new to gps

[eldo]

hey guys i know nothing at all about gps and the mrs just got me a lap top, what do i need to get me started ? can i just buy one of those receivers on ebay and hook it up some how, blue tooth or wirless i think and im off ? what software do i need? my father in law has a garmin, can i use his software?

[Patrolman Pat]

Best software by a mile is OziExplorer, well worth the $$ ( about $80 I think) a GPS mouse as you said and some maps and you're set. You should be able to hook up the Garmin with the appropriate data cable.

[away]

hey guys i know nothing at all about gps and the mrs just got me a lap top, what do i need to get me started ? can i just buy one of those receivers on ebay and hook it up some how, blue tooth or wirless i think and im off ? what software do i need? my father in law has a garmin, can i use his software?

Does your laptop have a good, old fashioned, serial port? If so, buy a GPS that uses a serial connection to communicate. GPS's that use bluetooth, wireless, infra-red, USB, gamma rays, nuclear radiation, plasma transfer or anything else but serial connections will work, but they ALWAYS suffer from spurious gremlin issues.

USB to serial converters also work, sort of, sometimes, maybe.... but look forward to blue screens of death, lock-ups, freezes etc.

If you didn't buy a laptop with a serial port, ask you dealer to come up with a fail-safe method of connecting your GPS. Put the onus back on him...it will save you heaps of heartache.

Once you have a GPS of choice that will work with the laptop, buy OziExplorer software and the Natmap Raster Map 1:250,000 Premium DVD. Also consider buying Discover Aus if you get a Magellan GPS. You can run both programs simultaneously from the one GPS using a small software called GPS Wedge, which splits the port connection to each of the mapping programs.

I use a setup like this as it affords me a topographical view with major roads etc in OziExplorer and a close-up view down to streets and streetnames in Discover Aus. It's the best of both worlds. You can run them as separate Windows and size them to be side-by-side or run them full-screen and switch between the two.

If you decide to go this way, PM me and I can send you instructions on how to configure it all.

And before we get a million people writing back and saying "I've got a so and so GPS and it uses bluetooth and it works perfectly...." let me tell you that if you do have one that doesn't use serial and does work perfectly, you are one of the rare lucky ones! I do this for a living and I know what I'm talking about.

[Patrolman Pat]

And before we get a million people writing back and saying "I've got a so and so GPS and it uses bluetooth and it works perfectly...." let me tell you that if you do have one that doesn't use serial and does work perfectly, you are one of the rare lucky ones! I do this for a living and I know what I'm talking about.

I'm a rare lucky one in that my USB to Serial adapter hasn't causesd me one problem but I know a few that have had problems.

[OGJON]

i've got a laptop with a gps mouse & software (track ranger 2005 pro) & it all works a treat

[thebludger]

i've got a laptop with a gps mouse & software (track ranger 2005 pro) & it all works a treat

Must have forgot to take it on the 18th as well! :D ROFL

[Yogi B]

If you purchase a hand held Like a Garmin E-map (which I've got) you can use it as a stand alone, and still be able to connect to your PC and use software like Ozy Explorer or Trackranger. That way you can also use it on your bikes.

[hillbilly123]

Well I have a Compaq laptop with Copilot live laptop 8 and Trackranger and have both a USB Gps module and a Bluetooth one. The bluetooth one is by far the better as it doesnt lose signal anywhere as easy as the Haicom USB one. In actual fact it works in the glovebox just as well. It is a Globalsat BT -338 with a Sirf 3 chipset $129 on Ebay. Also works perfectly on my Nokia N70 with TOMTOM 5 for smartphone. I use this in town as doesnt look so obvious and u can put both in your pocket and walk around. You get funny looks in a shop tho if you turn around and your pocket says MAKE A U TURN. He he
Use a Ram Mount Pod III to hold the laptop in the Cruiser $330 from
www.ja-gps.com.au (http://www.ja-gps.com.au) or view at www.ram-mount.com (http://www.ram-mount.com)