Anybody use Pda`s

[stephinson]

Hi I have just got a 1200gs and I am looking at getting a gps.
I was wondering if anybody uses a pda for gps has I could use it for things when not on the bike, or if anybody knows a pda that would be upto the job
(ps I`m skint after buying the bike so dont want to spend much)

 

[fatty]

I use an acer n35 in the car. came with destinator software but I downloaded the latest version of tomtom and used that instead and it works realy well. I did put a 1gig sd card in it though, put lots more stuff on it then, tried IGuidance software on it and that worked ok as well so you can use different gps software on it no problem. Bought it from aria.co.uk, you can get them from under £200. Bit of a bargan me thinks.

 

[NeverRodeBefore]

I use a medion PNA100 from www.medionshop.co.uk which cost about £200 plus RAM-Man's firm supplied a box and mount to take it. I think the box is the medium size aqua box, fitted with a ball mount, a medium length arm and a tube fixing kit.

It has maps of all of europe, but you need an extra card to carry more maps with you, or just a bigger card I suppose.

Mine has had a few glitches, such as the battery died on it, and sometimes it crashes when you connect or disconnect it from the bikes power, or even it's cradle for that matter. Still, I paid my money and I'l make do.

 

[mermoto]

I use an Ipaq 2210. A great tool for all kinds of things. I have it loaded with Tomtom and a seperate Globalsat sirf star 3 receiver. Both work very well together using the blue tooth. I dont use it on the bike and would not recommend using on a bike. It can be a little tempramental at times but I find it excellent to navigate with in the car. I also used it in the states to get through Boston and it was superb!

Mermoto

 

[Firebird]

I'm in the process of getting an iPaq 3870 with TomTom 5 and MemoryMap software on it set up on my Autocom Eurocom.

In the future I may look at buying a K-Jam which will then put a mobile phone into the same device (the iPaq belongs to work). May also be able to then wire that in via the Autocom.

Have a bluetooth GPS receiver so it'll work with both.

The bonus (I feel) of using a PDA is all the other things you can do with them (wireless internet, e-mail etc). However, the drawback is that there are few, if any, standard solutions.

I don't want a solution that needs looking at whilst riding. It needs to talk to me as biking is dangerous enough without having to 'watch TV' whilst you're riding.

 

[stephinson]

thats why I`m thinking of a pda with bluetooth so it will speak to my earphone, and can use it for other things
its good to hear you can fit bigger cards and connect to the bikes power as i dont think the batteries last long using gps

I`ll check out aria as they are not far away

anybody got other thoughts

I was worried about vibration killing it?

 

[steve16]

Using a..

....SPV M600 which is a mobile/pda,have Tom Tom installed and a Holox BT321 Gps..........all works well and gives me the best of both worlds

Steve

 

[Blowzorn]

I use the Ipaq 2210 with Tom Tom for street level routing. I have all of Western Europe installed on a 4Gb CF card.
I also use Fugawi with OS landranger maps for off road GPS and have a shareware package called GPSDash that gives you loads of stat information and allows you to scan your own maps in.
I've been very suprised at how hardy the Ipaq is. I use the waterproof RAM aquabox 2 and also a straight cradle when the weathers fine. The Ipaq got absolutely drenched on a recent trip round Europe in a flash shower but never stopped working.
I can also surf the internet using my mobile phone as a bluetooth modem.
You will not get bluetooth audio for GPS as standard with it, you'll have to load an A2DP audio driver to make it work.
The downside to this method of GPSing on the bike is, as anyone who knows me can testify. You spend an aweful lot of time wiring and routing cables on every ride.
The 2210 is now a discontinued model, but you can get them fairly cheap of fleabay, usually with a copy of Tom Tom and a GPS receiver.
Good luck

 

[adbru]

I looked at getting an otterbox for my 3970 but they dont seem to make it big enough to have the power lead in as well.

Pity as it works well in the tank bag !!

I have used TT5 and memory map on the ipaq 3970 and just wish i could waterproof it properly !!

Ride safe


Adbru

 

[DrAlf]

Still working on a bike mounted solution for my XDA exec running tomtom

 

[gfspencer]

I have a Garmin iQ3600 for the car. The gps works great! I hardly ever use the pda even though it works quite well. I guess I just don't have much need for a pda.

