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Joined: Nov 12, 2003 Posts: 94 Location: Lancashire, England, Great Britain
Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 5:04 pm Post subject: Memory Map and Road Angel 7000 Adventurer
I've read some info about this on this forum, but is the RA 7000 Adventurer the only PND that is water(shower)proof and will run MM software? I have a pda (Ipaq2210/fortuna) running MM but is not feasable for outdoor use (not waterproof/screen not bright enough in sunny weather/limited battery life/seperate gps). What is the RA 7000 like to use with MM, is it ok? I believe as a street level navigator it is pants but thats not what I intend to use it for, also will the standard RA 7000 (non-Adventurer) run MM, does it need any software installing other than the MM maps, if so is the software availlable and I just add my existing maps? Lastly will it definitely only run MM v5 maps? Thanks.
Joined: Jan 14, 2005 Posts: 19638 Location: Blackpool , Lancs
Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 5:11 pm Post subject:
Brian, I tried using one of these devices earlier in the year and I have to say I was from impressed at its usability when out in the hills, you cannot even input a grid ref via a keyboard, just simple screen positioning is all that is provided. And as for the stupidly provided and stowed stylus, that will be lost after the first few miles, this device is one to avoid IMHO. If you hae used Memory Map on a PDA then you will be disapointed.
Get an otter box to waterproof the PDA or consider looking at the SatMap active 10 for walking, this is a very usable device when on the fells, it is a new device, but I have found it to be excellent out on the fells, check out the dedicated forum section for more information on this unit - Mike
Joined: Nov 12, 2003 Posts: 94 Location: Lancashire, England, Great Britain
Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 8:51 pm Post subject:
The SatMap Active 10 looks interesting, having read most of the posts it seems there is definitely an issue with claimed/actual battery life, PC route planning and loading gpx route files and the cost of the mapping.
Maybe a robust waterproof unit like a Active 10 combined with Memory Map software/OSmaps!!!
PS: What is the RA 7000 like running the Mem Map software .. what about it is different from a pda? _________________ Aprilia Tuono, Zumo 550
Ipaq 2210/Fortuna/TomTom Nav6
& Road Angel 7000 + Memory Map
Joined: Jan 14, 2005 Posts: 19638 Location: Blackpool , Lancs
Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 9:32 pm Post subject:
Brian wrote:
The SatMap Active 10 looks interesting, having read most of the posts it seems there is definitely an issue with claimed/actual battery life, PC route planning and loading gpx route files and the cost of the mapping.
The original battery life figures claimed by the manufacturers were indeed over the top, that said I have managed 14 Hours usage from a set of three AA cells, which is remarkable performance, the re-chargeable pack due out in a couple of months should extend this even further. There will also be the option to charge the device from a vehicle so if you are looking at off roading in a vehicle (which I suspect you are) this could be the answer to battery duration.
Route planning on the device is easy, although the PC route planning software will be an added bonus, we live in hope this will arrive sooner rather than later.
Brian wrote:
Maybe a robust waterproof unit like a Active 10 combined with Memory Map software/OSmaps!!!
Very much so, if you have purchased a set of Memory Map maps for the areas you require a second purchase to work with a new device is a bitter pill to swallow. County maps cost £29 for the 50K scale, the maps containing the higher definition 25K and 50K scale are considerably more costly at £99 for a given choice (note larger than county though - in most cases).
Brian wrote:
PS: What is the RA 7000 like running the Mem Map software .. what about it is different from a pda?
The largest problem I have experienced was the inability to input a grid / map reference, if you are following a trail and going off clues you really need the accuracy a keyboard entry can offer, sadly the 7000 only permits on screen positioning for a go to - it is very much a slimmed down version of Memory Map software running on the device. I also didn't feel the device would be strong enough to endure anything serious in the outdoors, it might be OK for in vehicle usage but walking, climbing etc it just felt to vulnerable - I would pitch my iPAQ-4700 and Otter box against it any day and know which would win, since I have purchased the active 10 the iPAQ tends to stay at home when out for walks and I use the active 10 instead - it is just so much better in the cold, and easier to use whilst out and about - bear in mind it is a dedicated device for this type of environment, the PDA is always a compromise as is a multi tasking PNA - Mike
I bought a RA 7000 earlier in the year for walking in the Lakes. The in car nav etc was a bonus, but I went for it because of the MM software and proper OS maps.
I've been relatively pleased with it, but wouldn't buy one again.
i) the battery life is absolutely terrible. You need to keep it on standby 95% of the time (i.e. backlight off) when in use, otherwise it will simply die within an hour or two. You cannot change batteries, they are built in, and therefore need to be charged up before every use.
ii) the user interface of the satnav is very second rate. The icons look like cheap clip art, and it takes some guess work to figure out what things do. That being said, once you get used to it, it easy enough to use.
iii) it's quirky. For example, the unit has to be switched on, but on standby to be charged. There are other quirky things as well.
iv) the touch screen is not suited for using OS maps outside. You can use a finger, which you may have to do because it will only be a matter of time before the stylus goes missing!
v) navigation (satnav not MM) is appalling. It works, to a fashion, but will seem to ignore your preferences, and take you bizarre ways on minor roads rather than major ones. It gets easily tripped up. Speed camera alerts are good though.
