cheese Posted December 28, 2002 Share Posted December 28, 2002 Are there PDA's out on the market that can also serve as a GPS? Also, I just ordered a "Dell Axim X5" PDA and was wondering the previous question about it also. Thanks! "There are two different kinds of people in this world: those who finish what they start, and" - Brad Ramsey Quote Link to comment
+VirtualBry Posted December 28, 2002 Share Posted December 28, 2002 Radio Shack has a PDA GPS called the DigiTraveler... it is on the front page of their website... www.radioshack.com... It includes adaptors for PALM, iPAQ, but I'm sure the cables could be adapted to other units, with a little rewiring. Its a good deal at $99. Have fun! Quote Link to comment
+Nurse Dave Posted December 29, 2002 Share Posted December 29, 2002 We use a palm m130 with a navman gps. It's a thin unit that clips onto the back of the palm. It came with street mapping software, a car power cord and a window mount. It's not as rugged as a stand-alone GPS, but with the m130 it has a larger display and it's in colour. ---Real men cache in shorts. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted December 29, 2002 Share Posted December 29, 2002 Yes there are, but for geocaching you're better off with the durability and water resistance of a standard GPS device. Your GPS may get knocked around, or dropped. You might have to put it down on wet leaves, or snow, or it may be exposed to rain. I don't think you'd want to subject an expensive PDA to the hard use a GPS unit receives while geocaching. "It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues" - Abraham Lincoln Quote Link to comment
targetdrone Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 Originally posted by virtualbry:Radio Shack has a PDA GPS called the DigiTraveler... Its a good deal at $99. As it comes with DeLorme software, it probably uses a Rockwell signal, not NMEA and would not be compatable with most mapping software (like the DeLorme Earthmate receiver). For the money, buy a Venture. It comes with a cable and is compatable with about everything. Plus you can use it as a stand alone unit. "I can't find the longitude for the North Pole" Quote Link to comment
+CCrew Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 quote:As it comes with DeLorme software, it probably uses a Rockwell signal, not NMEA and would not be compatable with most mapping software (like the DeLorme Earthmate receiver). For the money, buy a Venture. It comes with a cable and is compatable with about everything. Plus you can use it as a stand alone unit. Most PDA GPS's aren't capable of doing lat/lon waypoints and are centered on road routing. I have a high end iPaq with the Navman sleeve, and it does a good job of road routing with the right software, but would suck at trying to geocache with it. For the Axim you'd need a CF based GPS unit, which would be more expensive than a Etrex Yellow or Venture, and you'd have a waaay less rugged unit for which most forseeable damage wouldn't be covered by warranty. Sometimes a majority only means that all the fools are on the same side Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 Get a real GPS and maybe a cable for your PDA. Wherever you go there you are. Quote Link to comment
+phantom4099 Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 I don't think the axim will allow a normal GPSr to be connected since its serial port will not accept data in (or something like that). So you have to go with a CF card GPSr. Wyatt W. The probability of someone watching you is directly proportional to the stupidity of your actions. Quote Link to comment
+Genius Loci Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 ...at the local Radio Shack for $69.00 - I'm tempted to get one just to screw around with. In general, however, I'd agree with the idea of getting a 'real' hand-held GPSr first. Quote Link to comment
+Stunod Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 quote:Originally posted by CCrew:Most PDA GPS's aren't capable of doing lat/lon waypoints and are centered on road routing. I have a high end iPaq with the Navman sleeve, and it does a good job of road routing with the right software, but would suck at trying to geocache with it. If you have a Palm OS unit you can use GeoNiche or Cetus GPS to overcome those problems. "Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand." Quote Link to comment
