Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 17:20:41 -0700
Reply-To: stuart@STUARTJEFF.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Stuart Jeff <stuart@STUARTJEFF.COM>
Subject: Re: GPS
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
I just bought a USB GPS receiver off of eBay for $35 and then hooked it up to my laptop with Microsoft Streets and Trips 2007 installed. MS Streets and Trips retails for $49 or you can get it with a USB GPS receiver for $99. The 2008 version will ship in late August just so you know.
I'm a big fan of the system because I carry my laptop with me on trips for general Internet access and movie watching so I might as well use it for something else. I put a suction cup on the front windshield, clipped the receiver to it, and then I put my laptop on the small table that swings out between the driver's and the passenger's seat in my Westy. Not only do I get voice navigaion and huge auto-updated maps centered on my position but you also get all of the features from Streets and Trips that you just won't find on a regular GPS system.
Here's an example of what I can do with my setup. I was thinking about driving from Baltimore to just north of Vancover and I wanted to see how much time I'd have to take off of work. So I was able to enter my start point and end point just like on Google Maps or something similar but then I was also able to tell the system what time I'd like to get on the road each morning, how fast I drive on various road types, how often I want to stop for rests, what kind of fuel economy I get, and finally what time I'd like to wrap up the day. It then broke my driving time down into days with precise end points. I was then able to select the end point at the end of each day and search for campgrounds within a certain radius that I could stay in each night. It generated a precise list of locations for me to drive to, when I will need to stop for fuel, how much I should anticipate spending on fuel, how long I will drive each day, etc. etc. etc. and if I were to decide
I want to change the route while I'm driving it then I can just adjust the plan in the computer and I will see exactly how the rest of my trip will be impacted. If I have an Internet connection then I can even get updates on road construction along the route and alternate routes to avoid delays. I was impressed to say the least.
Enjoy,
Stuart
----- Original Message ----
From: mike <mwmiller@CWNET.COM>
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Sent: Monday, July 30, 2007 7:04:52 PM
Subject: GPS
Vannuts,
I've been wanting to get a GPS system for my van for a while now. Frank's
post really got me going. I'd like something like that if it had remote
entry.
However....today I got an offer from my cell phone company, Verizon. They're
offering voice and picture GPS guidance on my cell phone for $10/month.
Anybody have any experience with this system?
Mike
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