Navman 3450

[Doug Snyder]

I'm considering the purchase of a Navman 3450 for use with an iPAQ
3765. I want the unit primarily for the auto navigation software. That
I can also use it with WinPilot is nice as well. (that way I'll have
two GPS's whilst flying)

Unfortunately, the user reviews for Navman are not very good. The
primary problems seem to be difficulty acquiring and keeping satellites
and software given to "freezing up" and requiring reboots of the iPAQ.
I can't believe acquiring satellite will be a problem in the glider but
I can see where it might be in the car.

There are other options for use with a PDA but none I've found for use
with the 3700 series.

Does anyone have experience with the Navman 3450?

I guess I could just throw the iPAQ out the vent next time I fly and
start all over with a better PDA and better navigation software.

Doug

[1MoClimb]

Doug,

I know nothing about the Navman but I did buy a compactflash slot GPS
receiver that I use with the IPAQ sleeve as a backup receiver to my
302. It works with WinPilot Advanced, you just have to find out which
COM port it uses (mine works with COM 4). A compactflash GPS receiver
can be had on ebay for under $100 and the sleeve for the IPAQ goes for
$25.
If you add an external power supply box (another $10 plus 4 AA size
NiMH batteries) your IPAQ is a stand-alone powerful soaring computer.
My no-name receiver has the Model number BC-307, go and google it.
Never drops 3-d reception and seems to have a reasonable power drain.
My IPAQ is a 3955.

Herb, J7

Doug Snyder wrote:
> I'm considering the purchase of a Navman 3450 for use with an iPAQ
> 3765. I want the unit primarily for the auto navigation software.
That
> I can also use it with WinPilot is nice as well. (that way I'll have
> two GPS's whilst flying)
>
> Unfortunately, the user reviews for Navman are not very good. The
> primary problems seem to be difficulty acquiring and keeping
satellites
> and software given to "freezing up" and requiring reboots of the
iPAQ.
> I can't believe acquiring satellite will be a problem in the glider
but
> I can see where it might be in the car.
>
> There are other options for use with a PDA but none I've found for
use
> with the 3700 series.
>
> Does anyone have experience with the Navman 3450?
>
> I guess I could just throw the iPAQ out the vent next time I fly and
> start all over with a better PDA and better navigation software.
>
> Doug

[Mal]

I am using the Navman pin navigation it crashes when crossing the border due
to loading another states map database and crashed a few times on my 1400 km
trip to Adelaide and my 1000 km trip back to Temora.

I have not been able to get strepla to run on it demo of winpilot runs.

http://www.navman.com/go/aus/products/index.html#gps3450

[2NO]

I have a Navman 3450 and don't like it much. Haven't used it in a
while.

Coincidently I have an iPAQ 3955 for sale, used but still in the box
from the guy I bought it from through amazon.com, I'll prolly put it up
on ebay soon and cut my losses.

ted/2NO

[Andy Blackburn]

At 01:00 10 May 2005, Doug Snyder wrote:
>Does anyone have experience with the Navman 3450?
>
>I guess I could just throw the iPAQ out the vent next
>time I fly and
>start all over with a better PDA and better navigation
>software.
>
>Doug
>


I own one and it sits in a drawer in my garage. I
used it a few times for car navigation and once for
flying with WinPilot Advanced (at the time it didn't
work with Pro - I don't know about now).

It has some shortcomings - especially compared to units
based on newer GPS chipsets. First, its Time To First
Fix (TTFF) is awful. In many cases even in open space
it would take tens of minutes to get a fix (some times
never). This is in part because it has no memory of
where it was last or where the satellites ought to
be so every time you power it up it does a random satellite
search. Second, it doesn't seem to hold a fix well
at all. When I flew with it it got lost frequently.
This is not a good thing to happen on a marginal final
glide. Third, it will suck its rechargable batteries
dry in about 45 minutes, so you better have a good
source of external power. The cigarette lighter adapter
that came with mine didn't provide enough current to
offset the draw so I often found if I used it to get
to the airport my iPaq was dead for flying and had
to be recharged.

