range laptop gps receiver

[djodojo]

g'day!

im planning a trip around autralia soon, and i'm thinkin of using only my laptop as gps (with papermaps obviously )

is the common usb gps receiver will get signal anywhere even in the middle of the desert ??

I really don't know about all of that as i'm just putting myself into it !!

thks

[olcoolone]

You will get GPS signal almost anywhere in Australia but it depends on your surrounds, some are more sensitive then others and will get affected by trees, forests and mountains.

I would look at getting a Bluetooth GPS receiver like the QSTARZ BT-Q818X.

A friend has just bought one and it seems to be very very good, better then the Globestar BT-338 that a lot of people use.

We have a Garmin GPS-18 that is a USB type but we find the Bluetooth (BT-338 that we have) way is more reliable, easier to use once set up and more stable plus higher sensitivity.

The Bluetooth set up doesn't seem to loose com ports or drivers all the time.

With the QSTARZ BT-Q818X that a friend has it seems to be 10x better then the Garmin or Globestar with better fix time, sensitivity and accuracy.

The QSTARZ BT-Q818X has a new chip design and it has had rave reviews on the internet.

I would forget the USB style and go with the Bluetooth.

http://www.qstarz.com/Products/GPS%2...BT-Q818X-F.htm

The Qsarz Explore 2000 GPS seems to be very good value for money and we may end up with this one.

http://www.qstarz.com/Products/GPS%2...BT-Q2000-F.htm

Both are under $200.00 AD.

[rodw]

I have had fantastic resuults with this one

Micro SiRF III USB GPS Mouse

I went the USB one and have had no reliability dramas at all but Olcolone has more experience with this stuff than me.

I put mine out here for good reception which I think the Bluetooth one might not have supported:



Stuck it under with self adhesive body tape:

[djodojo]

All right !!!
thanks for the info guys !

I think i'll go for the QSTARZ BT-Q818X wich got really good reviews and is even cheaper than the usb mouse ! i think the explorer is a bit too much i won't have the use but it still looks pretty cool.

So if i get that, Am i gonna be able to follow my way on the computer by using oziexplorer, or is theres some technical move to make ?

i feel thats this isn't gonna be easy like all computer stuff !! =B

thanks again

[olcoolone]

Rod we always had a USB mouse but after using the Bluetooth type there is no turning back, one problem we had is we run HID driving lights and when we turned them on for a few seconds we would loose the GPS signal and sometimes the com port (reboot).

djodojo yes it will work with Ozi Explorer but the down fall of Ozi Explorer is it depends on what maps you use, some are better then others as to what they show.

For city and country towns when using Ozi Explore we use UBD city and country towns on disc, two DVD's.

Ozi Explorer will show where you are and where you have have been and you can record the tracks but it will not give you route navigation like a TomTom/Navman setup, the only way to do it is by using waypoints that get messy and is a very crude way of route navigation with no voice or warnings (turn left 200m) .

Ozi Explorer is more for mapping and recording tracks.

For full on voice navigation in citys and towns we use Garmin Topo maps with Garmin Mobile PC.

Check with Rod what he uses for city navigation.

You will find it is very easy to set up Ozi Explorer and get the GPS working......15 minutes in total max.

[rodw]

Originally Posted by olcoolone

Rod we always had a USB mouse but after using the Bluetooth type there is no turning back, one problem we had is we run HID driving lights and when we turned them on for a few seconds we would loose the GPS signal and sometimes the com port (reboot).

Richard, are you using a USB Bluetooth dongle or is t built into your laptop? Reason I ask, this problem is probably because the USB driver disappears. Microsoft have a utility that allows you to reload USB drivers etc called devcon.exe. I don't have any USB problems but a lot of the mp3car guys use it on startup of their systems to . See Here: The DevCon command-line utility functions as an alternative to Device Manager

Originally Posted by olcoolone

Check with Rod what he uses for city navigation.

For me, it never made sense to run a laptop and a pocket GPS receiver when you could use the PC to do both.

For street nav I use Odyssey Navigator which I got bundled with my GPS receiver for $209 for both. (what a bargain) This really shines if you have a touch screen but still runs fine on a laptop or any PC. It has all the bells and whistles you would find on a high end Tom Tom and the like. I'd seriously consider purchasing it. See: Odyssey Navigator PC, Aust Map (CD)

I use Xport to split the GPS data so I can have Ozi and Ody running at the same time. See XPort

Xport also logs the raw NMEA data from the GPS receiver for me so I have the data to review any speed camera fines that I might collect (Have not had to use it yet).