help and advice for car / hill walking gps - please help me

[jonw]

All

I have a full set of memory map maps and I want to buy a gps device that I can use out on the hills and in the car, in the car I want to get voice prompts for directions and link up with a good speed camera database for warnings of cameras etc, on the hill I would like to be able to have an electronic compass and to be able to download the maps and aerial views from memory map on my pc so that I can see my route laid out on the maps and show me moving along it.

I can see many ways of doing this with separate bits of kit, but is there a way to do it all on one?

Incidentally I already have a Sony ericsson p910i so I don't really need any PDA functions but I realise that I may have to have them to get everything else

Price is not a major consideration

I think I can use a Navman Pin but I can't see any way of extending the battery life if I am on a two or three day hike and it may well be that there is something better out there that I haven't come across so far

I really appreciate your help

regards

Jon Webster

[DavidW]

If you've no access to mains or vehicle power, probably your only realistic option is some kind of external battery box or battery belt. There are devices around that use AA or AAA batteries - though you can 'home brew'.

The key thing is to turn the backlight down as much as you can - high backlight settings devour power. Turn off the system as much as possible, too.



David

[mav]

i have a medion 9500 aka mitac mio 168 that does all that u ask for
not sure about the compass though tom tom has one but dont know how accurate it is.
it works well with mm
the only snag is battery life 3hrs roughly.
i did see a battery extender on e bay that used aa batterys
so u could use that i suppose

[seancraig]

Another thing to consider if you go for a PDA is something to protect it from the elements. The otterbox gets good press but there are other solutions available like aquapac, it depends on how extreme the conditions are that you are using it in I suppose.

[Oldie]

I would go for separate solutions. A Garmin eTrex Vista C for walking, this has an electronic compass and you can download routes from Memory-Map, and navigation software for your PDA.

I use an eTrex Legend when walking and TomTom Navigator 3 when driving. The Legend is very convenient to use one handed and it is waterproof. If I was buying a new one then it would be the Vista C for me.

Richard

[DavidW]

I must admit, I was thinking the same way. Whilst PDAs can do things with maps that handheld GPSes can't (you can get maps for some of the more expensive handheld GPSes, but the resulting solution is not likely to have all the features of something like Memory Map 2004 OS Edition on a Pocket PC), a handheld GPS is rather more suited to hillwalking use.



David

[mav]

i must agree i have a etrex legend as well which i find great for walking with.

[Pc-Mobile]

If you are out for 2-3 days, and obviously you do not need navigation, the only solution is to use a handheld. A couple of extra sets of batteries will see you through that.
_________________
Pc-Mobile
http://pc-mobile.net/gps.htm

[seancraig]

IMHO Handheld is the way to go. I have copilot smartphone for the car with fortuna clipon and a Garmin 60cs for walking/geocaching.
Things tend to get muddy and wet often in "Sunny Saddleworth". The Garmin handles the conditions better than me :D :D
I am thinking of getting an ipaq 2210/otterbox/memory map combo to use with the fortuna clipon for better mapping but i'm just greedy.

I would really like decent topo maps for my garmin but I don't think there are any available for the uk <sigh>

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