| Author | Message | ||
     James Newman (Lr_disco_i) New Member Username: Lr_disco_i Post Number: 40 Registered: 03-2003 |
Does anyone have any experience in using a laptop for GPS navigation? | ||
| Tony DiFranco (Nhrover) Member Username: Nhrover Post Number: 49 Registered: 11-2002 |
lots....use it every day Whats up? Tony D | ||
| James Newman (Lr_disco_i) Member Username: Lr_disco_i Post Number: 42 Registered: 03-2003 |
What equipment do I need to do this? Please could you make recommendations on a USB GPS receiver and good software to go with it so I can get "turn by turn" navigation? Thanks very much James | ||
| Jason T. Barker (Speedminded) Member Username: Speedminded Post Number: 236 Registered: 10-2002 |
Delorme recently released the new Earthmate: http://www.delorme.com/earthmate/ If possible I would check with a few office product or software stores and see if they can demo the differant map programs for you...play around and see which fits your needs the most. Most of the manufacturers of the mapping programs also offer a free downloadable demo on their websites. | ||
| Tony DiFranco (Nhrover) Member Username: Nhrover Post Number: 53 Registered: 11-2002 |
i HIGHLY agree with the avove link thats what I did 2 years ago and I love it! If you are close buy you can check out the one I have. New Hampshire. The software is easy to install and can run either from the cd or from your laptop (I reccomend from the laptop). it is very easy to use and efficient. I do a lot of driving to different places all around new england and this gets me from place to place every time without a problem. Of course a lot depends on you. for example if you want maple something or other and you type in maple street thats where it will take you. If you want maple ave then type that in. sometimes people dont know whether its a street ave blvd lane etc... it gets tricky then. The delorme now has a split screen meaning you will see an overview of lets say the city and then a close up of the next few streets and all the gas stations, restraunts, hotels etc on them. great landmarks. I cant say enough about the delorme stuff. This is the only GPS or mapping software i have ever used so i cant compare it to any others. and no I dont work for delorme. I am a alarm tech. if you have any specific questions let me know. - Tony D | ||
| James Newman (Lr_disco_i) Member Username: Lr_disco_i Post Number: 46 Registered: 03-2003 |
So if I buy that GPS receiver can I use it with any software? | ||
| Tom Hyslip (007) Member Username: 007 Post Number: 151 Registered: 03-2002 |
pretty much. I would recommend MS Map point for use with a laptop. Excellent maps and data. | ||
| Anthony Luke (Anthony) New Member Username: Anthony Post Number: 8 Registered: 03-2003 |
anyone use Mac laptops with GPS software? | ||
| Reed Cotton (Reedcotton) Member Username: Reedcotton Post Number: 75 Registered: 01-2003 |
The Earthmate is certanly a good way to get started. I have one and it works well enough. The GPS I have in my Disco is a Garmin StreetPilot Color. With the MapSource Topo maps loaded in it even works well off-road. I like it because I don't have to worry about a laptop floating around while I'm driving. If you have some money, there are even neater things like the radio heads with the retractible video screens with the GPS option. All it really takes is more MONEY! -Reed | ||
| James Newman (Lr_disco_i) Member Username: Lr_disco_i Post Number: 52 Registered: 03-2003 |
lol money I dont have....  | ||
| Reed Cotton (Reedcotton) Member Username: Reedcotton Post Number: 79 Registered: 01-2003 |
James- The Earthmate could be a good start. Some of the older GPS's are starting to show up on e-Bay for a lot less than they sold for new. I have an old Garmin 45XL in my 109, and I saw one like it go on e-Bay the other day for well under $70.00. If you really need the mapping stuff, you can plug just about any GPS into a LapTop or Palm Pilot. -Reed | ||
| Tom Hyslip (007) Member Username: 007 Post Number: 152 Registered: 03-2002 |
I would recommend picking up a Meridian Megallan GPS, they are going for ~$100. This will give you the best of both worlds. Also if you buy the map send software with it, you get a $50 rebate, total price is ~$125 after rebate. Best prices I have found are at www.gpsonsale.com (I am not affiliated in any way) 1. You have a stand alone GPS for hiking, etc, and good for off road use in the rover. Also on road, just no auto routing. 2. You can buy a cable to connect it to your laptop and it functions the same as the earthmate. This gives you the autorouting (great feature, I love it) You will need another softwrae package like MS Mappoint, etc. The reason I recommend the Megallan unit over Garmin, etc, is because it has the capability to use memory cards for additional memory not limiting your map holding capability. Good luck, GPS are a lot of fun . | ||
| Reed Cotton (Reedcotton) Member Username: Reedcotton Post Number: 80 Registered: 01-2003 |
Tom- Some of the Garmins also have "map card" capabilities. They are proprietary ($$$) chips, but can be programed by any PC with the right (Garmin) software. I would imagine the Magellan's are about the same that way. | ||
| John Kruger (Johnnyk) Member Username: Johnnyk Post Number: 206 Registered: 02-2002 |
If you are looking for a navigation system, I suggest something like Nick has at offroadguides.com Here is a link: Nick's truck John www.teampb.com | ||
| Todd Rooker (Tryrook) Member Username: Tryrook Post Number: 45 Registered: 12-2002 |
I have been using the Delorme Earthmate for over a year and love it. The best part is that you have a wide selection of software to choose from (street level detail, high level topographical maps, USGS detailed maps, etc.) which works not only on the laptop, but can also work with your PDA should you not want to pack around your laptop. I have run the Delorme on my laptop and on my Sony Clie and it works great with both. The only downside is that if you are hiking, you have to pack two items connected by a cord instead of one. Get yourself a $20 RF transmitter and you can play all of your MP3s over the radio at the same time... | ||
| Nathan Hindman (Nathanh) New Member Username: Nathanh Post Number: 37 Registered: 07-2002 |
Anthony, Try GPSy for your Mac laptop. It only runs in OS9 so if you're on OS X you'll have to run the program in Classic, but it works really well. http://www.gpsy.com You'll have to get a serial to USB adaptor, unless you're running one of the pre-USB PowerBooks Thanks, Nathan Hindman http://www.Pangaea-Expeditions.com |
