Best Mapping Software, Maps etc ?
Submitted: Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 09:46
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Shaker
I have just bought a PDA with 400 Mhz CPU & inbuilt GPS ..... Mio P350.
It has Mio Map software installed & I have installed Destinator PN.
I would like other's opinions on which software is the best for both streets & tracks mapping, Oziexplorer, Destinator etc.
Also which maps?
Thanks in advance.
Reply By: Member - Toytruck (SA) - Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 09:58
Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 09:58
Shaker,
like tyres and vehicle makes and models, there are many different brands and opinions. I use Ozi Explorer with 250k Natmap Raster and bloody love it. Never had a problem.
Toytruck
AnswerID:
216349
Follow Up By: Shaker - Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 10:12
Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 10:12
I have no experience with Oziexplorer, can it be used with street mapping as
well & not that it's important, does it have voice prompts?
FollowupID:
476698
Follow Up By: Member - Toytruck (SA) - Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 10:15
Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 10:15
Shaker,
you can load up city streets I think for around 60 bucks and Ozi does have voice prompts but I have never used them.......I already have one voice nagging me from the passenger
seat I don't need another :-0
Toytruck
FollowupID:
476701
Follow Up By: Member - JohnR (Vic)&Moses - Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 11:43
Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 11:43
Shaker, Ozi doesn't do turn by turn directions like Tom Tom or Destinator. You have to get into route planning and tell it what to do, turn by turn. Quite a different software product.
FollowupID:
476727
Reply By: Dave from P7OFFROAD Accredited Driver Training - Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 10:16
Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 10:16
I use TomTom for turn by turn and Oziexplorer for everything fun.
(just got to get my head around GPSGate so that I don't have to do a reboot when switching from one to the other)
AnswerID:
216352
Follow Up By: Member -Signman - Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 10:19
Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 10:19
When ya get GPS
Gate sorted out- let me know?? I'm in the same situation with Ozi & Destinator..
FollowupID:
476706
Follow Up By: Blaze - Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 17:43
Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 17:43
I agree with Dave,
After owning 4 or 5 different GPS's and then laptops with mapping software. I know run TomTom for turn by turn and Oziexplorer on a PDA. I have found that TomTom seems to have more details than Destinater, Co-Pilot etc. (at least with the verions I have seen).
FollowupID:
476876
Reply By: Sand Man (SA) - Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 10:47
Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 10:47
Fellas,
Franson GPSgate is really quite simple.
You set the input port from the GPS to whatever physical serial port that has been assigned by your PC. (com1, com2, com4, or whatever)
In the GPSgate configuration, you assign a virtual output port for each application you wish to share the GPS feed with. (com6, com7, com8, etc.)
Then in each application, assign a different com port to use as the input.
(Example)
OziExplorer - com6
Destinator - com7
etc.
I run OziExplorer and sometimes have DiscoverAus and Great Desert Tracks also running for additional reference, if needed.
Good bit of gear is GPSgate.
You can download a User's Guide from Franson.com Website.
AnswerID:
216372
Follow Up By: Member -Signman - Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 10:56
Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 10:56
so.. can ya have (say) Ozi & Destinator running at the same time.
And have Ozi moving map on the screen- with the audio alerts from Destinator??
FollowupID:
476712
Follow Up By: pjchris - Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 11:25
Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 11:25
That is incorrect.
The beauty of GPSGate is that more than one application can connect to the same GPSGate shared port.
So GPSGate connects to the physical GPS port and creates a shared port that other apps use.
I have my GPS external so it is on COM1:. GPSGAte creates a shared port on COM7 on my iPaq and I have had Oziexplorer, GPSDash, TomTom and WinCE Navigator all connected to COM7 and running at the same time.
If Ozi is at the front I can still hear the verbal directions from TomTom and if omTom is at the front I can still hear waypoint alarms from Ozi.
Peter
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Sand Man (SA) - Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 11:34
Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 11:34
Signman,
I don't use Destinator, but I cannot see why you couldn't.
Although only one application is on screen at a time, they are all active and the sound from destinator should still be able to be heard over the speakers.
Try this.
Load up Destinator as you would normally run it.
Then iconise it (click on the _ button at the top right corner of the application's display window)
Do you still get the audible directions as you travel?
I think you would.
I don't believe you would get audible alerts from destinator as to what is happening on Ozi though if that is what you mean. They are separate applications that run at the same time, but separate from each other.
Any audible alerts from Destinator would be specific to what Destinator recognises.
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Follow Up By: Member - JohnR (Vic)&Moses - Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 11:40
Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 11:40
I haven't tried Tom Tom and Ozi together but much prefer Tom Tom to Destinator. Have used both and far more flexibility in my opinion there.
If you use Oziexplorer at the same time with the 250K Australia map which approaches 700 meg of data in one lump, I am sure it could clog up the processor a bit. Heavy data access as it is. Smaller maps are preferable if you have them on your SD card.
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Follow Up By: Sand Man (SA) - Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 11:43
Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 11:43
pjchris,
I won't argue the point with you Peter, but that is not how I understand GPSgate to work, or how the GPSgate instructions tell you to configure it.
GPSgate creates multiple virtual (fake) output ports to enable multiple applications to share the one physical input port.
If you have it configured and working differently, good for you.
FollowupID:
476728
Follow Up By: pjchris - Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 16:43
Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 16:43
It would appear that the situation has changed recently. If you are using GPSGate 2.0 or higher you are correct, there needs to be one output port for each application.
I am using the older GPSGate 1.1 and it can have more than one application connected to an output port.
Personally I think the way that 1.1 does it is better as most of the GPS applications I use will connect only to COM 1-8 and of those 6 are already allocated to various real input output ports, Bluetooth, USB, Serial etc.
Peter
FollowupID:
476856
Reply By: Emo - Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 11:32
Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 11:32
I use Tomtom 6 for turn by turn and Oziexplorer for offroad. I use GPSGate so I can just flick between the two. I'm pretty happy with the setup.
AnswerID:
216379
Follow Up By: Dave from P7OFFROAD Accredited Driver Training - Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 11:55
Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 11:55
Emo, we need to talk (again) ;-)
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Reply By: Member - Stan (VIC) - Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 17:12
Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 17:12
Got amost the same setup - Navman/Tom Tom/Ozi and GPS
gate....
AnswerID:
216470
Reply By: Member - Doug T (W.A) - Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 23:24
Friday, Jan 19, 2007 at 23:24
After comparing OziExplorer with Tracks4Australia I won't be re-installing OziExplorer, I have a compare set on my web site Mapsource with Tracks4
Site Link
AnswerID:
216553
Reply By: Dave & Shelley (NT) - Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 01:42
Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 at 01:42
Hi mate,
I have a HP 6515F PDA with GPS. I use OZIEXPLOER CE for most of my driving on trips. I use Hema maps for general driving on the highway up here and use the 1:250000 Raster maps for more detailed use. The hema maps can be loaded straight to your SD card without any problems.
When you are going to use the Raster maps (Topographical maps) you will need to convert them to a OZF2 file otherwise it wont work. (in my case anyway). Hema have released a DVD with all the Raster maps and the Hema maps on it. For $150 you can't go wrong!! Especially since the "Desert Map pack" on CD is about $80 to buy as a stand alone product.
Overall I couldn't be happier with the setup and would recommend it to anyone.
I have just got Co-Pilot and will keep you posted on how that works.
AnswerID:
216577