Sat nav on the cheap

[dougc]

Evening all.

I've inherited an iPaq H3900 from my Dad. It's been sitting around for a while so I've charged it up this evening and it's all in working order. I also have a car charger, docking station and one of those cool little foldout keyboards. I want to get it up and running as a navigation and scamera warning system so that a) I won't get lost on the next Tunnel Run and b) to warn me of any situations which may involve removal of my licence.

The PDA has bluetooth capability so I'm going to need a GPS unit and some software. Does anyone have any recommendations or experience of using such a set up?

Thanks
Doug

[dougc]

Right, I've properly confused myself now. I know I need a GPS receiver and for the sake of neat and tidyness/portability between cars its going to be a bluetooth one.

Problem I have is the software. I've been looking on e-bay and there seems to be a huge difference in cost for TT5. Some is available on an SD card, some comes on DVD, some on 7 CDs (how does all this data then go onto a 128Mb CD card?). I've seen reference to CF cards and I'm not sure how these fit in my iPaQ.

HELP!!

[off_again]

Not sure, the iPaq H3900 is the older one isnt it? If so then I am not sure if you have a CF or SD slot at all. Usually they came with a slieve with a CF slot in it - have you got that?

Also, what OS is it running? I am not sure, but I am fairly confident that TomTom Navigator 5 runs on Windows Mobile 2003 or above. If its an older iPaq H3900 then it will not be this - you can *cough* obtain the upgrade, but this isnt particularly legal so be cautious.

What might be a better bet is to check out www.pocketgps.co.uk and see the review section. See if there is another navigation package which will work for you. TomTom might well be out of the options....

Destinator is supposed to be OK, its the one which is bundled with many of the newer all-in-one devices such as Bluemedia. But, since you can get a cut-price Navman for £179 these days, you might spend more time and effort getting your iPaq H3900 working. Might be easier to just buy an off-the-shelf one instead....

Just a thought.

[dougc]

Thanks for the reply. It's certainly a Compaq item not an HP which I guess makes it at least 2 years old. Further investigation has revealed that the unit is an H3970. There is an SD slot and it has a 128Mb SD card. Not sure about the operating system, I'll have to have a look when I get home. Would like to keep things simple and use the iPaQ for navigation as my plan is to use it for work too and I don't really want to be weighed down by cables, chargers, electric gizmos every time I get out of the car.

Thanks for the link, didn't realise that the site had so much info on it. Better start reading up.