All together, I spent $300 for the netbook, $30 for the GPS receiver (Amazon.com), $190 for RouteBuddy with the North America road map and Colorado topo map and $270 for the mounting arm (Magic Arm) and clamshell mount. So about $800 for the whole system. So, why not just stick with a decent mobile GPS for half the cost? Well, for one thing, the mobile Internet was awfully attractive. Although, I elected to not add the broadband service from the likes of Verizon or Sprint, this would have provided real-time Internet through most of the region I was traveling. The other reason was that with the larger screen real estate, I could more easily see the bigger picture for navigation purposes, rather than having to scroll all around on a smaller mobile GPS screens.
This system can in very handy during my 3700-mile journey! ...and no, I didn't operate the netbook while traveling, except to occasionally Command-{+/-} to zoom in or out on the map display. I was able to pull up to several open Wi-Fi access points along the way in order to monitor email or to reserve ahead for lodging. It also came in really handy when searching for the best value for lodging during my stay in Reno for the NANPA Summit, as I had no desire to stay at the smoke-filled casino hotel where the conference was venued. Most lodging had Wi-Fi access and the fact I could easily remove the netbook in it's aluminum clamshell mount and take it to my room was a real plus.
Here's a quick mini-review of each component of the system:
GlobalSat BU-353 GPS receiver - This USB-powered GPS receiver was a compact and low-cost navigation receiver. It includes all the usual bells and whistles, such as 20-channels, SIRF III, WAAS capable, standard NMEA 0183 protocol that will work with most navigation software. I found it was able to connect with satellites very quickly. It comes with both PC or Mac test software, which will display the raw satellite data, as well as direction, and lat/long info. The receiver is about the size and shape of a large lollipop and includes a magnet, a non-skid rubber ring and a suction cup for a variety of mounting methods. The USB cord is also 60" long, so you can stick it up on your roof, if desired. I kept mine on the dash and it worked fine there. It includes the software driver (both PC and Mac) to convert the netbook's USB port to a virtual COM port required by the NMEA protocol. Installation went fine.
Dell Mini 10v netbook - I had ordered this well in advance of the trip and had converted it to the Mac OS according to instructions on the DellMini Forum (http://www.mydellmini.com). This is definitely an optional installation, because you can order these netbooks with Windows XP. I just don't wish to use Windows. The netbook came with both AC and DC power adapters, but I soon discovered the (third-party - Belkin) DC adapter will power the netbook OK, but won't charge the battery at the same time. So, the result is once the netbook was disconnected from the vehicle mount, the battery would usually be rather "flat". Fortunately, I had brought along a DC to AC power inverter and simply used the AC adapter to both power and charge the unit. Not the best solution, so I'll be on the lookout for a DC adapter with more current capability. The screen brightness could be ramped up for good visibility during daylight and down sufficiently for night time driving.
RouteBuddy navigation software - While this had the best capabilities I was able to find for the Mac, it did have some issues and was definitely the weak link in the system. The company does come out with periodic updates and I've given them some detailed feedback, so hopefully some of the obvious flaws will be worked out. I wanted software that could either display regular street maps with points of interest and routing/voice navigation. I first tried out MacGPSpro software and, while it had plenty of low-cost topo maps, the user interface was clunky and you actually had to call up the desired quads -by name!- and then sort'a stitch them together. This would not have been desirable AT ALL for mobile ops. While this software apparently has high accolades from the various reviewers, I don't recommend it at all. I returned it for credit. I suspect there are better mapping/navigation solutions for PCs.
So, on to RouteBuddy. Pluses include the ability to "layer" maps. So, in other words, I can have the entire North America (NA) street map loaded, plus the Colorado topo map loaded as a layer. Within the software, I can choose which map is "on top" and visible. But, let's say I have the Colorao topo map on the top layer, with the NA map on the second layer. Driving around Colorado, I'll see the topo...but once I'm out of state, I'll automatically see the NA map.