All in all, I couldn't recommend it. Battery life is a major issue, and the touch screen doesn't work well with the MM software; the refresh rate is crud. Availability of maps is a plus, as is the built in satnav, but I'm seriously considering getting shot of mine and getting an Active 10 and a TomTom.
Joined: Jan 14, 2005 Posts: 19638 Location: Blackpool , Lancs
Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2008 11:01 pm Post subject:
py6km Welcome to the forum - and can I say very well put, the RA is not a multi-purpose platform at all, in fact it is no good at on road or off road work, sure it will show you your position but it leaves a heck of a lot to be desired compared to other devices, to be honest I am surprised Memory Map even allowed a slimmed down application like this to be released as it does their software no credit at all - Mike
py6km Welcome to the forum - and can I say very well put, the RA is not a multi-purpose platform at all, in fact it is no good at on road or off road work, sure it will show you your position but it leaves a heck of a lot to be desired compared to other devices, to be honest I am surprised Memory Map even allowed a slimmed down application like this to be released as it does their software no credit at all - Mike
Thanks ! It seemed like a good compromise for me at the time, as the Garmin devices I was interested in (comparable in price) only use vector mapping which I didn't think would be suitable for fell walking where there may not be many or any features. However, I may have been better off with one of them to be honest, and at that time the SatMap wasn't available (and the price of the maps made me come out in a rash!).
On occasions, the RA has failed to get a fix in near perfect conditions, which is unforgivable for something marketed as it is. Once you're fixed, it works, but it is flakey. I think that as soon as I use an Active 10 I'll be sold as it looks the business. I hate the fact that I will need to get all the maps I want again though - ouch.
Joined: Nov 12, 2003 Posts: 94 Location: Lancashire, England, Great Britain
Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 7:51 pm Post subject:
Well I decided to get a RA off Ebay at a pretty reasonable price (less than a third the price of the Satmap), I don't think the version of memory map is slimmed down much at all, in fact the only difference I can see is the lack of an import/export option under the GPS menu .. but thats not to say you cannot import routes, you can. Create your route or track as normal in Memory Map on your PC, click PDA / EXPORT DATA TO PDA (or MOBILE / EXPORT DATA TO DEVICE .. depending on your version of MM) and all the routes appear in the RA. My RA gets a fix within seconds and will hold it indoors. The screen is brighter than my pda's (Ipaq 2210) and all my existing 25 Gb of Memory Maps (whole of UK) work with it. Operation wise it is absolutely no different from my pda version (apart from being waterproof!) and the screen scrolls by finger perfectly (did you have a turkey?). It works with a 2Gb card (replacing the 512mb that came with it), and not only that but it has a photo viewer, an mp3 player and apparently, 'cos it CE based, you can install CE Desktop and run TCPMP pda video player. Not sure about battery life .. I haven't had it that long but I can't see it being any worse than the pda and if necessary it might be possible to use one of these http://www.portablepowersupplies.co.uk/usbliionbatterypack.htm .
SatMap might be the more desirable gadget (it should be for the price!) but I've yet to see an independent review, the extended battery pack still isn't available (£45 and how good is it really!), there is still no PC software (will it ever arrive, and will it only be web based?).
I'm sorry guys but for me paying £500+ for a SatMap with just a couple of local maps, no PC software and no guarantees of better battery life, no better satellite reception than my £100+ unit I'm afraid it was no contest.
At the end of the day I bought it to navigate me offroad using OS maps .. I've tried it, it works and it did the job - end of!
Read what these guys say about it on their forum, it can't be that bad eh!
http://www.berkshirequadtrails.org/QuadForum/forumdisplay.php?f=7 _________________ Aprilia Tuono, Zumo 550
Ipaq 2210/Fortuna/TomTom Nav6
& Road Angel 7000 + Memory Map
Last edited by Brian on Mon Jan 07, 2008 11:28 pm; edited 1 time in total
Just got an RA7000 Navigator - apart from the fact you need to download the MM software, it's similar to the Adventurer (and £80 cheaper!). I did consider a Satmap, but didn't want to pay for yet another set of software.
Seems to work well in-car (it's my first car satnav) and the Memory Map software (which I have used before) looks good onscreen when walking.
Reasonably swift to acquire a signal in or out of car, but I can't yet comment on battery life
Downsides:
There's no chance of installing other software ( I also use Anquet and A-Z on my PDA)
It can't be rotated to portrait format, which is a shame as it's just a bit wide in landscape mode to handhold for any length of time.
Joined: Nov 12, 2003 Posts: 94 Location: Lancashire, England, Great Britain
Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 11:09 pm Post subject:
I've done some initial testing of the battery life, from a full charge and the backlight set to 60% (which is brighter than my Ipaq 2210 on maximum brightness) and the backlight permamently on, with a satellite fix it stayed on for 6 hours solid - very favourable and on par with a Satmap on rechargeable batteries ..
