im looking for some gps software that would be suitable for motorcycle use , i allready have a garmin gpsII and have made cable to conect to xda 2 , now im looking for software , any suggestions , how suitable would tom tom be? note xda mounted center of dash area.
thanks in advance
ia
I can't see why TomTom would be unsuitable, it works on-foot and in-car, has a very simple touch-screen interface for quick access.
I bought TomTom for my car, but I'm current driving my motorcycle full-time so I occasionally use it on my bike.
I'm using the TomTom Bluetooth and with the Bluetooth GPS unit in one pocket of my riding jacket and my XDA in the other it still routes OK when I'm on the bike (but I can only check it by pulling over :-().
Phil
TomTom should work fine on a motorcycle, unless you use a headset then the voice prompts won't be of much use though. If you haven't already sorted a mount for your XDA then take a look at Brodit's new waterproof PDA case and motorcyle mount. It's based on an Otterbox and is the ideal housing for all weather m/c use.
http://www.touratech.de/shop_uk/en-us/dept_369.html
here you can find the same otterbox but with a beautifull premounted handlebar bracket...
I boutght it for XDA2 and it works perfectly for it and FZ6, with fortuna clipon in the front or in a bags......
:twisted: :evil: :twisted:
Rups
I use my Qtek with a BT rikaline gps and tomtom3 on my motorcycle everyday. The devices are both under the transparent plastic cover of my tank bag, so the touch screen still works (despite some reflections, but still ok). For audio direction I use a wire headset installed in my helmet (BT devices I've tried will not play directions, only phone com.). I installed a 12V socket so I'm never out of battery. When I am on a long trip on motorways I can play some music so it is really working quite well. And this installation is easily removable, so I can use it in my car or elsewhere. That's it ! ;-)
http://www.pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&t=news&id=2419
I use a nice rubber band.
TomTom 3 does it for me
Just returned from my 5wk/9000km holiday on the motorcycle with the GPS in the tankbag and the XDA behind the tankbag window and TomTom3 giving directions in my helmet. Mainly for this I bought the XDA and TT and I was not disapointed at all.
It worked super; in the evening planning the route over minor roads -the only time I used paper maps- and next day just driving on the directions in my ear and on the screen leaving all my attention for the scenery and the road. Not only the navigation but also the POIs where great: gas tank almost empty, just navigate to the nearest gas station; time to stop for the night, just navigate to a camping.
1 minor disadvantage was the cord to the helmet for the audio which I regulary forgot to disconnect (luckily I had a spare cord). I hope someone will come up soon with a hack for the XDA to redirect the regular audio to BT.
Ronald
thanks for all of the above , ive decided to go with tomtom and i think ill go the extra way and get a bluetooth unit,
what do we think of the TomTom Bluetooth wireless GPS receiver , any good, is it worth spending any more on another model , whats the battery life like on this model, and can you run it off a 12v feed? and is it happy with the xdaII and whitch bluetooth stack?
prob looking at the below from expandsys
http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=TOMTOM3BTUK
your coments please
thanks
henny
anyone? tomtom bt gps verses any other? for use with xda2,tt3 on motoabike sugestions please,
thaanks
ian
I've got a motorbike (well 125cc scooter but i ride it every day of the year and to every place i can). I use a gps unit and personally i wouldn't bother with a mount, the bike is too open for it and really would any waterproof stuff work properly or make it simply too bulky. Also, if the mount was to fall off (maybe not applicable in a car but alot more bumps and vibrations on a bike) then you'd risk breaking your xda 2, not cheap !
My setup is just the xda in its leather case with a fortuna clip on bt gps unit (which worked first time), i stick the xda in my inside jacket pocket and the small gps unit in my side pocket once it has a signal. Beauty of being bluetooth, i leave it at the window side to pick up a signal while i'm putting my gear on and then just stick it in and get on the bike as it already has a signal ! Genius!
I run a single headphone up through my helmet so i can hear the directions and after one or two rides you'll get used to how it works and not have any problems at all. Also the temptation to take your eyes off the road to look at the unti is too much and i wouldn;t like to do it.
