Palm/pocket PC and mountainbiking/trekking

Quoted message said:

Hi
I've been using various portable GPS for years (summit, vista, etc.)

I use GPS mainly for trekking and mtb, so off the beaten tracks.

I've recently found and/or scanned topo treeking/bike which I see and
edit with mapping software such as Ozi Explorer. I cannot import them
on my portable GPS.

I usually plan my trip on PC, transfer tracks/waypoints on portable
GPS. Back home I transfer data from GPS to PC and check where I've
actually been.

For these reasons now that I want to upgrade I did not consider the
recent portable GPS such as Garmin 60CS which I'd relly like by the
way.

Now is time for a major upgrade, namely use Ozi Explorer or similar
directly on palm/pocket PC and see my home-mad maps while
walking/bicycling.

Rather than integrated palm such us IQUE or Mio, I'd prefer to buy
the palm/pocket I prefer, possibly with integrated phone, and add a
Bluetooth GPS Receiver, for instance the brand new Globalsat BT-338
that seems to be great in deep forest where I usually go.

The idea is to keep the receiver on the top my backpack and the
palm/pocket PC on the handle bars or on my hand while walking

What do you think? Will it work? Any idea is really welcomed

I've been using a Navman 4100 gps with an ipaq 4150 running OziExplorer
CE for about a year now. The gps to ipaq connection is bluetooth so the
gps lives in the top of my pack and the gps in my pocket or clipped to
the hipbelt on my pack. It all works just like you'd expect it to, a
moving map on the display with a red line showing the track I've just
walked.
Battery life can be a problem - the gps is ok as it goes for about 36
hours on 3xAAA batteries. The ipaq does about 6 hours on a normal
battery and about 9 hours on an extended battery. It's also possible to
do a recharge using an external 4xAA battery pack. I usually take 1
standard battery, 2 extended batteries and 4xAA. This has been enough to
last me on 4-day trips. I've heard of people having some success with
solar chargers (made by iSun?).
The Navman 4100 has been good even under tree cover. It doesn't use
EGNOS/WAAS - its sirf chipset can use this but apparently reduces
battery life. For walking EGNOS is hardly neccessary anyway. It also
gives uncorrected height data but an upcoming version of OziCE will fix
that so its not a big deal.
I still find I need a paper map (just an A4 printout) as it's difficult
to get an overall view on the ipaq's small display but then that's true
of a gps also.
I used to have an etrex legend and there's just no comparison - all that
faffing around with uploading routes and waypoints; a tiny display and
still needing to consult a paper map just to get some detail of where I
am. I wouldn't go back to that. About the only thing in favour of a
standalone gps is it's more rugged and it's only a question of time
before I sit on my ipaq and break the screen but c'est la vie...
Hope this helps
Tony

How do the pda's compare with the constant bashing on the mountain bike /
walking journey - are they pretty tough ?

D

I've found this http://www.pocketgps.co.uk/rambikemount.php but I'm still concerned

"Lakeuk" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

How do the pda's compare with the constant bashing on the mountain bike /
walking journey - are they pretty tough ?

D

Quoted message said:

I've found this http://www.pocketgps.co.uk/rambikemount.php but I'm still concerned

"Lakeuk" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

How do the pda's compare with the constant bashing on the mountain bike /
walking journey - are they pretty tough ?

D

I feel ok with risking damage to my ipaq when walking - if it got broken
it would most likely be due to doing something stupid like dropping it.
I use an aquapac to keep it dry and to give it some protection.
I'd be doubtful though about using it for off road biking - depends how
good a biker you are I suppose. The reviewer in your link sounds
impressed with the mounting gear though.
Tony