in car nav system
 

Anyone got one what works whats the cheapest way to do this

Suggestions please

Re: in car nav system
 

Try looking at these

tomtom

handtech

globalpositioningsystems

easydevices

gpsw

I can perhaps get more but sure there will be a bargain in them.

Re: in car nav system
 

Yes - I ordered it pre-installed in my current car (Zafira) and it works fine 99% of the time. It is generally very accurate and knows all the road names (more than I do ;)). I don't always agree with the routes it picks for long journeys and tend to overide it - but it is great at finding locations once you are in the general area.

Stormy weather can sometimes confuse it - I think the storms affect the GPS signal.

Re: in car nav system
 

I have a XDA 1 running on Tom Tom, it's a cracking bit of kit it's never let me down in 18 months. Me being a cabbie it's a god send to me, been all over the country with mine London, Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham it's the dogs dangly bits. :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Re: in car nav system
 

Are there any subscription costs/annual charges, for any of the methods suggested? I quite like the sound of the tom tom & XDA combo.
I'd like to do something similar you see for when I get my car due to my poor sense of direction, I can aford it if it is a one off expence, however if there is any subscription of any kind I wouldnt be able to afford it.
Except ofcourse line rental for the XDA, since im allready with o2 for my contract I could just use my current sim.

Re: in car nav system
 

One of the cheapest routes is using a PDA with GPS module. I would suggest that you visit www.pocketgps.co.uk.

An alternative "cheap" system is Tom Tom GO if you are going to use it incar at £444 incl VAT.

Re: in car nav system
 

So I take it nobody knows if there is a subscription or anything? since nobody answered me previous post.

Re: in car nav system
 

£350 cheap enough?

http://www.lidl.co.uk/gb/index.nsf/p...with_Pocket_PC

Re: in car nav system
 

T3 did a review of a few satnavs here this month. Peruse! :)

Re: in car nav system
 

There's no subscription for GPS. It's run by the US DoD principaly for their own use. There's nothing to stop them pulling the plug at any time which is why Europe has decided to launch its own system called Galileo:
http://www.esa.int/export/esaNA/index.html

BTW, here's mine - it's great fun.

Re: in car nav system
 

Have you had a look at this..... http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/pr...hs1&l=en&s=dhs

Re: in car nav system
 

They are free to use on most systems, those that also incoperate speed camera software or 'live updates' are normally yeraly subscriptions for the extra data you get.

Best one i have used is tom tom. The fav way to go is with a pda. you can use a xda 2 and then you have one less bit to carry about.

If you want the most flexible system get a xda 2 with tom tom software and a blue tooth gps reciever. Using a bluetooth reciever enables you to use extra mapping tools such as fugawi and memory map when your out and about walking.

There are copies of tom tom about if you look hard enough (p2p), if your not too concerned about new new roads then you may be able to pick up tom tom 2 cheap as 3 was released not long back.

Globalpositioningsystems.co.uk might look good but they dont give 2 hoots about the customer, they just want and take your money if the stuff is not in stock. (i used to work for them till they sacked me :-( )

If you need any further help then just email me, marklunn at ntlworld .

Re: in car nav system
 

thanks a lot guys :) with my driving test just 6 weeks away now and with me having a pathetic sense of direction I am planning to get something along the lines of a PDA/XDA with tom tom, I had allready set my sites on tom tom though I couldnt find any info about subscriptions (Obviously now because there arnt any subscriptions) Ive got a bit of extra cash now since Ive stopped paying for my scooter (Typical just 6 weeks before I get rid of it :) ) think I might buy the pda or xda wichever I decide and the tom tom reciever and have a play around with it (Maybe use it with my bike) just so im used to it for when I get my car.

As for the choice between pda or xda, I currently have a mobile on contract, if I use my contract sim in an xda could I sell my current handset? This would go towards paying for the xda (Its a Sony Ericsson t610 with carphone warehouse, im about 7 months through my 12 month contract).

Re: in car nav system
 

A girlfriend with a map maybe?

