Walking with TomTom

his_racing_puma · Occasional Visitor Joined: Nov 03, 2003 Posts: 12

Being a complete novice to PDA's and TomTom (awaiting delivery still) I have a qustion.

I have just ordered a Dell Axim X5 and TomTom 2. I know this will have a GPS reciever but hat I would like to know is, is ther a way that I can use the PDA as a GPS system whilst walking?

I assume I would need a different GPS unit?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Rob

agibbs · Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2003 2:34 pm Post subject:

In principle you can do this - as you mention all you should need is a GPS that does not need a car 12V to run (e.g. compact flash type powered by PDA, or perhaps bluetooth type with internal battery). Many models are available, check the reviews!

One small tip is to make sure that you use the 'always on' setting on the GPS config so that your PDA does not auto power-off while TomTom is running.

However you may get a problem with TomTom ignoring 'slow speed' movement. I'm sure this was discussed in an earlier post, but my search did not find it, maybe this was lost on the old server or something. From memory, it appears as if TT is trying to detect when you are stationary and make it explicitly so, rather than show you 'dancing' around according to GPS error of the moment. Walking speed was apparently too low to register as 'movement', but running was OK! Even when you move a long way from the starting point (much further than any GPS error) the position is still not updated. Hopefully this has been, or will be fixed, but until it is TT is pretty useless for walking...

Dave · Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2003 3:34 pm Post subject:

I would have suggested a SysOnChip CF Plus but this has had problems on Axim's of late. Holux GM270 would be a good buy and would allow you to go walking with it.

You may find that TTN2 isn't ideal for this situation, and if you're not looking for routing options, then you may want to switch to a topographical system using Ordnance Survey maps.

SteveF48 · Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2003 4:48 pm Post subject: Walking with TT2

I've used TomTom Navigator 2 whilst walking and it was fine.
I didn't realise that you can actually tell it that you're walking, but it still updated my position both on the map and in the navigator.
There is a tendency for it to put you on the nearest road occasionally, but it worked out OK most of the time, showing my position 10-15 metres off the road.
The equipment I used was Fujitsu-Siemens Pocket Loox 600, 128mb SD Card will UK map, SysOnChip CF Plus GPS. TTN" version 2.24, GPS control 2.06.
Hope this helps.

his_racing_puma · Occasional Visitor Joined: Nov 03, 2003 Posts: 12

thanks folks. I was hesitant about asking the question as I know what its like when a newbie starts on a forum and the same old questions keep coming up.

I did do a search but found nothing - so once again thanks.

Rob

Darren · Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2003 11:17 pm Post subject:

Don't ever feel afraid to ask, the whole ethos of this site is for users to share there experiences and help new GPS'ers whereever we can, if you have a question just fire away Thumbs Up

_________________
Darren Griffin

TonyP · Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2003 9:37 pm Post subject:

For walking around town centers, it is not too difficult to use it in map mode without a GPS

Lost Cause · Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2003 11:56 am Post subject:

I just thought I'd give an update on Agibbs comment about an earlier thread - TomTom not working too well for walking.

I'm the guy who started that thread, about your position not being updated on the map if you were moving below a certain speed - running was fine, you might recall (!)

It is now working OK, but I never got to the bottom of the problem unfortunately. Mainly because two things changed on me at once:-

1. I lost my Emtac Rolling Eyes

2. I upgraded to the 2.08 GPS driver

Anyhow, once I had a new Emtac and had upgraded the driver, then the 'walking' problem has never re-occured Thumbs Up

However, two problems remain

1. Although TomTom now puts me in the correct position on the map, it is still very reluctant to update my course. e.g. if a make a right turn, then the blue arrow will continue to point in my previous direction of travel, meaning the map won't rotate etc. This issue still seems to be speed sensitive. In order for it to update my course (as opposed to position), then I still need to break into a gentle jog for two seconds - then it immediately updates my course also.

