Ducati Sporting Club UK > General > Idle Chat > GPS....Advice / experiences???

[Rushjob]

I'm considering the purchase of a gps system.....
It will be used for car & bike & I'm hankering towards a PDA based one as the unit can do a lot more than just get me here & there.
Obviously a PDA is not waterproof but it would be used in a map case in the top of a tankbag on the bike.
Any ideas what to go for or what to avoid?
Anyone got one they want to get rid of for a paltry sum?
Any and all comments welcome.
Cheers & a Happy New Year to one & all.
Andy

[chicken]

Andy,
I've been using a tomtom go for a couple of months now - very easy to use straight out of the box. Also easy to download the UK speed camera database. The only downside so far has been that you can't enter a postcode for the destination. I believe Navman make an all-in-one that is designed for bikes.

I shied away from the pda ones because they always seem to crash at exactly the wrong time. Not a problem for me, but Mrs Chicken is a technophobe and wanted the simplest solution. The pda kits start around £300. If you already have a pda, you can get a gps add-on, car kit and software for a lot less. If you don't have a pda, I have a compaq ipaq that you can have for the postage and a drink - I'm warning you though, it is $h1te (why else am I giving it away!)

Whatever you get, you should find a way to get the voice prompts to your helmet - without these you won't know when to look down.

cheers, Chi

[Rally]

I've got a gps back to my Ipaq PDA. It is without doubt the most frustrating piece of technology that I have come across. When it works it's great but it only works half the time - usually the half when you actually need it. The problem is that where it sits on the dash it doesn't get a clear enough view of the sky without the roof getting in the way. The result is that it gets 'lost'. A lot.

If I was going to get another one it would have to have a separate gps reciever that you can place in a better position. There are units that connect to the pda with BlueTooth so it doesn't even need wires.

When it works it is very liberating - in the car it's great not having to struggle with maps and having it count down the distance to the next instruction. Getting something to work on the bike would be fantastic. Not having to 'cram' a route and guess on the road means a better riding experience furshure.

[Edited on 1-1-2005 by Rally]

[clockwork orange]

I have a Navman PDA I use in the van. About 98% happy with it as it has the odd idiosyncrasy, but nothing serious. Power connection for the bike may be a problem - battery life is not brilliant - but sure it can be done.

[Rattler]

I had a Navman s/w package running on an IPAQ - its a very good solution and worked well - was a while back though.

The TOMTOM system was also very good. There are loads of these on ebay - "no 5hit" I hear!!!

Not sure how much of an issue it might be, but back then if the car has a heated windscreen, you'll need an external aerial as the wires in the screen will prevent the system from getting a satellite signal.

Maybe worth checking.

Good sites for info -

http://www.pdabuyersguide.com/tips/GPS/

http://www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk/

Tim

[Edited on 2-1-2005 by Rattler]

[ali]

Used a Garmin Etrex Vista for a couple of years off road. It survived massive abuse (although the screen needs a bang every now and then) and still serves me perfectly well.

Battery life can be a bit of problem if it's not wired in, and the software isn't exactly cutting edge, but overall no complaints. It was the only handheld at the time with a map on it but I think many of the newer units have far superior user interfaces.

If it's just for the bike I should go with one of the new traffic-focussed jobbies. If you're reckoning on using it travelling, city navigating, finding your way back to your hotel at 4am, etc... then consider a handheld!

[rcgbob44]

I have a Garmin GPSmap60cs and its rubbish, in fact they have replaced in 4 times and if you ring them to enquire if the map60 is any good they sing its praises and claim that they have never hade one returned. The problem with this particular model, and I beleive there is a design fault, is that it will not pont towards a way point which makes it useless! its about 30 - 40 degrees out.

[David Cook]

I also use TomTom and can thoroughly recommend it to others. Like Chicken, I have also downloaded the Speed Cameras file but the latest version certainly has postcode entry as an option.

It runs on a PDA (XDA2 from O2) which allows me to use TomToms "Traffic" system via GPRS to give constant updates of traffic flows, volume etc., and allows instant replanning. I have a "wired" receiver in my car but also have a Bluetooth receiver that I use in hire cars etc. It's easy to switch the PDA between the two types.

[chicken]

Originally posted by David Cook
Like Chicken, I have also downloaded the Speed Cameras file but the latest version certainly has postcode entry as an option.

I can't find the postcode entry option on the Go
Is this function only available on the pda models?

Yippee! Just found out how to do it. 2005 turning out to be a great year already!!!

[Edited on 2-1-2005 by chicken]

[chrisw]

I run a Jornada 545 with TomTom 3 with the speed camera database running in the back ground. This is a significant improvement over TomTom 2 which used to freeze.

A good source of info

http://www.pocketgps.co.uk/