Sat Nav

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quote:Originally posted by Johann

Stuart:

6. If your car's radio has a tape deck - mine has tape and front loading 6 disc CD - you can get a standard £5 tape adapter from most shops that you can plug into the iPAQ's audio out jack and put into the car's audio system... the iPAQ's speaker is not really load enough on the motorway. Thus you can play the directions through your car speakers. And when you want it to be silent you just select another funtion than tape which in effect mutes it. Especially useful when you know where you are and only want to see the ETA function or the map... I don't think the sat-nav only system has an audio out capability?
Click to expand...

Johann - thanks for such a detailed description of the IPAQ. It definitely is worth considering. But the volume of the speaker would worry me - and I don't have a tape player in my car.

By the way, how many MB of memory does your IPAQ have? And how many detailed street level country maps can this memory hold - ie could it hold all ok the UK and France or just one country at a time?

Finally, what's your opinion on how this compares: http://www.garmin.com/products/iQue3600/

Are you coming to the club social?
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[img=left]http://www.a2forum.net/stuart.gif[/img=left]
Stuart Diamond: A2OC Founder | Forum Administrator

2001 TDi SE: Cobalt Blue Metallic | Open Sky Roof | Kenwood Mask CD | Front Centre Armrest

A2OC: www.Audi-A2.co.uk | www.A2Forum.net
 
Hi,

I have the Garmin StreetPilot III on my dashboard and it works perfectly without any external aerial. (A2 with Open Sky System)
The nice thing about the Garmin is that you can take it with you, if you want to rent a Camper for the summer, on your boat, in the mountains when you want to find that spot where many mushrooms grow etc. It's also a better investment then other machines as it doesn't damage your car, no need for opening the dash, just glue the base on top of the dash (glue comes off without traces, I've tried) and put it in the glove compartment when car is parked.

And it works well, (although I did find several routing errors) and the PC software allows you to set up routes at home etc.


A2 driver, Mac user
Image-9459FAC06F7211D7.jpg
 
This is all really useful stuff, like Stuart says Concert II has no tape deck in it so this is redundant. I already have a separate PDA (not Compaq), but it is worth considering.

It would appear that the Garmin SP3, the Navman iCN630 and the Compaq PDA all do the job, I need to be able to see a comparative review on all 3 somehow. Some of the benefits of the PDA are no use to me, i.e. already have a PDA and no tape deck.

My main differential would then be how do you use each one. Do you set up everything on the unit in isolation, or do you have to use a PC for example to set up routes, etc. No good if I'm on holiday and I suddenly decide I want to go somewhere different for the day and I have no PC to set a new route.

Any insights?

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quote:Originally posted by Stuart_D




Johann - thanks for such a detailed description of the IPAQ. It definitely is worth considering. But the volume of the speaker would worry me - and I don't have a tape player in my car.

By the way, how many MB of memory does your IPAQ have? And how many detailed street level country maps can this memory hold - ie could it hold all ok the UK and France or just one country at a time?

Finally, what's your opinion on how this compares: http://www.garmin.com/products/iQue3600/
Click to expand...


You don't use any of the iPAQ's internal memory it is ALL stored on the Flash card - 128meg - the entire UK and Ireland. You get this on the CD as well...

So when you do go to the Continent you erase the card and install the entire EU on it and off you go... and as I said you never need a PC again as everything is in the sleeve. (the flash card lives on the side of the sleeve and not inside the iPAQ)

The Garmin system is much the same as this setup. I used to have Palm M505 and the problem I have with Palm OS is that it can only do ONE thing at a time. Pocket PC is windows based and car run several things at once. Not sure if Palm OS 5 as in this Germin system is still the same or not.

Speaker on iPAQ is load enough truth be told, but obviously far better via 220watts of BOSE speaker setup!

I can come over to you if you want and show it to you one night if you wish and go on a motorway so you can hear the iPAQ speaker as you would have it... if you don't want to wait until the social...

Remember that the stand alone systems also have only a little speaker somewhere and may be no louder than the standard iPAQ speaker... Also check how easy it is to mute them, because sometimes all I'm after is seeing the broad map in outline, the arrows and the ETA function whilst I listen to music...

____________________________________________________________________________________
[img=left]http://image1ex.villagephotos.com/180225.jpg[/img=left]
2001 A2 TDI SE Crystal Blue with Open Sky, 6CD Symphony II, BOSE upgrade, DIS and HALF a winterpack!

iPAQ 3970 with Sat-Nav sleeve, rear cupholders, luggage net and floppy wiper!

http://www.audi-a2.co.uk/uk23.htm
 
Ade: I NEVER use the PC to set routes up. You do it all in the car before you set off as the entire country is on the flash card. You will only need a PC if you buy a cheaper system sans flash card...

