GPS for Laptop?

phatTweaker · May 21, 2006

Hi all,

I bought a GPS receiver to go along with my MS Streets and Trips on my laptop. I got it on eBay for $56 shipped. It's a Holux GR-213 SiRF Star III. Anyone familiar with that particular unit? If so how well did it work out for you?

Also I was wondering what settings you all use on the gps task pane? I have "provide driving guidance", "arrange map view:", "use dynamic turn view", and "rotate map to follow travel direction" all checked.

I have tried it briefly just around my small town and it seemed ok, but I went past the road of the address I had routed and it didn't alert me until about half block past it. I then hit F3 and it recalculated and put me back on track. Is this fairly common with GPS to only get you into the general area and then you have to hunt the specific address the good ole fashioned way?

One last question. When you type your destination address into streets and trips do you also need to type your current address or just let the GPS find you and rout you to the destination only?

One last, last question. Is there a way to see the map directions like it shows without the GPS and the GPS directions at the same time?

thanks

FIS53 · May 21, 2006

First thing to understand is that there is a little delay in the update on screen. The program is working in realtime but it does seem to have a few seconds delay at times. Therefore when getting near turns etc, start slowing and looking! Also the program is not perfect with address locations (odd road location out of place as well). I have found it is out in some instances a half a block and once it was reversed. Address #2 S&T put at the wrong end of the road, about 1.5 miles out. So don't rely on it being absolutly instant and also not 100% accurate.
Next if you have everything turned on you will slowdown the program as it must work a lot to update the map turning etc. I personally keep it in North orientation as that way I can see the map in one direction.
Yes you can have the directions and the map available, sorry I can't pull it up as I'm on the wrong system, but it is possible.
Program speed will depend on CPU in laptop and also RAM amount and amount of info you want it to show and tell and do at the same time. You'll probably get faster updating by turning off some of the GPS extra features. My system has a 733MHz processor and only 256Mb RAM so I keep the GPS as lean as possible.
Rob Fis

phatTweaker · May 21, 2006

Hello,

Thanks for the info. The program seems to run fast enough on my laptop and when I hit F3 to recalculate it does it all most instantly. It seems like the GPS part lags a little sometimes though. I will try your suggestions and see if that helps.

I have it installed on 2 laptops. 1st is P4 1.7GHz, 256MB RAM and the second is a PII 366MHz, 128MB RAM. The second one does seem a bit slower even with all the extras turned off and recalculating takes 3 or 4 seconds.

There's as an option in the settings tool that came with the GPS for enabling WAAS/EGNOS and Power Save. Should these be enabled? I read the manual that came with it, but it doesn't say what's recommended for those 2 settings.

thanks

FIS53 · May 22, 2006

Don't have those options with mine, so can't give you info. Further depending on version of program the updating delay is different. The 2002 version is 15 seconds and the 2006 is much less (these are the automatic updates the program does as it works). SO you can play with different settings and see what makes a difference. Also do you have any other programs running in the background?? If you do then Windows will be slower to react to incoming info. The less items running the better as the processor has to donate time to everything that's running. Check you startup and see how many programs load on startup and see if you can reduce the number (if you have lots). Basically run the system as lean as possible considering you don't have much RAM. Sorry but 256Mb is actually for newer systems low. I know it's standard on laptops, except for the upper line ones. BTW what O/S are you running?? That can also make a minor difference.
Rob Fis

greg334 · May 22, 2006

phatTweaker
I found that the maps in S&T are not as acurate as they should be, there is a problem with the Geospatial calculations made to determine the locations of things with the Map Point engine which S&T is based on. I tried to figure out why there is a road in the middle of a field when I was writting my review of the software for my site.

Updating should happen every second without delay. If there is a 3 or 4 second delay, look at your system performance first and check the drivers for the USB port. The GPS unit is set for 1 second updates from all the sats. Using S&T with XP, you should have at minumal 1.5 Ghz machine with 512 MB of memory because of graphics memory needs.

Oh ... you can test out the GPS unit with programs like VisualGPS or VisualGPSxp (the former is free and the latter is $25 but has a 30day trial).

phatTweaker · May 22, 2006

Thanks for the info..Yea I try to keep my machine as lean as possible as far as things in the startup. The only things I have running is AVG, ZoneAlarm, something for the touchpad, and spyware guard. I am using Windows XP Pro SP1a. When I get the funds I plan on upgrading to 1GB of RAM and a 7200RPM hard drive, or maybe a newer laptop.

Have you guys used Delorme? Is it any better then S&T as far as accuracy and speed?

thanks

WES · May 28, 2006

Greetings,

We have been away from the road for a couple of years and thnking of going back, so checkjing the forums again to se what may have changed.

We used Delorme version '03 and version '04. '03 worked better. '04 would lock up at times. Some conflict with another program that was running. The program was very accurate probably 99% of the time. It cost about $150 then with the program and GPS sensor. Will upgrade if we go back on the road. It will talk to you and you can train it to recognize your voice.

Be aware, it can get you on roads not approved for trucks.

Have a good one,

Wes

Turtle · Jun 1, 2006

I've used both Street & Trips and Delorme Street Atlas extensively for years, and have both installed on my machine. I like the look of Streets and Trips better, but I like the feedback and and on-screen information of Delorme better. I use Delorme most of the time. Its maps are slightly more accurate, too. I like how Delorme will automatically alert you and re-route you if you get off the route - no messing with having to hit F3 while driving.

Then again, I just got the new Garmin StreetPilot c550. I like it a lot. The Bluetooth thing works great with my cell phone, giving me hands free calling. The only thing I don't like about the c550 is that it doesn't have multiple address capability. It's here to there, not here to there and then to there.

But other than that, it's great.

phatTweaker · Jun 1, 2006

Thanks for the info. Can you get Delorme without the GPS? Also does it play well with Streets and Trips? I've read on a forum that someone had issues with having both programs on the same PC.

thanks again for the info