In car GPS

Can anybody recommend a reasonably priced in-car GPS
- one that you can enter the GPS coordinates as a POI,
and the unit will be able to give directions to there?

On Mar 4, 8:39?am, Ken Bell
wrote:
Can anybody recommend a reasonably priced in-car GPS
- one that you can enter the GPS coordinates as a POI,
and the unit will be able to give directions to there?

The Tom-Tom is currently the only "Atlas" type GPS that I have found
that you could actually enter a lat-long into. About $400

-EX

I use an iPAQ mounted on my dash with an external GPS unit. I currently use
an older serially connected GPS mouse type receiver I bought at Radio Shack
years ago, but I have used a PCcard type as well. I have been using
iGuidance software from iNav (http://www.inavcorp.com/). This software
allows direct input of Lat/Long as well as many other ways to identify your
destination. I specifically selected this software to make it easy to do
retrieves, if the pilot can supply his location. It has worked well, other
than the time my wife would not believe the road it was directing her to
take. It was little more than a cart path. It was the right road.

It is not trip planning software, but specifically gives you a path from
where ever you are to where you want to be.

I also load the iGuidance software on the iPAQ in my glider so that I can
use it after landing, to help people find me.

John Scott


"Ken Bell" wrote in message
...
Can anybody recommend a reasonably priced in-car GPS
- one that you can enter the GPS coordinates as a POI,
and the unit will be able to give directions to there?

Lowrance iWay...I offer these and there are currently some promo's and
rebates
I previously used soem PDA set-ups like TomTom and NavMan but found these
only OK.....I would prefer a better system like iWay's personally..price
isn't signifigately more and Lowrance is a good company..I offer these
systems cheaper by comparison than the other systems sold in retail outlets
and cheaper than WalMart from what I am told...I don't go there )
see my website pages for more
tim

Please visit the Wings & Wheels website at www.wingsandwheels.com


"Ken Bell" wrote in message
...
Can anybody recommend a reasonably priced in-car GPS
- one that you can enter the GPS coordinates as a POI,
and the unit will be able to give directions to there?

"Mitch" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Mar 4, 8:39?am, Ken Bell
wrote:
Can anybody recommend a reasonably priced in-car GPS
- one that you can enter the GPS coordinates as a POI,
and the unit will be able to give directions to there?

The Tom-Tom is currently the only "Atlas" type GPS that I have found
that you could actually enter a lat-long into. About $400

-EX
I've got a Garmin 300 and that has the option to both input coordinates and
read out present coords (as UK OS map reference). I find it an invaluable
facility which, for some reason, doesn't seem to be listed in product
specifications, and is not even detailed in the manual. Seems barmy that
Garmin doesn't make mileage of such a powerful ability.

I assume that other countries' mapping will have an equivalent facility.

Keith

On Mar 4, 11:12 am, "Tim Mara" wrote:
Lowrance iWay...I offer these and there are currently some promo's and
rebates
I previously used soem PDA set-ups like TomTom and NavMan but found these
only OK.....I would prefer a better system like iWay's personally..price
isn't signifigately more and Lowrance is a good company..I offer these
systems cheaper by comparison than the other systems sold in retail outlets
and cheaper than WalMart from what I am told...I don't go there )
see my website pages for more
tim

Please visit the Wings & Wheels website atwww.wingsandwheels.com

"Ken Bell" wrote in message

...



Can anybody recommend a reasonably priced in-car GPS
- one that you can enter the GPS coordinates as a POI,
and the unit will be able to give directions to there?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

The new Delorme PN-20 looks pretty slick too!

The least expensive approach is one of the software packages for a
laptop computer. There is either Delorme "Street Atlas" or Microsoft
"Streets and Trips". Each is about $100 for the software *AND* the
GPS receiver. The GPS receiver is powered by a USB connection. They
will also work with any NMEA standard GPS if you buy the software only
($50).