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[img=left]http://image1ex.villagephotos.com/180225.jpg[/img=left]
2001 A2 TDI SE Crystal Blue with Open Sky, 6CD Symphony II, BOSE upgrade, DIS and HALF a winterpack!

iPAQ 3970 with Sat-Nav sleeve, rear cupholders, luggage net and floppy wiper!

http://www.audi-a2.co.uk/uk23.htm
 
Hi, with the Garmin, You can set up routes etc on your pc before you leave and then download them to your SpIII, or you can set them up directly up on the SpIII.
The standard flash memory card is a small, the 164 mb is expensive, but worth having.

I find it also handy that it remembers the routes you made, including roads unknown in the StreetMap software, so you can use the same routes again if needed whenever you want.

A2 driver, Mac user
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Although I have a PC, I would probably want to do it all on the unit itself. Stuart, did you get any responses from the Navman shop?

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quote:Originally posted by NikHL

Hmm. Stuart, please excuse my question but is every A2 equipped with that "heat athermic reflecting windscreen" ???

I´ve got the automatic ac AND the Becker TrafficPro navigation...
The GPS antenna hides under the dashboard and has excellent connection to the GPS-Sats.

I used this system in my passat before and it worked perfectly there too.

If you haven´t got anything different from my windscreen - it works !

Nik

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Click to expand...

Is it difficult to place the GPS antenna under the Dashboard? I think, I want to buy a Becker Traffic Pro to get Navigation in car, but I'm affraid that the GPS antenna would get to much attraction from "bad guys".



Jesper Lindholdt
Audi A2 TDI 3l
http://www.audi-a2.co.uk/europe8.htm
 
Speaking as someone who can only make and answer simple calls on the mobile phone and would like a GPS (Navman ICN 630 looks tasty). Can any one tell me in words of one syllable how I would use my GPS to go form A to B, via C & D, how does it know? How do I tell it? If I change my mind and wish to visit Aunt Ada at E, what do I do then? If on my return I find the M25 blocked how do I tell it to go via Dartford, or to find any other alternative. If I'm running out of petrol in remote places how does it tell me where the nearest gas station is?
Can I plug it in to the cruise control, and sleep in the back while it takes me to Ingoldstadt, oh no, it's not an auto gear box.
Will it work in tye A2? previous threads tend to suggest it would.
 
The GPS uses Global Positioning System to locate the car. This is done by all the GPS sattelites in orbit. They can pinpoint a car to within a few metres.

A lot depends on the software you have. Usually, you just enter the destination and a couple of other parameters (motorways, toll roads, fastest/shortest etc) and it will calculate the best route for you. If you were to deviate off this route, it should automatically recalculate the route for you.

The above is based on the system in my Punto. This doesn't have a via facility but it can store the last 10 destinations entered, so in theory you could plan a route from A to B to C to D etc. Also mine doesn't have the traffic alert facility.

The CD I use lists all hotels, airports, bus stations & a few other things within a set distance. Can't remember if it does petrol stations.

Like I said, a lot depends on the software. The new generation DVD based systems have most roads on the disks, while my system (CD based) is OK up to A & B roads but doesn't contain any housing estates

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1.4SE petrol. http://www.audi-a2.co.uk/uk14.htm
 
The reason I wanted to go via C&D is because from where I live the M25 is the only way to start. When it's congested (when isn't it congested?) I try for an alternate route, I am sure the GPS will route me via M ways where this is obviously the theoretical best route. So, an address is all I need then for a basic route? To avoid the M25, I offer an intermediate point to my destination and that is taken to be one journey , then from that point to destination is final part. Seems straightforward to me, it should avoid a few harsh words to my passenger(wife) who refuses to pick up the map to verify a turn. Something to do with shouting at her years ago. What me?????? Shome mishtake shurely.
 
Johann
At the social, when you stuck your sat nav to the windscreen it seemed to have a long arm on it. When I stick mine on I can't reach it, I can't even reach the windscreen to stick it on. Did yours have a long arm? Do you know if they are available? I can just about stick it in the front quarter light, but another inch or so would make all the difference.
 
The arm is the standard arm that came with the thing. You do have to reach forward to stick it on... and yes it is too far really to reach safely, but I'm still able to do so without taking the seat belt off and whilst driving. You need to tap the screen to say for instance you want to re-route when the chosen route is congested or something...

main_home.jpe


or

3400-rx.jpg


Does it look longer than yours?



