GPS for windows mobile?
Join Date: Jun 2003
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Depends on what you mean by a "half decent aviation GPS package".
There is nothing out there which emulates a dedicated aviation GPS like a 496, with route planning etc features etc etc.
If you just want a moving map, Memory Map does the UK, and Oziexplorer does anywhere for where you can "acquire" the charts. Both these run fine on WM (pocket/pc) even in 640x480 on those PDAs which need the display hack to switch the display to 640x480.
But WM is a pile of crap. It crashes readily, and the device has to be reset when you start it up, just to make sure no garbage from the previous session is mucking up the memory.
Far better to get an XP tablet (e.g. Samsung Q1 Ultra) and run the above software on that, etc.
There is nothing out there which emulates a dedicated aviation GPS like a 496, with route planning etc features etc etc.
If you just want a moving map, Memory Map does the UK, and Oziexplorer does anywhere for where you can "acquire" the charts. Both these run fine on WM (pocket/pc) even in 640x480 on those PDAs which need the display hack to switch the display to 640x480.
But WM is a pile of crap. It crashes readily, and the device has to be reset when you start it up, just to make sure no garbage from the previous session is mucking up the memory.
Far better to get an XP tablet (e.g. Samsung Q1 Ultra) and run the above software on that, etc.
Join Date: Feb 2002
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There are a few packages around.
Memory Map mentioned above is a very cheap one. It does fine if you only want to fly in the UK, and are happy seeing a UK CAA chart (updated whenever a new CAA chart comes out), and no airspace warnings.
If you need something more advanced, allowing worldwide mapping, pc/mobile device flight planning, airspace warnings, updates every 2 hours, proper declutter routines (which you can't obviously do with anything displaying a paper chart), text the right way around when flying track up etc, then try PocketFMS. There is a 30 day free trial here, so you can see if you like it and if it suits your needs, before spending any money Home of the PocketFMS Foundation.
For the sake of clarity, I should point out that I am a Beta Tester for PocketFMS, but I have no financial involvement.
Memory Map mentioned above is a very cheap one. It does fine if you only want to fly in the UK, and are happy seeing a UK CAA chart (updated whenever a new CAA chart comes out), and no airspace warnings.
If you need something more advanced, allowing worldwide mapping, pc/mobile device flight planning, airspace warnings, updates every 2 hours, proper declutter routines (which you can't obviously do with anything displaying a paper chart), text the right way around when flying track up etc, then try PocketFMS. There is a 30 day free trial here, so you can see if you like it and if it suits your needs, before spending any money Home of the PocketFMS Foundation.
For the sake of clarity, I should point out that I am a Beta Tester for PocketFMS, but I have no financial involvement.
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SkyDemon
Has its own vector charts, air data for many European countries (and expanding), profile view of approaching features and works on Windows Mobile.
[I'm biased; I wrote it.]
Has its own vector charts, air data for many European countries (and expanding), profile view of approaching features and works on Windows Mobile.
[I'm biased; I wrote it.]
I use an old iPAQ PDA, velcroed to the control column, and Memory Map with full UK coverage at 1:500.000 and 1:250,000 (as well as 1:50,000 for the odd helicopter trip) on a set of 4GB SD cards. If I ever need to use it outside the UK, I can usually source in-date mapping one way or another. I can't say that I've ever felt the need for bells and whistles like planning software or de-clutter routines and my navigation is plenty accurate enough to do without airspace warnings.
I use the same device in the car with TomTom 5 and, in almost 10 years of constant use, WM has not crashed on me once.
I use the same device in the car with TomTom 5 and, in almost 10 years of constant use, WM has not crashed on me once.