Because I always travel with a laptop, the only extra piece I then
need to carry is the GPS receiver which is about the area of a pack of
matches and twice as thick. Thus I basically always have a GPS system
with me. I put the laptop on the passenger's seat and away I go (see
my home made stand detailed below).

Pros: Cheapest solution. Many more features with these complex
software packages driven by a powerful computer over the standalone
box. For example the GPS "radar" which pinpoints the next gas station/
restaurant/motel along your route. The laptop can be used to play
music, videos, etc!

Cons: Less portable than the stand alone variety. A bit problematic
for long trips if someone is sitting in the passenger's seat but for a
retrieve this isn't a big deal. Doesn't sit on the dash for easy
viewing (but I haven't had much of an issue). For longer trips you
need to have something to power the laptop. Rather than purchase a
purpose made 12Vdc laptop power supply, I bought a small general
purpose inverter and use it to plug the computer's AC power supply
into (great for all types of battery chargers, etc).

Of the two products (Delorme, Microsoft) I have much more experience
with the Delorme Street Atlas software. To navigate to a Lat/Long you
enter the data as follows;

- Click on the "Find" tab.
- Click on "Quick Search"
- Enter the Lat/Long in any of the following formats;

N 43 48 30, W70 9 52
N 43 48.4910, W 070 09.8440
N434829.4600, W0700950.6400
N43-48-30, W70-9-52
N 43:48:29.46, W 70:9:50.64
4348, -7009
4348N, 7009W
N4348, W7009
4348n, 7009w
n4348, w7009
4348 N, 7009 W
N 4348, W 7009
4348 n, 7009 w
n 4348 w 7009
434829, -700950
4348.491, -7009.844
434829.46, -700950.64
43.80818333, -70.16406667
43 48.4910 N, 70 09 50.64 W
43 48.4910 n, 70 09 50.64 w
N 43 48.4910, W 70 09 50.64
434829.46 N, 700950.64 W
43, -70

Pretty simple.

I will say that the Garmin auto Nuvi system (highest rated in
Consummer reports) that has the XM radio built in has some cool
features like the capability of helping with traffic, weather, etc.
Cool but expensive. I don't know if it handles Lat/Long entry.

Enjoy, John DeRosa

Car Laptop Stand - I have uploaded a few pictures of my home made
stand. http://geocities.com/jhderosa. There are also commecial
products available like http://www.e-mount.com.

I use GPS for search and rescue, so I have probably a dozen. Last year I
wanted one with the voice directions for my car. I figured that like all
other GPS units, the prices would drop substantially. So, I chose to get
the cheapest one I could - which was a Garmin. In order to give it less
features than the more expensive ones, it only has addresses and no latitude
or longitude input.

This is fine most of the time - but I had occasion when I wanted to go to a
latitude and longitude or UTM. It is relatively easy to do that. Almost
any topo mapping program will have street address embedded in the program,
so you can take a laptop and use "find" to enter the location and that will
be marked on the map. Then, you can move the cursor to the nearest road on
the map and it will give you the address of that property even if there is
no house for miles around.

You then put the laptop away and drive to an address on the cheap voice
animated gps.

I am not saying this is the best or easiest way, but it is cheap.

A few other related GPS comments. We use handheld GPS units for searching
in Oregon. We have lots of tree canopy and under these trees, GPS units do
not work well. We have found that the Garmin 60CX and related Garmin "X"
units using what they call SIRFStar III technology (a low noise preamp I
think) works better than any other handheld when the view to the sky is
obscured. Of course this would not apply to flying sailplanes or if you are
out in the open.

If you are using car GPS units and have trouble with satellite reception,
you can purchase an inexpensive remote amplified antenna in a little black
ice cube that fits on the roof. That can help.

And, newer handheld GPS units get substantially more battery life than the
old ones, using 2 penlights instead of 4. If you still have an old GPS, it
might be time to move up. New ones have built in or downloadable topo maps.

Colin