REVIEW COMMENTS: Emtac BlueTooth GPS

MikeB

Pat,

Getting the 3970 and the Emtac to work together is very easy so no worries there. The software available is basically Tom Tom Navigator, Co-Pilot or Destinator. I currently use Navigator, have not tried Co-Pilot with the Emtac (version locked to Co-Pilot hardware And you still need the CF Receiver so it defeats the object.

There are quite a few comments regarding the performance of the Navman hardware. If you but now and go for TomTom you will be eligable for a free upgrade to version 2 when it comes out next month.

The Emtac will not work with Autoroute 2002 as it only supports physical comm ports. If you currently have a BT dongle or PCMCIA card then you can see if Autoroute 2003 recognises the BT serial port (normally com 6 7 8 or one of the higher ports) if it does then it will work fine. I have used it with OziExplorer and Fugawi with no problems.
_________________
Mike Barrett

kingy

Thanks Mike, looks like i'll just keep on ignoring it for the minute then!!

Bluecan

Had Socket Version for a couple of weeks. With the unit placed on a ledge just under the front edge of the sunroof of my Citroen Picasso I get 10 satellites lock regularly. Using the 12v leads supplied I can ,if necessary, plug in and use the Ipaq 3970 and Socket Bluetooth GPS at the same time. To do this I have found that if I relocate it on the dashboard top using Velcro tape I can still get 5 to 7 satellites whilst on charge.

My one criticism so far is that the "paint" used to put the "Bluetooth GPS" on the unit goes gooey and rubs off.

I now have a "etooth GPS" unit.

Other than this I am highly delighted. Whats more its so easy to transfer across to my wife's car should it be necessary.

Alan Paul
_________________
Alan

Cessquill

Mine's always on charge on the parcel shelf via a socket in the boot.

Quick Question : I initially remember reading somewhere that the unit would go into sleep mode when not connected to a bluetooth device, thus saving charge. Is this no longer the case? It would be handy, as the socket is ignition switched, so it's charging down overnight, and I'd much rather it was always ready for action.

Hmm. Maybe I'll have to stop being so lazy.
_________________
What's going on? Where am I?

Jon1

You mentioned in your review that you had more than one application recieving GPS signals through different ports - would that mean you could have the TrafCam software and a navigation package running at the same time using two GPS signals from the same bluetooth reciever?

I have neither PDA or GPS hardware, and would like a navigation solution - I am interested in going dowm the bluetooth path but am not sure if this is the best way forward. If you have any suggestions for someone starting from scratch I would be very grateful -

Thanks

MikeB

Jon,

I did this in two ways, one deliberate and one accidental.

The deliberate method was for my laptop to be receiving the feed from the BT GPS and then passing that into an application like Fugawi or OxiExplorer. These have features in them to enable NMEA out ie they repeat the incoming data on an output port. I simply used the BT dongle on the Laptop to send output data to the PDA. That solution allways worked fine.

The accidental way of using two applications with the BT GPS was literally by opening both the applications. For some reason the iPaq allowed two applications to connect to the GPS. However I am not convinced that this really works well, and have not really had any further time to investigate it. I believe that there was some data loss but without proper analytical tools cannot determine the exact issues.

In principle there is no reason why you cannot have both applications oopen the same port (as the BT ports are virtual) but I think that it is much more likely that this is an undocumented "feature" of the software.
_________________
Mike Barrett

ArthurFuxake

Just got one of these EMTACs and felt compelled to drop you all a note about the sensitivity of this thing !

With my Navman 3400 in my Landrover Discovery, I used to get 4 sats max. With the Navman and a Re-Rad this went up to 7 sats on a regular basis.

Having just driven 6 miles to pick up the EMTAC from my local supplier, I couldn't wait to try it out, so I turned it on there and then and prepared to drive home.

To my amazement, I almost instantly got 11 sats !!!

Hmmm... That's too good to be true I thought, so I unplugged my re-rad. It stayed at 11 sats. I then proceeded to drive the 6 miles home. It stayed at 11 sats for about 70% of the journey and never dropped below 9 sats. I then repeated the journey with the EMTAC chucked inside the centre console armrest... 9 sats most of the time and never less than 7.

Now call me old-fashoned, but this thing's performance in both sensitivity and TTFF compared to the Navman is like a Ferrari compared to a bicycle... Navman will need to get their act together in their future hardware products, as the EMTAC kicks their ass !

Steve

PS. Anyone want to buy a used re-rad

MikeB

Steve,

I am glad you got your problems sorted. And even more glad that you experience the same level of performance that I do.

When I first got the review Emtac hardware and got those really fast TTFFs and the amazing number of sats fixed I was a little suspsious, after all I had never had more than 7 sats on the Navman and that only once, but I regularly had 10 sats fixed.

For some reason that has changed a bit now, but even at worst I always have 5+ fixed and no fear of driving under bridges. My driving style must have looked strange to people when in a traffic jam hanging back until the bridge was clear and then shooting under it as fast as possible.

The Emtac has changed the way I use GPS and I feel that I can rely on it in ways that could never happen with other receivers.
_________________
Mike Barrett

johndglynn

Emtac is certainly the way to go, quick fix from 7+ sats most of the time, indiscreet, can be bonded with IPAQ BT manager, so easy to set up - it's the only way to go. Without all those wires everywhere, driving is still relaxing as the dash is uncluttered and all the controls are unobstructed. It's worth every cent of the purchase price! Shame it doesn't come with a mounting bracket or two but you can't have everything - velcro tape is cheap enough from screwfix direct (TG).

RobMob · Regular Visitor Joined: 31/12/2002 09:37:48 Posts: 103

Mike

Thanks for respnse on this - I now understand most of what I was querying. One point I would like to calrify in point 3) - when you say set TTNAV2 to SiRF - do yoiu mean by changing from the Emtac Wireless driver to the SiRF Bluetooth driver - or is there another setting area I haven't come across yet?

Thanks

RobMob

Pat Boy Slim UK

Im after some advice ! I purchased a IPAQ 3970 and I am looking for a GPS solution for my car ! The EMTAC looks a very good answer but is it easy to setup with the IPAQ and what talking software is supported ? I was originally going to buy a Navman 3400 , any advantages/disadvantages between the two ? Has anyone used the EMTAC with MS Autoroute 2003 on a laptop ? All feedback welcome !

Pat.

nulusios

no thanx

TOO expensive

TOO dependent on power

(have to charge TWO devices? not me - even if I wanted to have two devices, I would prefer a -cheaper- garmin, that you forget to charge for weeks and bear with the cable)

_________________
NLS

jmathious

I WANT TO FIND THE GPS PROGRAMME WHICH SHOW IN YOUR EMTAC PREVIW

IN THE FOLLOW URL

PLEASE HELP ME FROM WHERE CAN I DOWNLOAD

THANK YOU
_________________
jmathious

Dave

This is the Status screen to TomTom Navigator.

Peter Kessler

Dave

The Emtac looks great, but I suspect the Fortuna GPSmart may be for me, as I also do long walks and could carry spare AAA batteries. I don't think you have a Fortuna forum yet, so could I ask here: do you know if the Fortuna also has a rubber backside? if not, how would one stop it sliding around in the car?

Thanks
_________________
Peter Kessler

	PocketGPS
	Web