Zippy

Portable nav systems. Does anyone have any experience with the handheld systems? I would like to find one that will track and plan routes. Any help?

SixthGear

Any wireless PDA could help you plan routes using an app like mapquest. My Palm VII does a pretty good job but it's nothing like a full-blown GPS system. I believe that's under development for PDA's now.

Zippy

SG,
Is there a GPS antenna attachment for the Palm?

turbo_pwr

Yes, go to http://www.palm.com and look under accessories.

SixthGear

The palm Vii has a small antenna that you need to flip up for wireless access. For a subscription fee of $20-$50/mo, you can use email, keep address/memo, trade stocks, get news, and ect.. The connection is much slower than pc but passable for most apps, which are usually free.

netmonkey

I have a Garmin GPS III+ handheld... it's pretty good but it wont plan any routes for you. It will show you your current speed (seems to be pretty accurate esp since the DOD turned off SA), lat/lon/alt, your position on a moving map (You can download maps from a map CD that garmin also sells), and it has a trip computer that will give you various stats like your average speed, distance traveled, etc. Oh.. and it will also alow you to set waypoints and tell you the distance between waypoints.

One of the cooler features of the device (that has helped me out a lot since I tend to get lost) is it's ability to record the route that you have been driving/walking/flying and then automatically generate waypoints. It will then be able to guide you back the way you came. (in addition to the map, it has a display that tells you both the direction and the distance of the next waypoint) 21st century breadcrumbs.

Anyway, it's a good unit for the price, but if you want trip planning/continuous driving directions then you should probably get an in-dash unit. (Mounting it into the stook is another problem... hmm)

joe

Zippy

Thanks, good info, actually this is for my wife, so if I get an indash it won't be in the S. Thanks again.

dillehay

I also have a Garmin III+. It is a very nice piece of equipment. One nice feature is the ability to load from CD a lot of additional details on streets, parks, points of interest, etc. It has about 1.4 MB of memory. I can load a ton of detail into it for the region where I live and then take the S2K out for drives to new areas. It makes my exploration of the area that much more interesting. I actually bought this unit for sailboat racing [which is another timely and expensive hobby of mine] and found that the crossover to using it while driving is super.

Garmin makes a newer unit call the 12Map which is a bit more compact [doesn't have the external antenae] and has the exact same features and capabilities. It's the same price also -- about $290, without any of the detail CDs. I think the CDs are about $80-100.

For terrestrial use only, Garmin makes a few different Etrex models which have the same type of mapping features, I believe. However, I have no first hand experience with these.

Last, Garmin also makes an handheld unit called the StreetPilot which will acutally calculate driving directions as well. Not sure of the price and it is quite a bit bulkier than the III+ or the 12Map. I would not get anything other than a Garmin.

I just recommended to my father that he get the 12map. It's the best for the buck.

-DD-

razorsedge

I have a Tandy handheld GPS. It seems to work pretty well.

I have heard that Trimble is coming out with a retail version of their handheld GPS (right now, it is used in law enforcement, military, etc.) That will be sweet, but I'm sure it will be $$$.

Dan

speedbump

Dillehay,

You are interested in sailboat racing? What kind of boat do you have? I have a sweet AMF Sunfish that I am really great with. I think it's light enough that I should be able to tow it with the Stook.

I saw in some threads on another s2k forum where people were able to mount a lightweight hitch to their stooks without worries to the exhaust system. I'm probably going to have mine looked at this spring, and pull the trigger! Have you looked into this at all?

Next thing on my to do list is get my blue blazer and white cap back from the dry cleaners!

Ahoy!