GPS Adventures
DAY 1
Arrived at Fry's Electronics to pick up a GPS unit for my PocketPC. I mentioned this in a previous blog entry but Fry's has an incredible selection of equipment and a no-hassle return policy. I really like that store!
Anyways, I arrived at an assortment of devices. Most were Bluetooth enabled - it's a cool feature but my PPC model doesn't support Bluetooth. I would have to buy a Socket SDIO Bluetooth Connection Kit (roughly $189) and a GPS unit ($275-$399+) to get basic GPS functionality so I nixed that idea.
I finally opted for the Pharos iGPS-360 with in-car navigation. I went back to the office, and tested the unit. To my dismay, I found out that the unit is powered by a car power adapter that plugs into a vehicle's cigarette lighter. That particular GPS unit will never work indoors or on-foot.
On top of that, I also found out that Ostia Canadian maps are only available as a separate purchase of $99.99! I tested the Pharos GPS unit in the car - works well but as a mobile developer it would be extremely inconvenient to have to start up the car everytime I want to test my custom PPC software!
DAY 2
Back to Fry's Electronics in Burbank to return the Pharos unit. In it's place, I picked up the Navman GPS 3450 Voice. It turned out to be a better device for my needs. Here are the major advantages:
- Costs less than Pharos unit by $50 USD
- Sleeve specifically designed for iPAQs
- No wires required
- Comes with iPAQ charger for the car
(as opposed to a power supply for your GPS unit)
- Portable - Powered using the iPAQ's battery
(Pharos unit depends on VDC for power)
- Provides support for CF cards
- Includes North American maps (USA & Canada)
(Canadian maps are available on the Pharos, but you must
buy them separately. Plus they are expensive)
When I got home, I installed the Navman software on my device and received the following status message:
"Transferring Southern California to your Pocket PC"
After a good laugh, I went outside to test the unit. Unfortunately, after 20 mins it was apparent that nothing was going to happen. I kept getting a dreaded "WAITING FOR GPS" status message on my device.
Went back to the office and installed the Navman iPAQ GPS Receiver ROM Upgrade:
http://www.navman.com/land/SmartST/updates/ROM1_1.html
Here's how I got the unit working after the upgrade:
- Went outside, turned on my PocketPC and inserted it into the GPS sleeve
- Soft reset the PocketPC and launched the Navman software
- Started walking down the street to LaBrea
Suddenly, my latitude and longitude position appeared on the screen. I checked the GPS status screen and found out that 6 U.S. satellites were triangulating my position and my current walking speed was 4.1 mph!