Recently my iPaq went legs up so I replaced it with
an iPaq 5550 with build in Bluetooth. I did some research
and got a latest generation bluetooth GPS - the GlobalSat
BT GPS Receiver BT-338 - it's $179 - about $40 more
than the Navman. It's based on the SiRF III chipset
which keeps a database of expected satellite locations
so it picks up a fix from a cold start in about 15
seconds -- it's ready before I can get the nav software
booted. It runs on it's own internal battery for something
like 15 hours (!) Not sure how long the iPaq runs
just on its own battery with the backlight on and Bluetooth
active, but I think it's a few hours.

I have used it with SeeYou mobile and it works flawlessly
(not tried it with WinPilot yet). For auto navigation
I got a copy of CoPilot 5 for $99 (normally $250 or
so) by trading in my Navman software. It too is a big
improvement though I am still working through some
installation issues. I picked CoPilot in large part
because it is the only auto navigation software I looked
at that will navigate to a LAT/LONG position - nice
for retrieves.

Of course you need an iPaq with Bluetooth to use it,
so a drop out the vent window might be in order. Depends
on if you want to pony up $600-700. Maybe there's a
bluetooth module for the SD slot on your iPaq.

9B

[Chris]

I can second Andy's negative experiance, especially the TTFF (Time to First
Fix). Imagine waiting 15 minutes to get the satellites. During that time you
think that something is wrong with the settings/Ipaq etc. and if you play
around with them you even have to wait longer.

I was using it with WinPilot when I am flying in glider with no GPS equiped.
Navman is so slow that often the information from WinPilot is just plain
wrong.

Also the connection with the suction cup is a joke. I had to manually adjust
the plastik with tape that a proper connection was made. The suction cup by
itself is also not good because it often happens during the flight that it
gives up.

All in all I would not recommend it!! Look out for alternatives like the
already mentioned ones.

Christian

[cernauta]

"Doug Snyder" > wrote:


>There are other options for use with a PDA but none I've found for use
>with the 3700 series.

IMHO there are two solutions.
Get a double slot CF expansion jacket (use one slot for a CF GPS
receiver and the other for a memory card).
Or get a bluetooth+CF expansion jacket and a bluettoth GPS receiver.
I have the latter setup, works very well with various programs.
Both solutions don't require any wiring setup (always fault prone).

In flight, I just connect the Ipaq to my logger's NMEA output, which
feeds data to the flight computer, also.

ciao

Aldo Cernezzi

[John Scott]

I've been using an iPAQ 3850 for both Flight Computer and Car Navigation. I
use a PCMCIA jacket and CF GPS unit. The jacket provides additional battery
power. Since I currently only fly club ships, I don't connect the iPAQ to
the 12v power in the plane. I get 3+ hours of continually on time. I don't
how long it will last as I have never run out of battery. I use a RAM mount
with suction cup for the iPAQ in the plane - again it has held on the
canopy for 3+ hours. I use another RAM mount in the Car, this time with a
ball fastened to the dash. It holds the iPAQ near the steering wheel where
it is easy to glance at it.

I had been using a Teletype that I purchased a number of years ago. It
worked okay, but it's TTFF was not great. I recently purchased a Haicom
303MMF which uses a SiRF chipset and has an internal battery to retain last
position information. On a cold start the TTFF appears to always be less
than a minute.

I use GPS_Log for flight software. I'm looking at SeeYou Mobile. GPS_LOG
has worked with both receivers. On the 3850, the received shows up as COM5.
The specific COM port varies by iPAQ model.

After giving up on Delorme Street Atlas for Car Navigation. The Teletype
originally came with World Navigator. I didn't care for it much. The newer
version looks muc improved, but it will only work with Teletype GPS
receiveers. I looked at Tom-Tom, but they also warn about not being
reliable with CF GPS receivers. I chose iGuidance from iNAV. So far, I've
been pleased with it. If you go off route, it immediately calculates a new
route and only requests a U-Turn if there is no alternative. It has a 3-D
display mode. It allows you to insert a destination in Lat/Long easily and
immediately plots a route from the current location (other alternatives
available). Ease of use with respect to plotting a route to a Lat/Long was
important, since the primary purpose will be for my wife to quickly get a
route to come find me when I land out.

John Scott