There you go my 10pence worth from someone who does ride a bike and use a gps.
Oh also, i use navigon navigator after using tomtom3 for some time. Very fast routing even if you "forbid" motorways. tomtom would take an age to route big distances if i set this. Also has a nice tip of saying "take first ext on the roundabout onto the A4400" etc, which is good when your a bit uncertain as you can always check the big signs used by the goverment !
Cardy
ruppia said:
http://www.touratech.de/shop_uk/en-us/dept_369.html
here you can find the same otterbox but with a beautifull premounted handlebar bracket...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Brodit Otterbox M/C solution is IMHO much nicer, the mount is a machined metal bracket with a quick remove clip to allow it to be affixed/disconnected from the mount easily and it has a cable out facility to allow connection of a charger or GPS etc.
See here .
Does screen toggle work with TomTom software? What I mean is that I usually use IntelliNav that came with my Belkin Bluetooth GPS. I toggle the screen off with a Media Player configured hardware button, and listen to the directions through the headset in the helmet (while the PDA is in the Pocket).
Personally, I don't feel like making a mount on the motorcycle for the XDAII, and I wouldn't want to take my eyes off the road to look at it either.
I've tried Mapopolis, but the voice instructions are HORRIBLE, and they've disabled screen toggling. The same is true with CoPilot Live Pocket PC 5.
It's absolutely imperitive that I can shut the screen off, and still have audible INTELLIGIBLE navigating instructions.
Does anyone have an audio file of what the TomTom software sounds like?
Do you mean the screen backlight? If you toggle this off then TomTom continues to work and announce direction changes etc.
griffog said:
Do you mean the screen backlight? If you toggle this off then TomTom continues to work and announce direction changes etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I mean the power to the screen.. so that there's no light and tapping it does nothing. If you want to do me a favor to test it... In Media Player, go to Tools>Settings>Buttons. Then from the "Select Function" pop-up menu, choose "Screen Toggle"... press a hardware button to assign the function. Uncheck "Un-map buttons during background play." Then run TomTom, and press the hardware button to turn off the screen.
With Mapopolis and CoPilot Live 5, the screen goes off, but then comes back on right away. I hate it!!
Related
Hi People,
I'm looking to get potentially 3 Bluetooth Headsets for XDAII (for staff)
And I don't want any moaning once I get them that the quality is bad
Could you post your personal experiences of ones you have purchased and are using please. Would like some recommendations if possible.
I have a Sony-Erricsson HBH-35. Works like a charm.
No rebonding, it reconnects wether you'r out of range, the phone or headset has been switched off etc...
I have a Motorola HS810.
It's nice and small (even with the boom open). The audio quality is excelent. However, what really nags me is that it takes too long to boot the device when you open the boom, so that in most occasions it takes too long to connect to the XDA and I can't pick up a call in time.
Also, sometimes it simply doesn't connect to the device after I pick up a call on the XDA and I can't transfer the call to the headset.
Anyone with the same problems with this headset ?
My HBH65 works absolutely perfectly with the XDA2. Original XDA2 radio & Bluetooth stack - just as it came out of the box. I *never* need to rebond the two devices, even if they're switched off, out of range or whatever, and I can walk around my (small) house using the headset and leave the XDA2 on the desk.
Only criticism is the battery life on the HBH65, which is pants. I have to charge it every other day, at best, without much useage.
Still, it's *very* comfortable and the sound quality and volume is good in quiet environments. In the car it's a struggle, but that could be because I have a car with a 6 litre engine and no exhaust silencers...
I have a Jabra 250
Works perfect, never any bonding, or lost call problems, and as set 250 minutes of standby time, very small, and looks really smart. After I bought one, my wife wanted one too.
Thanks for the response all, much appreciated !
I opted for the Sony-Erricsson HBH-35
I got them from expansys and got them the next day! .... they are great. The call quality is excellent. I think the boom helps to eliminate background noise as the mic doesn't have to be too strong.