Re: in car nav system
 

I wanted a gps for my Landrover but couldnt find one with a big enough screen , so i decided to build my own ;) .I rebuilt the center console between the seats making it slightly larger and incorporated a computer in it (athlon 1.2 , 80 gig hd, g-force 2 , 512 mb ram , dvd player, wireless network card, serial gps reciever). The computer bits I had anyway, the screen ( 10" touch ) bought off ebay for £70.. , the garmin gps 35 series came from maplins ,and the wi fi ariel is a d-link
http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=56, For the gps tracking i use m$ autoroute 2002, which is good in larger cities but sadly lacking in detail in rural areas especially southern ireland. The whole set up is powered by a 800 watt invertor ( turns 12v into 240v) had a few teething problems at the start with power consumption but discovered that my split charging system (2 batteries)was faulty. With that fixed everything is running sweet, I got 30 gig of tunes stored on it (5.1 surround sound) a few of my fav dvds ,couple of games... net stumbler, etheral etc , a complete in car entertainment system, all i need is a pci fm radio reciever to complete it....:D

Attached is an image of the screen running auto route on a recent trip to Wicklow

Andy E
ntl pirate

Re: in car nav system
 

None at all mate, the XDA and Tom Tom workk great with each other, sorry about not responding :dunce: :dunce: :dunce: :dunce: :dunce:

Re: in car nav system
 

Missed this bit, yes you can use your current sim in the XDA, it will help you with Tom Tom real time. Real time is, if there is a accident ahead of you TOm TOm will send a message to your XDA telling you there has been a accident, it will tell you how long the delay is in minutes and re-route you. There is no charge for this.

Re: in car nav system
 

Sorry I should have been a bit clearer, I know I can use my current sim but will I be able to sell my current phone to pay for the xda? im thinking the answer is probably no with me still being under contract.

Re: in car nav system
 

This is the exact reason why I got mine!!!!

All off eBay
Dell Axim X5 £150
CF GPS £80
256 secure digital card (for the map) £30
Cradle for the car £10
Tom Tom 3 100% discount off Bit Torrent

That's about as cheap as it gets.

Re: in car nav system
 

Not a good idea to promote such activities on this site but thanks a lot for the rest of your info :)

Re: in car nav system
 

If you have a laptop, 45 quid for a gps "mouse" off eBay. Get some software such as Garmin Mapsource (nice sofware) with Europe maps, or MS Autoroute Europe. If you want interactive directions with voice prompts then you are looking at Routis or I.Guidance (products based on intellinav - http://www.intellinav.com/)

Re: in car nav system
 

Thanks frank know you would, be thinking done my lines :D i like it will start the procurement process.

Luckily also have aerial allready

Re: in car nav system
 

Will the same gps module that works with a laptop work with a pda once I get one? using my laptop would be a nice temporary measure if I cant afford the pda straight away after getting the car you see, though only if it will work with the pda once I get it.

Re: in car nav system
 

No I don't think it will, unless the PDA has a USB port. PDA's usually use CF type-1 GPS receivers, the same type of card used in digital cameras. You can PCMCIA adapters to use a CF GPS receiver in a laptop, but I dunno if this is worth the cash. Depends on your circumstances.

Apart from the portability advantage of a PDA, the advantages of a laptop are larger screen and way more mapping memory so you can store say the whole of europe/world as opposed to just the UK. You will probably need a laptop fag lighter charger tho, but you can get these on eBay for about 20 quid brand new.

If ya gonna get a PDA then I would wait as you do need to buy some stuff for the laptop to set it all up. The software is different too, and is not interchangeable between laptop and PDA. Hope this helps.

Re: in car nav system
 

Well if you have an aerial then I don't think you could use the gps mouse, you'd need something else like a garmin or megellan with an aerial socket. My GPS "mouse" is just a small round solid black box with one usb cable coming out of it and a magnet on the underside for sticking to the car roof. Seems to work okay apart from in the city center where it dies sometimes :td:

Re: in car nav system
 

Thanks for that, I hadnt even thought about the software side of things.
So I guess its one or the other then, The laptop route would be much cheaper but much less practical, think I should way up the pros and cons
Laptop
Pros
Enough memory to fit every map I will ever need
Larger screen
cheaper

Cons
its not safe to leave the laptop in the car (Too big to hide effectiveley)
its far too big to put in my pocket
Cant mount on dashboard for easy viewing

PDA
Pros
Small and portable (Plus if I get an XDA it will replace my phone)
can mount on dashboard
Can test run it with my bike while I wait to pass my driving test

Cons
Smaller screen
to fit all the maps I will need I will likeley have to buy more memory (Possibly a lot more)
about £150 - £350 more expensive than laptop

IF you deduct the cons from the pros they are both coming up at an even 0 each :) , if anybody else can think of any more pros or cons for either It would be appreciated :)

Re: in car nav system
 

I understand the software will be different for both so I wont even insult you by asking that again :) , however, Im wondering if a Bluetooth GPS adapter will be inter-changable between a laptop and a PDA?
Not that it matters really, as im sure you may have seen from my thread 'PDA Capabilities' that I am quite set on buying a PDA now anyway for other reasons :) I'm just curious really.

