[OT] PDA Based GPS

As dedicated satnav units don't allow the overlay of location onto a proper map I'm looking to get a PDA based GPS system of some sort. I wan= t the proper map overlay facilty for walking, there ain't no roads at all =

for the best part of ten miles in several directions from here.

As the Disco has a heated winscreen I think a Bluetooth based GPS module= rather than a PDA with built in GPS is the way to go, along with WiFi fo= r mobile 'net access. AFAICT these two requirements pretty much limits me = to a Windows Mobile based PDA.

The question: Is there any cheap (or free) Windows Mobile based software= that does the location/map overlay stuff. I'm aware of GPS Pilot - Atlas= but that appears to be Palm only (the Compass is WM).

As for the PDA probably the HP iPAQ HX2790 as HP have a =A350 cash back =

until the end of the month so you more or less get a 2790 for the price = of a 2490... Road based satnav, probably TomTom 6 UK maps with Tomtom GPS module as that is "Star sir III" chipset based. Does TomTom 6 do full postcode search? I've dug about but not found anything definative, even = on the TomTom site...

Reply to
Dave Liquorice
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For the off piste stuff, unless you are going to scan and calibrate your own maps, Memory-Map is the way to go, not free and not cheap but worth every penny.

For the PDA, their are GPS enabled PDA's with SiRFStarIII chipsets but the 2790 is a good unit. For the software, TomTom is the best IMHO and offers full PostCode support although I'd get the software only bundle and buy a seperate BT GPS, cheaper.

Reply to
Darren Griffin - PocketGPSWorld.Com

Not strictly true. Can't remember which make it was but I saw one in the in-flight mag waved at me by Ryan Air's finest on Thursday. It might have been Navman. Whichever it was it apeared to include MemoryMap

I'm looking to get a PDA based GPS system of some sort. I want

I wasn't paying too much attention (a) because it was 06:00 and (b) because I have a Garmin Zumo 550 which I still think is a better unit than anything TomTom offer - e.g it includes (possibly) all National Grid systems for destination i/p as well as Lat/Long and it will talk to a PC.

Richard

Reply to
Richard

My Discovery has a heated windscreen too but it doesn't appear to bother my Medion's built-in GPS antenna. Lock-on and first fix times are pretty quick - certainly not any slower than the BT GPS I used with my phone before.

For on-road satnav you have to look hard to find anything better than TomTom (IMHO) and Memory Map is definitely the way to go off-tarmac. Neither of these are free, or even cheap, but they are worth the money. TT6 supports full postcode searching.

HTH

Reply to
SteveG

That doesn't particularly bother me. Initially it'll only be for a small= area around here say 30km x 30km if that. I'm aware of the inaccuracies = of this method but this is more of "the hill fog has come down, only visibl= e land mark is that rock 20' away, WTF are we?" I'd have a pretty good ide= a and would have been using a real paper map as the primary navigation aid= anyway. The GPS is a back up and, should something nasty happen the ability to call Mountain Rescue and say we are at lat/long rather than some where between Cow Green and the Dunn Fells. (A rather large, featureless and open area of high moorland, though I'm not sure mobile phones work up there...)

Hope it's better than the website! I'd want 1:25,000 mapping and a "selection" as none of the preselected bits cover what I want. After muc= h digging and going round in circles I finally found a page with a price o= n but I'm not clear if the =A385 just buys you 2,500 sq km of map with the= software extra or if that is the whole thing or if I went for a 1:50,000= GB - North could I get a selection to use with that at less cost as I already have the software?

They also say there is a free Pocket PC demo but I can't find a link to =

download it, only a Windows XP version.

I'd sort of like to keep 'em separate. The GPS can stay powered up and thus give an instant fix to the PDA. Also there is the possible problem =

with Discos heated screen. Why ask for agro when you can avoid it? Also =

the less drain on the PDA batteries the better...

Thanks.

Not really looked at other BT GPS modules. It is a thought, I'd still wa= nt a starfish chipset one and possibly replaceable standard batteries. Rechargeable have a habit of going flat just when you don't want 'em to.= I suspect there is a whole minefield of stuff out there.

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

But did it also have PDA functions, like a workable(*) calendar/appointments system, alarms and contacts database as a minimum?

(*)My phone has an "organiser" but it's next to useless as inputing information and finding it again is seriously tedious.

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

I run Memory Map on an old PDA with a BT receiver (the BT77 IIRC, about

30 squid on eBay), but I bought an external magnetic antenna for it which clings like S to a B on top of my Rebel snorkel (which is handy because the aluminium Defender roof is not very useful for magnets). Pretty much flat out signal on all satellites all the time so no risk of dropouts when in the woods etc. And like you plan to do it just stays on the whole time, hard wired to the battery. Bugger all power drain and instant lock when I turn on the PDA.

Regards,

Dave.

SteveG wrote:

Reply to
Dave

That would be the Road Angel, not a great unit TBH.

Reply to
Darren Griffin - PocketGPSWorld.Com

Nope, the Road Angle Adventurer is a PND (aka TomTom GO) with OS Mapping as well.

No PDA functionality.

Reply to
Darren Griffin - PocketGPSWorld.Com

OK, Well there are a few solutions, some shareware such as OziExplorer that will allow you to import scanned maps and calibrate. These may be good enough for your needs.

Tomtom's BT GPS has a built-in, non-replaceable battery. There are many decent and cheaper SiRFIII alternatives although few that accept AA or AAA batteries.

Reply to
Darren Griffin - PocketGPSWorld.Com

Li-Ion batteries in everything bugs me, my bluetooth GPS has one and it died when I left the GPS in the sun and it all got so hot the battery bulged and died. I wouldn't have minded so much if it wasn't a solar GPS! Even a non-solar GPS though is going to end up being left in the sun in a car window.

Reply to
Ian Rawlings

Thanks for that I'll have a look.

A hour or so this morning on google only found SiRFIII BT GPS things at =

=A350 to =A370 mark and TT6 at around =A360 so overall not a lot in it w= ith the TT package at just over =A3110.

Anyway the CC is now wimpering in the corner as I've ordered a HX2790 an= d TT6 + BT GPS from Amazon. (Dabs have run out of the HX2790 they had at =A3303, Amazon where =A3310).

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

Arrived the next day as it should, been playing gently with it. The TT BT GPS Rx normally gets about 3 or 4 sats next to a window indoors, enough to get a fix. In the car just sat in the little "pen tray" on the dash it works fine despite the heated screen. No problems getting TT6 up and running.

Part of the promo stuff that came with the iPAQ was 4 points for free software, one of which was Navio from Tiny Stocks:

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This does the position overlay on map stuff I wanted and having just tried it with a roughly scanned 1:25000 map I happened to have about it works very well. Good enough to give your position on the map to less than a hand full of yards.

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

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