From: Bill Morrow (penzance_at_gate.net)
Date: Sun May 14 2000 - 01:33:57 EDT
OK, guys..
gird your loins for yet another morrow tale.. :-)
about 3 or 4 months before the gulf war, i got one of the first Trimble GPS
receivers for my boat.. (cost $6000!!!)..
it worked SO WELL (before SA was turned on) i could position myself within half
the length of the boat (65ft.).. about 35 feet error..
i used it to travel to mystic from miami beach and only had trouble when the
government just turned the thing off for a few days (still no 24hour coverage
yet) while i was in beaufort, NC..
i used that same GPS to output (NMEA 0183) to a (non thinkpad) notebook and it
kept track of where i was..
(lat/long)
it was also connected to the autopilot and did such a great job, i learned very
quickly NOT to use a bouy as a waypoint in the chesapeake bay..
(after THAT close call, i set waypoints at least 50 to 100 feet to one side of
the charted position of a bouy)..
AND it was connected to a chart plotter..
a few years ago (boat sold, now landed gentry) i got an ETAK pcmcia GPS and
their mapping stuff.. worked very well in my 770-1AU..
now i use it on either a 600E (recently sold) and my 770Z (soon to be sold) with
street atlas 6.. (set to NMEA 0183) output..
still works fine..
at the end of the month, a friend will deliver a boat to virginia using her 770E
and a GPS for nav..
someday soon, i'll put the whole thing on one of my 701C's and see how that
works..
(small footprint and it opens up flat)
moral..? GPS is good stuff and works well on thinkpads, for a variety of jobs..
personally, i don't like the earthmate..
too big and yellow and the one i have (someplace) requires batteries or an
accessory cable for power..
i don't like batteries and refuse to pay ($35~) for a power cable that should
come with the unit..
"Dr. Cornelius Halvey" wrote:
> Greeting,
>
> I have to admit that I'm enjoying this thread too. Beats hearing one more
> time about the poor mWave support of Linux, etc.
>
> I've got the earthmate by DeLorme. It works well with my 600 and 770 (I'm
> going to try it with a 730t this summer, as well). The software that ships
> with the unit is good for making up custom "Triptiks". In the car, the
> notebook is kind of a loser, however. It's a battery hog. It washes out in
> sunlight. And it is big! If you don't have a passenger to care for the
> Thinkpad, I think you're asking for trouble. Either it's going to get
> damaged or you're going to get distracted and get yourself/your car damaged.
>
> My solution was to plot routes in the Thinkpad and then download them to my
> Palm V via a Delorme program called Solus Pro. Delorme even sells an
> adapter for the Palm. The Palm display works well and it is more readable
> in direct sunlight. Also, the Palm will go all day on a single charge.
> Finally, the long cord allows you to position the unit itself where it will
> have a clear view of the sky. No, the maps on the Palm aren't very detailed,
> but I print up detailed maps via the Thinkpad.
>
> Also, I noticed on one of the links mentioned in another post, the
> government has turned off selective availability! Accuracy should be
> outstanding now!
>
> Regards,
>
> Neil
>
> Numerous Thinkpads,
> also a Sony PictureBook
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Randal Whittle
> To: Cottrell, Eric; TP List
> Sent: 5/12/00 12:43 PM
> Subject: Re: Thinkpad and GPS (Garmin, Tripmate, Earthmate, etc).
>
> At 12:12 PM 05/12/2000 -0400, you wrote:
> >In general the newer 12 channel units are alot better than
> >the old 5 or 8 channel units.
>
> More importantly is the ability for the newer units to track
> these
> satellites simultaneously in parallel (12 at a time--which is all that
> is
> visible at any given time), rather than multiplexing serially through a
> limited number of others.
>
> My Garmin GPS III has been invaluable with all the travelling I
>
> do, and hooked to my TP with Street Atlas USA, it has saved my bacon a
> number of times.
>
> - Randy
-- Happy trails...** Bill Morrow ** :-) WEB page http://thinkpads.com e-mail: bill_at_thinkpads.com, penzance_at_gate.net
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