dgallow Posted August 17, 2002 Share Posted August 17, 2002 some type of small portable computer to carry as I travel so I can upload/download waypoints, tracks and routes to my ETREX from ExpertGPS. Would a palm do the job? or would a laptop be a better choice? How much memory and speed would be needed for it to run efficiently? Something that runs on battery power and small enough to be carried on board a boat is preferable. Where can a reliable second hand palm or laptop be purchased? I have no idea about prices but under $200 would be great! Thanks for your replies Quote Link to comment
+raouljan Posted August 18, 2002 Share Posted August 18, 2002 There is lots of very good s/w out there for the Palm, but I have found a problem that perhaps this enlightened group can help with... The Palm and the GPS are both RS232 DTE type devices. Thus when you hook the two together you will need a "gender bender" or a "null modem". This ends up being a rig with two pretty long cables with a box in the middle. This I have tried multiple times and can never get the Palm and the GPS talking. Does anyone know of someone that makes a cable that will go directly from a Palm to (say) an eTrex? Quote Link to comment
+DougsBrat Posted August 18, 2002 Share Posted August 18, 2002 quote:Originally posted by Raouljan: Does anyone know of someone that makes a cable that will go directly from a Palm to (say) an eTrex? perhaps this is what you are looking for? http://www.blue-hills-innovations.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.100.exe/online-store/scstore/p-BH122100.html?L+scstore+clcv7021ff527f52+1078304486 No matter where you go... There you are! NTGA member Quote Link to comment
+DougsBrat Posted August 18, 2002 Share Posted August 18, 2002 quote:Originally posted by dgallow:some type of small portable computer to carry as I travel so I can upload/download waypoints, tracks and routes to my ETREX from ExpertGPS. Would a palm do the job? or would a laptop be a better choice? How much memory and speed would be needed for it to run efficiently? Something that runs on battery power and small enough to be carried on board a boat is preferable. Where can a reliable second hand palm or laptop be purchased? I have no idea about prices but under $200 would be great! Thanks for your replies I did not know it this was possable with a palm device but I did find something that looks like it might do it. http://palgar.sourceforge.net/ No matter where you go... There you are! NTGA member Quote Link to comment
stevesim Posted August 18, 2002 Share Posted August 18, 2002 Here is a good place to start when looking for information about GPS and the Palm OS. http://celia.mehaffey.com/dale/pilotgps.htm Information about cables is also available on the above site. See http://celia.mehaffey.com/dale/phardware.htm#cable Steve Simpkin Quote Link to comment
+raouljan Posted August 18, 2002 Share Posted August 18, 2002 Well, that solved my problem! Hope it helps dgallow! Quote Link to comment
+phantom4099 Posted August 19, 2002 Share Posted August 19, 2002 Does he mean upload waypoints/routes/track to his unit from prious times (like a meridian with a SD installed:-)? Or download info from the net? Wyatt W. The probability of someone watching you is directly proportional to the stupidity of your actions. Quote Link to comment
dgallow Posted August 20, 2002 Author Share Posted August 20, 2002 I'll try and clarify a bit. I want either a palm or laptop that I can install the ExpertGPS software onto. Then connect the etrex to either of these units with a Garmin RS232 cable (9 pin) and exchange information (send/receive; waypoints, routes and tracks) between the software on the palm or laptop and the etrex. Being able to view the data on online maps through the Topografix website link would be a bonus but not a necessity. Obviously, I couldn't link to the net from the boat but I could from a motel room. I'm just trying to expand the memory capability of the basic etrex by using a palm or a laptop and the Topografix software, and at the same time make it quick and easy to retrieve and save data. I'm also trying to minimize the associated costs by looking into the purchase of second hand laptops or palms. I like the simplicity of the etrex and the userfriendlyness of the ExpertGPS sofware, now I just want to make both portable. If anyone has a better or less expensive idea of how to accomplish this task, my eyes are definitely open! I did not see any of the Topografix software (EasyGPS, Panterra or Expert GPS) listed on the gps/palm link posted above, but that doesn't mean it won't work. Thanks for your replies hope this helps to clarify things Quote Link to comment
dgallow Posted August 20, 2002 Author Share Posted August 20, 2002 Just received a reply back from Dan Foster at Topografix: "ExpertGPS doesn't run on the Palm OS. We're working on a version for the PocketPC OS, but it's designed to be used with a desktop computer. ExpertGPS works very well on a laptop - I'm using it right this moment to navigate around San Francisco!" Looks like I'll be looking for a laptop! Quote Link to comment
+DarrenF Posted August 20, 2002 Share Posted August 20, 2002 There is a build of G7toWin for WindowsCE/PocketPC devices called G7toCE here http://home.attbi.com/~g7towin/#g7toCE I have a WinCE2.11 device (Casio E-100) but I haven't tried connecting my GPS to it, yet df Quote Link to comment
+DarrenF Posted August 20, 2002 Share Posted August 20, 2002 There is a build of G7toWin for WindowsCE/PocketPC devices called G7toCE here http://home.attbi.com/~g7towin/#g7toCE I have a WinCE2.11 device (Casio E-100) but I haven't tried connecting my GPS to it, yet df Quote Link to comment
+Gliderguy Posted August 21, 2002 Share Posted August 21, 2002 Sounds like what the world needs is a Tri mode phone that runs Windows CE applications. Then you could even do net stuff from the boat if you were close enough to shore to pick up a digital cell tower. Palm phones are around, and they work pretty good. I am betting it is only a matter of time before you see a Windows CE powered phone with net access. Quote Link to comment
+DarrenF Posted August 21, 2002 Share Posted August 21, 2002 quote:Originally posted by Gliderguy:Sounds like what the world needs is a Tri mode phone that runs Windows CE applications. Then you could even do net stuff from the boat if you were close enough to shore to pick up a digital cell tower. Palm phones are around, and they work pretty good. I am betting it is only a matter of time before you see a Windows CE powered phone with net access. There are a number of WindowsCE (er, PocketPC as they call it as of CE3.0...) -based mobile phones out. I saw them in PocketPC magazine. Don't have any make/model info handy though... I'm not sure if any of them had built-in GPS functionality or a CF slot, but at the least I'd think they could be connected to a GPS via an uglya55 serial cable... Too bad no GPS units seem to have IR serial ports (as most CE and Palm devices do). Or perhaps bluetooth-enabled GPS... Also, I noticed there is a very nice looking (from the screenshots) PocketPC version of Ozi-Explorer too. df Quote Link to comment
+DarrenF Posted August 21, 2002 Share Posted August 21, 2002 quote:Originally posted by Gliderguy:Sounds like what the world needs is a Tri mode phone that runs Windows CE applications. Then you could even do net stuff from the boat if you were close enough to shore to pick up a digital cell tower. Palm phones are around, and they work pretty good. I am betting it is only a matter of time before you see a Windows CE powered phone with net access. There are a number of WindowsCE (er, PocketPC as they call it as of CE3.0...) -based mobile phones out. I saw them in PocketPC magazine. Don't have any make/model info handy though... I'm not sure if any of them had built-in GPS functionality or a CF slot, but at the least I'd think they could be connected to a GPS via an uglya55 serial cable... Too bad no GPS units seem to have IR serial ports (as most CE and Palm devices do). Or perhaps bluetooth-enabled GPS... Also, I noticed there is a very nice looking (from the screenshots) PocketPC version of Ozi-Explorer too. df Quote Link to comment
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