Tardis
17th July 2006, 03:58 PM
OK folks, I don't have any pics to oohh over at present but here's my setup:
iPaq 3850 (OK it's pretty old now) - which of course runs OziCE - coupled with CoPilot GPS sleeve & optional external magnetic aerial. This sits in a simple vent clip which I got with the CoPilot &, as the centre vents on the Paj are just the right height, it's no more effort or risk to flip eyes to the screen than it is to the speedo - which naturally I never use when GPS is running as that's legally accurate. Better than those "down around the gearshift" lappy arrangements I reckon. Plus a quick finger tap & waypoint is set as I travel along. I've got a couple of reasonably sized SD cards to hold maps but even then I need to weed out ones I need for a major trip.
Although the CoPilot came at around $6-700 & I've upgraded maps for some decent $$ since, software only gets used occasionally when I visit a strange city (like umm, Sydney - where even ext aerial loses signal in city centre) & I want turn by turn directions. Otherwise, even latest maps are not a patch on Ozi. But the sleeve is a bonus - even comes with CF slot for checking out photos on the fly.
The major benefit (as long as you can live with the small screen) over a laptop is that it's easily removable when I park. Disconnect battery & aerial leads & it's straight in your pocket or wherever (although for short stops I just chuck my cap over the top for "invisibility"). PLUS - it's just as portable with the CoPilot sleeve aerial as any handheld GPS, albeit a bit rich on batteries.
This setup has trundled across some pretty gnarly tracks without skipping a beat, but for major trips (Simpson, Kimberley & most points in between) I tend to run my Magellan Meridian as well just as a fallback. The older model Paj I have (before they dreamed up idiotic "inclinators") has a flat area on top of the central dash area that's just perfect for mounting Magellan & iPaq together. With all the connecting cables or as dual stand-alone GPS's I'm one happy & "never lost" traveller!
iPaq 3850 (OK it's pretty old now) - which of course runs OziCE - coupled with CoPilot GPS sleeve & optional external magnetic aerial. This sits in a simple vent clip which I got with the CoPilot &, as the centre vents on the Paj are just the right height, it's no more effort or risk to flip eyes to the screen than it is to the speedo - which naturally I never use when GPS is running as that's legally accurate. Better than those "down around the gearshift" lappy arrangements I reckon. Plus a quick finger tap & waypoint is set as I travel along. I've got a couple of reasonably sized SD cards to hold maps but even then I need to weed out ones I need for a major trip.
Although the CoPilot came at around $6-700 & I've upgraded maps for some decent $$ since, software only gets used occasionally when I visit a strange city (like umm, Sydney - where even ext aerial loses signal in city centre) & I want turn by turn directions. Otherwise, even latest maps are not a patch on Ozi. But the sleeve is a bonus - even comes with CF slot for checking out photos on the fly.
The major benefit (as long as you can live with the small screen) over a laptop is that it's easily removable when I park. Disconnect battery & aerial leads & it's straight in your pocket or wherever (although for short stops I just chuck my cap over the top for "invisibility"). PLUS - it's just as portable with the CoPilot sleeve aerial as any handheld GPS, albeit a bit rich on batteries.
This setup has trundled across some pretty gnarly tracks without skipping a beat, but for major trips (Simpson, Kimberley & most points in between) I tend to run my Magellan Meridian as well just as a fallback. The older model Paj I have (before they dreamed up idiotic "inclinators") has a flat area on top of the central dash area that's just perfect for mounting Magellan & iPaq together. With all the connecting cables or as dual stand-alone GPS's I'm one happy & "never lost" traveller!