2. When I'm in a city centre, it is nigh on useless. i.e urban canyon (!) When visiting Manchester and London recently I gave up even trying to get a fix - sometimes 8 mins or more ! Strangely, it seems to get and hold a signal better in car. It must be a movement thing. Driving round Manchester = no problem. Walking = no fix Sad

Hence, in that situation I just use it as a map - which is very handy in itself.

HP2210 + Emtac + a little patience

RoyC · Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2003 8:59 am Post subject:

For walking why not simply buy a chunk of O.S. map using , say, Fugawi (£49). Although this doesn't give the autorouting functionality of TT you wouldn't really need that while walking.

I am not knowledgeable on the subject of mapping but I guess that one day the structural differences between a O.S. map (Raster) and a TT map (Vector) will become resolved? Is there an expert in our midst? Wouldn't it be nice to see both technologies combine - ah well!!

treefrog · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 26, 2003 Posts: 6

Hi!

I live in London, and use an iPaq 1940 with Socket GPS (I think this is the same as the Emtec). A little tip that works for me is to wear a top with a hood (doesn't need to be on your head), and just let the GPS sit in the hood!

Gets a good view of the sky this way, although at some point I'm sure it'll fall out and I'll lose it. Also helps to keep as far away from buildings as poss. Not foolproof, but can get an intermittant fix that's ok for navigating. It is 100% fine in the car though - i guess because you're in the middle of the road and so the buildings don't get so much in the way.

Cheers,

Dave

agibbs · Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2003 5:13 pm Post subject:

Back to the walking/running thing - I also upgraded to 2.08 (from 2.07) and can now walk around the park without any trouble, even seems ok at spotting changes of direction.

The recommendation to use Fugawi or similar only really holds if you are not walking in town - 1:50000 is fine for walking towards a mountain across miles of bog (a hobby of mine), but the resolution is pretty poor for streets, and of course does not include street names. If you wanted to go the raster route perhaps checkout the AtoZ product? http://www.a-zmaps.co.uk

Basically with TT you have a street map of the UK (very nice), and in most cases using it without GPS in map mode is all you need (and avoids problems walking through town in classic arm-out GPS pose, reduced battery life, ...). Although you are missing a lot of the 'other' information on street maps (post offices, underground stations, ...) most of this can be put back as required with POI files. Unlike raster maps you can zoom in or out to suit your needs of the moment, and the whole country fits in a resonable space (you don't have to download the chunk that you may want to use)

At the end of the day I guess the ideal solution is to have both types of mapping...and a lot of memory cards!

tobymercer · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jan 28, 2004 Posts: 1

Hello!

I have TomTom Navigator 2 (hardware + software), and would like to use them on foot (for Geocaching Smile

). Does the DIY battery pack work with this setup?

(http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/batterypack1.php)

If not, what's the best option?

I would be very grateful for any advice.

Regards, Toby

MrT · Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2004 7:29 pm Post subject: TomTom

I use the TT2 bluetooth hardware along with MemoryMap software for off road stuff.

The problem with the TomTom2 software is that it only has roads on it, no land features so it is not much use for off road other than giving you your co-ordinates.

DavidW · Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2004 6:14 am Post subject:

Even for walking on public rights of way, there's a great deal of paths missing. For a good example, compare Hyde Park in London on the TomTom map to the A to Z map. From memory, one or two of the paths are in TomTom's mapping, but most aren't.

David

Trenery · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jan 29, 2004 Posts: 52

TomTom does have a feature for setting the rout type to Fastets, Shortest or walking. However I have tried to use it a few times and it's RUBBISH! it takes ages to let you know if you are walking in the right direction and it's very hard to work out what direction you should start walking in.

It seems to take a long time to update the first 1 meeters or so and I have always had to turn around and walk another way.

The other thing is that it does not give you the shortest most direct route. You end up walking a lot further than you need to and it ignores any minor roads or walk throughs.

I think I need to get my old AtoZ out Crying or Very sad

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