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IANAP just googler but I guess the idea is that you don't buy a $1000-2500 unit like those from PS Engineering or Sarasota Avionics.
http://www.gulfcoastavionics.com/products/537-pcd-7100.aspx
http://www.ps-engineering.com/pav80.shtml
http://sarasotaavionics.com/category/entertainment/cd_mp3_dvd-players
http://sarasotaavionics.com/avionics/fdsdx6 (a $2800 unit that takes six 1GB sd cards, this is overkill but an example of what is out there.)

Anyway I cannot be of much help but you should get something that doesn't rely on a touchscreen, and also take care about the adapter cable.

There are a lot of sites selling adapter cables for helicopter intercom to mp3 players. But one had a comment that popped my ears up. This is about recording audio from the intercom, so maybe it is not related to your use case but thought I would mention it.
http://www.mypilotstore.com/mypilotstore/sep/3335

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Caused radio communication problems when in use

by william from newark CA USA

Cons: May not work for all camcorders!

Review: The problem was when I plugged the audio tap wire into a Contour HD video camera it cause so much interference with the radio transmission the control tower could not understand what I was saying. It also made my voice sound like it was in an echo chamber on my headset. Maybe the camcorder I was using was being over driven by the helicopters audio output (robbinson R22). Either way, it didn't work and I had to land and remove the cable from my system. Probably too late to return it.

Working in the medical device industry, I can tell you that making a medical device is HIDEOUSLY expensive.

The cost to produce a hearing aid (microphone, amplifier, audio tube, speaker, battery, silicone tip) is pretty tiny. If you were just producing this assembly you would probably be able to crank it out for less than $1000 with a fairly tidy profit margin - maybe as high as $500 (assuming you build them in quantity).

Now onto that cost add the FDA-Mandated record keeping (design history, a history of each device from manufacture to end-user distribution, including records of any time it came back for service/adjustment), performance testing, IEC/UL safety testing (to make sure it won't shock Mom's eardrum, or over-amplify and blow it out), IEC/UL electromagnetic compatibility testing (to make sure it won't cause Mom's pacemaker to go haywire), biocompatibility testing (what if someone is allergic to silicone?) and staff to oversee all of this, and all of a sudden your $1000 device winds up costing the consumer $3000, and you're still only making $500 in profit.
Hearing aids also aren't a growth market: There are only so many people who are hard of hearing and need the devices, and if they buy a good one and they'll keep it for years, so there's not a huge amount of recurring revenue for replacements, so now we need to make enough money off them to coast along until the next person needs to buy one.

Bottom line: Complying with regulations costs lots of money, and the cost of devices are inflated as a result.
Lest someone take this as an anti-government rant, it's not: The FDA regs do serve a purpose, though perhaps said purpose is not 100% appropriate for all classes of medical devices.

Also the FDA is not the only government agency that introduces a price-inflating regulatory burden. Consider these two identical aviation headsets:
http://www.mypilotstore.com/mypilotstore/sep/4680 (Non-TSO)
http://www.mypilotstore.com/MyPilotStore/sep/5284 (TSO)

The key difference between these headsets is a piece of paper. They are materially identical in all other respects.

Working in the medical device industry, I can tell you that making a medical device is HIDEOUSLY expensive.

The cost to produce a hearing aid (microphone, amplifier, audio tube, speaker, battery, silicone tip) is pretty tiny. If you were just producing this assembly you would probably be able to crank it out for less than $1000 with a fairly tidy profit margin - maybe as high as $500 (assuming you build them in quantity).

Now onto that cost add the FDA-Mandated record keeping (design history, a history of each device from manufacture to end-user distribution, including records of any time it came back for service/adjustment), performance testing, IEC/UL safety testing (to make sure it won't shock Mom's eardrum, or over-amplify and blow it out), IEC/UL electromagnetic compatibility testing (to make sure it won't cause Mom's pacemaker to go haywire), biocompatibility testing (what if someone is allergic to silicone?) and staff to oversee all of this, and all of a sudden your $1000 device winds up costing the consumer $3000, and you're still only making $500 in profit.
Hearing aids also aren't a growth market: There are only so many people who are hard of hearing and need the devices, and if they buy a good one and they'll keep it for years, so there's not a huge amount of recurring revenue for replacements, so now we need to make enough money off them to coast along until the next person needs to buy one.

Bottom line: Complying with regulations costs lots of money, and the cost of devices are inflated as a result.
Lest someone take this as an anti-government rant, it's not: The FDA regs do serve a purpose, though perhaps said purpose is not 100% appropriate for all classes of medical devices.

Also the FDA is not the only government agency that introduces a price-inflating regulatory burden. Consider these two identical aviation headsets:
http://www.mypilotstore.com/mypilotstore/sep/4680 (Non-TSO)
http://www.mypilotstore.com/MyPilotStore/sep/5284 (TSO)

The key difference between these headsets is a piece of paper. They are materially identical in all other respects.

Something like these will work: http://www.mypilotstore.com/mypilotstore/sep/3334 http://pilotproduct.com/products-page-2/?category=8 The first uses a 9V battery to power the headset, the second uses USB power. The USB solution will only work with computer audio, of course- but if you are using a VOIP app it would work just fine

I always preferred the Jeppesen CR-3. I found the wind side showed the components more clearly.

The E6-B that every pilot learns to use in ground school is basically a special-purpose circular slide rule.

One of many sources for flight bags.

Addition of a little fold up cart and some bungies and you'll be able to tote your toolbox as well.
I would guess you're using one of the boxes as a network sniffer. Otherwise, dual boot, running one OS on a remote system, or kexec would save a lot of toting.

If you go with the flight bag, a chunk of foam cut to fit the bottom and covered in a bit of cloth will limit shock when you drop the bag. You will drop the bag.

One poster commented that your job could be done from India. Perhaps a solution to 'the outsourcing problem' would be a trade agreement such that the country from which the work originates would be allowed the option of a work visa for anyone from that country who might prefer to move with a job provided he is willing to work at the same scale as workers in the country to which the job has been moved.
Some discussion and perspective on this will be interesting.