Which is strongest GPS Receiver

alncc1701 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 21, 2007 Posts: 17

Hi

I am wanting to get a gps receiver with uk road mapping, Points of Interest, and post code search down to at least 7 digits that has the least reception problems possible.

I want one that will receive postioning very fast and work under thick tree cover and car windows glass etc. Also won't have problems walking down a city street surrounded by tall buildings blocking reception, or in deep valleys surrounded by mountains and hills.

I basically want excellent reception. If I can get all this on my windows mobile 2003 SE pocket pc that would be great (ideally USB cable connection, but bluetooth OK if I have to). I have a Acer N50 slightly old model PDA. It has a 300MHZ processor and SD card and Compact Flash card input. I believe it has a USB connection cable converter I can buy to add to it to give it USB ability.

Thanks

Al

mikealder · Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2007 9:46 pm Post subject:

Quite a number of questions, firstly the software.
If you want automotive GPS based software look at TomTom as this offers full post code support.
If you want countryside walking look at Topographical mapping which displays Ordinance Survey maps on the PDA, Memory Map is a good starter for ten - no good for spoken routes on the road though.

As you can see from the above there are two different types of software - on or off road.

For GPS hardware, your other post looks at a CF receiver, nice unit but I would also consider Bluetooth devices, the minimum these days has to be SiRF-III, although the MTK chipset is also offering good results see Here

Take your time with any purchase, read up on the various software packages (the forums offer a wealth of knowledge on such topics) - ask questions to formulate your choice, then enjoy the resultant product (s) - Mike

alncc1701 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 21, 2007 Posts: 17

Thanks Mike for your reply.

I think on road GPS will be more useful to me. That new MTK chipset looks really good. Does this mean sirfstar 3 is dead I wonder? Maybe I should wait a few weeks and see. I will look at TomTom for on road then. I would like to get free safety camera updates available via download if it does this for a PDA. I am also a little worried my PDA will not have enough memory or CPU power to deal with the mapping software. I will have to look into all of this I suppose.

Do you know who are offering the best prices for TomTom software?

Thanks

Al

AllyCat · Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 5:46 pm Post subject:

Hi Al,

Yes TT6 should run alright on your Acer N50, but I'd recommend a Bluetooth receiver. The CF slot is "back-to-front", so you might find the aerial of a CF receiver pointing at the ground! Yes, the N50 does have a USB Host facility, but there are no drivers (software) available for PPCs, so you cannot connect a USB GPS receiver.

The cheapest I've seen legitimate SD cards with TT6 for GB is about £70, from places like globalpositioningsystems.

Cheers, Alan.
_________________
Garmin GPS72H/76/60/45, Etrex H, Mapsource v6.5.
Acer N50,HP114,Loox N560,Dell x50,CF/SD cards to 4/32GB.
RoyalTek,Holux236,Navman B10 & Copilot(Globalsat) BT GPS,TomTom5/6.
Memory Map (v5.4.2 & v5.1.3 OS & Euro), GPS gate,OSGPSconverter.

alncc1701 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 21, 2007 Posts: 17

Thanks a lot Alan

For your help. I will go for TT6 I think. I was looking at that Qstarz 32 channel bluetooth reciever that looks pretty good. Perhaps those two would
be a good combination for my Acer. I wonder also if it is a good idea to buy 2 receivers so that if one packs up or runs out of battery power or something one still has another to kick in.

mazhar · Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2007 12:36 am Post subject:

alncc1701 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 21, 2007 Posts: 17

I ended up getting TTN6 with a CF sirfstar3 GPS as I got a good deal, and with CF there is no need to recharge the receiver, just the PDA. I would have preferred the QstarZ, but was a little nervous about using Ebay because genrally I prefer buying from shops or well known online shops. I will get the QstarZ later on, especially I think it will be great for my off road plans too. Memory map was sugggested and I will check that out this coming week. Something with comprehensive mountain and nature park trails drawn in detail would be a good start.

Al

philpugh · Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 6:33 pm Post subject:

alncc1701 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 21, 2007 Posts: 17

Thanks Phil

As you say I better get something to protect my PDA too, I got a small scratch on the screen already that is a pity, but not too bad.

Good point about not relying only on the GPS to work in case it packs up. I will always take a compass and map if I go heavily off road.

The memory map has a breadcrumb trail feature too I think which I was hoping to get on the TomTom as well.

Al

mikealder · Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 11:19 pm Post subject:

Memory Map will record a track you have taken, TomTom will not - in order to record where you have been when using either product (or both at the same time if you really want to push the hardware) consider Fransons GPS Gate, this application will share the GPS data between programs (and other devices if need be), whilst recording a log file for post processing.
For a decent waterproof box that will withstand the odd drop and is water proof - look at the Otter box products (again Memory Map can supply these).
Never go out walking without paper maps and basic devices such as compass and waterproof map pouch, Phils advice is without a doubt very important, the GPS is good when it works, batteries can fail, conditions close in - make sure you carry the basics and more importantly know how to use them - Mike

alncc1701 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 21, 2007 Posts: 17

Thanks Mike

I will look into Fransons Gate. I would like to get memory map in a few weeks time, then maybe Fransons gate if it can help out. I was kind of hoping to get a trackback feature like the Yellow Garmin Monochrome Etrex (my first gps) has onto TomTom so that one could drive around and even go off road where TT does not have any roads listed then trackback on the route .

Al

Mullet · Frequent Visitor Joined: Dec 12, 2005 Posts: 1051

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alncc1701 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 21, 2007 Posts: 17

Thanks a lot Mullet,

I will check that out, might get it if it has the right features. Are there a lot of places to get TomTom addons?

Al

Mullet · Frequent Visitor Joined: Dec 12, 2005 Posts: 1051

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