Another eBay GPS question

[Davros Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Davros]

Hi all,

I came across this GPS today. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/5-OFF-ROAD-GP...item588b81f94c

Has anyone had any experience with these units?
I must admit, I have had nothing to do with GPS in the past. A friend told me I should get a unit which can run hema maps. That sounds reasonable to me, as I already use hema paper maps, but does that correlate to use of hema GPS maps?
I intend to use the GPS for outback touring. Mainly in NSW, as that is where I live, but will be used interstate on occasions.
I am not in need of city street navigation. Luckily, I am not a normal male, and have been known to ask for directions when lost in unfamiliar cities.
Probably silly questions, but worth asking I hope.

Steve

[HGMonaro Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close HGMonaro]

Re: Another eBay GPS question

Unit seems fine (which means it has suitable chipset and can hold big enough SD card to hold all the maps you'll need). Not sure how much the individual components actually could be bought seperately (OziCE is $40, the Maps are $99 although you can get a 1:100K set for $40 that has 1:250K ones where there are no 1:100K maps available) but I guess buying them all together means it will work. Can you buy just the GPS for less than $240? (some need to be 'hacked' to get them to run Ozi). Could you be bothered buying all the pieces an getting them to work?

Not sure how they (the Ebay merchant) register Ozi in your name, probably worth asking that before purchasing. Usually you download OziCE, run it for awhile until you decided $40 is worth it, pay up your money and they send you a code to unlock it's full functionality. You need that code for any futre upgrades (which do happen).

[raydes Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close raydes]

Re: Another eBay GPS question

looks like it should run Hema maps as well. just copy them to the SD card

[Schaffer Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schaffer]

Re: Another eBay GPS question

Havn't look at this unit (can't from work) but in most cases the ebay units (check generic units) are somewhat unlocked. That means you the software is located on the SD card and you can typically change the path to the navigation tool to allow you to copy the OziExplorerCE executables along with the Data files onto the SD card. You can run a demo version of OziCE which allows you 20 minutes to see what you think before it shuts down before you commit to buying.

For the 1:250k maps you can download these for free from www.ga.gov.au but this will take time. Then need to calibrate these in OziExplorer before you can use in OziExplorerCE (they do not come with the .map file). The HEMA maps are OK but also consider the Westprint maps which are pretty cheap and have less clutter. It's probably not neccessary to rush out and buy a heap of maps straight off. Just start simple and build up the maps you need.

[MickL Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close MickL]

Re: Another eBay GPS question

Price is right up there and getting close to the lower end "Indash" units, If you don't need the portability then maybe this is an option for you? I reckon a PM to Matt at Dig_Options for a price might be worth while.

Mick

[Davros Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Davros]

Re: Another eBay GPS question

Thanks for all of the replies guys.

After all of your comments and with a bit more researching, I have almost settled on this unit. http://cgi.ebay.com/7-Inch-Portable-...item19c1ba2c47
It is a lot cheaper than my first selection, with bigger screen, higher resolution, and can still run oziexplorer maps.

HGMonaro.... I hate paying someone to do something that I can do myself, so thanks for the heads up wqith the maps. (by the way..... my first car was a HT Monaro. Orange with the big black stripes!)
Schaffer .... thanks for the tips. I will look into Westprint maps.

Mick.... I was looking long and hard at the in dash units, but have decided that they are not for me. I want to be able to move the gps to my wifes car as needed, and from time to time.


Thanks again All.

Steve

[HGMonaro Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close HGMonaro]

Re: Another eBay GPS question

looks good. tempted to buy one myself as I currently use a 3.5" unit, although I can read it ok, bigger screen would be nice! Mine can only handle 2GB cards which means I have to load it up with appropiate maps for a trip rather than just have everything on it.

