REVIEW COMMENTS:Fortuna U2

[Dave]

Mike has completed his review of the Fortuna U2 GPS Mouse. The base of the receiver is magnetic, to stop the mouse escaping when taking sharp corners. The receiver also comes with SBAS (WAAS/EGNOS) for additional positional accuracy and a variety of cable connections are available.

The full review is available at
http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/fortuna-u2-gps.php

[gpssparky]

I got the PS/2 version for Christmas to use with My Sony CLie TG50 and Mapsonic. I don't know much about TTFF etc but it worked first time with no set up required and always shows 6-7 satellites in and around Coventry. I find it hard to fault. :D
_________________
Everywhere and nowhere

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Tomtom Go 540 Live - That's it.

[alfaman]

I'll second that,

after having used my GARMIN e-MAP GPS on and off for a few years,
it's useless in the car due to screen legibilty... I was amazed at how
quickly it gives location, fine tuned within a few seconds.

for the price it's brilliant (UKP 92 for the GPS and the power/charger
cable for my Jornada from expansys).

[DeeJay]

Can anyone explain a little about how a U2 GPS 'mouse' is powered? I am particularly
interested in how this would apply to the RS232-serial version of the
device. (This variant is not covered in the review.)

The review says "There is an onboard battery which is charged whilst
powered which maintains the receivers internal GPS clock and memory."

What is the nature of the onboard battery? Is it a 'standard' exchangeable
AA or AAA 'pencell', or a 'photolitho' coin-cell? Or is it something
custom that is hardwired into the device?

How is power supplied to the device for charging? I can see
that in the PS/2 and USB variants power can be carried from the 'host'
PC or PDA. But how is this accomplished in the RS232-serial version?

Basically - is it feasible to consider the U2 RS232 serial device for
'standalone' use with an RS232-serial-connected Palm PDA, or will the
inability to charge the onboard battery be a showstopper?

Thanks for your time

[gpssparky]

As far as I can tell the battery is not replaceable. The scant instructions do not mention replacing it. I think it's only there to store data whilst the unit is unpowered and will not be up to the job of running it.

I have the PS/2 version and it cannot be run standalone from my Sony Clie, it has to be connected to power via a Y cable. I guess it would run direct from my Laptop though.

As for serial, maybe they stick some power down some spare pins.
_________________
Everywhere and nowhere

-----------
Tomtom Go 540 Live - That's it.

[DavidW]

Most GPS mice used in serial mode also have a 6 pin PS/2 connector on the cable, which you have to connect to a keyboard or mouse port somewhere to get power.

I don't think there's any "self powered" GPS mice. The battery is just a tiny one for data backup - not to power the GPS hardware in operational mode.



David

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