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

Palm, Inc.

Palm, Inc., was a smartphone manufacturer headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, that was responsible for products such as the Pre and Pixi as well as the Treo and Centro smartphones. Previous product lines include the PalmPilot, Palm III, Palm V, Palm VII, Zire and Tungsten. While their older...

Use

The connector is used by: LifeDrive

LifeDrive

The LifeDrive was 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...

, Tungsten

Tungsten Handheld

The Tungsten series was Palm, Inc.'s line of business-class Palm OS-based PDAs. With the purchase of the Palm name from PalmSource, Palm has dropped the Tungsten name from its newer offerings. , only the Tungsten E2 continues to use the Tungsten name...

 E2, Tungsten

Tungsten Handheld

The Tungsten series was Palm, Inc.'s line of business-class Palm OS-based PDAs. With the purchase of the Palm name from PalmSource, Palm has dropped the Tungsten name from its newer offerings. , only the Tungsten E2 continues to use the Tungsten name...

 T5, Treo 650

Treo 650

The Palm Treo 650 is a Palm OS based smartphone that was officially announced on October 24, 2004 as the successor to Palm's Treo 600. It began shipping in November 2004, but has since been discontinued...

, Treo

Treo

The Palm Treo is a line of smartphones originally developed by Handspring, which was bought by Palm, Inc. They are now manufactured and maintained by Palm, Inc. Treos have a number of integrated features such as the ability to check the calendar while talking on the phone, dial directly from a...

 680, Treo

Treo

The Palm Treo is a line of smartphones originally developed by Handspring, which was bought by Palm, Inc. They are now manufactured and maintained by Palm, Inc. Treos have a number of integrated features such as the ability to check the calendar while talking on the phone, dial directly from a...

 700p, Treo 750

Treo 750

The Palm Treo 750 is a GSM/UMTS smartphone released on January 8, 2007.-Features:*Communications**UMTS tri band: UMTS 850, UMTS 1900, UMTS 2100, HSDPA **GSM / GPRS / EDGE quad band: GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900-Carriers:...

, Palm TX, Palm Centro

Palm Centro

The Palm Centro smartphone has been marketed by Palm, Inc. since its release on October 14, 2007 — offering the functionality of the larger Treo 755p in a smaller size....

.

Changes

Palm, Inc.

Palm, Inc.

Palm, Inc., was a smartphone manufacturer headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, that was responsible for products such as the Pre and Pixi as well as the Treo and Centro smartphones. Previous product lines include the PalmPilot, Palm III, Palm V, Palm VII, Zire and Tungsten. While their older...

 has changed the connectors it uses over time:

• some machines connect via Palm Universal Connector
  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....
  
   (Old Standard for Palm Handhelds)
• some machines use a standard Mini USB (Some Low-Budget Handhelds)
• some machines use a Multi-Connector (New Standard for PalmOne and Palm Handhelds)

The Connector can be used to charge the device, transfer data to a computer, HotSync, and play audio. It is the new standard to replace the previous Palm Universal Connector

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....

, which performed similar functions but did not have an audio output capability.

This port has also been used to connect to an external microphone or to 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.

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 RS232 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 update 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