FTO AUSTRALIA

hey just want some advice.. from any of you guys on a gps? my friend had one a small hand size one it was gold u can stick it to the window.. plug it into your cigarete thing.. and has a speaker on it etc.. dunno if theyr all like that.. but whats a rough price to pay on one of these things? or wats a fairly good brand.. and does it really mattter in brands ? or do they all get u from a to b

There are heaps of these kind of hand held GPS, just to name a few

Tom Tom
Navman
Garmin
Uniden
HP (PDA Base)
02XDA (PDA Base)
Mio (PDA Base)

The problem I found with these kind of portable unit is the accuracy, they mainly relies on satellite signal which only give accurate guidance within 100m, while the full unit use speed sensor as well as satellite signal.

The good things about the portable unit are that you can transfer them from car to car or even use it as a personal mapping device as well. It is generally easier to upgrade the map or software & firmware via computer.

I have this unit in my car over 2 years now.
Great for outdoors usage and in the car.
It is not as bulky as other units so you can carry it in on you etc…
I even use it to find my car back again.
Go out hunting all the time and you loose your sense of directions in the bush after walking such a long time.
Also, GPS is more accurate than your speedo.
Plus, I register the red light/speed cameras and it warns me.
You can plug it to cigarette lighter, it has a backlight for night time.

Remember though, you need to get a very detailed mapping software if you will be using the item outside of Melbourne.
MapSend is one of the best software around at the moment but it costs a bit.
Also, I found that getting a marine map is a great update if you go fishing.

hmm cheers.. i never thoght of using one on the boat .. sounds good.. how much was that.. one.. yeah well when i was in sydney this gps i had was preety acurate at somepoints.. but evertime i would go under a tunel or something underground.. the thing would loose its calculation.. and it would take a while to find where we are... then yous miss the turn.. and it would keep re calculating lol... its not good in peak hour traffic lol

I'm a totally no sense of direction guy so i've always thought about putting one in my car, is there a yearly cost etc etc for using it?

Once you buy the device there are no ongoing fees... unless you move and need more maps.

Other devices that can be used are phones that support AGPS, and Bluetooth phones with a bluetooth GPS antenna.

Yep, the satellite coverage is for free,
You need to hook up to min 4 satellite to get a 3 dimensional location.
3 satellite and you get 2 dimension only
Anything less and the device doesn’t work.
Normally you hook up to around 10 satellites though
Buildings, metal, concrete, etc... blocks the signal, you need to put the unit or aerial close to window, otherwise roof will block the signal

The story of GPS is actually very funny. Some silly US company spent billions of dollar to launch tens of satellite around the world. They were about %80 through the project, then they run out of money, exceeded the credit limits way too much, etc... Busted big time.
Then some other US company bought the whole lot for %1 of the total investment price and finished the rest. That’s why the coverage is free. They actually send a lot more information to the unit than just location info. Fishing reports and locations, temp average, very accurate time, etc....

I borrowed a mates unit simular to this...

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/New-BT-77-Blueto ... dZViewItem

Tried it on my PDA with the Destinator software. The software was good but the accuracy coming from the unit was terrible. I also tried another friends unit, same sort of thing just a different brand and it was the same thing, bad accuracy.

I don't know about the personal stand-alone ones but I've decided to wait till the technology gets better on these PDA addon versions.

I was told the history of GPS technology and what we have now are actually hand-me-downs from the US or UK military. As they get the better tech versions they release the previous to the public. Actually in the UK a few months back the military did this and released an new version of GPS with much improved accuracy and better signals from inside buildings and in built up areas.

I'm waiting for this to hit our shores before looking at these kind of devices again.

I have a MIO 168i. http://www.mio-tech.be/products/gps/168/default.asp

I went with this because I think TOM TOM's look ugly and crap. This is also so much more than just GPS being a PDA. It came with CoPilot software and I've found it very reliable and accurate. Now and again it tells me to go over a round about when acctually its a cross roads and in the city when you are sat in traffic it goes a bit funny and starts telling you to turn around but as soon as you start moving again its fine. If you set it to 3D view you can see corners and side roads coming up which is handy if you are thinging about over taking etc. It also shows you your speed, which is updated every half second.

It cost me $750 1 year ago from JB HIFI. It also comes with an extra GPS car ariel and headphones, but I've never used that as the flip up ariel is fine and the speak is loud enough.

I can swap the unit between cars and even put it on walking mode. It has an SD slot so you can listen to MP3's and add a bluetooth SD card and go online at wireless hot spots. It really is a great machine. Well worth it.

I have a NavMan icn510, and I think its bloody fantastic. I think they cost around $900 these days. Expensive, but ifs so nice not having to fiddle around with street directories. Yes, it loses reception when you go through a tunnel, but it comes back very quickly. It's also a lot more accurate than to the nearest 100m. The website claims to the nearest 5m, but I'd say more like nearest 10m. First time I turned it on, I walked out into my driveway, and once I got a fix it told me my exact street name and number, and I love in a fairly crowded suburb. I was very impressed.

http://www.navman.com/Navman/Templates/ ... 12736.aspx