GPS and PDAs

[TangoZulu]

I am thinking about buying a handheld GPS for flying - but have also been thinking about getting a PDA for work etc - such as the Palm 515 or Compaq iPAQ.

This leads me on to the conclusion that it is possible to get a GPS receiver for these PDAs and wondered therefore if anyone had any information or experience on using something like this in the air?

Is there any "dedicated aviation" software which could run on a PDA with GPS?

Thanks in advance :)

TZ

[Keef]

There certainly is.

Wasn't there an article in Flyer a month or so back about this very thing?

I'm not sure I'd like it. More fiddly bits to look at inside the aeroplane instead of looking where I'm going. In IMC I have to look at the real Nav kit, and in VMC I think I'm expected to look out of the window.

Now if I'm sitting in the right hand seat with someone else flying, maybe...

[Chuck Ellsworth]

The product you want is www.Anywheremap.com

I have been using it for almost two years and nothing on the market can come near it period.

Cat Driver:

......................
:D The hardest thing about flying is knowing when to say no.:D

[MAJIC9]

Not to say you shouldn't explore the options.. and there are some. The above mentioned anywhere map is the most expensive one.

take a look at NavGPS:

http://www.gonavgps.com/

and also

http://www.winpilot.com/vfr/

hth

[Julian]

Try the site www.casioextra.com for your PDA.
I got a PDA for £200 rather than £400, they are supposedly refurbished but they are the latest models and when mine arrived it was all packaged up and to be honest couldnt tell the difference! Not bad for 50% off!

I bought a Garmin eTrak which came complete with the cable required although if you already have the GPS you can find them in most shops. Its then just a case of deciding what software you want to run on it.

I have also played about hooking my GPS upto my laptop. I now have a 14" screen full colour moving map display. Why spend £1200 on a GPS when a £120 one is just as good, even when you include the laptop (which I already had anyway), it still works out cheaper - and of course you can play games, flight pla, etc when you are bored :)

[RotorHorn]

Sony do a GPS product called Street Navigator (or something similar) for about £150.

Its a GPS built into a PCMCIA card that hooks in your laptop and comes complete with road navigation software ("Turn right at the next junction" type of voice thing). Cheaper than paying £1500+ for a car sat-nav system!!

Good thing is you can run the aviation software on your laptop as well and take the input from the GPS.

Only problem for me was a). vaio screens aren't much good in direct sunlight, b). there's no where in an R22 to really put a laptop...:rolleyes:

[englishal]

Have a look at this thread (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=56717) and go to the second or third page. this should answer most of your questions...

Cheers
EA:)

[Fuji Abound]

Take a look at www.epcn.co.uk lots of useful information on the AnyWhere system