Question for GPS gurus

[BigMav]

Has anyone tried to use one of these Compact Flash GPS receivers with their laptop in a vehicle using oziexplorer? I can't see a reason why it won't work ok. They are $100 on ebay so i think i'll give it a go anyway. Check out a review of what i'm talking about here...

http://www.pocketgps.co.uk/globalsat-bc307.php

I checked the FAQ on the oziexplorer website and looks as though it is compatible with these things too. Any comments?

Could have difficulty with the antenna placement - does it have an external antenna or a bluetooth GPS antenna transmitter that can sit in view of the sky? (assuming you put you laptop on the seat...)

Other than that, lets us know how it goes...

[4xgold0]

hi all,i have a magellan meridian colour GPS, is it possible to link it to my laptop and get a full screen on my laptop.any advice, thanx

[bigjules]

I don't think you can display the screen of your GPS on the laptop, but you can link it to mapping software and have your location displayed over the mapping software.

hi all,i have a magellan meridian colour GPS, is it possible to link it to my laptop and get a full screen on my laptop.any advice, thanx


No problems with linking the Meridian to the laptop however you need new software on the laptop to make it meaningfull (The Meridian will send positional data to the laptop but not the onboard mapping data, and you need mapping software to be able to read the Meridians message).

So, that means you need to purchase aftermaket software to run on the laptop, DiscoverAus is a (good) Magellan product and will cost about $200, OziExplorer is a raster based map display product (also good) and will cost about $100 (if you buy it as opposed to just using the trial software as many people do).

Some time ago I wrote a longish thread on Magellan Meridians, you may be interested in searching for it and reading it.

[kingkong]

Has anyone tried to use one of these Compact Flash GPS receivers with their laptop in a vehicle using oziexplorer? I can't see a reason why it won't work ok. They are $100 on ebay so i think i'll give it a go anyway. Check out a review of what i'm talking about here...

http://www.pocketgps.co.uk/globalsat-bc307.php

I checked the FAQ on the oziexplorer website and looks as though it is compatible with these things too. Any comments?


I haven't used one, but am interested to hear how it goes. sounds like a cheap way of doing it if you have a lappy (I do)

How did it go BigMav?

[endo]

I bought a USB GPS mouse off ebay for a similar price, works a treat :)

[nqgu]

GPS mouse would be better, as it will be difficult to get a signal with GPS attached directly into the laptop.

[baby_troupe]

GPS mouse would be better, as it will be difficult to get a signal with GPS attached directly into the laptop.

Why is that?

My GPS gets a great signal attached directly to laptop.

BTW I have an externally mounted aerial on the top of my snorkel.

[nqgu]

The GPS signal will not go through the roof of the car but will go through the glass and plastic. The GPS needs an unobtructed view of the sky via the windows.

Sitting with a laptop on your lap or well inside the car, will give a much poorer view of the sky than could be obtained by placing a mouse on the dash hard up against the windscreen.


I use an etrex connected to a iPaq, and my etrex is hard up against the windscreen. If I sit it on my lap, it doesn't receive a very good signal. So if you have a GPS plugged directly into your patop PCMCIA socket, and the GPS is not connected by a long cable (most simply sit in the socket), then you will find that you will need to hold the laptop up up the dash, where the screen sort of gets in the way a bit :-)

With some installations it may work, but just saying beware.

You could use a reradiating antenna that is compatible with the GPS. A reradiating antenna can be mounted outside the car and reradiates. usually via a short cable and another antenna, to the GPS

Cheers

[baby_troupe]

The GPS signal will not go through the roof of the car but will go through the glass and plastic. The GPS needs an unobtructed view of the sky via the windows.

Sitting with a laptop on your lap or well inside the car, will give a much poorer view of the sky than could be obtained by placing a mouse on the dash hard up against the windscreen.


I use an etrex connected to a iPaq, and my etrex is hard up against the windscreen. If I sit it on my lap, it doesn't receive a very good signal. So if you have a GPS plugged directly into your patop PCMCIA socket, and the GPS is not connected by a long cable (most simply sit in the socket), then you will find that you will need to hold the laptop up up the dash, where the screen sort of gets in the way a bit :-)

With some installations it may work, but just saying beware.

