bobina Posted September 23, 2003 Share Posted September 23, 2003 Thinking about getting the family started on Geocaching and need some advice. I have a Dell Axim Pocket PC and wanted to ask if there is software that I can get for it to turn it into a GPS Unit? What software would you recommend? Thanks Quote Link to comment
+robert Posted September 23, 2003 Share Posted September 23, 2003 Mapopolis. You can find more info here, here, and here ~robert www.CacheGear.com Quote Link to comment
Growley Posted September 23, 2003 Share Posted September 23, 2003 bobina, I have been Geocaching for awhile now and have only recently adapted my Dell Axim to become a GPS. If you have not bought a CF card/GPS for your Dell you have to check out the GlobalSat BC-307. I bought mine off Ebay and I am really surprised at its accuracy. I have been trying it out with the demo version of Mapopolis as well as National Geographic Topo for Pocket PCs. It is great however, Im not sure that the Dell is something I would be carrying through the brush though. Quote Link to comment
bobina Posted September 23, 2003 Author Share Posted September 23, 2003 Thanks, everybody. Growley, I have a couple of more questions for you. I have a Dell TrueMobile 1180 WLAN CompactFlash Card (2.4 GHz), will that do the trick? (Sorry, if it seems like a dumb question, my husband is the techno geek in the family.) And if this card is the right thing, all I have to do is download GPS software? Thanks for your help. Quote Link to comment
+as77 Posted September 23, 2003 Share Posted September 23, 2003 quote:I have a Dell TrueMobile 1180 WLAN CompactFlash Card (2.4 GHz), will that do the trick? That depends on what trick you mean That card is for wireless networking, it doesn't have anything to do with GPS. Quote Link to comment
+Searching_ut Posted September 24, 2003 Share Posted September 24, 2003 bobina: To use your Axim as a GPS, you must either connect it via a cable to a stand alone GPS, use it in conjunction with a bluetooth GPS unit, or add a compact flash GPS unit that plugs into your Axim the same way you plug in your TrueMobile card. You can find quite a bit of info on doing this at www.gpspassion.com Growley: Sounds like we're running pretty much the same setup. I got my 307 with the windshield mounting bracket and external antenna from semsons. I've been using Mapopolis on my Axim for 7 months now, and love it. I highly recommend buying the program. Not only does it seem to do a great job for navigation, should you have any questions or anything, the customer service is fast, friendly, and very helpful. As for TOPOsync, I've had it for about a month now, but haven't played with it much. So far, to me it doesn't seem to be a killer app. Have you figured out how to make it download the maps straight to your memory card, or do you have to download to the Axim memory first, then transfer to the memory card? I've also been running into a problem where sometimes I get a break in my map display when I'm scrolling. It's like the joined together segements sometimes loose the joining glue or something. It would be interesting to see if others are running into the same glitch. Finally, do you find the lack of a zoom type feature to be a problem? You can load the different map levels, and switch between them, but I personally find the lack of zoom capability makes visualizing the terrain tough. I'd be very interested in hearing what others think of the TOPO, and any inputs on other types of TOPO maps that might be out there. Quote Link to comment
bobina Posted September 24, 2003 Author Share Posted September 24, 2003 Thanks, as77, that's what I thought. **Warning** More stupid questions to follow! So if I get the correct card and the correct software my Axim will have GPS capability? I'm thinking that it may just be easier to get an inexpensive GPS Unit to start off with. So, what should I get?? Quote Link to comment
bobina Posted September 24, 2003 Author Share Posted September 24, 2003 Ooohhh, thanks Searching_ut, that's the kind of detailed info I was looking for. I was getting confused with all my Googling on the subject. Thanks!! Quote Link to comment
Fire Cache Posted September 24, 2003 Share Posted September 24, 2003 I have a Dell Axim with a Compact Flash (CF) GPS installed. I run Maptech topo maps in it. These are digital topo maps. I can follow routes and keep track records with it. I've found it to be very accurate. I can grab a signal inside the house most of the time. Be glad to give more info by e-mail if you need. Quote Link to comment
+robert Posted September 24, 2003 Share Posted September 24, 2003 quote:Originally posted by bobina:Thanks, as77, that's what I thought. **Warning** More stupid questions to follow! So if I get the correct card and the correct software my Axim will have GPS capability? I'm thinking that it may just be easier to get an inexpensive GPS Unit to start off with. So, what should I get?? The CF GPS card and Mapopolis will give you the kind of "turn by turn" directions found in many/most high-end cars which is very helpful for getting to parks you may not be aware of, stores on the other side of town, etc. You may NOT however, want to take that setup out 'caching since it's likely to get wet, muddy, or worse. A "cheap" handheld GPS for 'caching would be your best bet. You can get a yellow Etrex for under $100. Use that in the muck, but use the Axim with GPS to get around town and route to the caches with Mapopolis. You can read more about that here. ~robert www.CacheGear.com Quote Link to comment
+as77 Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 Well, it might not be the ideal solution for outdoors usage but it can be done. I do it You just need a good case that protects the Axim well. I'm using the DSI holster which is strong plastic and has a flip-up cover and a belt clip. For wet conditions, just put the Axim (GPS attached) in a ziplock bag and slide it in the case that way. I don't think the Axim is in a great danger then. There are several programs for navigation and viewing cache info; my recent favorite is CacheDragon (still a little buggy but quickly improving). One advantage of using the Axim for caching is that you can have all the cache info (description, hints, logs, etc.), downloaded from www.geocaching.com, on the Axim. Mapopolis is only one of the several solutions for navigation in the car. There are several other good programs, like Routis, Pocketmap Navigator, etc. Browse to www.gpspassion.com for more info. Quote Link to comment
+robert Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 as77: you try GPXsonar yet? ~robert www.CacheGear.com Quote Link to comment
+as77 Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 robert, I have not yet tried GPXsonar. It is in beta stage and I could not even find a description or a feature list for it and I'm too lazy to download and install a program just to find out what it does. But I guess it is just another GPX viewer without GPSr support. I need software that makes my Axim plus CF GPS unit equivalent to a handheld GPSr (which I don't have at all). CacheDragon, being a full-fledged solution, does that and it also shows the cache info from GPX files; what else could I wish for? Quote Link to comment
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