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In Car GPS Gadget


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aka Sat Nav ;) Sorry if asked many times before, but here goes.

 

Any Recommendations/Should Avoid for an in car gps which will take co ords?? Staff in one shop looked at me rather puzzled when they knew what I was talking about....then a member of staff knew about geocaching...YAY... :)

 

Mr S and I feel this would be a good investment as we often drive around and around streets looking for the gz using the handheld Garmin. Right now you have sat back down after laughing yourself silly at that :P:P Can you help, point us in the right direction (no pun intended honest :D)

 

Budget is tight so sadly cannot afford a lot!

 

Thanks

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I recently borrowed a Garmin in-car GPSr (can't remember the model). Three things I didn't like about it: 1) It didn't warn you to turn at a junction until you were right on top of it. 2) It wasn't easy to operate and I had to keep switching it off and on to go back a page. 3) The voice sounded a bit computer-generated unlike the TomTom which is very sweet and sexy!

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I'd go TomTom (try Yoda.... "at the junction next left you will go"..... I went back to Jane ;) )

 

As to maps all sat navs use maps from a couple of companies... Navteq is one and I think Teleatlas the other so in theory the actual accuracy and detail of the map should be the same on any unit. But I don't know how each manufacturer interprets the map for their product.

 

But I'm happy with my ancient TT One!

 

Chris (MrB)

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I'd go TomTom (try Yoda.... "at the junction next left you will go"..... I went back to Jane ;) )

 

As to maps all sat navs use maps from a couple of companies... Navteq is one and I think Teleatlas the other so in theory the actual accuracy and detail of the map should be the same on any unit. But I don't know how each manufacturer interprets the map for their product.

 

But I'm happy with my ancient TT One!

 

Chris (MrB)

 

Thanks...Yoda :P...Mr S would love that :P (Starwars nut you see)

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Interesting.....I have been told that the Garmin maps are better than Tom Tom :P

 

Wonder if we can get Simpsons on the navigation.....be saying 'Doh!' a lot :P

You can, but the voice is truley awful.

We're still on Austin Powers. Yeah baby! ;)

 

TomTom on a GPSr enabled PDA/phone is a great option. You can then use it to run Memory Map, Cachemate etc when you get out of the car.

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OK....so what does a PDA do and what is Memory Map, Cachemate

 

Sorry - technically challenged here ;)

 

PDA - Personal digital assistant: a pocket pc that runs a version of Windows and has apps like Office and outlook to manage your day to day life. Also runs various Geocaching related applications to help you go paperless. iPaq, Mio etc.

Memory Map: Digital Ordnance Survey maps that run on your PC and also on your PDA. If your PDA has a GPS (built in or connected) you can see exactly where you are! You can also download cache information so it appears on the PDA.

Cachemate: a database application that lets you store cache pages locally on the PDA so you can read them, see hints and logs and also record your finds.

If you want full details I've put a doc together explaining it. Go to my webpage (click on my name to go to my profile, you'll find the link there then just follow the Geocache link).

 

Chris (MrB)

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OK....so what does a PDA do and what is Memory Map, Cachemate

 

Sorry - technically challenged here ;)

 

PDA - Personal digital assistant: a pocket pc that runs a version of Windows and has apps like Office and outlook to manage your day to day life. Also runs various Geocaching related applications to help you go paperless. iPaq, Mio etc.

Memory Map: Digital Ordnance Survey maps that run on your PC and also on your PDA. If your PDA has a GPS (built in or connected) you can see exactly where you are! You can also download cache information so it appears on the PDA.

Cachemate: a database application that lets you store cache pages locally on the PDA so you can read them, see hints and logs and also record your finds.

If you want full details I've put a doc together explaining it. Go to my webpage (click on my name to go to my profile, you'll find the link there then just follow the Geocache link).

 

Chris (MrB)

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We fall into the "technically challenged but probably quick learners if given the chance" category. Reading some of the comments above I can see we really need to consider something where we could carry all UK caches around with us. We're still using a handheld GPSr, with a limit of 500 waypoints (which is great for a day out, but if you're on holiday for two weeks, in a cache-rich area, and you like spontaneity, you need more than 500).

 

Does anyone mind clarifying for our category of cacher:-

 

- Can an in-car SatNav device also be carried outside and still achieve the accuracy of a handheld GPSr ?

 

- Same accuracy question for a 'PDA' ....

 

- What's the cheapest way to have one decent handheld device that can be used for caching and can hold an unlimited number of waypoints (or points if interest), and the related hints, etc....? Are we talking expensive PDA if we want all these functions wrapped into one device? ;)

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I think Tom Tom stinks. It was brilliant as it was the only one I had used, but it annoyed me that it took me silly ways.

For example from Newcastle to Carlisle it tells you to go off the main road at a slip road. It takes you along a back road, then a few miles on you join the main road again.

Input the address of a friend of ours including the postcode and it takes you to the other side of the river 3 miles away

Crazy

These are just two examples I have found over the time I have used it. In areas that you don't know you would be blissfully unaware that his was happening.

