Using Laptop with Garmin GPSV while DRIVING!

[Firetrkdriver]

I just got my new GPSV and have been playing around, learning how to use it. I have not tried this yet but wondered if anyone else had.

 

It seems to me that you could use the cig adapter cable with pc interface cable and hook up your laptop to your GPS while driving so you could use the bigger screen on your pc.

 

Has anyone tried this? I would think to really make this functional, you would need to buy a Ram Mount for your pc.

 

Firetrkdriver

[Cache Canucks]

...are you not concerned about how much of a visual distraction this could be while you're trying to operate your vehicle (assuming that you'd be using it while actually driving)?

 

I often use my Vista mounted on my windshield (centered below the rearview mirror, slightly below eye-level) and, despite the diminutive size of the eTrex, I'll admit that there have been times when I might have been better off paying more attention to my driving and less attention to the GPSr. I'm guessing that the large full colour display of a laptop might prove to be an even more inviting subject to the roaming eye of a GPS-enabled driver ...especially if the installation involved the placement of the laptop in such a way that, to view its screen, you had to divert your attention from the road entirely (not to mention the temptation to occasionally operate the keyboard with one hand/eye while steering with the other hand/eye !).

 

I realize that there are several high-end vehicles currently on the market that come equipped with interactive navigation displays driven by an on-board GPSr, but I've got to believe that there was a ton of R&D time put into the specific ergonomic details of these set-ups and how they impact on the safe operation of the vehicle (something that you wouldn't have the benefit of were you to simply put a laptop somewhere in the front passenger area of your car).

 

Mating your GPSr with a mobile laptop that's running some great mapping software is certainly tempting, but you should give some serious thought to the safety issues (me thinks).

[+Olar]

I've never tried it mainly because I don't have a lap-top but I don't think you would see the auto-routing turn screens or the navigation text that you see on the V itself. I believe there are a number of cachers who use one in conjunction with a non-mapping GPSR like a Mag315.

Cheers, Olar

 

"Pi 'r not square, Pie 'r round you dummy!"

[+kevin917z]

i do this all the time, however i make sure there are no cars behind or infront of me when i look at the screen, usually i am on open road with very few cars, i usually have someone else follow the map since its in real time or i have the computer speak my current location and roads i am on, if seeking a cache or location it tells me where to turn how far ahead it is and the ETA till the turn, just be carefull when you look at the screen, i wouldnt advise doing it in the middle of town

[+Criminal]

I once used my III+ connected to a laptop running a mapping program called "Falcon View", a mil product. The cursor was a tiny F-16.

[+Ish-n-Isha]

I use Delorme Topo USA 4.0 on DVD. Most of the Delorme products will talk to you. I look at it the screen after every turn off to see what the next road is or a little bit durring stop signs. The Topo even has the ability to real time 3-D navigate. Its the absolute best meld of roads and topo made IMHO. Isha usually drives while I navigate, for safety.

 

 

Cachin's a bit sweeter when you've got an Isha!

[+RB_Nielsen]

Hi,

 

I connect my Garmin GPSr V to my notebook computer while in the 4x4 offroad, and it works incredibly well. I use both ExpertGPS and Mapsource. The ExpertGPS software provides real-time tracking on the satellite photo maps, and as I recall their Topomaps as well. Of course, Mapsource does the same on all their maps.

 

As I mentioned above, I have found this capability particularly useful when I am running 4x4 off-road. When I am searching for nice fly fishing holding water, the combination of the real-time topo and satellite photos is unbeatable. I use the Garmin GPS V in normal mode using City Select to find my way to the general area. Upon arrival, I get out the notebook, hook up the GPS to it - bring up the mapset or satellite photoset pre-loaded in the notebook that I want to use, and head out. When I have questions, I turn to the notebook's screen for extreme detail.

 

It blows my mind everytime I watch my real-time progress on the notebook's satellite photo maps. Now this, and the ability to track on any of the mapsets from either ExpertGPS or Garmin's own Maprsource is one of the lessor-known, but also truly great benefits of the GPSr V.

 

[This message was edited by RB_Nielsen on November 12, 2002 at 07:20 PM.]

[+Centaur]

I experimented with my V connected to my laptop when we went on vacation. See here.

 

[+Pharisee]

I've connected my Legend to an IBM Thinkpad laptop running Autoroute 2001 (with the GPS add-on loaded). It's pretty impressive to a "spanner" engineer like me. I've used it in the car but only while my wife was driving!!! There was no way I could take my eyes off the little car moving (at 15 second intervals) along the roads on the the display. OK... I know I'm easily amused. Pity it doesn't update the display more frequently that 4 times a minute, though. Maybe someone out there knows a way to improve this?

 

John

 

PS. My version of AutoRoute 2001 only shows roads in Europe but I guess there's a version for my State-side caching cousins

***********************************************

 

To the optimist, the glass is half full. To the pessimist, the glass is half empty. To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[This message was edited by The Pharisee on November 13, 2002 at 04:05 AM.]

[Firetrkdriver]

I think putting a laptop in the front of a vehicle would be no more than many things already being done while driving.

 

One, the larger screen would be much easier to glance at than having to focus on a small screen.

 

Two, Hertz Rental Cars have already mounted units in their rental fleet (much smaller than a laptop). The one that I rented was mounted on the floorboard on the passenger's side, but angled to the driver. In order for the driver to see it, he had to completely take his eyes off the road.

 

Three, the Highway Patrol and other police agencies have had laptops mounted in patrol cars for years. Many times, these are used while driving! (Actually entering data while moving) I'm sure that is not reccomended, but it is done.