Now i just need to go to the "using it" forum to find out how to use voice dialing :s
Logitech BT headset is the best !
I really like the Bluespoon Cameleon. Works very well. Only about $100. Much less obtrusive than other Bluetooth headsets. You can change it's colors, which is cool. It's much smaller and lighter than other headsets as well.
It was so good, that I thought I'd go one step further and get the Bluespoon Digital, which I just started using. The Bluespoon Digital seems to get the call transferred instantly (quicker than the Cameleon), and it's about the size as the end of my thumb.
I havn't had the chance to try out the automatic gain control (changes volume of speaker based on ambient noise), or the digital noise cancellation (blocks out slow moving ambient sound).. but those features sound mighty nice!
About bluespoon, I have a pb, seems really good when I make a call but impossible to use it when i receive a call, no transfer to the headset
IamHappy said:
About bluespoon, I have a pb, seems really good when I make a call but impossible to use it when i receive a call, no transfer to the headset
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's a pb? With the Bluespoons, you press a button on the headset to transfer the call to it.
really doesn't work, dunno why !!!!!
If you have an advice, I'll really appreciate it
HB 35
I too Have the sony ericsson hb 35 top h/set well worth the investment
IamHappy said:
really doesn't work, dunno why !!!!!
If you have an advice, I'll really appreciate it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you try a hard reset of the Bluespoon? Also a soft reset according to the instructions in the manual? After a soft reset you'll have to recreate the bond.
Plantronics M3000 is the best one I could fine. Everyone would always tell me they couldn't hear me. The M3000 sounds very clear, connects as a Bluetooth Device and battery life is around 2 days.
Very small around the ear, no cords, or mess. I like it.
Hi....new user
Just got XDA2 set in post as a company phone...great.
Acouple of things:
Can I use TomTom3 via the Bluetooth link...Ive been told its "iffY"?
Im using a Motorola BT car kit at the moment, will the XDA pair with it. Reason I ask is that my brother is a SKY engineer and they all have the above but they refuse to pair automatically.
Finally, is there a cradle especially for the XDA2 with a wired charger?
Ta
Graham
Hello Graham
I'm a newbie myself but trying to learn fast, I don't think the xda will pair-up with the motorola. Have a look at this website, I think its a great website they really help me when I first had my xda. The address is www.eXpansys.com. You will fine everything you need for your xda II
Thx
M8.
As long as you're XDAII is running the v1.60 ROM or later it'll work fine with a BT GPS. If it's running an older ROM you can d/l the update from www.my-xda.com and flash it to improve the BT Stack.
The best cradle IMHO is the Carcomm CDAII Cradle, see here. They're available in the UK from TotalPDA.
TT3 and XDA2 work faultlessley for me
Xda II & gps kit
can someone reccommend some mapping software which offers some decent & relatively detailed coverage of Northern Ireland.
Nothing I have looked at so far, inc "pocket streets" has even A class roads included outside Belfast city centre.
not a lot of use to me and many other people like me.
Thats what is holding my gps purchase back. well that and finding a good reason to justify my buying one.
TOMTOM works fine for me too. The only problem is that it doesnt show the names of the streets you are driving past. A car navigatin system does do that.
tomtom bluetooth
I've had my xdaII and tomtom 3 with Blue tooth reciever for 6months.. NO problems. works fine.
TomTom & GPS
Just thought I would add my thoughts as I have been a user of GPS and PDA's for sometime now.
I currently use a Garmin Etrex Vista connected via a cable to an Ipaq (This will be changing to my new XDA2 as soon as the lead arrives).
I have no real problems using Tom Tom software (but it does require a soft reset occasionally). You can view streetnames whilst driving if you go to the map view (not the navigator view).
This setup option is the most expensive using a PDA but gives the most versatility if you want to use your GPS to do other activities using the equipment ie boating, biking, or walking, when talking the PDA may not be suitable.
Consider the kits available on Ebay for around £125 that include a suction mount (vent mounts break your car) the power and connection cable and the software.