The GPS location is depicted as a small round dot as you travel. It may be labeled, as well. One flaw is that your position is, by default, not "kept visible", so unless you toggle the "Keep Visible" switch, you'll find yourself "driving off the map". Also, since the location dot is round, there is really no indication of direction of travel unless you watch it moving - not recommended while driving. If you relabel the position marker with other than the default "Location", it will not be saved on closing the program.
One other MAJOR flaw is that the points of interest do not jive with your current position, but only with the last known point where you did a search. This could be overcome, but "what were they thinking"? It also seems the points of interest are not completely accurate. While in Reno, I did a search for KOA campgrounds, finding one near the conference hotel. But alas, it was a parking lot. I also tried navigating to the address of a AAA office and ended up at the correct address, but in a residential area! Navigating to a different AAA office resulted in landing OK at their front door.
The North America map seems accurate enough for the major streets and highways, but there are some slight inaccuracies in some of the 3rd-tier (dirt) roads, but this has not been a major issue. Some of the smaller street names don't appear until you're zoomed way in, often losing the bigger picture. Also, some lakes and streams are not shown.
It was easy to set and label waypoints. I never did thoroughly try out the navigation feature, so I may report that in the future. One thing that's a minor annoyance is that there is a marked delay between the position marker and your actual position - to the tune of 10 to 20 seconds of delay, depending on the zoom setting and your speed. I haven't tracked this down to an issue with the throughput of the GPS receiver, the USB-to-COM driver (not likely) or the software itself. I'll try the receiver with the included test software to determine whether the receiver or software is the issue. At this point, I'm suspicious of the update rate of the software.
One last comment on the ordering process. It's possible to order the maps on DVDs, but since the company is located in England, delivery takes several days and I was planning to leave in two days. They offer an option of downloading the maps, but they are large files and I had repeated trouble downloading them in the normal fashion via a Web browser. This is apparently a universal problem, as they recommend and provide instructions for downloading through their ftp site. They recommend the program, Transmit, to do this and it wasn't clear what information to place into the various blanks and eventually had to contact their support staff. Once I got that figured out, the downloads were really long - about 4.5 hours for each map (NA and Colorado topo in 1:24,000 scale). You hope that the download goes well!
Aileron Designs netbook mount - This thing is a real jewel! While seemingly expensive, it is a well-built rugged pro-quality mounting system. The company only makes these to fit netbooks, so if you have a regular-sized laptop, you'll need to purchase from a company like Gamber-Johnson, which makes mounts for law enforcement, etc. I elected to buy the longer "Magic Arm" mount, which is nothing more that a standard Manfrotto jointed arm for lighting and camera mounting applications. The mounting kit comes with custom mount attachments to fit several mounting methods. I chose to use the mount that simply bolts under one of the front seat bolts. The arm can be adjusted with several degrees of freedom, but once the adjustment knob is tightened up, the arm is locked in that position. The designer warns about the slight movement to be expected with an arm this long, but I found any jiggling to be minimal. It's definitely not recommended for off-road use, though. They have shorter arms based on the RAM mount style that would be best for off-road duty. The installation took about 15 minutes.
The netbook fits into a high-quality clamshell with stiff foam rubber shock pads. The first time you try getting it in and out is a bit difficult, but in short order, its a lot easier. In fact the company provides a tough plastic bike tire tool to lever the netbook in and out of the clamshell. This worked fine, but I would have appreciated a pictorial on how best to get the netbook installed and uninstalled. The corners of the clamshell include small rubber bumpers that don't quite allow the netbook to close fully, so I was sometimes having difficulty with the sleep mode of the netbook where it tended to lock up and require a restart. This may just be a function or issue with the netbook - something I'll try to investigate more fully later. The clamshell was originally designed for the Mini 10, not the 10v, so some of the side access holes didn't match up. It turns out this was not too much of an issue, as I did have good access to the power and one USB port, which was all I really needed. At least another USB port would have been nice, though. All in all, I was most pleased with the quality.
This system could easily be installed in most RVs or the larger tow vehicles and would be a great benefit to the avid RVer, traveler or salesperson.
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