In this vain - are there folks who are using Bluetooth GPS's? Any
recommendations?

Thanks
Tim

> -----Original Message-----
> From: TNCGIS: kruddock kruddock
> [mailto:TNCGIS.listmanager@groups.conserveonline.org]
> Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2006 11:26 AM
> To: Recipients of 'TNCGIS' suppressed
> Subject: RE: PDA/GPS unit recommendations
>
> From: "kruddock kruddock"
>
> I have a personal PDA/CF-GPS combo that works pretty well for me. It's a
> Dell Axim with a Syson Memory GPS. This model has the added benefit of
256
> (or 512) Megs of storage space to hold data.
> It uses Xtrac2 which from my research and experience works well under
leaf
> cover. I was under the impression that the accuracy of these CF units
were
> comparable, but I've got nothing to compare mine to. There does seem to
be
a
> considerable amount of error as I can often watch my position drift
around
> the map as I sit in one place. At it's worst it can be off by 100'. What
> kind of error are all of you seeing in the field?
> My Axim is the 400MHz x5 and was often slow to load data, this has
improved
> quite a bit since I started using a demo of ArcPad 7.
>
> -Kevin
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: TNCGIS: Jon Fisher
> [mailto:TNCGIS.listmanager@groups.conserveonline.org]
> Sent: Friday, January 20, 2006 3:57 PM
> To: Recipients of 'TNCGIS' suppressed
> Subject: RE: PDA/GPS unit recommendations
>
>
> From: "Jon Fisher"
>
> Funny, I had the opposite problem. My iPAQ would lose 20% of it's charge
in
> a few days of being powered off in a drawer, I've had Axims sit for
several
> months without being charged and still be fine. Though using
ActiveSync's
> Backup feature is a good idea anyway just in case. The iPAQ cost almost
> double what the Axim did, partly b/c it had WiFI technology that has
little
> application to most field work (whereas I got the stripped down Axim).
>
> Regardless of the model you go with, I think it's worth the money to get
the
> extended life battery, and keep the original as a backup that you can
swap
> out in the field. I know Axims can have the battery switched without
being
> pluged in (they have a backup battery), and some models don't, but I'm
not
> sure about iPAQs.
>
> I definitely agree that the Pharos CF-GPS is terrible, I only got it to
work
> with the extra antenna plugged in and it was still marginal. The
Teletype
> CF-GPS, however, has been very easy to use and reliable for me. It does
> pull power from the PDA (as opposed to separate batteries), but it's
fairly
> low power consumption so I found that it wasn't much worse than the drain
of
> having Bluetooth on. One disadvantage of the CF-GPS is that they won't
fit
> a standard ($50) otterbox, you need to go for the $100 model if you want
a
> floatable, waterproof, dustproof, non-crushable unit. Alternatively, you
> can buy a waterproof sealable bag for around $25 and just be careful not
to
> drop it (this worked well enough for me).
>
> In the event you go with Axims and a CF-GPS, I have a checklist of steps
to
> go through for installation to get everything working properly, and how
to
> make backups, etc.
>
> -Jon
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: TNCGIS: Chris Bruce
> [mailto:TNCGIS.listmanager@groups.conserveonline.org]
> Sent: Friday, January 20, 2006 2:57 PM
> To: Recipients of 'TNCGIS' suppressed
> Subject: RE: PDA/GPS unit recommendations
>
>
> From: "Chris Bruce"
>
> Steve,
>
> We've had decent success with Dell Axim PDAs and EMTAC Trine bluetooth
GPS
> receivers. I don't know if this is also the case with other PDA models,
but
> one problem with our Dells is you have to keep them charged regularly. If
> they sit for a few weeks without being charged, the batteries can get
> completely drained and data and programs you've installed (like ArcPad)
will
> be lost. They also don't have the greatest battery life - we only get 3
> hours at best from one battery so we've bought spares.
>
> Also, if you're going with a standard, non-rugged PDA, Otterbox field
cases
> are a must (http://www.otterbox.com/).
>
> cheers,
> Chris
>
>
> ______________________
> Chris Bruce, GISP
> GIS Manager
>
> The Nature Conservancy
> Virginia Program
> 490 Westfield Road
> Charlottesville, VA 22901
>
> cbruce@tnc.org
> (434) 951-0565 (Phone)
> (434) 979-0370 (Fax)
>
> nature.org
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: TNCGIS: Steve Sobaski
> [mailto:TNCGIS.listmanager@groups.conserveonline.org]
> Sent: Friday, January 20, 2006 1:50 PM
> To: Recipients of 'TNCGIS' suppressed
> Subject: RE: PDA/GPS unit recommendations
>
>
> From: "Steve Sobaski"
>
> Hi All,
>
> We had some recent interest within the chapter for increasing our use of
GPS
> receivers and PDAs to gather mapping data in the field using ArcPad. I'm
> curious to hear what other chapter's experiences have been with various
> recent models of either and if any of you have had any hands on
experience
> with using an integrated unit (PDA with GPS): likes, dislikes,
> compatibilities and incompatibilities, expense, etc.
>
> Thanks!
> Steve
>
> Steve Sobaski
> GIS Manager
> Michigan Field Office - The Nature Conservancy
> 101 E. Grand River Ave.
> Lansing, MI 48906
> (517) 316-2263
> ssobaski@tnc.org
>
>
>
>
>
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