Robs1972..
Quote:
I did 95 miles on the road, around Dartmoor, with the screen on 70% all the time, no faffing with any powersaving, with a bit of scrolling around every now and then and I didn't turn it off at my sandwich stop so we are talking at least 7 hours from freshly charged 2500s
As for installing extra software, it should be possible, the RA 7000 is based on the Holux GPSmile 52 gps, with a few mods others have installed Route66 software etc, read this ..
.. I've not tried it myself as I'm also new to my RA 7000 .. I may install TCPMP video player soon.
On a further note on the RA-SatMap comparison, they both have 3.5 inch 320x240 pixel screens, both weight the same, both use OS mapping, both have SIRF 111 chips, both are waterproof and both appear to run for a similar amount of time on Polymer Lithium Ion rechargeable batteries (which on the RA can be charged via USB from the PC as well as with regular car & mains chargers which are included). The RA has the added benefit of working with Memory Map on the PC - you can send routes and tracklogs to/from the RA from the PC (where you can also print out a paper version of your route), has built in Street Routeable software, you can fit your mapping regions onto a single SD card and it costs a lot less.
Infact I managed to fit the following onto a single 2Gb SD card ..
Aerial photo Lake District 115mb
Aerial photo Area SD 370mb
25k 021 South Pennines 74mb
25k 041 Forest of Bowland 60mb
25k Lake District 120mb
25k Yorkshire Dales 105mb
50k Region 8 (NE) 300mb
50k Region 7 (NW) 324mb
250k Road map 106mb
+ miniscale planner 6mb
+ MM Cycle Track Data 330kb
.. and don't forget you don't need to load up individual maps, just zoom out to the road map - scroll to where ever - then zoom back in thru the 50k, thru the aerial photo and thru to the 25k. Brilliant! _________________ Aprilia Tuono, Zumo 550
Ipaq 2210/Fortuna/TomTom Nav6
& Road Angel 7000 + Memory Map
Last edited by Brian on Mon Jan 07, 2008 11:25 pm; edited 3 times in total
Don't know whether or not this helps with the battery problem but as I've posted elsewhere I have found the battery extender range offered here http://www.morpethmobiles.co.uk/products.asp?cat=119 to work well with my Mitac Mio P350 and although the RA is not listed I would guess that it is only the connector which varies from model to model and so one or other might fit the RA. If not then surely a connector adapter might help.
Joined: Nov 12, 2003 Posts: 94 Location: Lancashire, England, Great Britain
Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 12:26 pm Post subject:
Thanks, cheap enough at £7-8, uses AA's but I think I prefer the rechargeable Ion one listed above at only £20 _________________ Aprilia Tuono, Zumo 550
Ipaq 2210/Fortuna/TomTom Nav6
& Road Angel 7000 + Memory Map
I do actually use rechargeable NIMH AA batteries with my battery pack. The advantage I find is the feeling of security I get from carrying an extra charged up set of AA's with me. However I must admit that I have never needed to use them as one set seems to keep the PDA battery at full charge for the longest time I have needed (5 hours). Never tried any longer.
.. put this on a empty SD card and rename it as HoluxNavi.exe, download TCPMP video player .. http://tcpmp.en.softonic.com/pocket - this is PPC (pda) software, the best method I found was to install it into your pda (mine is Ipac2210) then copy the entire TCPMP folder from the pda to the SD card. Put a .wmv converted movie onto your SD card. Put SD card into RA, press Reset. The RA will bootup to the ceDesktop screen (like a mini Windows desktop), browse to TCPMP execute file (Player.exe), browse to .wmv file and hey presto! You've done it.
I tried putting a shortcut in the ceDesktop's Windows/StartUp folder but unfortunately it is in volatile memory and won't stay there - I'm looking into getting TCPMP to autostart. (EDIT: See NOTE1 below)
.. Chubby Brown live on your Road Angel (and the video quality is a lot better than the picture suggests with no choppiness).
To go back to normal RA operation, remove SD card, replace with original and press Reset.
NOTE1: Alternatively if you are not bothered about ceDesktop you can do without it, place all the TCPMP files in the root of the SD card, rename Player.exe as HoluxNavi.exe and on Reset the RA will boot straight to TCPMP player!
NOTE2: It gets better, contrary to popular belief the RA works with a 4Gb SD card which means that as well as the software you should be able to hold lots of films in .wmv format - or mp4, 3gp, avi, divx etc - it plays them all (Chubby Brown was 64mins/154Mb). I have used DVD Fab Platinum to convert many of my own dvd's to wmv format (320x240 pixels).
NOTE3: I tried installing TCPMP player in the RA's non-volatile memory 'Resident Flash' and renaming 'Player.exe' as 'MP3.EXE' thereby replacing RA's MP3 player with TCPMP (TCPMP plays mp3's as well), unfortunately there is not enough memory space left to do this.
See video sample (1.3mb) here (Right-click, Save Target As .. to save)
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