GPS Options - Hardware AND Software help needed

[western]

You have to buy the licence via the Memory Map website to get it fully functional, then you'll have a lifetime licence & access to the OS upgrades when their issued via the MM website, current MM OS is Version 5.1.3 build 716

[Mark90]

Yep I stand corrected, but as per a PM not inm the niceest way or as maybe as well as the X-Nav may do

Exactly. Entering waypoints in MM is not exactly a quick and efficient process, just about OK for a few waypoints when sat behind a desk but not ideal on an event, enter X-Nav....

You have to buy the licence via the Memory Map website to get it fully functional.

You should buy a license from MM but you don't have to.

you can't use the latest MM 2005 maps won't work on the 2002 or 2003 or 2004 MM OS, only works on that years issue maps,something to do with the OS maps copyrights.

You can if you either edit the maps or patch the software.

[honitonhobbit]

iX-250 (?) go book with Microsoft fast access GPS mouse and back up eTrek. Touch screen loads of gig and about to have more ram. MM'06, Ozi and Autoroute '07. Eagerly awaiting some 1:25000 maps for the MM. About as good as it gets for not too much moolah

[simonr]

Guess I should stick my oar in!

X-Nav is nearly ready for beta testing. Initial testing has revealed a couple of bugs - but they'll be fixed in a couple of weeks.

It will run on anything with a 386 or above with at least Windows 95. Don't know if it runs on Windows Fista - as I don't have a copy, but it should be OK.

It will import and export waypoints from MM (in csv format).

The main idea of it was to provide a fast interface for entering coordinates. It will accept coords in Lat/Long, Northing/Easting as well as NGR's and you can hop between the forums with a single click. The interface is designed for touch screens and all the buttons are big enough to use wearing gloves. I've tested it wearing welding gloves!

It has a nice simple navigation interface with a single, big, clear arrow which points at the currently selected waypoint. You can select a new waypoint with a single click. Also, you can change the colour of stored waypoints. The point of this is to mark a waypoint as say 'done' as one colour, 'go back to later' as a second and 'not done yet' as a third. You can sort the waypoints by distance from your current location.

You can enter a list of coordinates, save them on a memory stick then share that with your team mate easily.

The whole thing was designed with competition use in mind. Compared to a standard GPS, you can save 30 mins entering a list of 40 coordinates. Even if you don't use it for the navigation itself, it could still save you more time than just about any other performance challenge product!

On the PC front. I agree with Nick that all you need is one like his. Don't worry about it being stated as ruggedised - most tablet PC's are pretty tough.

For MegaSquirt you really need something with a serial port which narrows it down a bit. You can use a USB to serial adaptor - but I didn't find them reliable.

I would go for a PC with regular XP, not the tablet edition. The tablet editions are slightly different and in my experience occasionally a bit flakey.

Finger touch screen is much more usable than stylus and would be my preference.

I have a toughbook and think it's brilliant!

Si

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

Prepare to be possibly stalked in the not to distant future

Nige

[Mo Murphy]

Ah yes - sorry, I forgot to mention - my MM is a 'cheap' version and only seems to work with a serial interface, and I haven't seen a bluetooth to serial for less than about £35 IIRC... Apologoes for misleading you there...

Then you need a different "cheap" version pm me your email address.

Mo

[Mark Jenkins]

I have a toughbook and think it's brilliant!

Si

Apologies for a mini-hijack, but Toughbooks - is there a specific version/model to be looking for? I see that they have "CF-" prefixes - could someone interpret this ?

There is a flurry of CF-28s available on the Bay Of E from the same source: here and I was wondering how reputable they looked?

MJ

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

Apologies for a mini-hijack, but Toughbooks - is there a specific version/model to be looking for? I see that they have "CF-" prefixes - could someone interpret this ?

There is a flurry of CF-28s available on the Bay Of E from the same source: here and I was wondering how reputable they looked?

MJ

Can't help you on the above.