I also use Memory Map Navigator which is very detailed Mapping Software using Ordnance Survey Maps. The software is expensive, but if you really do have a use for it (or just love digital maps) it is very good.
After much screwing around trying to find a car kit, I finally remembered to check the most obvious place and bought the official O2 kit from Expansys. It arrives in a few hours.
Figured I'd ask if there is anything I should know about the installation or use of this kit. I've installed car kits before, and the photos look pretty standard. Any oddities? Is the stereo mute standard or reversed?
I think I've read before that this kit mutes the radio when the GPS speaks, is that correct? And if so, does it quickly un-mute when the GPS stops speaking? It could be useful if the mute/un-mute time is prompt.
installation is straight forward, i think the mute signal is normal, i have left mine disconnected now as everytime the pda made a noise it muted the stereo, is better just to turn radio down when you use the phone. i use tomtom sat nav and you can hear this okay over the radio unless you have it on very loud, which i don't when i'm using sat nav anyway.
Macca,
Any chance you could post some pics of the installation. I am just about order a XDA II car kit - although looking at the THB version at the moment, and still undecided.
Thanks
Rich
unfortunatly i have just changed my car and haven't installed it in the new one yet, i could take a picture of it i suppose in the car with someone holding it there, i mean it would look the same???
it maybe a few weeks before i get it fitted properly as it is an old merc that needs some work doing on it before i go putting stuff in it.
i'll put a piccie up in the next day or so.
Hi, first post here, though I have lurked for a bit.
I must confess that I'm a complete noob at this, I've had an XDA IIi for over 6 months and done absolutely nothing to it, it's as virgin as the day it came out of the box. Also, I've never had a GPS Receiver before, nor SatNav.
Anyway, I've ordered TomTom software and need a GPS Receiver, but I have no idea on what basis to compare the miriad of different GPS Receivers out there, so am humbly asking for your recommendation. If you could also point me at a noobie guide on all terms regarding GPS, or explain what they mean, that would be great.
99% of usage will be in the car with my XDA in a cradle, though I'm guessing I will have to swap over the 2 charger cables, however occassionally I'd like to roam on foot with Sat Nav (usually in London). So I'm guessing I would like a BlueTooth GPS Receiver that comes with a car charger and main charger.
I have no idea what Cold Start, Warm Start, or Hot Start mean, nor what Update time is for or what's good or bad for these values. Why is Baud rate or NMEA output protocol important? What are the pro's / cons of internal or external Antenna's and wtf does an external Antenna look like and how does it work, hang out the window?? How many "channels" should I have, and what difference does it make anyway?
Sorry for all the questions, but none of the purchase sites seem to do a noobie guide aimed at my level, they all assume you know what they're talking about! :roll:
Thanks in advance.
Can no one even point me at a decent online guide that explains what all these things mean?
GuiltyCol said:
Hi, first post here, though I have lurked for a bit.
I must confess that I'm a complete noob at this, I've had an XDA IIi for over 6 months and done absolutely nothing to it, it's as virgin as the day it came out of the box. Also, I've never had a GPS Receiver before, nor SatNav.
Anyway, I've ordered TomTom software and need a GPS Receiver, but I have no idea on what basis to compare the miriad of different GPS Receivers out there, so am humbly asking for your recommendation. If you could also point me at a noobie guide on all terms regarding GPS, or explain what they mean, that would be great.
99% of usage will be in the car with my XDA in a cradle, though I'm guessing I will have to swap over the 2 charger cables, however occassionally I'd like to roam on foot with Sat Nav (usually in London). So I'm guessing I would like a BlueTooth GPS Receiver that comes with a car charger and main charger.
I have no idea what Cold Start, Warm Start, or Hot Start mean, nor what Update time is for or what's good or bad for these values. Why is Baud rate or NMEA output protocol important? What are the pro's / cons of internal or external Antenna's and wtf does an external Antenna look like and how does it work, hang out the window?? How many "channels" should I have, and what difference does it make anyway?