 

[stephinson]

Thanks for your help
looks like I`ll get a pda

Thanks

 

[Richard stevely]

I use a Palm Treo 650 with Tom Tom Navigator 5. Maps of western europe on 2Gb SD card. Separate GPS receiver with Bluetooth between Palm and starcom unit. What more does one need......GPS, MP3 player, phone, internet and email all in one device

 

[Cogs]

I have a Palm T5 pda that came with a ViaMitchelin cradle that's useless on the GS. I'd be interested in any info on Bluetooth, Palm compat systems anyone is aware of?

 

[stephinson]

has anybody got a pda gps to talk to then though a bluetooth earphone

 

[sparkplug]

has anybody got a pda gps to talk to then though a bluetooth earphone

Assuming your PDA connects to your GPS receiver via bluetooth I think that's too many bluetooth connections..

You could get round it with something like the IntaRide Liberty system so the connections would be:
1) PDA - GPS = Bluetooth
2) PDA - IntaRide Liberty = cable
3) IntaRide Liberty - Helmet = bluetooth

I've got the XDA Mini-s with TomTom and a Holox GPS receiver. Haven't used it much but it seems to work well and is nice as it can be used handheld unlike my Garmin.

 

[Riktus]

I use a 2210 Ipaq with a CF GPS card this then does away with the bluetooth requirement for GPS signal and it is powered constantly by the PDA which in turn is powered from a feed off the back of the accessory socket.

If you are looking for a PDA for this sort of thing my advice is make sure you get one that accepts both CF cards and SD cards (not all PDAs do) this then allows you much more scope. it also allows you to connect to bluetooth gadgets like earpiece instead of making the GPS connection.

I cant comment on how successful the bluetooth headset connection is because I connect mine to an Autocom system which is much clearer and has control of priorities of GPS or music or voice.

Downside of any PDA is viabration and waterproof - I kind of overcome this by placing it in the map pocket of a tank bag - this does 2 things
1. Gives you showerproofing (waterproof if you put raincover on tankbag)
2. cushions the viabration - the GS viabrates the bars like crazy so mounted on the tank bag it softens the shock.

I chose to use a PDA because I use it for logging Satellite data at work so I got some of the software installed for other tasks - but if I was buying a system specifically for bike and car I would go for a Garmin Quest 11 they are pretty much the best around - shop around and you can get good deals, cheapest i heard of was a few guys who got their heads together and went to Halfords and bought 3 - the price ended up at £250-00 each then they bought the bike mount kit off ebay approx £50.00.
PDA with CF GPS Card and 1mb SD card and Tom Tom 5 + power lead wont be far off.

My opinion for what its worth!
Cheers
Rik

 

[Tomcat]

I've got a similar setup to Riktus - iPaq 2210 with CF GPS receiver, and TomTom 5. It works fine in the car, getting me from A to B, so I tried mounting it on the GS using a RAM cradle. I used a ciggie-lighter type of power lead with an adaptor for the BMW accs socket. I connected the audio out via an Autocom, but had problems with interference, so in the end just plugged a small headphone directly into the iPaq. I didn't worry at this stage about waterproofing the setup.

The big problem I found was viewing the screen of the PDA - it was just too reflective, and even with the backlight on it was difficult to see. The voice directions could be heard OK, but I found it a real pain to have a lead hanging from my helmet - but thats just a personal hangup, lots of others don't mind this.

Apart from the screen reflections the other drawback is that the TomTom s/w doesn't provide a way of plotting a route on a PC and uploading it to the PDA. In the end I was lucky enough to get one of the bargain Quest 1s from Halfords, which is a much better solution for a motorcycling - but crap compared to the TomTom for use in the car (no post code entry in Quest, no speed camera warnings etc etc.) BTW, I don't use the voice instructions from the Quest - just glance at the screen.

My advice - if you've already got a PDA think carefully about how you mount it and whether you will really see the screen. Don't spend a heap of money on waterproof boxes, audio leads etc. until you're convinced that it does what you want it to. If not - buy a bike oriented dedicated GPS

HTH

 

[stephinson]

Thanks for all your info

its helped a lot