BUT

I have learnt that some ('Tablet' PCs) have basically no keyboard, operating via a screen activated keyboard, and as such then just a "Screen" to mount and some toughbook the screen and keyboard fold opposite to each other, but don't seem to have keyboard screens, ??

May be stating the F Obvious but this is all rather new to me

RE the seller

Click here,

http://www.toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs?User=...irn=Received+by

add amsdirect into the box if needed, not to glowing ?

Nige

[simonr]

You want a CF 18 which has a keyboard and a screen whch swivels to form a regular laptop or a tablet.

It's available in several different versions, but I would go for the finger touch screen which has XP non tablet version and a serial port.

Regards Si

[FridgeFreezer]

Nige - I have a CF-18 for work, if you want to play before you buy you're welcome. Not as tough as the older CF27/8/9 toughbooks though.

[ThreeSheds]

Nige - I have a CF-18 for work, if you want to play before you buy you're welcome. Not as tough as the older CF27/8/9 toughbooks though.

Nice kit the CF-18 and no doubt £2000 (new?) is a bargain, but is still a bit pricey for me. Even 2nd hand toughbooks fetch amazing prices...

My vapour-build solution is a cheap-as-chips laptop that can be replaced for £100 if it breaks...

TwoSheds

p.s. <mini_rant_mode> When will laptop manufacturers see the light and start powering them directly from 12v? Surely it's no more effort than it is for them to use 15 or 18 for example - and it would be so much more convenient for so many situations... </mini_rant_mode>

(My laptop runs at 15v (IIRC) but laughs in the face of 12 - so now I have to get a converter and use the PSU too. Bluddy inconvenient, expensive and space-consuming). Oh sorry that last </mini_rant_mode> obviously didn't work

Edited November 26, 2007 by TwoSheds

[smo]

I have a CF-18 and its awsome, got mine from the USA so its one of the last made, and higher spec than most floating about, and thanks to the exchange rate, somewhat cheaper than the UK ebay site too!

[ltwt1981]

Nige

I have MM version 2004 and 2005 plus loads of maps, and I know how to get 2004 maps to work on 2005.

E mule is a good source of maps, aeriel photos etc.

[SteveG]

I have learnt that some ('Tablet' PCs) have basically no keyboard, operating via a screen activated keyboard, and as such then just a "Screen" to mount and some toughbook the screen and keyboard fold opposite to each other, but don't seem to have keyboard screens, ??

Based on my experience with tablets, only go for dual mode tablet/laptop ones as the tablet only ones become a pain in the arse after a while and if the screen starts to get blank spots it's effectively useless.

As Si R says, I would also recommend going for a touchscreen not the stylus screens that are more common. It's not a big deal, but when you are driving it's a pain using a stylus (and dangerous at times, especially on the side of a mountain ). Not many have touchscreens though.

As for ruggedness, I've used my toshiba tablet for 18 months now off-road and it's been no problem, it's been splashed with mud several times and no problems with hard drive so far. Never had freeze, reboot or shutdown whilst being bashed about. That said, if you can afford to buy one, a toughbook is a good choice.

Have you thought about buying off ebay.com in US? Even though it's used you'll still have to pay tax on it but even so it would be about 60% of what they sell for used here.

Cheers

Steve

[will_warne]

Nige, I've also been thinking about navigation options for a while now although its not a the top of the pile at the moment given the state of the truck Like you, I see where you're coming from with the tablet idea as I think the keyborad of a lap top will get in the way when my co-driver gets in and out. However, a second hand lap top is much cheaper than a tablet (I've yet to see a fully rugged tablet 2nd hand). These guys seem to have good prices. Does anyone know about the second lap top on the page - the Itronix Go Book IX250? The spec looks rather nice!

There's also the option of a Marine Mini PC and remote screen. When I look at these it was about £1300 plus any software.

I'm also waiting to hear back from a supplier of tablets about suitable models and prices. I'll let you know what I hear.

[honitonhobbit]

Does anyone know about the second lap top on the page - the Itronix Go Book IX250? The spec looks rather nice!

Will put your reading glasses on when you look at a thread!

I have one - as mentioned above.

