Need GPS

me ^ | 5/8/6 | me

[LouAvul]

I need a GPS device. A friend has a laptop with a GPS program. She said she paid $100 for the program.

I currently do not own a laptop, but probably will, later.

Question: Do the cheaper (~$100) GPS units serve the purpose, or are they like a cheap rifle scope. Viz., fine until you need it?

Consumer guide recommends the Lowrance model that sells for ~$800. If I were going to pay that much, I'd go ahead and buy a laptop.

Question: If I need to go ahead and purchase a laptop, what are the minimum requirements to run the GPS software.

Thanx in advance.

[trashcanbred]

There are a couple of issues with driving in a "big" city. If I drive in NYC for example there are times where the buildings interfere with the GPS signal. This is one thing the "built in" navigations systems have over store bought GPS's. Now if you mean a city like Austin, TX with not as many tall buildings then you should be mostly OK.

Most GPS solutions for navigation are going to cost you a pretty penny. The cheapest units I have seen are $250(Garmin StreetPilot I2) but most are in the $500-$800 range.

However I have a question, do you have a PDA like a Palm or a Pocket PC (or were you planning to buy one). If so, you can buy a GPS solution that is cheaper because technically you already have half the hardware.

[CFC__VRWC]

If you want to hook it up to a laptop and if you use Windows, Microsoft sells a version of their Streets and Trips software that includes a GPS receiver that you plug into a USB port and mount on your dash - the package runs just over 100 bucks, IIRC. One of our techs uses this set-up and it seems to work pretty good, if you have someplace you can mounty the laptop where you can see it easily.

Streets and Trips will also work with most handheld GPS receivers, so if you already have one of those you can buy the software alone for about 40 or 50 bucks.

I myself use a Garmin 76S handheld that I bought almost 3 years ago. The screen's kind of hard to see in a car, but it's perfect for hiking, camping and hunting.

I have an uncle who has one of the talking GPS receivers, the Magellan model. You just type in the address that you're looking for and it plots a route and gives you directions as you drive. These start at around $600-$700.

Generally speaking, even the cheapie models will get you within 50 feet or so of your true position, with good coverage. If you need more accuracy than that, you need a WAAS-enabled unit - my Garmin will get you within 6 feet of your true position with a good sattelite constellation.

[trashcanbred]

I had my Garmin 2620 stolen and I was furious. I started to use my Pocket PC with a bluetooth GPS... no wires and I can take it all with me. Not to mention I have a number of software to choose from (TomTom, OnCourse, Mapopolis).

[USNBandit]

I love Garmin products. I have used them on the ground, on water, and in the air. The operations are pretty straight forward and adaptable to your preferences. The guts of the devices are good and the map equipped devices are upgradable.

Here is the link to their automotive sight.

http://www.garmin.com/mobile/

I wouldn't use a laptop for this type of use. I would want a dedicated unit or a mobile device application that is more applicable to use while driving.

[HairOfTheDog]

I guess I'm ignorant about the workability of the GPS on a laptop in a car. - Ramius, your built in unit is definately cool, and if you can get the same thing to work on a laptop, and position it so you can see it, I guess that would work nice.

[LouAvul]

do you have a PDA like a Palm or a Pocket PC (or were you planning to buy one). If so, you can buy a GPS solution that is cheaper because technically you already have half the hardware.

As a matter of fact, it is going to be necessary for me to buy a Palm Pilot.

So I can download the GPS info onto a Pilot?

My eyes aren't that great. Isn't the screen kind of small?

[bert]

..... I either mark waypoints in the unit .....

A great device for hiking with scouts who wonder constantly how much further Mr Bert?.....

[texan75010]

The reason it works so well on my laptop is the sound. I never have to look at the screen. It tells me 1.6 miles before the turn, then again at .6 miles, then at .1 miles. It is really, really difficult to miss the turn due to the redundancy....it's like a nagging wife making sure you don't miss the exit. Sometimes I talk back to and say, "Enough already!"

[CFC__VRWC]

I guess I'm ignorant about the workability of the GPS on a laptop in a car.

The tech I mentioned in my #22 above has a laptop car stand that he places his on - it's pretty much the same set-up you see in police cars. Whether or not you want that kind of apparatus in your car is for you to decide. It's okay for a work car, IMO, but I wouldn't want it in a personal one. I generally do okay with my handheld - I bought a mounting stand for it that I Velcroed to my dash.

