Laptop use in vehicle?

[outback]

Has anyone mounted their laptop on the vehicle and used a GPS Mouse Receiver (USB) BU-353S4 like this?
BU-353-USB-GPS-Receiver-SiRF-Star-III-4-Laptop-Notebook (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/BU-353-USB-GPS-Receiver-SiRF-Star-III-4-Laptop-Notebook-/270838991381?pt=AU_Electronics_GPS&hash=item3f0f430a15&_uhb=1)

I can get my 1:50,000 and 1:100,00 maps on the GPS unit and my laptop but the GPS screen is small.

It just seemed to make sense to just run the laptop with Ozi and use the USB GPS mouse.

[TimE]

Yep, did that for a number of years (well mounted on the Mrs lap) using a Garman mushroom, but have since gone to using IGO 8 on my 7" double din unit for street bt street GPSing and Ozi Android on my 10" tablet (http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/showthread.php?25079-Aldi-10-quot-Tablet-for-Navigation-and-Comms)for "bush" mapping.

To be honest, the Tablet is best for bush touring, easily mounted. I still take the Netbook along to store photos and do the odd bit of web work when Wifi is available.

[Hodge]

I used to run a 11.6" Asus notebook with Ozi Explorer and hema maps loaded and a USB gps dongle. Can't remember the brand of the dongle but it worked fine. Powering and mounting the laptop was an issue. Now I'm trying a 10" Samsung Tab running Hema explorer.

[Bloodyaussie]

Use to but now use ipad.........

[FNQGU]

For quite a few years I ran a laptop with Ozi Explorer and all the relevant 50K and 100K topo's, but that was all for work. We had no magic mounting for it, just the Nav's lap, and ran an Inverter to power it, which always got really hot and shut itself off…

Now - iPad Mini off a Ram suction mount from the windscreen. It doesn't have a fraction of the features that Ozi has, but I find I don't need all those features now anyway. I still take a map tube with paper 100K maps as a backup, but generally the Hema 4WD maps, or the new Explore Oz 200K map does me just fine.

As a side benefit, all my tunes play through the stereo from the iPad, and I have it mounted so that it will take 'dash-cam' video as we are driving. Something we seem to be using more and more.

[Stropp]

yes i also run an ipad but with hema maps which i think leaves a bit to be desired, i would like to run ozi and probably will when they come out for the ipad.

[threedogs]

gee a lot of ppl get lost easy eh

[Stropp]

i never get lost 3D i just find new tracks lol.

[outback]

3D not worried about getting lost. Always carry maps, paper, and compass. I will get a sextant one day just to check on the compass. :biggrin:
Its more about on land/road navigation.

As for the android tablets it seems hard to distinguish which has built in GPS and works with Ozi

[FNQGU]

I reckon I was nearly lost once (or maybe we should call it 'bush-whacked'), when simply crossing a ridge and coming back, with no tracks, in the cloud and rain and cold, so visual clues were scarce. And yes, this was Far North Qld! A total round trip of around 7klms I reckon. I ended up completely doubting myself and my read on the map. I even had a bloody topo print out, a GPS, and a compass and had checked it about 1500 times and then decided it was wrong!! The problem was that my topo didn't have all the longitude markings on the bit I had printed, and I made a massive assumption that was wrong by a UTM grid section!!! One little grid on a topo is a whole lot of turf on the ground. Particularly when it is cold and wet and, and cold, and…. well, you are lost!!!

I ended up getting home safely by trusting my GPS, and going straight line! Anything less than about 6" diameter got run over…. To say how lost I was at the time was hard to define, but I had already decided in my mind that even the GPS didn't match the topo map, and that I thought I knew where I was according to the terrain on the topo. How wrong I was. I had to fight my mind to trust the bloody GPS and follow it. When sitting around the fire that night discussing it with a mate who was a pilot, he likened it to being in the clouds with no vision and having to trust in the instruments.

Weird...

[Drewboyaus]

yes i also run an ipad but with hema maps which i think leaves a bit to be desired, i would like to run ozi and probably will when they come out for the ipad.

Mate, I find Hema works quite well for me. I scan my own maps in too.
I also often run MudMap concurrently on the same iPad as a "second opinion".

[outback]

BenK

Not weird at all.

I have done a lot of walking in my area, covers Cultana and El Alamein Army ranges as well as adjoining station properties.
The area has nice tree groupings where they obliterate all vision and and cover a few grid squares and more.
Was out once walking with a bunch who had their GPS and map. All experienced according to them. It was an interesting experience as I watched them get lost in one of the treed areas.
In the end I had had it and told them they were way off course. After a bit of heavy discussion they agreed to follow the route I gave them. Guided them out my way and back on track.

If you want weird, I only had a map and no I had not been there before.

How did I know where I was? Long complicated story.



Drewboyaus
How do you get maps into the Hema iPad app?

I can get maps into Ozi on the PC and my Hema HN6 but not the iPad app.

[outback]

Being somewhat Android illiterate what is the best tablet to consider?
What I have looked at so far don't say they have a builtin GPS.

It does though sound a better option to the laptop.
Mounting seems cheaper than one for a laptop as well beside simpler.

[GQ TANK]

Im running a Samsung tab 2 - 7 inch, I have mounted the table using a RAM mount

I have the oziexplorer andriod app for off road - with 1/25000 maps. Plus I run a point to point for road use

The tab 2 and latter tab 3's have internal gps.

I was about to mount a laptop with a 7 inch touch screen.

[threedogs]

I have a silvan compass on top of the dash, and have used it for the last 15 yrs I suppose
and at the back of my mind I think I count how many minutes I travelled say,
north, and need to travel "X" minutes south to get home.
I'd love a Tablet maybe 10" but I have no one to read it when 4x4ing.

[megatexture]

I have a silvan compass on top of the dash, and have used it for the last 15 yrs I suppose
and at the back of my mind I think I count how many minutes I travelled say,
north, and need to travel "X" minutes south to get home.
I'd love a Tablet maybe 10" but I have no one to read it when 4x4ing.



Mate just plot some points in and a bloody big arrow will point you where to go to get to the reference if you get side tracked it will adjust and still Guide you there.

Mount it on the dash infront/ beside you and your set to look at it yourself!

[outback]

Mount it on the dash infront/ beside you and your set to look at it yourself!

But won't he crack the mirror that way?

[megatexture]

Only once !

[Drewboyaus]

BenK
Drewboyaus
How do you get maps into the Hema iPad app?

I can get maps into Ozi on the PC and my Hema HN6 but not the iPad app.

Hi mate,
Sorry I missed the question first time around.....
You need to import them using iTunes. I have done a tutorial here on how to scan and calibrate paper maps into the Hema app. I'm on the mobile so can't look for the link but if you search for it you should find it. It was either in navigation section or DIY, I can't remember.
I'm pretty sure I covered it in there.

[outback]

Hi mate,
Sorry I missed the question first time around.....
You need to import them using iTunes. I have done a tutorial here on how to scan and calibrate paper maps into the Hema app. I'm on the mobile so can't look for the link but if you search for it you should find it. It was either in navigation section or DIY, I can't remember.
I'm pretty sure I covered it in there.

Thanks. Found the thread. Getting the maps scanned is next problem. Working on that as were I live its not a simple issue.