Laptop GPS

[Sledge]

Hi there,
Anyone offer any advice on using a laptop as a satnav.I understand that I can buy a gps receiver,plug it into the laptop and with the right software use it as a satnav.Any guidence on kit would be appreciated.

[spannersatcx]

Microsoft Autoroute 2006 has this.:)

[Maxbert]

Hi to you! I briefly toyed with the idea, this is what I found out...

Microsoft Autoroute will accept a GPS signal, but basically all it will do is show a dot on the map, and rotate / move the map around the dot... No navigation features as such.

However, take a look here:

www.66.com

These folks provide a range of solutions- I opted for the GSM / Satnav solution for Nokia, as I don't have a daily use for GPS. It does exactly what it says on the tin, to my complete satisfaction. Check their versions for PDAs and laptops (I think...).

Hope this helps!

Maxbert

[Crashing Software]

If you don't already have a GPS receiver interfaced to your laptop then you'd probably be better off buying a specialist device such as the Tom Tom.

Personally, as I already had the laptop and the GPS unit, I bought "Navigator" software through www.directions.ltd.uk. About £40 for the UK version.

The main advantage was that it was a cheap solution, the main disadvantages are that it's not optimised for operation with the GPS receiver, so it's always a "bit late" with the voice commands. (For example "Turn right in 100 yards" happens when you're about 3 car lengths away.) and it's VERY fiddly to force it to calculate the route you want (You have to ensure you set a waypoint on the correct carriageway of a motorway for instance - otherwise it's as likely to think you want to go the other way along that road - with very interesting results).

There's also laptop battery life to consider, for long journeys an in car PSU may be necessary.

Hope this helps

[Conan the Librarian]

Having been down this route and although being able to hook up a GPS to the laptop, it isn't really that practical. Laptops can become very big, which is why a lot of people leave them in the office/at home. You invariably end up with a laptop, a big power supply, a GPS receiver that also needs powering and the impracticality of having to turn sideways to see where you are. I found my own solution and it works well - but there are cheaper solutions too.

My own answer is a handheld computer that can sit above the dash in its own powered mount. That mount (With its own speaker for directions)also powers the separate GPS rcvr, a Fortuna Clip on. The Software chosen for me, is Copilot 6 Live. This way, the PDA does much that the laptop does, in addition to SatNav but without the bulk, power and space requirements. In fact, I begin to wonder whether I should flog the laptop. PDA, Mount, GPS receiver, software and Mount weigh in at about £500 but there are also PDAs that are, albeit slower, more biased towards SatNav and already include the GPS unit and software. These can be bought for around the £200 mark.

Recent mobile phone development now features SatNav on many models and with some is available for upgrade of existing models too. There are benefits here too, in that the telephone package will include the connectivity to fully use the features withiin current software, such as traffic jam info, sending new routes to you, etc. etc. Worth a look and especially if someone else is paying your phone bill.

Finally, the standalone SatNav unit such as Tom Tom is well worth looking at. (Although you can also get Tom Tom with many of the phones mentioned in previous para.)

So - It is a big World, but the key to success as ever, is simply having a good idea of what you want it to do for you.

Hope it helps,

Conan

[SyllogismCheck]

I'm not too sure how long your hard drive, which I imagine would be doing a fair bit of reading to keep up with mapping requirements, would put up with doing so whilst being subjected to the constant shocks, movement and vibrations in your car either.

I've been looking at this myself and will probably go down the PDA route (pardon the pun) suggested by Conan. I'm thinking I can have GPS sat-nav, the ability to run an Excel (or similar) client database, GPRS via bluetooth internet access for my laptop when needed and handsfree GSM phone functionality all in one unit.

There's a PDA available that does all this which I'd have already purchased if it didn't lack wi-fi. As soon as there is one with GPS, GSM, bluetooth and wi-fi all built in, thus avoiding the need for plug in cards and external receivers, I shall be ordering one. That way I really will be able to leave the laptop at home. :ok:

[seacue]

For a number of years I used GPS and an old laptop here in the USA. Interesting, but very dangerous I think. Laptops are too large for most/my car(s) and distracting to operate. I'm not a monster-car or SUV person.

For motorway driving, I stopped taking the laptop and just preprogrammed route-change points into the GPS as waypoints. Not suitable for other routing purposes.

The GPS was included when I sold my sailboat. I'm still thinking of a replacement, but using a laptop for in-car navigation isn't part of the picture.

[Sledge]

Thanks for the responses so far, would one of these things work ?

http://www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk/sysonchip-cf-256mb-memory-gps-with-xtrac-ii-description.html?PHPSESSID=e911563986b8494b5c9af99677ed5e8d

and could I use tom tom software with it ?

[SyllogismCheck]

That's a Compact Flash slot device, Sledge. So only any good to you if you have a CF slot in your laptop.

What I'd suggest is a wired USB device. That way you can put the receiver up on the dash where it will have a chance of good line of sight to satellites (remembering also that many cars now have metallised, heat reflective windscreens which can mask signals to some degree) without it actually being in the laptop which would require that also being somehow balanced up there.

Click on 'Receivers > Wired' in the links at the top af that page.