+LaPaglia Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 quote:Originally posted by CCrew: quote:As it comes with DeLorme software, it probably uses a Rockwell signal, not NMEA and would not be compatable with most mapping software (like the DeLorme Earthmate receiver). For the money, buy a Venture. It comes with a cable and is compatable with about everything. Plus you can use it as a stand alone unit. Most PDA GPS's aren't capable of doing lat/lon waypoints and are centered on road routing. I have a high end iPaq with the Navman sleeve, and it does a good job of road routing with the right software, but would suck at trying to geocache with it. For the Axim you'd need a CF based GPS unit, which would be more expensive than a Etrex Yellow or Venture, and you'd have a waaay less rugged unit for which most forseeable damage wouldn't be covered by warranty. Sometimes a majority only means that all the fools are on the same side I too have an IPAQ. I use OziExplorerCE and it works great with Topo maps, waypoints, files from Pocket Search and Mobi-book. Near as I can tell it does everything the Garmin V does with a much larger color screen. HTTP://OZIEXPLORER.COM Lapaglia Muga Muchu (forget yourself, focus) Quote Link to comment
+lohroffc Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 I previously used an Earthmate attached to a Palm Pilot. By the time I bought the cables and necessary software for the Palm, I had spent a lot more money than a nice standalone unit would cost, and I still didn't have a very good solution. I liked the software, but it was very inconvenient carrying 2 devices, not to mention the fact that the Palm is waterproof. It also took both hands to use the 2 devices, which becomes a problem if you need to move branches out of your way or if you lose your balance. I finally gave in a spent my money on a Magellan 330 with Maps. I still take my Palm Pilot with me occasionally if I want the cache descriptions, but I don't have to have it out all the time. I am very happy that I switched. dyslexics of the world, untie. Quote Link to comment
targetdrone Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 I go to the cache page and save it as a text file into my Casiopeia E-100. I often don't even read it first, just save it. Now I can go hunt it, and if I get skunked, I can read the cache page while at the site, without digging through printouts and without wasting paper and more importantly, expensive ink cartridges. "I can't find the longitude for the North Pole" Quote Link to comment
cheese Posted January 3, 2003 Author Share Posted January 3, 2003 I already have a real GPSr, a Meridian Gold, I was just curious if I could use my PDA for mapping and road travel, and maybe as a secondary Geocaching unit. Thanks for the replies, though! "There are two different kinds of people in this world: those who finish what they start, and" - Brad Ramsey Quote Link to comment
+VirtualBry Posted January 4, 2003 Share Posted January 4, 2003 Hi Everyone, Yeah, having a standalone GPS unit is more practical than an attachment for a PDA. Bushwhacking while holding a PDA in one hand and the GPS receiver in another connected by 4' of cable can only add to the challenge. It is great for road routing, however, and you can't beat the backlit full color display. I like to save several cache webpages from www.geocaching.com on my PDA, so I'm not fumbling with stacks of printouts. In any case, for those who are interested, the DigiTraveler's output is NMEA, so it is compatible with most mapping software. It has worked with everything I've tried so far. Have Fun! Quote Link to comment
+Nurse Dave Posted January 4, 2003 Share Posted January 4, 2003 I don't think some of you understand. You can get GPSrs that simply clip onto a PDA making it one unit. No tougher to use than a stand alone GPS. And to meantion again the big screen size is awesome when it's mounted up on the windshield. ---Real men cache in shorts. Quote Link to comment
+lohroffc Posted January 4, 2003 Share Posted January 4, 2003 That an important detail that I indeed was missing. Having it as a single unit would indeed make a big difference. Thanks for pointing that out. Now, the other problem I had with using my Palm as my GPS device is that it was annoying to have to switch between Mobipocket and the GPS screens. It seems like I always had to reacquire after switching back. dyslexics of the world, untie. Quote Link to comment
+DougsBrat Posted January 5, 2003 Share Posted January 5, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Nurse Dave & LKay:I don't think some of you understand. You can get GPSrs that simply clip onto a PDA making it one unit. No tougher to use than a stand alone GPS. And to meantion again the big screen size is awesome when it's mounted up on the windshield. http://www.sprecher.us/smiles_63.gif ---Real men cache in shorts. I started with this setup a Visor and Magellan companion. Although accuracy and usability worked fine. at that time the software & waypoint management was lacking, so I got a Garmin Vista a mapsource program and ExpertGPS. This turned out much better than what I was using to cache with. Even though I still take my visor with me to check cache info and log my finds while at the cache site. More rules = Less fun! NTGA member Quote Link to comment
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