Re: in car nav system
 

Should be will just need pairing on both devices, depending on how it works it may get confused / upset if you are trying to get both devices to recieve information from it at the same time, but otherwise yes.

Re: in car nav system
 

One thing you may want to consider is a Compact Flash based device. These can plug directly into some PDAs and, using a simple (cheap) adaptor into a PCMCIA slot of a laptop. This would work well with a PDA mounted on the dashboard but perhaps it would not be so good in a laptop inside a car. Mind you, I've found my 'wristwatch' GPS works reasonably happily well inside a car so this may not be a problem.

Here is one example complete with software:
http://custom1.farnell.com/cpc/searc...eyword=IT44475

Manufacturer's site:
http://www.haicom.com.tw/

Re: in car nav system
 

Just as a small warning, there is a small 'glitch' with the following combination:
Ipaq 2210, TomTom & Bluetooth.

If you have TomTom on with Places of Interest (i.e. Petrol stations etc), with Bluetooth, it tends to freeze, and can be difficult to reset, without doing a full reset (not recommended when driving!!). However, with POI turned off, this is not an issue, and works great - giving full voice instructions, and 3D views.
Well worth it (especially as I had an Ipaq).

I believe this is only an issue with Bluetooth - wired systems work without this glitch (and given you they are normally connected, as both need power, then it would probably be easier to go for a wired version)

Re: in car nav system
 

Thanks, Deffinatley worth looking into :)


Thanks for that, glad I found out about this before I went and bought mine. Wired it is then :)

Re: in car nav system
 

Only in Wales for the moment, All that is needed is people not to use the sortest when in a car or strange things can happen.

The four signs have been introduced around one particular black spot in the village, where the electronic devices direct truck drivers to a shortcut between the main M4 motorway and Cardiff airport. Link for full report from computer shopper

Re: in car nav system
 

I used to have a garmin i3 which although a bit basic worked great

Now have a tomtom one which is a great little unit although the maps are a bit questionable for my area.... (tries to send me down a dead-end)

Re: in car nav system
 

Unsure if you meant a SatNav permanently installed in your car or not but if you are prepared to have a PDA type, go for Evesham's BM 6300 (link below). It's only £69.99 and has navigation and speed camera alerts. You get free camera alerts for six months, after that it's £30 per annum. I have had one of these for three years now and it's absolutely first class.
http://www.evesham.com/products/info...5-8CC410F533CA

Re: in car nav system
 

Now he tells me :knock: ;) I think I paid £275 for my Ipaq 1710 ,,,,I wrote this before I read this post....

I have an Ipaq 1710 with a wired stat receiver with Tom Tom 5 UK street map / Europe street map and I just love it, but on my wish list is a compact all in one Garmin which I understand has short wave traffic information so no expensive mobile phone calls like Tom Tom.

I don’t know why this should be because they must use the same mapping information, my Ipaq put me in the next road when I pull my car on our drive yet the Garmin has me on my drive??? and it has full postcode input, my TT only puts me in the town.

Anybody know how one changes the battery in a Ipaq 1710 as this is one problem if you use an Ipaq if the battery drains you have to re-load the software which could be a pain if you don’t have your computer about. The battery will only last two days without having a re-charge and yes the unit is off.

Re: in car nav system
 

TomTom use (and now own) TeleAtlas mapping whilst Garmin use NavTeq - different mapping from different companies. Whatever you use it's best to ensure your maps are up to date. Updates are often free within the first year.

With Garmin products you can usually update your firmware and mapping here:
http://www8.garmin.com/support/download.jsp
With my StreetPilot C330 I was also allowed to download and install their MapSource software. With this I can view the same mapping and routing on my PC and also transfer information to and from the unit.

For TomTom try here:
http://www.tomtom.com/support/suppor...D=3&Language=1

For more info try here:
http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/

Re: in car nav system
 

I would recomend the IPAQ RX5000 series over the 1710. I paid £150 for mine wich is an RX5720 and it comes with fully licenced tomtom 6 and an integrated GPS. It also boasts static memory so you dont lose your settings if the battery dies and 1GB internal memory aswel as an SD slot. There is also the RX 5900 wich has 2GB internal memory and I belive also has integrated WiFi.

As for your Ipaqs memory problems. What I found used to help with my Ipaq 2210 was to always restart the PDA before I switched it off and to put a system password on to prevent any applications loading when it restarts.
So basicly my process for switching off would be to have a system password set. Then Restart the PDA. When it boots up again and promts for a password switch it off. Mine used to last about 3 weeks on standby on a full charge. Its something to do with Ipaqs not shutting down correctly.