Holux 236 and hardwiring ignition controlled power in car

[inquirer]

Hello,

(Sorry if this has been asnwere elsewhere - I did search)

I'm thinking of Holux 236 over Globalsat BT338 and was going to go with the latter due to the battery life until I read the excellent reviews on this site which point to the fact that one can hardwire the Holux for ignition controlled power. I have an amp in the boot of my Audi A3, with ignition controlled power and I'm thinking I might run wires off this off this to the Holux. So I have a few questions and I would be extremely grateful for any assistance:

1) Is it easy to harwire the Holux in or do I need an adapter of some sort?

2) If I have the Holux under the parcel shelf of my A3 like the review suggests, will it work ok - even though it's hidden under a parcel shelf!?

3) My understanding of Li-ion batteries is that if you have one in constantly whilst it's being powered externally it eventually kills the battery because you need to de-charge it every so often and I don't know if I'll take it out often enough. a) is this true? and if so, b) can I hardwire the unit *without* a battery in it? (or does there have to be a battery in it)

4) And although I've read this, I want o triple check: I *can* use the Nokia bl-5c battery in it? If so it wins hands down over the bt338 as because it's smaller, I can just carry around a charged nokia battery which would overall come to about the same size and weight as the bt338 and have the same battery power.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Ako]

Just something to think about. Not sure if it is the same on the 236 but I have the 231 and it shuts down after 10 mins without a bluetooth connection so you may have to pysically switch it on anyway. I presume you want to hard wire it so it is always on and available. Course this doesn't apply if the hard wiring bypasess the off/on switch. It may be worth checking on this with someone who has one.

Regards

Dave

[MarkRD]

Hi Dave,

The GPS Slim 236 stays on indefinitely irrespective of a Bluetooth connection if it is permanently powered and the slider switch is on.

Mark

[Rifleman]

Hi.
I have recently purchased a GPSlim-236 and have now fitted it permanently underneath the back parcel shelf. I had a customised lead made up by Holux UK which connects from the mini usb socket on the GPS mouse to the RJ-11 connector on my TomTom car cradle and carries both power and the serial output from the GPSlim. I have removed the battery from the mouse and left it's switch in the on position.

I know from experience that I can leave my TomTom cradle powered up continually for at least a week even if the car is not run during that time with no adverse effects. I use it every weekday to travel to work so running down the car battery is never a problem. I leave the cradle powered up all the time.

I am delighted with the GPSlim and the set up I have. I just drop my PDA into the cradle, fire up TomTom and within 10-20sec I have at least 8 sats locked, usually 10. :D

The BT still transmits even with the serial data cable connected so I am able to use my laptop with it's BT adaptor to use the GPSlim to give data to Autoroute or Memory map.

The sensitvity of the GPSlim is stunning. Even inside my workplace I can get a 6-8 sat lock and see my movements around the building.

[nudibranc]

Thanks for this rifleman - exactly what I was refering to here: http://pocketgpsworld.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=29712

This is how I want to operate my gpslim - glad to know it works!

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