What GPS Receiver & Software?

jodrell · Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 8:50 pm Post subject: What GPS Receiver & Software?

I am new to GPS and have purchased an IPAQ 3850 from Ebay to get me going. I have scanned the market for GPS receivers and have settled on one that I can walk around with, such as the Navman 3450 or the HP Ipaq Navigation System v2. I would like to know if anyone has experience of these and whether they are best of their type. I would also like some feedback on software, particularly if the TomTom navigator 3 software can be used with either or both of the above receivers. I would like to use the POI feature from pocket gps which I know is compatible with Navigator 2 (possibly 3 as well?) and with the SmartST Pro on the Navman unit, but not with the HP as far as I know. Any useful feedback or guidance would be aprreciated. 8O

lbendlin · Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 9:33 pm Post subject:

The jackets are kind of OK but they have a number of drawbacks.

- no own battery - they are sucking power from the iPAQ
- inferior sensitivity - newer receivers have better antennas
- need to point upwards for best reception - may not be optimal for walking, but is definitely a hindrance in the car.

The good thing is you can always connect an external antenna, but that one needs additional juice...

From a software point of view you are ok, the POIs will continue to work in TT3. (this is generally not dependent on the hardware you select. Only Navman has this nasty habit of locking their software to their hardware - on reason for me to stay away from them)

The problem is that the software you mentioned is for street navigation, not for walking around (unless you walk only in cities).

So go back and think about what you really want to achieve...
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Lutz

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jodrell · Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2004 8:34 pm Post subject:

Thanks Lutz, thats really useful information, I will certainly rethink my options. Are you saying that if I go with Navman I can't change the software to TomTom 3, thats is really poor. My primary reason for GPS is for driving, however I can see a real benefit in walking in cities as I have a bad habit of travelling in the opposite direct to where I want to go. Does the jacket type drain power at a serious rate to make it impratical and are the wired receivers such as the TomTom significantly better in terms of sensitivity and performance.

Thanks for the response and congratulations to the Team on a fine site!

Jodi

lbendlin · Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2004 11:15 pm Post subject:

Since you own the 3850, you don't have many options for outdoors... Maybe a double CF jacket with extra battery, or indeed a serial receiver with it's own battery pack (for example one of these digital camera battery extenders). Or a Bluetooth jacket and a Bluetooth reciever...

In car navigation is not a problem - the serial receivers will work just fine (and yes, they are now more sensitive than the jackets). But for off road the 3850 is not exactly the best PDA...
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Lutz

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