Replacement Bluetooth GPS receiver?

[tuck1s]

Hi,
I'm currently using TomTom5, on a Dell Axim X50 PDA, with a Dell BT-309 Bluetooth GPS receiver that I originally bought as a bundle.

Works fine (as far as the TomTom SW, Bluetooth connection etc. goes). Works with the speed camera database just fine.

Maps are getting a bit old, but cover all of Western Europe. Presumably these would be expensive to replace?

However I've noticed that the receiver seems to be getting less sensitive. It wouldn't work on the dashboard of a hire car recently (we have to put it in a waterproof bag and jam it out the window!)

I was wondering whether reception conditions have been poor lately (in the UK and Sweden) or whether my receiver is just getting a bit old or "out of tune".

My questions are:
- Are receivers now a lot better than my old one? (e.g. lock time in particular, with can be awful on the Dell - i.e. several minutes)

- Any particular receiver models / chipsets better than others?

- How robust are these? (Dell unit is quite bulky but also fairly robust)

- Can you now get dual-use handheld receivers, with a simple lat/long display (for basic walking / navigation with a paper map) as well as Bluetooth connection (for use with the PDA)?

- Dell unit has a 5 volt charging connector (inner is +ve, outer is -ve). Are these fairly standard, or is each mfr different?

PS Dell's website is rather unhelpful, it doesn't seem to describe obsolete parts like the BT-309 (purchased early 2005). However I found this thread which describes it as very similar to the GlobalSat BT308.

http://www.mobilitysite.com/boards/gps-talk/59714-bt-309-manual-internal-photos.html

[tuck1s]

... sorry another question: How do CompactFlash slot GPS compare - presumably the battery life of the PDA is reduced a lot?

Any recommended models?

[mikealder]

Unless you fancy messing around with reg edits I would avoid the CF GPS devices as the Dell PDA units are well known to be problematic, they can be made to work but its not without some "fun"
For a BT device have a look at the devices from Qstarz see Here or the iBlue which can be found Here, both of which are very capable devices with outstanding battery life.
Also consider the Holux GPSlim-240 which you can read about Here - Mike

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