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Older Laptop That Will Run Maps With Realtime Tracking


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Hi

Thanks for reading this. I want to do real time tracking with my Garmin 76S and a Laptop. Nothing fancy, just the arrow on the map indicating in real time where I am. This would be Topo maps out in the boonies.

All I want is the same informatio that is now on the Garmin gpsr with Mapsourse but on a bigger screen.

 

1. I have a Ibm thinkpad ... old 486 running windows 95.. would be nice if I could use that.

 

2. I have Streets and Trips 2000 which I think would run on above ibm but dont have cd capability on the old timer. (how would I load it)

 

3. I am not opposed to moving up to a laptop that is a little newer that would do this. 200.00 range maybe.

I am also not set on one topo map.. anything that will work reasonably would work.

 

Your suggestions are very welcome.

 

wingryder

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... Nothing fancy, just the arrow on the map indicating in real time where I am. This would be Topo maps out in the boonies.

All I want is the same informatio that is now on the Garmin gpsr with Mapsourse but on a bigger screen.

1. I have a Ibm thinkpad ... old 486 running windows 95.. would be nice if I could use that.

 

When you say "Mapsource but on a bigger screen", do you actually mean the Metroguide product that runs under the Mapsource wrapper GUI? And if so, does that run on your older laptop now? Because if it does, you'd just need to hook up the GPSr to the laptop with its serial cable, fire up Metroguide, and you'd have a position on the laptop screen.

 

But... you also said "Topo maps out in the boonies". The cheapest way to get USGS topo maps onto a laptop with tracking also happens to be the best way to do it if you ask me ---- USAPhotoMaps, written by a retired airline pilot named Doug Cox. It's donation-ware, and eats scanned topo maps and sat photos off Terraserver, but displays them seamlessly, and supports GPS tracking.

 

2. I have Streets and Trips 2000 which I think would run on above ibm but dont have cd capability on the old timer. (how would I load it)

 

Oh, no CD on the thinkpad. If you have ethernet, then connect the laptop to your local area network. If you copy the install CDs for Metroguide or S&T2000 to the laptop over the LAN, you *might* be able to install from those directories. If not, install a CD-emulator program (Virtual CD, Virtual Drive, etc) on the thinkpad - this adds a new drive name of your choosing (eg D: or Z: or whatever) that looks like a CD but is actually just the files on your hard drive. Now try installing from the CD-emulator program. However I don't know if Win95 will run any of this software, whether it's the emulator or the map software. Win95 is beyond ancient.

 

Another option is to simply by an external IDE cage for under US$30 and shove a spare CD reader in it. But that will only work if you have a USB or Firewire port on the thinkpad to talk to the IDE cage.

 

3. I am not opposed to moving up to a laptop that is a little newer that would do this. 200.00 range maybe.

I am also not set on one topo map.. anything that will work reasonably would work.

 

If you have or are willing to buy a spare laptop-size (2.5") hard drive you could put that spare drive in the laptop & try a full WinXP install. You'd probably have to download additional drivers from IBM support to complete the installation - that's true for just about any laptop, new or old. I don't know, though, if a 486 with (probably) a small amount of RAM is beefy enough to handle WinXP.

 

US$200 will not buy even a decent used laptop here in Austin, TX. I'd recommend you budget US$500 for a sale-priced Dell. For that price you'd get a Pentium M running around 1.8GHz, about 512MB RAM, a 40GB h.d. at least, a DVD/CD burner/reader, and a 15" screen, as long as you wait for the right sale. Careful though, some of their $500 systems are much wimpier - Celerons running slower, less memory, small h.d., CD but not DVD burner, 14" screen. Caveat emptor.

 

Best o' luck.

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Ok I have an old IBM Thinkpad that had win95 on it and I upgraded it to Win2000. I have a cd rom so thats not an issue I had to deal with. I have Mapsource TOPO and also a mapping program called All topo which is basically Forest sevice type maps. Both of these do real time tracking. I have my Garmin Legend hooked thru the Serial port and it works great. I would recommend something you can get online with via wireless so you can stop at various hotels and resturants to get access to internet for updating geocaching logs. I built the mount for the laptop using pipe but you can get them cheap off ebay.

 

DSCN6087.jpg

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Ok update. I finally got my Streets and Trips 2000 to run on my desktop and did not like it at all for boonie maps and trails. I have Mapsource and it's ok but not very accurate in some back country areas.

 

And I think bagging the old 486 is smart as well.

 

So that leaves me with buying a used laptop running 98 or 2000 maybe.

It also leaves me still looking for better topo maps displaying those back country jeep roads and trails.

 

Interested in what you are doing to display real time tracking in your vehicle.

 

And thanks to all

 

Wingryder

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I'm using an *old* P2 366Mhz w 256Mb memory running Win98SE. It runs Mapsource, MS S&T, Delorme Street Atlas 2005, EasyGPS, nRoute, & USAPhotoMaps fine. No problems interfacing to Garmin GPS 12MAP, or GPSMAP 60CSx, or Holux 210 receiver puck, using serial, USB to serial converter cable, or straight USB. Supports all real time tracking as well as route, waypoint, track & map transfers.

 

I have purchased several of these on eBay for $150 ea. If you go that route, make sure you get at least a 12Gig drive to hold all the map data, and don't expect lightning speed. I'd also suggest a DVD ROM for loading the newer maps & software.

 

Hi

 

3. I am not opposed to moving up to a laptop that is a little newer that would do this. 200.00 range maybe.

I am also not set on one topo map.. anything that will work reasonably would work.

 

Your suggestions are very welcome.

 

wingryder

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So that leaves me with buying a used laptop running 98 or 2000 maybe.

It also leaves me still looking for better topo maps displaying those back country jeep roads and trails.

Interested in what you are doing to display real time tracking in your vehicle.

 

If you only want this for topo maps in your car the answer is still USAPhotoMaps. It will display scanned USGS topo maps on your laptop with real-time tracking from your GPS. Doesn't get any better than free now does it? :laughing:

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