[HairOfTheDog]

Heh - I'm familiar with her... must be the same woman that tell's my brother Ramius what to do in his Jeep :~D

I'm thinking there's a great market for custom voices on those systems :~D

Just think you could have HAL: "Turn right here, Dave..."

Or Jack Bauer: "Hurry up, WE DON'T HAVE TIME!"

[HairOfTheDog]

We've got a little sandbag for our handheld that works pretty good.

[Ramius]

There's no particular reason a laptop wouldn't work just fine. The only problem might be that it's a little bulky and would always be in the way, especially if you've got somebody in the passenger seat. That... and if it is resting on the seat you have to move your eyes far away from the road to glance at the unit.

I would recommend either the in-dash or on-dash display. Maybe even a little handheld PC with a dash mount.

I've found that it's possible to scan the display for the thing I need to know pretty fast, without being particularly distracting.

[Ramius]

The screen doesn't need to be very big, even if your eyes aren't great. A four or five inch screen is *huge* if it is right on the dash in front of you.

Keep in mind that the software is going to have different modes... when your in the "driving directions" sort of mode, the display gives you just key info, really big, like the name of the next turn street, distance to it, and a big arrow showing the direction of the turn. The screen doesn't have to be big to see it clearly.

In just a Map mode, even then you can zoom it in and out to see the level of detail you want. In the car, sometimes less is more.

[trashcanbred]

Well the screen size of any automotive GPS is not that big either. The screens are about the same size unless you buy a real expensive automotive unit. If your eyesight is bad a PDA solution might be better for you than an Automotive unit. If your Palm PDA is bluetooth enabled, you can buy a bluetooth GPS receiver. Put the receiver on the dash so it gets a good GPS signal but you can keep the Palm PDA close to you. This way, when you need to look at the next turn you need to make, you can hold the screen as close to you as you want. You cannot normally do that with a regular automotive gps because it you move it close to you it can (and eventually will) lose the GPS signal.

I use a Dell Axim PDA with a bluetooth GPS receiver when I go on vacation now. Most of the time, I do not need to look at it because it will guide you by voice (turn right in 500 feet onto BlahBlah street). However if I feel like looking at it. I just pick it up and hold it as close to my eyes as I need it to be. You can also get mounts for most PDAs too but I don't find I need it.

The other "plus" about that solution is there are many GPS software vendors that work for the Palm and Pocket PC. A friend of mine bought software from TomTom for the Palm and also bought a "voice pack" that had the voice of John Cleese (if you happen to like Monty Python).

Also it has been my experience that laptops do not work as well as a PDA. The LCD of a laptop gets washed out by the sun during the day much more than a PDA because PDA's normally have superior backlighting.

[Washi]

I have a Garmin hand-held receiver that cost me $100. It does not have maps. It is great for Geocaching (google that, it's cool), hiking, hunting, etc.

For street navigation, there are hand-helds that do have maps for a higher price.

I use Microsoft Streets and trips software for travel (street) navigation. There are two versions, on that comes with a GPS receiver (~$125.00) and one that does not (~$30.) If you already have a hand-held receiver, it is very likely compatible with the software. You just need a cable that will connect your GPS receiver to either a serial or USB port on the laptop.

Microsoft Streets and Trips 2006 works on my P3 laptop, with Windows ME. However, I had to add some third party software for the voice driving directions to work properly. Window XP has the text-to-speech capability built into the operating system, so that is the desired operating system to have. The voice driving directions are a big plus if you are driving alone and using the laptop for navigation. It's a lot safer to hear the directions than it is to have to glance at the laptop repeatedly while driving.

If you get a hand-held, I recommend Garmin over Magelan. I've owned both and find that Garmin more reliably locks up on satellite signals when you need it to. I don't know why that is, just my experience.

[HairOfTheDog]

We've done some geocaching too - it's fun!

[stainlessbanner]

I use this one: DeLorme Bluelogger

If you combine with a laptop, the bluetooth configuration can be a little tricky (might want to go with USB here, I wish I did). Street Atlas is accurate, but I find the controls non-intuitive, but I'm still learning the software. Nice combination for $150-$180.

[Publius6961]

I can load local topo and highway maps on it from my confuser. Total cost, not counting confuser, about $500.

That is the most usefil misspelling I have ever seen!

Thanks for the education.

[Publius6961]

Garmen is software? Or is it a device that plugs into a laptop?

Try Garmin. It is one of the oldest GPS hardware and software companies.

Free Republic is not known for having spelling bee champions. Makes it tough to do a search, no?

[TheOracleAtLilac]

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