gps mouse
Submitted: Saturday, May 13, 2006 at 07:12
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Old Scalyback & denny
morning all
as my gps has decided to no longer work i was thinking about getting something to hook up direct to my laptop does anybody know about these mouse things,supposed to just sit on the roof no screens or anything are they any good, do they work efficiently????????
steve
Reply By: joc45 - Saturday, May 13, 2006 at 12:49
Saturday, May 13, 2006 at 12:49
I have owned a Garmin GPS+II for the last 7 or 8 years, and been pretty pleased with it, just mounted on the dash, with no thought of an external antenna. But a recent trip thru the
Vic high country, with very thick trees and steep hillsides showed up the lack of satellite coverage in these areas, and I frequently had dropouts or inaccurate readings.
Prior to this, I had considered looking at a usb mouse type gps, but after the Vic experience, whatever I upgrade to would have to be an external unit, either an antenna or a mouse (bluetooth?) gps.
Another reason for upgrading to a usb or bluetooth system is the erratic performance of my usb-serial converter (Jaycar), which often doesn't start properly (crap software driver) causing conflicts with the mouse/touchpad.
Gerry
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: howie - Saturday, May 13, 2006 at 13:04
Saturday, May 13, 2006 at 13:04
i also have the garmni II and used to get eratic readings in tall timber, until i fitted an external aerial (from gpsoz). it sits on top of the
snorkel and the reception (according to the 12 'strength' bars) is vastly improved. never had a drop-out since.
must agree with the usb thing. my laptop only has usb and the link can be annoying (at work and play) . i will make sure the next one has a good old serial port next time.
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Reply By: Gu_Patrol - Saturday, May 13, 2006 at 14:18
Saturday, May 13, 2006 at 14:18
www.gpsoz.com.au
www.garmin.com
The garmin unit is GPS 10 but thats about $330 the other start from $110 to $ 350
Or search ebay .
Nothing wrong with the USB mouse system, at leasrt you have power from Laptop running it.
If you buy Bluetooth GPS that shares NMEA youcan have laptop, and PDA or another laptop running at same time, same silly but it's nice to have 2 different maps going at same time,
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Reply By: Trevor M (SA) - Saturday, May 13, 2006 at 21:33
Saturday, May 13, 2006 at 21:33
I have a GPS mouse and it is great (certainly much cheaper and more compact..... allbeit you can't use it without the laptop).
I must say, however, that when I 1st got it and was using it "bluetac'ed" to the dash it did have times where it couldn't see the satellites. I now have the answer and put it between the glass and slide back cover of the sun roof and it works a treat. The cable is much more user friendly also coming down from above virtually in the centre of the vehicle compared to running from the dash.
No good unless you have a sunroof of course... lol
Trev
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172574