Navman GPS module on a PDA?

[EnergySaver]

I have a friend that’s getting into geocaching … instead of getting a stand-alone GPSr, they are considering getting a “Navman” add-on GPSr module, since they already have a “ipaq H3800” PDA.

How well will this work for them?
Does a “Navman” have good accuracy like a stand-alone?
Are they reliable, etc.?

(I’m pointing the friend to read this forum, so please help him out, if you have experience. He didn’t say what model of “Navman”, but that he saw one on ebay going for $165.)

Thanks!

[TeamLotsacache]

quote:

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Originally posted by EnergySaver:
I have a friend that’s getting into geocaching … instead of getting a stand-alone GPSr, they are considering getting a “Navman” add-on GPSr module, since they already have a “ipaq H3800” PDA.

How well will this work for them?
Does a “Navman” have good accuracy like a stand-alone?
Are they reliable, etc.?

(I’m pointing the friend to read this forum, so please help him out, if you have experience. He didn’t say what model of “Navman”, but that he saw one on ebay going for $165.)

Thanks!

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I know 2 people that have tried this route. Both of them were VERY disappointed and ended up with dedicated handheld GPS units. Here is why they didn’t like it:

1) Battery life very short (2-4 hours)
2) Small antenna only works well in a car, loses signal with even the slightest canopy.
3) Fumbling with a stylus while you are walking in the woods leads to cuts and bruises.
4) Since it’s always in you hand, the chances of dropping it in the water or on a rock goes up dramatically.

All in all, spend the $165 on an etrex not a NavMan.

[river_rat]

while having the pda and GPSr as one unit can be more convienient, the biggest fear i’d have is about durability….what happens when you drop it, bump it against a tree, slip while crossing a stream (that would NEVER happen lol) ?

[GeoPink]

I did my first 96 caches with a Palm m515 and a GPS Companion cradle. It worked well, I had great reception (cough, Magellan, cough…) and was generally satisfied. It did however become apparent that I was in danger of busting up my nice PDA if I kept using it in snow, rain, on cliffs and over rivers. So I bought a standalone SporTrak Map. I’m not sorry I did it this way but if I had to do it over again, I would spend my dough on a standalone GPS, right off the bat.

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Team GeoPink
– Jeff
Co-conspirator to make the world a better place…

[EnergySaver]

Keep it coming.
But so far your lining up pretty well with my gut instincts.

I can see (and like) using my Palm instead of printing out the paper cache pages. But you look at the PDA, then tuck it away (in your pack or pocket), then maybe look again when you need a “hint” or to notate your find. But if it’s also your GPSr, it’s constantly out and exposed to things. In fact I bought one of those water-tight equipment clear-equipment bags (like a zip lock bag on steroids); so that if I get into a real iffy situation, I drop my cell phone and Palm in the bag, roll down the seal and stick it shut.

PS – the new geocacher with the interest is “sixfishies”. say hi to them if you get a chance. I happened to regonize them as someone I knew from their profile .. small world! They must be real noticable out in the field right now … they are going out with a laptop with a GPS module hanging from it … so we got to help them increase their stealth factor, and quick!

[river_rat]

laptop? in the field? gee THAT must be convieniant lol

I applaud them for not letting it keep ’em away from the hobby though.

[abcdmCachers]

I use a PocketPC with a Teletype compact flash card. It’s definitely a love/hate relationship. Many pluses – large color screen, excellent reception, waypoints include cache descriptions and hints, waypoint icons that distinguish kind as well as size of cache, door to door routing, memory card holds maps for entire states, recharges in the car, etc. The big minuses – fragile (but so far not a problem), and it requires external antenna, although this apparently is a problem with my particular PDA. If they are interested in learning more, feel free to have them contact me. Check out the waypoint generation software that I wrote for it at http://www.logicweave.com/waypointgen.html. The next version of the software will extract parking coordinates from the cache descprition and generate waypoints. Is this possible with any other software?

Having said this, I am in the market for a dedicated unit, but I am worried I’m going to have to give up some features.

[TeamLotsacache]

quote:

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Originally posted by abcdmCachers:
I use a PocketPC with a Teletype compact flash card. It’s definitely a love/hate relationship. Many pluses – large color screen, excellent reception, waypoints include cache descriptions and hints, waypoint icons that distinguish kind as well as size of cache, door to door routing, memory card holds maps for entire states, recharges in the car, etc. The big minuses – fragile (but so far not a problem), and it requires external antenna, although this apparently is a problem with my particular PDA. If they are interested in learning more, feel free to have them contact me. Check out the waypoint generation software that I wrote for it at http://www.logicweave.com/waypointgen.html. The next version of the software will extract parking coordinates from the cache descprition and generate waypoints. Is this possible with any other software?

Having said this, I am in the market for a dedicated unit, but I am worried I’m going to have to give up some features.

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We can do all this with our Garmin 60C. Using spinner and Easy GPS to get stuff onto it and voila! No we can’t do parking coors from the cache location…that’d be cool though!

[This message has been edited by TeamLotsacache (edited 05-26-2005).]

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