 

I have a hand held Garmin unit with City navigator Europe NT 2008 installed and its brilliant. it easier to use and has always taken me the best way as far as I know. It lets you know 20 seconds before a turn and how far the turn is then again 5 seconds before the turn

I can select a cache to go to or an address anywhere in Europe or download a position from a online map or even Google Earth

It also has a bicycle mode which when cycling keeps you to the back roads.

When you get to where a cache is you can select off road and it directs you as the crow fly's

The Topo maps are rubbish though, and the navigation using those maps are dreadful and unusable.

The Topo Maps are a big waste of money.

 

I hardly ever use Tom Tom these days locally as my Garmin unit can do the lot easier and better.

 

I went to a cache today and there was an official sign up warning Heavy goods drivers that the road was a dead end and that "your sat nav is wrong and will be charged for recovery" I wish I had take a picture of it.

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We fall into the "technically challenged but probably quick learners if given the chance" category. Reading some of the comments above I can see we really need to consider something where we could carry all UK caches around with us. We're still using a handheld GPSr, with a limit of 500 waypoints (which is great for a day out, but if you're on holiday for two weeks, in a cache-rich area, and you like spontaneity, you need more than 500).

 

Does anyone mind clarifying for our category of cacher:-

 

- Can an in-car SatNav device also be carried outside and still achieve the accuracy of a handheld GPSr ?

 

- Same accuracy question for a 'PDA' ....

 

- What's the cheapest way to have one decent handheld device that can be used for caching and can hold an unlimited number of waypoints (or points if interest), and the related hints, etc....? Are we talking expensive PDA if we want all these functions wrapped into one device? ;)

 

Car satnavs are not really suited to 'walking' geocaching. They don't have the goto arrow or a countdown of how far away you are. You really need a handheld GPS or a PDA with GPS.

Re accuracy. All GPS's have a particular GPS chip that picks up the satellite. All bought within the last year or so use a SirfstarIII or similar which is very sensitive and works fine.

A PDA with built in GPS (eg Mio P560) are £200+ but the Mio P360 is under £200 (it doesn't have wifi or bluetooth) and both have a built in GPS. iPaqs are similar in price. But you can pick older ones up on ebay and if they don't have a GPS built in you can buy bluetooth connected ones. This does bring the price down. As to how many waypoints you can keep in it... I do a pocket query of 500 (max you are allowed per PQ) and they all fit fine! It isn't an issue.

Re prices of other stuff. The applications we use like GSAK and Cachemate are only $15 and $8 respectively. Premium membership of geocaching.com is $30. Memory Map is the most expensive - to give an example the 1:50K (landranger) of the South of England inc Wales is about £110.

 

Chris (MrB)

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I think Tom Tom stinks. It was brilliant as it was the only one I had used, but it annoyed me that it took me silly ways.

For example from Newcastle to Carlisle it tells you to go off the main road at a slip road. It takes you along a back road, then a few miles on you join the main road again.

Input the address of a friend of ours including the postcode and it takes you to the other side of the river 3 miles away

I have had TomTom sat-navs for over 4 years and they have never sent me the wrong way as far as I know except when I come across a new road system. It may occasionally try and send you down a dirt-track, but if you use a bit of common-sense and carry straight on, it soon re-calculates the correct route. Regular on-line map updates ensure it is always up to date.

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- What's the cheapest way to have one decent handheld device that can be used for caching and can hold an unlimited number of waypoints (or points if interest), and the related hints, etc....? Are we talking expensive PDA if we want all these functions wrapped into one device? :laughing:

You can get a Mio 168 or similar for about £50 secondhand, go for the ones with internal GPS.

It'll come with Navigaton software, usually TomTom or Navman.

 

Then buy cachemate for $8.

Cachemate then has add-ins :

To export the points to TomTom

To export to GPS (cable needed)

Simulate a Compass (replace handheld GPS)

 

Just watch the battery life. :)

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I use a MIO P550 (boutght 2 or 3 years ago for £250) with Tomtom loaded as well as cachemate. Having loaded cache locations/parking co-ords for caches into Tomtom as POI's means that when driving it alerts me to a cache even if I hadn't planned to do one per se. I've never had any problems with Tomtom apart from on really new sections of road when the maps haven't been updated yet. When using any navigational device such as Tomtom a degree of common sense is required! You can also set bicycle or even walking routes on Tomtom but they do stick to roads.

 

I have set up mulitple databases in cachemate according to type of cache and area and have over 6000 caches loaded into the Cachemate at the moment (in different categories)... I am not technical! The one off $8 for cachemate is worth it! If you are a premium member ($30 for a year) you can create pocket queries and download entire cache page including logs and hints.

 

But with playing around with the tools available have found this to work really well! Really reading through the forums and trying different things out is how I got to this manner of caching (and it beats hundreds of pages around!).

