HP Jorrnada 540 as a Car GPS for safety cameras??

kayakman · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 30, 2003 Posts: 8

Hi Guys & Girls
This is my first post so hello to all. Thumbs Up

I have a HP Jornada 540 Series 32mb ram running pocket pc 2001? it's a couple of years old but hardly used.

I would like to use it as a car GPS locator for safety camera's.

What do you suggest?

Thanks

Brian :D

Dave · Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2003 3:17 pm Post subject:

The cheapest option if you don't want any in-car satellite navigation, just speed camera support would be TrafCam over at www.trafcam.com

The annual subscription for TrafCam costs £79 a year, and you would also have to purchase a GPS Receiver.

Something like a Leadtek 9531/9532 or RoyalTek Sapphire or Holux GM-210 will set you back in the region of £100-£130 and will require a cigarette/accessory socket connection to the car, but this will both power the GPS and charge the Jornada at the same time.

DavidW · Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2003 6:16 pm Post subject:

It's important to know that the Jornada 540 differs in two important ways from later Pocket PCs. Firstly, it runs Pocket PC 2000, and is not upgradable. Secondly, from Pocket PC 2002 onwards, Microsoft standardised on the ARM processor and dropped support for the other processors used in some Pocket PC 2000 devices. The Jornada 540 uses a Hitachi SH3 processor (which is why it's not upgradable to Pocket PC 2002), which is incompatible with ARM programs.

Some software, including TomTom Navigator 2, is still available for SH3 machines, but it's important to check compatibility with SH3 based Pocket PCs before buying anything.

It's also wise to enquire about getting the ARM version of any expensive programs you buy so that if you later buy a newer Pocket PC, you can move your software to the new machine.

In this case, the Jornada 545, another SH3 based machine, is on Trafcam's compatibility list - and there is, I believe, no problem downloading different software versions during your subscription period. Of course, if you have any doubts, it's always best to check with the vendor first.

David

kayakman · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 30, 2003 Posts: 8

Hi Guys
Thanks for the advice. Thumbs Up

Currently I have three main reasons for wanting a GPS

1) Outdoor & Adventure - mountain walking etc? 8)

2) In car for safety camera's Rolling Eyes

3) My wife likes the idea of geocaching Twisted Evil

As per the first forum idea, I thought that I might be able to put to good use my old PDA - but I might forget that idea. It seems quite complicated and potentially outdated before I even start.

I have been looking at the following GPS products and wondered if they could be used for all of the above.

Garmin GPSmap 76S
Silva Multinavigation
Garmin Vista

I am not sure if you can load additional data like the GPS safety camera into these units?

Thanks

Brian
Happy

Dave · Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2003 11:29 pm Post subject:

The Garmin GPSMap76S is a great GPS, I have one myself. However I would also suggest looking at the Magellan Meridian range. The main reason is that Garmin's and Magellan SporTrak's are limited to the amount of memory for uploading Garmin/Magellan maps to (usually around 20mb), but with Meridian's you can use SD cards with them.

Great for Geocaching, esp if you know the rough co-ords, but for proper map support I would either hook these up to a PDA and use proper Street Nav software, or topographical maps like Memory-Map.

kayakman · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 30, 2003 Posts: 8

Hi Dave

I had the Magellan Meridian on my original list until I read your reviews and the dislike of how the PC interface cable fitted?

Some people in the forums / reviews have stated that the compass on the Gold is not really an electronic compass; I am not sure what they mean?

But they don’t mention if the compass on the Platinum version is the same?

In one of the reviews a reader swooped his Garmin Vista for a Magellan Meridian but now wished he had not.

Would the Magellan Meridian Platinum be the best comparison??

Any news of the Garmin Map76s review, even a sneak pre publication?

Regards

Brian

Dave · Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2003 8:26 am Post subject:

Hi Brian, once you get used to the Magellan cable connection and how it tightens up, and matching the pin points up on the plate, then you get used to it and it's not so much of a problem, but to start with you do find it a little fiddly and cumbersome.

The Meridian Gold unfortunately doesn't have an electronic compass, but the Platinum certainly does.

The main difference between an electronic compass and normal compass is the electronic compass can be held nearly anyway you want to hold the GPS Receiver and it will still give off the correct reading. Where as say if you compared it to a Garmin Vista, or Meridian Gold you would have to hold it level for the compass to function properly otherwise it may not function, or it will give you incorrect readouts.

Ah, Garmin GPSMap76S review. I think you and several others may have emailed me before about this ? I had completely forgotten about this, and checking my workload list, it's not on there. I've added it and will get a review up. I can tell you we do have the Garmin GPSMap76 review and the main differences the 76S has over the 76 are:-

- Slightly slighter colouration of the GPS
- 24mb built in memory over the 8mb in GPSMAP76
- Only 10 hours battery use compared with 16h on GPSMAP76
- Supports Glide Ratio, Glide Ratio to Destination and Vertical Speed to Destination
- Built-in Electronic Compass
- Built-in Barometric Altimeter

Personally, if you want a compass, then I'd go for the 76S, that was the main reason I chose the 76S over the 76, and I also wanted a Barometric Altimeter (not that I really use it though).

Personally after testing a lot of the Magellan Meridian range, I'm starting to like these a whole lot more, especially seeing that Garmin's are limited to around 8-24mb of memory for uploadable maps, and the Meridian will accept an SD card giving you much more space for maps. I haven't tested the MapSend maps yet on a Meridian and compared it to Garmin's MapSource maps, but I will be doing this in the new year, but for a bang for buck, I'm starting to sway more with the Meridian range.

BTW, watch out for the Magellan SporTrak Color review to hit the website in the next few days!

kayakman · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 30, 2003 Posts: 8

Thanks
I may now have to rethink.

Regards

Brian

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