bpenn1980
SILVER Star
Just finished getting this setup all put together.
My intention here was to create a portable, car utilized, PC based gps system. The focus was on off-pavement mapping with topo quad detail, so turn-by-turn stuff with funny arrows and a nice female voice was useless.
I decided on a tablet PC as a nice balance of laptop PC computing power and screen size versus the convenient size and portability of smaller GPS only devices. I settled on the Fujitsu tablet PC due to cost primarily. I was looking at the Itronix ix300 tablets, but cost was 2-3x what I picked the Fujitsu up for. The full size Itronix laptops are nice too, but seemed a bit too bulky for me. The seeming minuscule computing power of the C-500 isn't a concern for running mapping software, however I was also able to surf the internet with it fairly easily which was surprising. Runs Topo! like a charm and map scrolling is smooth and fluid. It has 16GB hard drive and is running Windows 2000 Professional. Plenty of space to save all the topo quads I could possibly hope for. In addition, the Fujitsu came with a heavy canvas cover/case, wireless keyboard, docking station, AC adapter and car adapter. All for $120, not bad (if it works on washboard roads!)
I got the GlobalSat BU-353 gps receiver for a combination of weatherproofing and cost. It was marginally less expensive than the Garmin puck and the Delorme device. If I ever wanted to put it on the roof due to temporary obstructions (canyon, heavy foliage, etc) I can just roll down the window and throw it on the roof without concern. I dont know if that will be a useful feature yet or not. One complaint here is that the USB cable is too short so I had to buy an extension at $25 expense which makes it much less appealing from a price standpoint. I opted away from the wireless GPS receivers due to battery power. I want to be able to plug the PC into the car power and not have to think about anything else.
For the mapping software I decided on the National Geographic Topo! software and got the Topo! California package which includes topo quads for the entire state. This seemed to be a better deal than the Topo! Explorer software which requires you to download each quad for $1 (this add's up quickly). The one benefit is that you get satellite imagery overlay for each of the quads you purchase.
I'm planning on using it around town for the next few weeks to work out the kinks and find a spot in the cruiser where its most convenient. The first field trial will be mid-January on a 3 day Mojave Road trip.
My intention here was to create a portable, car utilized, PC based gps system. The focus was on off-pavement mapping with topo quad detail, so turn-by-turn stuff with funny arrows and a nice female voice was useless.
I decided on a tablet PC as a nice balance of laptop PC computing power and screen size versus the convenient size and portability of smaller GPS only devices. I settled on the Fujitsu tablet PC due to cost primarily. I was looking at the Itronix ix300 tablets, but cost was 2-3x what I picked the Fujitsu up for. The full size Itronix laptops are nice too, but seemed a bit too bulky for me. The seeming minuscule computing power of the C-500 isn't a concern for running mapping software, however I was also able to surf the internet with it fairly easily which was surprising. Runs Topo! like a charm and map scrolling is smooth and fluid. It has 16GB hard drive and is running Windows 2000 Professional. Plenty of space to save all the topo quads I could possibly hope for. In addition, the Fujitsu came with a heavy canvas cover/case, wireless keyboard, docking station, AC adapter and car adapter. All for $120, not bad (if it works on washboard roads!)
I got the GlobalSat BU-353 gps receiver for a combination of weatherproofing and cost. It was marginally less expensive than the Garmin puck and the Delorme device. If I ever wanted to put it on the roof due to temporary obstructions (canyon, heavy foliage, etc) I can just roll down the window and throw it on the roof without concern. I dont know if that will be a useful feature yet or not. One complaint here is that the USB cable is too short so I had to buy an extension at $25 expense which makes it much less appealing from a price standpoint. I opted away from the wireless GPS receivers due to battery power. I want to be able to plug the PC into the car power and not have to think about anything else.
For the mapping software I decided on the National Geographic Topo! software and got the Topo! California package which includes topo quads for the entire state. This seemed to be a better deal than the Topo! Explorer software which requires you to download each quad for $1 (this add's up quickly). The one benefit is that you get satellite imagery overlay for each of the quads you purchase.
I'm planning on using it around town for the next few weeks to work out the kinks and find a spot in the cruiser where its most convenient. The first field trial will be mid-January on a 3 day Mojave Road trip.