 

Four, no matter what you're doing while driving you can be distracted to the point of causing a wreck. Taking your eyes off the road for even a brief time can cause a wreck. Jotting notes on paper, talking on cell phone, putting on make-up, eating, drinking, smoking, looking at a paper map that doesn't have a pointer that automatically centers on your location can all cause a wreck. When driving, common sense has to be used.

 

I feel like glancing at a big screen that is conveniently mounted to minimize the amount of time you have to look at the screen would be no more than having a small screen that you have to strain to look at. Really, you should have one that talks if you're going to use it in a car, so you wouldn't have to look at all.

 

Bottom line, whatever you're doing, besides concentrating on driving, can be dangerous while behind the wheel. Everyone will have to use good judgement to utilize accessories safely, and if needed, pull over to the side of the road when doing more than glancing.

 

Just a thought...

 

Firetrkdriver

[+Larebel]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firetrkdriver:

I think putting a laptop in the front of a vehicle would be no more than many things already being done while driving.

 

One, the larger screen would be much easier to glance at than having to focus on a small screen.

 

---

 

______________________________________________

When you got nothin', you got nothin' to lose.

[+st_richardson]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firetrkdriver:

...It seems to me that you could use the cig adapter cable with pc interface cable and hook up your laptop to your GPS while driving so you could use the bigger screen on your pc.

 

Has anyone tried this?...

 

---

Yes, once. Fortunately for the drivers around me, I didn't crash into them. You're lucky you weren't on the road with me.

 

I suggest letting someone else drive while you try it.

[+Larebel]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Larebel:

Originally posted by Firetrkdriver:

I think putting a laptop in the front of a vehicle would be no more than many things already being done while driving.

 

One, the larger screen would be much easier to glance at than having to focus on a small screen.

 

---

 

I agree with you Firetrkdriver, a larger screen is less distracting and easier to use. I've had a laptop in my truck for a couple of years. I'm in the service industry and use it to locate addresses I'm not familiar with.

 

 

I use Street Atlas USA ans USA Photo Maps when I'm looking for a cache. I made the mount myself for about $15.00.

 

[This message was edited by Larebel on November 17, 2002 at 09:42 AM.]

 

[This message was edited by Larebel on November 17, 2002 at 09:52 AM.]

 

[This message was edited by Larebel on November 17, 2002 at 09:53 AM.]

[Cache Canucks]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firetrkdriver:

"...I think putting a laptop in the front of a vehicle would be no more than many things already being done while driving..."

 

"...Bottom line, whatever you're doing, besides concentrating on driving, can be dangerous while behind the wheel. Everyone will have to use good judgement to utilize accessories safely, and if needed, pull over to the side of the road when doing more than glancing..."

---

No doubt, how 'safe' this type of thing is depends as much on how and where it's used as anything else. Personally, with the erratic driving that all of us already encounter on the roads these days with folks using a cellular phone in one hand and a steering wheel (...and sometimes manual gear shift !) with the other, I'd just assume not be driving too closely to any car where the driver is actively using a notebook PC 'enroute' (police cruisers with mobile data terminals included). Having a casual glance now and then while stopped, when traffic is light, or when driving off the beaten path out in the boonies is one thing, but how many of us have been in stop-and-go rush hour city traffic, glanced down briefly to tune the FM radio or change a CD, only to look up a second later to find yourself almost on top of a set of red brake lights that weren't there a couple of seconds ago ...? I dunno 'bout y'all, but my car insurance rates are high enough as it is without having any 'at fault' accidents on my record.

 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go out and cover my car in bubble wrap...

[+park2]

I noticed someone talking about the 15 second update rate when using some MicroSoft products.

 

You may wish to search back for the threads on how to modify the exe file to give faster update rates. There are DIY methods and a little hack program.

 

I use S&T all the time with my Vista and previously my G12, works great and has great detail.

 

Park2

[+trippy1976]

I'll markwell you here for a pic of my laptop setup:

 

http://opentopic.Groundspeak.com/0/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=1750973553&f=3000917383&m=5620946835&r=4650917835#4650917835

 

I use MapPoint 2002 with Advanced GPS add on. It allows my lowly venture to auto-route me places and with the Advanced GPS's text-speech capability the autorouting isn't that much of a distraction while driving. Those driving with me might beg to differ, but I find it EXTREMELY handy to hook my GPS to my laptop. An in this case it's just a Venture running the GPS input to the laptop. I've been using this lately for caching and it's been satisfying my needs for mapping and routing 100% so far.

 

Was thinking of getting a Sportrak Pro, but really - the only time street level mapping would have been incredibly handy after leaving my car was in Chicago. We used it a lot to determine which bus to take to reach a cache and it was infinitely useful.

 

--------

trippy1976 - Team KKF2A

[+Alan2]

For what it's worth, Delorme STreet ATlas 2003 comes with voice recognition commands and voice directions so you can speak into the laptop and get answers from the speakers or earphones. It'll give instruction in voice like,"Right turn in 300 feet". You can ask questions like"When is my next turn". You can also transfer and create waypoints and routes and upload tracks to and from your GPS. Program runs about 40-50 bucks. Of course it has auto-routing.

 

It also has a night driving display that creates a black background on the screen using diferent colors for the roads so you don't get blinded after you look at the screen.

 

But I have to be honest. I found it overwhelming in featurees for use at home and prefer my Metroguide. But if you insist on using a laptop in the car to assist in driving, this might be the safer way to go.

 

ALan