GPS - Newbie seeking some advice

Author

Newbie seeking some advice

JERD

2007-05-27, 4:33 am

I am interested in getting into GPS/laptop/mobile mapping.

What do you guys use to drive your laptop while mobile - especially for very
long trips. If it is an inverter, what is a good size to run an average
laptop? (Dell Latitude D620).

Do any of you use a secondary LCD screen/monitor to display rather than
having a laptop sit on the passengers seat. i.e. secondary monitor connected
to the PC but mounted where the driver can see it easier? What is a good
secondary monitor for this?

Really would appreciate some guidanance with these questions.

JERD

Mac

2007-05-27, 10:33 am

Although the MS GPS Mapping program with is good. I strongly recommend just
buying a car GPS . It is easier to use, the laptop would take a lot of
space, lots of cables.... A car GPS would be more convinient.

secondstorydj

2007-05-27, 10:33 am

On Sun, 27 May 2007 08:52:12 -0400, "Mac" <aaa@aaa.com> wrote:

>Although the MS GPS Mapping program with is good. I strongly recommend just
>buying a car GPS . It is easier to use, the laptop would take a lot of
>space, lots of cables.... A car GPS would be more convinient.

I totally agree... I travel for work every week all over the states
and the newer mobile gps systems are far more pratical while driving
and are very easy to operate. With the GPS (I use a Navman or GO300) I
usally plug my trip in while at the airport or flying and then just
hit destination.

I also find it more accurate than most software I ran.... I used to
have my laptop out while driving and almost destroyed it by putting a
coffee back in the cup holder... plus having junk all over the place.
Hope this helps..

safe travels
ssdj

Jim Townsend

2007-05-27, 10:33 am

JERD wrote:

> I am interested in getting into GPS/laptop/mobile mapping.
>
> What do you guys use to drive your laptop while mobile - especially for very
> long trips. If it is an inverter, what is a good size to run an average
> laptop? (Dell Latitude D620).

I use an inverter to power my laptop on the road. A 300 Watt version works
for me.

> Do any of you use a secondary LCD screen/monitor to display rather than
> having a laptop sit on the passengers seat. i.e. secondary monitor connected
> to the PC but mounted where the driver can see it easier? What is a good
> secondary monitor for this?

I've never used a secondary monitor. I don't have trouble with the
laptop sitting on the seat.

I use Microsoft Streets and Trips and one of those magnetic little
magnetic GPS mice stuck on the roof.

As Mac says in his reply, a dedicated car GPS unit is more convenient for
every day driving. It's easier to stow out of the way when you have to leave
your vehicle unattended in public. Laptops and GPS units sitting in plain
view are an invitation for a broken window.

I wound up getting a Garman Streetpilot 330 which is a dedicated dash mounted
GPS unit. But, you can't beat the laptop for long trips when you're in the
car for extended periods and you aren't getting in and out often.

My 15" laptop monitor is 12 inches wide by 9 inches high. It's like having a
jumbo road atlas in your lap. You can zoom out and see far more detail in
wide scale than you can with a little 2 or 3 inch wide dash mounted unit.
It's also much nicer having a mouse and keyboard for searching and entering
locations and addresses rather than having to peck away at a little touch
screen.

(I also have a Magellan eXplorist 500 for hiking, biking and geocaching. That's
three methods of GPSing, but each has its own distinctive advantage).

Wayne R.

2007-05-27, 10:33 pm

On Sun, 27 May 2007 09:17:19 GMT, "JERD" < jedunk@REMOVEbigpond
.net.au>
wrote (with clarity & insight):

>I am interested in getting into GPS/laptop/mobile mapping.

I've done a lot of GPS/Laptop use in vehicles. I bought a top quality
mount, screen brace, glare shield (plus night tint rig), and dedicated
power supply. Specifically, Lind Electronics makes the best 12VDC
supplies for laptops. Why mess with an inverter if you don't have to?

As pleased as I was with all that (and I'm using it again for renewed
GIS purposes), I'd join earlier voices about dedicated car units. My
Garmin 2610 is great and does everything I need - except make it easy
to work GIS data the way I need to.

I am changing my laptop rig to use a USB GPS unit though...one less
doodad plugged into the cigarette sockets.

Also: If you do set all this up, make sure the screen placement lets
you keep most of your vision on the road - and out of the way of
airbags. Make sure you really know how to operate all of it *before*
playing in traffic. Don't let the gizmos take your attention off the
road.

Like driving A1A during spring break: Keep one foot over the brake!

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