Packard Bell GPS400 Views

Paul80 · Regular Visitor Joined: Aug 25, 2005 Posts: 246

Hi all

I have been tempted by the Packard Bell GPS400 Sat Nav unit, Has anyone got any views on this unit. The spec looks ok and the price £199 looks vary good, How would this unit compare to a TomTom One at £50 dearer.

Thanks

Technical Specifications
• GPS Module: SirF Star III
• 10m GPS accuracy
• Processor: 266MHz
• 6 hours battery life
• Flat design: 115 x 100 x 34 mm/240g
• 3,5’’ TFT touchscreen high brightness, 65k colors
• USB1.1, SD/MMC Slot
Easy Navigation
• 2D/3D Views with clear voice and visual indications
• Estimated time of arrival
• Door to door navigation with repeat last destination function
• Average and Max speed with speed limitation indicator
• Turn by turn indications
• Pedestrian Mode
• Driven distance
• Possibility to integrate radar positions on POI list

Commsman · Occasional Visitor Joined: May 04, 2006 Posts: 16

These have excellent hardware (SirfIII chipset) and mine came with the latest version of Destinator in firmware.
If you are a bit geeky like me, you can also unlock them to install TomTom and loads of extras such as video players using the underlying WinCE operating system. One caveat - don't use the supplied CD to update the software - it doesn't update - it "downdates" and you are left wondering what on earth you have done wrong (hard reset cures it though - so no harm done).
On eBay these are selling really cheap and in my view are a no-brainer. Buy Buy Buy.

Musketter · Regular Visitor Joined: Mar 27, 2005 Posts: 69

Commsman · Occasional Visitor Joined: May 04, 2006 Posts: 16

Hi
It is pretty easy to unlock. Simply connect using the usual Active Sync method (it behaves like a normal PocketPC / WinCE device in this respect), copy the unloick utility file over to the PB. It will temporarily replace the media player. Then on the PB, use the menu to run the Media Player - the utility will run instead. The utility unpacks itself, adding the necessary unlock dlls / settings and restoring the original media player in the process.
Once unlocked, you can use the supplied BananaPC to help ring up the WinCE desktop (this aspect can be tricky, as usually the standard PB shell tries to impose itself, so although you could get to the WinCE desktop, there doesn't seem to be a way to get to it). The best thing to do in my view is to modify the shell menu such that you can easily get to the apps you want to run - e.g. Navigator, WinCE Explorer, TomTom, Video player or other utilities. It is pretty easy to do this - you can read more about the techniques and examples as well as free new buttons on my site at http://www.gps400.accline.co.uk/

Musketter · Regular Visitor Joined: Mar 27, 2005 Posts: 69

Hi Commsman. I have gone through your site and it's great.

I have now got it all up and running as I want it, but I cannot work out how to get a TomTom button on the main menu (Shell Menu ?)

I have tried putting another button in, copying the Schema file from your site, using a exsisting button.

All I have managed to do is to swap over the pic and MP3 buttons after following the instructions on your site.

Any clues ?

Commsman · Occasional Visitor Joined: May 04, 2006 Posts: 16

Hi
Looks like you are well on the way to success - I assume you have grabbed copies of the button graphics from my site? Forgive me if this is obvious, but right click on button graphic on my website and 'save as' to save a copy of the button graphic (as a windows bmp file) onto your PC. Upload this graphic to your GPS unit into the \DestinatorApps\DShell\Schema directory and then reference this graphic in your schema.ini file to use it as a button. The schema.ini file lists the graphics to use for various button states:
Unselected the bitmap graphic for the unselected state
Selected the bitmap graphic for the selected state
Pressed the bitmap graphic for the depressed state
Disabled the bitmap graphic for the disabled state
To keep things simple you could simply use the same graphic for all button states - see how it works and then make it more sophisticated later.
Good luck!

Musketter · Regular Visitor Joined: Mar 27, 2005 Posts: 69

Thanks for the quick reply,

Yes I have copied the buttons into my Schema folder. I have also tried to replace the pics on the player buttons with them with no success.

I also need to know what to put as a destination in the action line ?

I am quite happy to loose one of the two application buttons if this makes it easier ?

Keith

Musketter · Regular Visitor Joined: Mar 27, 2005 Posts: 69

Hi again,

I have just had a quick play and found what I was doing wrong with the button pics, I was draging and not saving them. I can now change the original button logo over for the TomTom one.

I still can not work out the "Action" line though. My TomTom folder seems top be in

" Program Files\Navigator\TomTom Navigator "

In this folder there is a TT symbol (Two red hands) which if I click on it , it will open the programme.

Sorry to be a pain but this is now getting personel between me and this lovely little machine !!!!!!!

Commsman · Occasional Visitor Joined: May 04, 2006 Posts: 16

Our messages crossed - glad you are getting things sorted bit by bit.
The link to run TomTom should probably be something like:
\SDMMC\Program files\Navigator\TomTom Navigator.exe
That assumes you have TT on the SD card!
I can't remember if you need to enclose the command in double quotes as you do in Windows BAT files - try it both ways to see!
(Sorry I am not motivated to try out these ideas myself - I am sitting in our lounge with my laptop watching TV! Not got ActiveSync on this machine or an SD card reader so not so easy to check what my settings are!)
Cheers
Julian

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