beantownrich

Hi,

I had a HP-Jornada handheld PC that I was not using and decided to set up a GPS system in my SLK. I thought that this would not be a particularly easy task but it proved very very simple.

As far as I can tell there are similar products available for all Palms, Visors, Handsprings and other Pocket-PCs.

I ordered a GPS kit from Pharos GPS , a reputable company who have been in the business for years. They sell specific kits for different handheld devices

The kit for the Jornada 500 series included the following:

* An iGPS-180 "windshield mount" GPS receiver
* A clever cable arrangement consisting of a connection to the GPS device, a power cord, and a connection to the handheld.
* Pharos OSTIA navigation software (includes voice prompting).

This sold for around $160 at Provantage.

Setting up the hardware was relatively easy, plug the power cord into the 12v socket, connect the Jornada Pocket-PC using the special connector, connect the GPS receiver. Installing the software onto the Jornada was also easy - as was copying the maps from the included CD-Roms.

I placed the iGPS receiver in the recommended location, on the dashboard, in the center, as close to the windshield as possible. I then checked all the connections, powered everything up, and waited for the system to acquire a lock on some overhead satellites. This lock takes about 60-90seconds.

My first drive was not a huge success, the reciever lost the signal many times and each time I had to frustratedly wait for it to re-acquire the signal.

On returning home, I dug into the Pharos FAQ on their website and discovered that placing the iGPS receiver close to a Radar Detector can seriously interfere with the signal. I temporarily moved the receiver to the back window shelf. This involved buying an extension cord for the receiver - fortunately it uses standard a PS/2 mouse connector! - and tried again with much improved results. I then fixed it well with a heavy duty "sticky square" obtained from an office supply store.

I have been running it for about 3 days now and it is proving to be a big success. The only problems remaining are (1) the 12V power socket is a little bizarre, the power is frequently cut and so the system has to re-acquire the GPS signal and (2) I'm looking for a good mounting solution for the Jornada that isn't too ugly.

Anyway here's a link to a couple of pics...
SLK GPS Pics

Driller

I can't find any pix!!

beantownrich

That should be better, I replaced with a link as the ISPs dont seem to be too good about sharing images!

Keng1

Thanks for the information. I didnt realize they had navigation for hand helds. This should be an interesting option for a person who always gets lost like me.

Buellwinkle

I prefer the laptop approach. Got a cheap small laptop on e-bay for $200 and put Co-Pilot on. I'm using it without the antena and it's great for directions. When I have time I'll put the antena on. With the antena it locates where you are at, gives you directions verbably like Command, for example, "turn left in 300 feet". I thougth about using my Palm Pilot but the screen is small and hard to read from a distance and you have to load up maps all the time. The laptop will easily hold the entire country and a large database of businesses and points of interets, great for traveling. For example you can get directions from your house to a coffee house or movie theatre without knowing the address.

beantownrich

I thought about using a laptop, however, the SLK has a rather small interior and so a laptop is impractical when driving with a passenger.

As for downloading maps, this can be tedious, but I find that most of my driving is limited to Southern New England and the Tri-State area. The maps necessary for this will fit into a 128mb compact flash card with quite a bit of room to spare.

Visibility of the screen is a problem, the solution that I have found is to mount the PDA almost vertically so that reflections are cut down to a minimum. With the roof down and sunglasses on, the screen is difficult to read. This is countered by good voice prompts. I believe that Arkon sell a series of PDA mounts and I am exploring which one would be a good solution.

CopperDesigno

Beantown - What do use to hold the PDA against the dash? I have a Garmin iQue 3600 on order and I have the auto nav kit coming with it. The auto nav kit has this bean bag holder that sits on the dash. I don't want to use that, I am kind of short and I hate things that obstruct my view. I was trying to figure a way to use the ashtray as the mounting point, but had a chance to investigate that yet.