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[img=left]http://image1ex.villagephotos.com/180225.jpg[/img=left]
2001 A2 TDI SE Crystal Blue with Open Sky, 6CD Symphony II, BOSE upgrade, DIS and HALF a winterpack!

iPAQ 3970 with Sat-Nav sleeve, rear cupholders, luggage net and floppy wiper!

http://www.audi-a2.co.uk/uk23.htm
 
Here is a demo of how the iPAQ system works:

http://www.compaq.co.uk/navigation/demo.html


From an article about GPS:

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a worldwide radio-navigation system that consists of a constellation of 24 satellites orbiting the Earth.

The GPS receiver uses a triangulation mechanism to calculate its position. In a nutshell, GPS satellites broadcast the information about their positions along with the exact time. Knowing the coordinates of the satellite and using travel time of a radio signal, the GPS receiver measures the distance to a satellite and, as result, calculates its position . However, to correctly measure the distance, the GPS receiver should somehow synchronize its clocks with that of the satellite. To synchronize clocks and to correctly calculate positions, the GPS receiver needs to have signals from at least four satellites. Indeed, if the clocks are synchronized, the position calculated relative to any three satellites out of four should be exactly the same. If this is not the case, the receiver will adjust the clock until the above is true. As a result, your small GPS receiver has a clock accurate as an atomic one!

Obviously, determining the correct position is not as simple as it may sound. Indeed, while traveling thirough the atmosphere, the radio signal from the satellite may be delayed. Buildings or other objects may further reflect the signal. This will change the signal's time of arrival and will affect the accuracy of the GPS. To cope with these and other imperfections, the GPS receiver utilizes very comprehensive mathematical algorithms. That is why different receivers have different performance characteristics, and that is why even the best receivers some times make mistakes!








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[img=left]http://image1ex.villagephotos.com/180225.jpg[/img=left]
2001 A2 TDI SE Crystal Blue with Open Sky, 6CD Symphony II, BOSE upgrade, DIS and HALF a winterpack!

iPAQ 3970 with Sat-Nav sleeve, rear cupholders, luggage net and floppy wiper!

http://www.audi-a2.co.uk/uk23.htm
 
You can tell the system that you want the quickest route (ie motorways), to avoid all motorways, to do the most scenic, to do A roads only or anything like that if you want. On my system if the current route gets congested, you tap a button on the screen to find a different route, it works this route out, diplays it in blue (vs the normal green) and tells you how much this detour has added to your journey (in miles). It still keeps the other route mapped so you can see where you were supposed to go and where it is sending you now...

You can however just drive where you want obviously. The GPS will try to send you back its way if you have not pressed this button (described above), but after a while it realises you're not going back (or you pass the point where it is shorter/faster not to go back) and it will continue with new directions.

When I switch the system on it asks me where I want to go, certain things are always programmed in like home and work, but there is also favourites, a link to the entire address book in my PDA or specific sights (ie fuel stations, museums, airports, etc). You can also just type a postcode in, though it only accepts the first part, ie RH6 only in RH6 0PJ... so you do need to know the street. But you can imagine the amount of High Streets it will come up with if you don't know the postcode or town for example! Even if you typed in London and then High Street it will be a lot to search through... so postcode first helps.



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[img=left]http://image1ex.villagephotos.com/180225.jpg[/img=left]
2001 A2 TDI SE Crystal Blue with Open Sky, 6CD Symphony II, BOSE upgrade, DIS and HALF a winterpack!

iPAQ 3970 with Sat-Nav sleeve, rear cupholders, luggage net and floppy wiper!

http://www.audi-a2.co.uk/uk23.htm
 
I do hope Ade never sees this conversation because I just KNOW what he will say to that!

Richard: you can get aftermarket mounts from various places in various lengths... just do a search online.

____________________________________________________________________________________
[img=left]http://image1ex.villagephotos.com/180225.jpg[/img=left]
2001 A2 TDI SE Crystal Blue with Open Sky, 6CD Symphony II, BOSE upgrade, DIS and HALF a winterpack!

iPAQ 3970 with Sat-Nav sleeve, rear cupholders, luggage net and floppy wiper!

http://www.audi-a2.co.uk/uk23.htm
 
:D

hmmm... welcome abck then!

____________________________________________________________________________________
[img=left]http://image1ex.villagephotos.com/180225.jpg[/img=left]
2001 A2 TDI SE Crystal Blue with Open Sky, 6CD Symphony II, BOSE upgrade, DIS and HALF a winterpack!

iPAQ 3970 with Sat-Nav sleeve, rear cupholders, luggage net and floppy wiper!

http://www.audi-a2.co.uk/uk23.htm
 
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