Sat Nav for Classic Cars - questions makers don't answer

Buff20 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 06, 2006 Posts: 22

Here's a specialist one for you.....think of it as a challenge!

I have an ancient car that I like to drive around of a weekend. In May I am planning a trip of some 200 miles across southern England. I tend to plan convaluted minor-road routes to avoid holding up modern traffic, but I almost inevitably get lost. The obvious answer is Sat Nav!

However, none of the things I have looked at quite fits the bill, and I'm finding it difficult to decide on the best (or least bad) solution to my problems. The specifications given on manufacturers websites are not exactly geared to my kind of problems (understandably.....though I'm sure there's a shilling to be turned by someone clever here).

I need to plan my route precisely on a PC before uploading it to my device. It is quite important that I don't get sent onto any motorways....

I need mapping that will warn of any hills above about 1 in 6 or (preferably) has contour lines.

I need mapping that knows when minor roads pass over/under dual carriageways....and when they don't (a bad experience being forced onto a busy A12 last Summer still gives me nightmares!).

I need to be electrically self sufficient all day (no 12 volt power supply) so long battery life and/or removable batteries are vital.

I need to have voice signals of impending turnings, which must be routeable through headphones, as I have little hope of hearing them otherwise(!). I don't have a dashboard, as such, so have nowhere to look at a screen on the move (except on my lap - not a good idea), so voice directions are important.

I do not need to know about speed cameras or (hopefully!) the nearest Travelodge...

So, there it all is. Anyone out there with any bright ideas? There are hundreds of owners' clubs out there just waiting to market the right device....

oddsock

Buff20 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 06, 2006 Posts: 22

Thanks for the very quick reply!

The vehicle is a pre-war Austin Seven, running on a 6 volt battery (no cigarette lighter socket). Budget is also somewhat pre-war.....say, about £300. I don't mind buying a second hand Pocket PC, separate GPS receiver, and appropriate software if that's going to be the best value solution....only which ones?!

oddsock · Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2006 11:38 pm Post subject:

Is sitting a 12 volt battery in the car with a cigar socket wired to it out of the question??
Dave
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Buff20 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 06, 2006 Posts: 22

Not completely out of the quesion, but it doesn't have a boot and space inside is limited (think about mini-sized, only narrower) so it would probably have to sit in the passenger footwell.

I had thought of using some kind of converter on the 6 volt system, but the dynamo is a bit useless and I don't want to add anything on to the car battery if I can help it (I know it's not much, but every little counts in these circumstances); I was also a bit nervous about attaching electronic equipment to the crude electrics of the car.

I have looked into bluetooth GPS receivers, and it seems that battery life won't be a problem there (see http://www.pdamods.com/products.asp?cat=16&partner=google)

It's just the processing bit that is causing me a headache.... Confused

Buff20 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 06, 2006 Posts: 22

what do you reckon to this sort of thing as an alternative to another lead-acid battery?:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ACER-N30-N35-N50-BATTERY-EXTENDER-NEW_W0QQitemZ9705103519QQcategoryZ48674QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

If it'll run for 8hrs on high capacity re-chargeables then that'll do me.

That still leaves me at an utter loss regarding the best software, though.... :D

Marlyn · Lifetime Member Joined: Feb 15, 2006 Posts: 18

Have a look at memory-map

http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/memory-map-navigator-2004.php

It might do thr trick

Mark

mikealder · Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 9:48 am Post subject:

I have just tried running some of my equipment off a 6V power supply via the various addaptors I have - you will be pleased to know that everything works fine so long as the voltage remains above 5,5V. All you would need is a cigy socket wired into the vehicle then you can use the existing electrical power of the car, inconjunction with the PDA vehicle supply leads.
I know this doesn't answer the question of which device to use but it certainly makes powering whatever you get so much easier. - Mike

Buff20 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 06, 2006 Posts: 22

Marlyn: Thanks for the tip, I'm looking at the (very!) extensive review right now.

Mike: It sounds promising about the 6 volt supply. I guess I'll now have to rig a voltmeter up to the battery and take it for a spin, headlights and windsreen wiper on, and see if we drop below 5.5 (especially at tick-over, when the ammeter reads a discharge at the best of times).

Further suggestions about softare and hardware very welcome! all will be investigated thoroughly.

Thanks for your help everyone.

oddsock · Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 11:20 am Post subject:

Is you car +ve earth as a lot of the older brittish cars were? If so you will have to wire the socket the other way round. eg socket center pin to earth .you will then have to completely isolate the socket body from the car as that would be -ve .
Dave
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TomTom one v1,tomtom one v 3,TT Start20,Garmin Oregon 300,Nuvi 300
Garmin Quest

7andy · Regular Visitor Joined: Jul 02, 2005 Posts: 74

I wouldn't worry too much about the voltage, as long as it remains over 5.5v for most of the time. The PDA will just switch back to it's own battery when the voltage drops too low, and when it's back again, it will charge it back up again. Most PDAs only require 0.3 to 0.5 Amps to run anyway, so it's not going to be a significant drain on your system. The only thing that would worry me would be voltage transients, especially with Dynamos (a few years since I had a car with one of those!) which might damage the PDA.
As to the PDA itself, get one with Bluetooth, then you can use a Bluetooth earpiece to hear the commands, or even a Bluetooth Audio headset (better quality and covers both ears!). You will also be able to use a Bluetooth GPS receiver, which can be placed anywhere (the limit is about 10 Metres: with what I remember of an Austin 7, that won't be a problem...) and the PDA could live somewhere else close by. I use an Otterbox for my Acer N50 to keep it dry and save it from getting knocked about, but you'd have to take it out every three or four hours to re-charge it, but Bluetooth works fine with it inside the box. A car battery, by the way, is complete overkill! You can get nice little Gel batteries from places like Maplin - 12v at 2.1 AH will keep you going all day and its 6"x2"x1.5" - small enough to pop into a small plastic box with some foam to keep it still - don't forget to buy a proper charger for it though.

Best of luck - I remember many a day out in my brother's Seven being spoiled by 'tinkering'; what most people these days would call a Breakdown!!

Cheers, 7&Y

oddsock · Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 12:04 pm Post subject:

lbendlin · Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 12:07 pm Post subject:

A few Pocket PC programs allow you to set routes avoiding motorways, for example CoPilot and Mapopolis, but also Navigon and TomTom to some extent). Mapopolis is particularly good at fine-tuning a route directly on the map.

But none of them have incline indication, so you will need an additional topograhic software for that (memory map was mentioned earlier(

Some PocketPCs come with replaceable batteries - that would be a good solution if you don't want any external power source. On my iPAQ 6315 I can attach a 3600 mAH extended battery that will keep the device running nonstop for two days with full brightness, and both BT and WiFi switched on.
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MarkHewitt · Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 1:36 pm Post subject:

MarkHewitt · Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 1:38 pm Post subject:

grr Why don't we have edit on this forum, it's extremely annoying!

The best solution IMO is to get a paper OS map and then select waypoints, then get something like a TomTom GO which has a long battery life and program it in as an itinery. It's fiddly but will do the job.

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