 

Recently I've also started using GSAk and have to admit that it makes managing the databases I hold on Cachemate much easier to update and maintain as upto date. Prior to discovering GSAK I used a programme called POI edit to create a database of caches as POIs for tomtom.

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We use a Mio 550 too, and there are loads of others using them = lots of help! It has a 2mb SD card. We also have a battery extender for those longer days….

 

On our recent trip to Harrogate we had a PQ of 500 caches for that area, we then went on up to Durham for a few days and had 500 for that area too. In addition to this we did 5 LQ:’s all of which had a few local caches that would be easy to do while in the area. Each area had a portion of Memory Map at 1:50 000 so once we were in the area we then had the details for foot paths etc. MM has a pointing device that we use to get to the cache, others use Bee Line instead of the MM pointer.

 

The SD card also has about the maximum size of Memory Map for our area, if I remember correctly that is 400k (?), covering an area that stretches from the Welsh border to Peterborough and from Milton Keynes up to Somewhere near Stoke on Trent. I download a 500 cache PQ centred on home regularly to that as and when we are going out caching locally and that just about does it. The SD card has never been more than half full yet.

 

Hope this helps, try and find a local who will let you have a look/go with what you might choose, good luck!

 

H

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So now you know that I do it this, the other guy does it that way, him over there is using this method, and them strange cachers do it completely differently :laughing:

 

We all have our own preferences. You need to look at what each has said, think about cost and go your way which of course will be the best for you!

 

Give you an example. I don't use Cachemate simply because MrsB like to write her notes in a small notebook and then go online and type gloriously good logs in on the cache page. Now you can do all this on Cachemate and get it to automatically upload the logs for you.. but you have to write them into Cachemate on your ppc in the first place with a little keyboard and stylus.. not for me! So I have local webpages on my Mio for the description etc. So we are about 98% completely paperless!

 

I agree with L8HNB.... find a local cacher down your way who has a pda etc and have a look.

 

Have fun!

 

Chris (MrB)

Edited by The Blorenges
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You really don't have to buy an expensive PDA. I recently bought an HP IPAQ rx5720 on eBay for less than £75 from a company with 98.5% positive feedback - the PDA comes with TomTom Navigator 6 preloaded. I use GSAK to filter my PQ - can export to TomTom plus Memory Map and an html file that links to Memory Map - I don't use Cachmate any more as the version I have is for the Palm OS.

 

Save your Halfords vouchers for something else :laughing:

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Another vote for PDA & TomTom here, you could get an IPAQ HX4700 off ebay with 2Gb, TomTom6 & Bluetooth Mk2 receiver for just over a ton. Then as budget allows, buy memory map and add to it as you go along. In my opinion (and experience) these dedicated GPS are a load of hype, have you seen the UK TOPO maps for the Garmin units? Absolutley DIRE.

If all you want is Tomtom then the TT Go is ideal for exactly a ton, but when you can get all the above for just over, why bother :(

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Might as well put my oar in on this one as well...

 

If you ask me I would say TomTom for the road navigation I use a Go520 then a Mio P550 with Memory Map for the close in work.

 

TomTom's good point are the voices, though I use Simon the computer generate voice, you can input and goto gps coords which is very handy as is the ability to add all the caches in the country as "points of interest"

 

TomTom's bad points... It will put you at the nearest point to the cache you are going to, this is not always the best place to park etc but it if you have parking coords then this is eliminated. The maping isn't as detailed as some but that is why we then use the MIO for the last bit, 1:25k mapping is brilliant

 

Gareth

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I'll put in another vote for a PDA and tomtom. I jsut bought a Palm TX from an ebay seller for £75. I added tomtom navigator 5 (again used one from ebay with product code for £25) - and later versions of tomtom are not available for the TX. It all works very well, except that yesterday it didn't realise that the M2 has been moved slightly, so it spent a couple of miles telling me to turn right on all the small roads underneath it.

 

Before this, I had a palm T with viamichelin navigator on it, which worked, but nowhere near as well as tomtom.

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Yet another vote for the Windows Mobile PDA route from me.

 

It's worth pointing out that most of the cell phone companies do PDA phones that will do the job. Don't know if it's an option to upgrade to one of these.

 

Hopefully I won't confuse you but it's worth pointing out that there are 2 versions of Windows mobile phones, touchscreen and non touch screen.

 

Go for the touch screen phone because Memory map only leaves a track log on touch screen devices. (Non touch screen phones are referred to as smart phones)

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Thanks....we have vouchers for halfords so may go there for a car sat nav...would love a pda, but the one that would be best is out of our reach....so will have to stick to the garmin, printouts (that get recycled) and the map.

 

Thank You all for your help, most appreciated :laughing:

 

If you use GSAK, you can go "semi-paperless" and have 30 or so cache listings on one sheet of A4. Only basic info - ie not a full cache page, but you CAN get the cache name, hider, co-ordinates, difficulty, terrain, cache size, cache type, and hint all on there :D

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