I like it a lot. I am still trying to get a card to enable the built in GPS/Wireless aerial but they are available on Ebay in the USof A. All the rest works well and the ful size touch screen is a doody

[will_warne]

Will put your reading glasses on when you look at a thread!

I have one - as mentioned above.

I like it a lot. I am still trying to get a card to enable the built in GPS/Wireless aerial but they are available on Ebay in the USof A. All the rest works well and the ful size touch screen is a doody

D'oh - I missed that. They do look quite good (and not too expensive) so I might give it a pop.

[honitonhobbit]

I bought mine from a very respected dealer in s/h laptops

[David Sparkes]

I wasn't sure this post was 'On Topic' for this thread, as most recent posts have been concentrating on PC selection.

However, the title starts 'GPS Options - ....' so I think it's OK.

'Any' in-car PC needs a GPS input. The two options seem to be either a GPS mouse, with USB tail, or a stand alone GPS receiver, with Bluetooth connectivity.

Most laptops or tablets don't have Bluetooth connectivity built in, so they need an 'extra'. These usually protrude from the case, and thus become liable to physical damage. So the need for either a GPS mouse tail, or a Bluetooth dongle, rather damages the concept of a 'tough' PC.

On the other hand, a lot of laptops have WiFi capability built in, which leads to the question ....

Are there GPS receivers with WiFi connectivity?

[henk]

I built a carpc based on Travla 134 housing (size of radio) and Via Epia M10000 Motherboard. It has USB and DVD reader and Hitachi ultra HD of 30 Gb. Screen is an 8 inch touchscreen but has only 640 on 480 physical resolution so screen is not very clear. If you take a TFT screen go for at least 800 x 600 physical resolution.

GPS is a usb Holux GR213 Sirf-III that works fine.

Software is Ozi and Autoroute 2003. For Ozi I have Holland, France and Portugal in 1:25.000 and Belgium in 1:50.000. Still looking for UK etc

Still could not figure out where to put it: under the cubby box, in the cubbybox or against the roof

Last week I bought a tabletpc type Fujitsu Stylistic LT P-600 running XP. It works perfect except the screen is very difficult to read so pretty useless in the car. Now looking for another screen to put in.

Tablet pc is a lot easier to install and to take out the car, has build in battery so you also avoid problems of not enough current when starting engine etc

[RedLineMike]

is this any good for whats been discussed?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fujitsu-Siemens-Styl...1QQcmdZViewItem

[henk]

@sootysport: more than enough power to run Ozi or Autoroute

[Speedy_Gonzales]

you can make your own waypoints using the OS grid ref with memory map & add a marker to the map on the screen

& you can't use the latest MM 2005 maps won't work on the 2002 or 2003 or 2004 MM OS, only works on that years issue maps,something to do with the OS maps copyrights.

Not without the correct fixes it doesnt

[landmannnn]

What about one of those ultra mobile pc's? total pda, this one is expensive but I have seen them on fleabay with a 7" screen for reasonable money.

For bluetooth gps I bought this recently, it may not have the right chipset but it cold boots in 30 seconds and warm boots in under a second, best of all is a battery life of 44 hours!!!!!!!

[simonr]

Are there GPS receivers with WiFi connectivity?

Not to my knowledge

I wasn't sure this post was 'On Topic' for this thread, as most recent posts have been concentrating on PC selection.

However, the title starts 'GPS Options - ....' so I think it's OK.

It's a fair point. Most Laptops have a PCMCIA slot however. I bought a Bluetooth card which with a bit of trimming of the plastic case is completely hidden inside the PCMCIA bay. On Toughbooks the bay has a waterproof cover - so it was even more important to make it fit inside.

This is the one I bought. You can trim about 12mm off the end without harming it.

This is the GPS I bought - altough mine looks everso slightly different, the spec & style are the same.

Compared to my other GPS's, it's very impressive. Works fine indoors or in the glove-box (or wherever it lands on the floor of your truck). Usually gets a fix in less than 10 sec and has decent battery life.

Si