You could use a reradiating antenna that is compatible with the GPS. A reradiating antenna can be mounted outside the car and reradiates. usually via a short cable and another antenna, to the GPS

Cheers

But my setup is not obstructed in any way.
I have an external aerial on top of the snorkel. (360 degree view of the sky)

Even a mouse one on the dash is going to be partially obscurred by the roof of the vehicle, especially in steep terrain with plenty of trees. (my first setup was that way & I had plenty of "cannot see sky" errors)

[nqgu]

The GPS signal will not go through the roof of the car but will go through the glass and plastic. The GPS needs an unobtructed view of the sky via the windows.

Sitting with a laptop on your lap or well inside the car, will give a much poorer view of the sky than could be obtained by placing a mouse on the dash hard up against the windscreen.


I use an etrex connected to a iPaq, and my etrex is hard up against the windscreen. If I sit it on my lap, it doesn't receive a very good signal. So if you have a GPS plugged directly into your patop PCMCIA socket, and the GPS is not connected by a long cable (most simply sit in the socket), then you will find that you will need to hold the laptop up up the dash, where the screen sort of gets in the way a bit :-)

With some installations it may work, but just saying beware.

You could use a reradiating antenna that is compatible with the GPS. A reradiating antenna can be mounted outside the car and reradiates. usually via a short cable and another antenna, to the GPS

Cheers

But my setup is not obstructed in any way.
I have an external aerial on top of the snorkel. (360 degree view of the sky)

Even a mouse one on the dash is going to be partially obscurred by the roof of the vehicle, especially in steep terrain with plenty of trees. (my first setup was that way & I had plenty of "cannot see sky" errors)


My advice was to the original enquiry by BigMav not a comment about your setup, and was simply to advise him that a PCMCIA card mounted gps that sits on the side of the laptop may have a very obstructed view of the sky. I have not seen any GPS that plugs into the PCMCIA socket, that can be fitted to a snorkel, hence my advice to use a reradiating antenna if PCMCIA is the way he wishes to go.

Yes a GPS on the dash can give problems, mine does not. I have a complete plot of the CREB track (steep, mountainous and forested) that was recorded by my eTrx sitting on the dash. I use mine extensively in FNQ on the dash ithout problems, but many people report they can;t do the same. Maybe I have a big windsreen!

A friend has an earlier model Garmin that will not work as well on the dash.

So back to the advice. If you are going to buy a GPS that plugs directly into the laptop, and does not have a cable to allow it to be placed "somewhere" where it can get an unobstructed view of the sky, then I would suggest you see if there is a better solution, or you also purchase a re-radiating antenna and mount it outside, on the snorkel or the bull bar or somewhere.

If the GPS has a cable, and can be sat on the dash, then depending on the unit and the configuration of the car, it may work but as baby-toopie says, it may not.

[nqgu]

swap PCMCIA for CF but same deal.

I have three (yes, three :P) GPS units. The navman PDA and Magellan Meridian both sit in cradles stuck the windscreen of the Prado and both pick up 8 or more satellites, including in the High country with tree cover and funny angles :P

The eTrex is an early design and can lose lock inside the Prado in treed or steep country, but generally has at least four or five satellites on highways and stuff (or when I'm walking and hold it in my hand).

Not convinced of the need for re-radiating antenna anymore, new GPS antenna seem much better constructed (electronically) than earlier models. At least try the reciever it in the car before buying the re-radiating antenna anyway.

nqrangie is right, he seems well informed on matters GPS.

[nqgu]

Too much time spent in a sailplane (glider if you prefer)- that's not the ones that look like a kite on steroids, but the ones that look like really sexy long winged aeroplanes minus the motor ;D

Too much time spent in a sailplane (glider if you prefer)- that's not the ones that look like a kite on steroids, but the ones that look like really sexy long winged aeroplanes minus the motor ;D


Mate, taint natural to fly without some form of chemically aspirated motive force 8). Would love to try it though...

[nqgu]

As natural as the birds. Want to give it try? No problems, I am an instructor so come up to Townsville and I'll take you for a ride.

[FUN-TOY]

If you cant be bothered with laptop size, buy a Garmin Ique for road nav....for offroad buy Fugawi program and import all digital map to it ( to ur laptop or PC at home) and depend on the card size in your garmin, you can upload all the map to the Ique.

Then now, instead of a laptop youll have all the map in your garmin screen, add on a external aerial...perfect!

Size does matter!! But in this case the smaller the better!