Sorry for all the questions, but none of the purchase sites seem to do a noobie guide aimed at my level, they all assume you know what they're talking about! :roll:
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK basic reccomendation. Get a Globalsat BT-338. A popular and well liked high performing device at a reasonable cost.
What you need to look for in a receiver is the chipset. You want one with a SIRF III chipset because it will provide the best reception in heavily built up areas. You want to avoid X-TRAC because it's laggy.
With regards to charging, you probably won't need to be continuously charging, (look for battery life on the device specs. You want around 20 hours per charge). However you could get a cradle which charges both, or a Y-Cable which will also charge both the xda and the receiver if need be.
Cold start refers to how long the receiver takes to get a fix from the very first time it is used, or after it has had no battery, it needs to work out where you are on the planet and can take up to 5 mins. After this you will be more likely to just do warm starts, by which the receiver uses your last known location to get a rough guide of where you are, this should take less than a minute. A Hot start means you havent moved from your last know location, theis should take 30 seconds to get a fix. These times are measured as TTF- Time to Fix, ands should also be on the device specs.
The Protocol is the format that the data is passed onto the xda software. Most software expects NMEA data, as this is the most commonly used. The baud rate is just how fast the device can communicate with the xda and dosn't make a lot of difference the BT-338 has a baud rate of 38400, but I've used a device with a baud rate of 9600 and can't say I noticed a difference. A SIRF III device is unlikely to need an external arial, unless you have heat reflective windows all round your car, and even then unlikely. A good SIRF III receiver will work from inside a closed glove box. An older SIRF II chipset may need an external antenna. These are usually little magnetic squares that you stick to the roof of the car, with a cable that connects to the receiver inside. Buy a SIRF III and forget about those.
Channels, most SIRF III receivers are 16- 20 channels, this is how many simultaneous satellites the device can track at once. Anything over 16 is pure bonus as you are probably unlikely to get more than 12 satellites in your line of sight anyway.
That seems to cover everything except cost. Expect to pay between £50 and £80.
and check out www.pocketgps.co.uk
Thanks Gajet, that was everything I wanted in an answer. Much obliged.
My Globalsat BT-338 arrived yesterday. Had a few problems working out which serial port it was using but got there in the end. Also the middle LED seems to flash or hold solid with a mind of it's own. But apart from that, works like a treat, and as the review said, works fine in my glovebox too, which is nice.
Thanks again.
The middle LED just tells you if you are getting a good satellite lock. If it stays steady then you are not getting enough satellite signal for a lock. There is a program on the CD that can tell you the satellite signal strength. Most nav programs have that feature as well.
I've been playing with mine for a few days and I am amazed by how fast it can lock onto satellite signal. If you compare with other non-SirfIII chipped GPS the difference is almost night and day.
I did have some BT/COM port issue if I run an alternate nav program. It wouldn't connect BT anymore until I rediscover it. But staying with one program (iGuidance) it works perfectly.
> I did have some BT/COM port issue if I run an alternate nav program.
I had this problem too. If I ran up the GPSInfo program, then TomTom would fail to find the GPS Receiver.
Who brought a 2006 thread back to life...Thread closed, Thank you.
Just tried out this for the first time: http://www.fommy.co.uk/view-full-pa...+Xperia+Z+L36i&cat=Vehicle+Mounts&skuno=95707
Worked great. Mount was nice and light and phone was stable. Battery life was also surprisingly good. Lost about 55% during my two hour ride with screen on, endomondo (and therefore GPS) running and music streaming over Bluetooth. I did turn mobile data of after about 40 minutes.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk HD
How hard is to get in/out the phone? I am looking for some similar model, but for car.
droidhd said:
How hard is to get in/out the phone? I am looking for some similar model, but for car.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The small top bit attached by a spring and folds back so you can slide the phone in and out. Not a one handed operation like a Brodit mount but it is bespoke and secure.
Good to know and thanks . It is not important to get it out with one hand, just don't wanna scratch sides or rubber on phone