[Sunshine Member Find all posts View Profile Close Sunshine]

Re: Another eBay GPS question

Looking at the pictures it looks like the Chinese unit I bought in about May when we were going overseas and I wanted something that would work in the UK and also in OZ when we got home. We were supplied with all the maps for Europe, America and Australia for no extra money. You just had to say what you wanted loaded onboard on the SD card that they supplied. My maps are "Where Is" supplied. The end view in one of the pictures is the same as mine. It works well but is a bit tricky to turn on and off; as if you don't turn it off properly, it keeps running and flattens the battery. Mine cost $99 but I only have street maps for it and not the outback HEMA maps which I wouldn't mind getting either. I might look into what Schaffer said about maps as we go offroad too but just use paper maps for that.
If you buy the unit and find out how to turn the thing off easily; there is no explanation in the booklet that comes with it, let me know. I have tried holding the on/off button in; I've tried pressing it twice: still haven't worked it out.

[Davros Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Davros]

Re: Another eBay GPS question

I did buy that one, so I will let you know if I find something useful for you.
I intend to hard wire it up anyway, and it will run off an accessories circuit so flattening battery won't be an issue.

[Schaffer Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schaffer]

Re: Another eBay GPS question

I intend to hard wire it up anyway, and it will run off an accessories circuit so flattening battery won't be an issue.

Well it will take longer to start up. Usually if you shut down, instead of turn off they are active (locked on to enough sats to establish a position) maybe 30 seconds to a minute later. From cold start from turning off or power going flat usually takes two or three minutes or longer. Maybe not a big issue but can be annoying.

[Davros Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Davros]

Re: Another eBay GPS question

Thanks for the tip Schaffer.
The unit I bought has battery backup. Should give 2~3hrs on standby so I am hoping your comments won't become reality for me.

[Schaffer Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schaffer]

Re: Another eBay GPS question

My 4.3 has an internal battery and the supplier (ebay seller) indicated this would give four to five hours of use off power. I'm lucky to get five minutes but then I have pretty well always run it direct off power anyway so probably killed the battery.

[Davros Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Davros]

Re: Another eBay GPS question

This one uses a Li-ion battery, so hopefully it will be up to it.
Guess I just need to wait and see.
Postage from Hong Kong to Aus is very slow, based on my previous experiences. Seller states that unit dispatched two days after payment, so I should have the unit by the middle of January I hope.
Anyway, as mentioned above, I am a complete novice at this, so I anticipate needing to ask more questions when it arrives. I'll let you know then, how the battery, cold start thing goes.

Steve

[Fungi2003 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Fungi2003]

Re: Another eBay GPS question

Can I suggest an alternative to the ones you are looking at purchasing on eBay?

I recently purchased a 6" GPS unit from DealExtreme (http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.37914) and managed to load OziExplorer with a plethora of maps on it. No need to "unlock" it, rather, install a component that will provide an alternative menu that will allow you to run more than one GPS navigation software (check out http://gpsunlock.net). All in all it is real easy to setup and the fact that it supports a 16GB memory card means that you don't have to be selective of what maps you need for a certain trip.

I am currently running IGO8 with Aussie maps and OziExplorer on this unit and they have both worked flawlessly. I've been testing it with Ozi and must admit that the sleep function works well whilst on the road/track and is handy when you don't want the run the GPS whilst your car has stopped/parked/whatever. I've tracked almost 3000km worth of roads and tracks on the unit and it has enough power to store these to memory and write these to file on completion of your trip. The cool thing about the track files is that you can then convert them to be viewed on Google maps using readily available tools on the web.

With regards to sizes, I would stay away from anything larger than 6" as anything above is probably a bit too big even for the Prado dash. The abovementioned unit runs a resolution of 800x480 meaning that you can view more of the map, however, buttons for OziExplorer are a little bit smaller. I have fat fingers and still don't have any problems using these whilst driving and if I'm going to do more detailed work (set waypoints and change nitty gritty settings) I then use a stylus (which also comes with the unit).

PM if you want more information!

[nacott Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close nacott]

Re: Another eBay GPS question

Can anyone suggest someone in Perth who I can pay to have OziExplorer with maps loaded on to my machine ? I have no idea where to start or what to do, as I only use Mac computers, so cant download anything that will work. My machine is this one http://hoatoa.en.hisupplier.com/offer-3 ... 9001S.html. It is running Widows CE. All functions work well.