the file here I won't forget.

[Wichid]

The iPhone 3G is quite a bit slower than the 3GS.

[HitchHikingFlatlander]

Thank you for all the suggestions, I really appreciate them.

[Fleshpiston]

Is it possible to convert the warthog manuals into the MOBI format. Or better yet has anyone successfully converted them into that and would like to share? I have the Kindle app on my iPhone and thought it would be useful to have the manual close at hand. Apparently the kindle is supposed to support PDFs but the iphone app DOES NOT let you. I've loaded the files into it but they don't show up.

 

I then tried a converter called "Calibre" and while it has worked before the output of this conversion was pretty horrible. No chapter links and some of the conversion left a lot to be desired.

 

So has anyone converted these files over and if so would you be willing to share them?

 

Thanks

HHF

As mentioned here and in the other thread you can copy the PDF directly over to the Kindle and view it. Works quite well. As I have said in the other thread it would be nice to have a dedicated version but this does a good job of it.

 

Pictures are displayed in greyscale but the quality is quite good.

[HitchHikingFlatlander]

To a kindle reader (actual device) yes but you must not have read the post you quoted. I'm using the IOS Kindle app for iPhone and the PDFs don't work, actually they don't even show up in the document list. That's why I'm trying to convert the PDF into .MOBI format (that native Kindle format).

 

I could always boot up my laptop and set it next to the pit but having the manual on my phone is much more manageable and energy efficient.

[Fleshpiston]

Ahhhh ..... so you are using the Kindle app on the i(insert thing here).

 

I don't own any of those "i"things so I couldn't tell you but surely reading a PDF on one of those would be better than converting it to Kindle format for no reason? I had no idea iphones couldn't read PDF's...... another reason for me not to get one. Anyhoo get a Kindle that I would recommend. BTW I think I have nailed the conversion and have it down to 31mb (much smaller than the original but still good quality) but its still too big to post here (snigger).

Edited September 27, 2011 by Fleshpiston

[HitchHikingFlatlander]

Yes sorry I could have been a little better with the thread title in explaining that........ :doh:

 

Didn't mean to sound like an @ss in my last post either.....

 

There are plenty of PDF readers for iphone but like I mention they all require a lot of zooming and side scrolling due to the small screen, my Ipad money was spent on the Warthog HOTAS. I'll give your conversion a try and let you know. Thanks for the effort, BTW which conversion tool did you use?

[Wichid]

Having the iPad up for reference is quite handy. I usually have dcswiki open so I can search for frequencies or something if my CICU gets blown up.

[HitchHikingFlatlander]

^What a hacker! LOL

 

Fleshpiston - I tried your converted file and its not bad. The only issue is that each page is seen as a an image within the Kindle reader. With images in the Kindle app you have to touch them to zoom in and out and then close the image out to move onto the next page. That said it's still similar to the PDF conversion I tried or using a PDF viewer on the phone. I'm going to look into what kind of software is needed to edit and create a .MOBI format doc for Kindle and then possibly make my own guides for the topics I'm most interested in.

 

Additionally I'll keep trying PDF to .MOBI conversion programs but I imagine they all work the same way more or less.

 

Thanks everyone for keeping up the help, ideas and suggestions!

[Fleshpiston]

^What a hacker! LOL

 

Fleshpiston - I tried your converted file and its not bad. The only issue is that each page is seen as a an image within the Kindle reader. With images in the Kindle app you have to touch them to zoom in and out and then close the image out to move onto the next page. That said it's still similar to the PDF conversion I tried or using a PDF viewer on the phone. I'm going to look into what kind of software is needed to edit and create a .MOBI format doc for Kindle and then possibly make my own guides for the topics I'm most interested in.

 

Additionally I'll keep trying PDF to .MOBI conversion programs but I imagine they all work the same way more or less.

 

Thanks everyone for keeping up the help, ideas and suggestions!

 

See the problem is that PDF -> anything will normally cause the format to go mental. I have many of the conversion packages and I use Adobe Pro.

 

To output the files needed to create a conversion and keep the original format I so far can only reliably do this with Adobe outputting to jpegs then recreating the PDF with them. Then using that file (pdf) to convert to .prc / .mobi

either of which can be used as a Kindle format. That is why they display as a flat image and not text base. I have tried interlacing the text with the images but they go nuts and it shifts the whole text block off to the moon.

 

I could always rebuild the whole thing but that would take quite a bit of time when the original is ready to go. It is worth remembering that the manual as is, is not a final version. Saying that it is serving as good practise to do this for the very end result.

[cichlidfan]

Which is precisely why I said that it was a bit of work. Unless you go back to the Word document and retag it correctly for migration to the kindle, you are not going to get it work correctly.

 

Besides, the new Kindle will probably be able to read the PDF anyway!:D

[Fleshpiston]

Which is precisely why I said that it was a bit of work. Unless you go back to the Word document and retag it correctly for migration to the kindle, you are not going to get it work correctly.

 

Besides, the new Kindle will probably be able to read the PDF anyway!:D

Kindles can read pdf not a problem. But when you use the Kindle app that's when issues occur. (Kindle app enables iphones ipads PC's and othe non-kindle devices to be able to read Kindle formats).

[HitchHikingFlatlander]

^Yes exactly. You're both right though I always assumed it was a Acrobat created file not a Word document so that would explain why the conversion tools screw up in areas.