Connecting the Mobile In

I have been having an issue connecting my Mobile In reliably to my iPad.  The software I use works best when the iPad is in the landscape orientation and the Mobile In just doesn't like to stay connected - especially with the guitar cable plugged in.  I purchased a 30-pin male to 30-pin female cable so that I can plug that cable in to the iPad (the cable is 3 feet long) and let my Mobile In connect to the female end while laying on the table.  The problem is that the iPad doesnt' see the Mobile In if I do that.  It doesn't work with any other kind of adapter (I have the 30-pin to HDMI cable that also has a 30-pin female connector) either.  I was wondering how others deal with this.  I like the tones I get from the Mobile In but it's not reliable enough the way that it is.