NaviGadget

homemade GPS navigation on Dell X50

Nov 6, 2006 bluetooth, gps navigation, misc news Leave a comment

Here is a short tutorial / guide on how to make a GPS navigation system using a Pocket PC, some bluetooth GPS receiver, and mapping software.

Today I tell you how to put an excellent GPS Navigation solution in your car for just about $500 if you start from scratch or just for $200 if you already have any PocketPC with Bluetooth available.

It is nothing new but if you are new to the GPS navigation field this may be of help to you. Read on…

What do you need?
1. Any PocketPC with Bluetooth. Currently cheapest one is Dell X50 520 for $299.

2. Bluetooth GPS. Cheapest place when I’ve found them is buyGPSNow.com. There are several different models. I currently have Holux GPSlim 236(SiRF III), but if I am on the market for one today I am probably going to get the Rikaline GPS-6033(32-channel). buyGPSNow.com is also giving vent mounting kit with any order for free. This is very good because we will need this kit for our project.
3. Software. Now it is time to tell you why this solution is much better then built-in or standalone GPS. What options you have if just don’t like the software built in your car? It may have non-accurate maps. It may have weird interface. Only one thing you can do about it – get another car. Same thing for this standalone device. Only for PocketPC I was able to found 19(!) different navigation software packages. All of them have different maps, different interface, and different look and feel. Everybody can find the perfect one for himself. I personally use Mapopolis, but you can try IntellyNav, TomTom, Destinator, coPilot or any other one.

So. Let’s start.

1. Install your Vent PDA Car Mount holder.
2. Get PocketPC, charge it, and put it in the holder.
3. Charge your GPS unit, turn it on, and put it somewhere in your car where it can see some clear sky.
4. Turn on Bluetooth and Create a Bluetooth partnership
* Tap Start -> Settings -> Connections tab -> Bluetooth.
* Tap “Turn on” Bluetooth button or checkbox.
* Tap Bluetooth > Devices tab > New Partnership. Your device searches for other devices with Bluetooth capabilities, and displays them in the list.
* Tap the name of your GPS device, and tap Next.
* In Passkey enter an alphanumeric passkey between 1 and 16 characters, and tap Next. (You be able to found this passkey somewhere in you GPS device documentation)
* Tap Finish.
5. Connect to the GSP Unit. Tap your new paired device wait for the menu and then tap Connect.
6. Start your favorite Navigation Software. Set-up or Start GPS inside it. (if you are using Mapopolis Tap Tools->GPS->Start)
7. Turn on your car engine.

You are ready to drive.

via

rikaline bluetooth GPS receiver 6033

Oct 15, 2006 gps navigation 1 Comment

Rikaline is a big name in bluetooth GPS receiver manufacturing in Asia. Their new GPS receiver is the GPS-6033, a bluetooth enabled device that has can also utilize an external GPS antenna if necessary.

To extend that precious battery life Rikaline uses a patent pending auto ON-OFF. The device somehow turns on when you start your car and when you come to a stop for a while the device turns itself off. The website does not disclose what kind of GPS receiver they put into the 6033 but from these specs we can tell that it is no SiRF.

• Hot Start: 6 Sec
• Cold Start:40 Sec
• Update Rate: 1 Sec

We have no info on the pricing or availability yet.

gps tracking system w/ mini SD slot

Sep 23, 2006 gps navigation, tracking 1 Comment

The Rikaline CF GPS, GPS-6023 is a GPS receiver + tracking device designed for use with PDA, or any kind of portable PCs. What makes GPS-6023 different is its revolutionary design that equipped the device with a mini SD slot for user to store map data. It facilitates SiRF Star 3e new generation indoors GPS technology. GPS-6023 can provide high position and speed accuracy performances as well as high sensitivity and tracking capabilities in urban canyon conditions. This positioning application meets strict needs such as car navigation, mapping, surveying, security, and so on.

Here is the full set of features for this tracking / receiver device:

Receiver

• GPS Signal: L1, C/A code
• Channel¡XAcquisition: 32
• Channel¡XTracking: 12
• Tracking Sensitivity: -159dBm
• WAAS: Y
• DGPS: Y (Built On Demand)

Acquisition Time

• Hot Start: 6 Sec
• Warm Start: 38 Sec
• Cold Start: 42 Sec

Update

• Reacquisition: 0.1 Sec
• Update: 1.0 Sec

Physical

• Dimension(W x D x H) mm: Folded:78.8(H) x 46.4(W) x 13.4(D); Unfolded Length: 140.8mm
• (W x D x H) inch: Folded: 3.10(H) x 1.83(W) x 0.53(D); Unfolded Length: 5.54

Power

• Input (VDC): 3.3 ~ 5.5
• Internal Back up(VDC): 3.3V (500Hrs)

Others

• CF Card Type: CF Type I

Apparently the device has a slot for a compact flash card too.

rikaline GPS-450 navigation system

Sep 8, 2006 gps navigation Leave a comment

Rikaline GPS-450 is your standard built-in-China GPS navigation system with some standard features such as voice guidance, automatic re-routing, and so on. You won’t find any text-to-speech (not sure if we want Chinese to do this anyways) function, hands-free bluetooth cell phone integration like you’d get on a nuvi 660.

One nice thing about the GPS-450 is its 5″ screen; bigger than most other GPS navigation systems out there. But there’s always trade-off; GPS-450 weighs half a kilo! It probably doesn’t matter if its going to sit on the windshield mount all day, but if you want to take it with you to prevent burglary it may become an issue.

GPS-450 uses SiRF Star III receiver chipset, a 200Mhz processor, 64MB of SDRAM, and a 32MB ROM. You can connect it to a VCD player using its video-in port to make extra use of that 5″ screen. But make sure you take the power cable with you, because it doesn’t sound like Rikaline included a battery in the GPS-450!

Rikaline uses Navteq maps for NA and western EU but we don’t even think it is for sale in North America or Europe. You can pick up GPS-450 for 5500 CYN (690USD) in China.

bluetooth gps receiver from Rikaline: GPS 6036

Aug 26, 2006 bluetooth, gps navigation 1 Comment

GPS 6036 is a stylish bluetooth gps receiver from Rikaline. It’s only Light 13.7mm thick and weighs a mere 50 grams including battery. Unlike most other bluetooth GPS receivers out there this one comes with a upright charging cradle which has a built-in magnets inside to keep it from falling in your vehicle. If you don’t like the default gray color of this gps receiver, Rikaline gives you the option to change it with its changeable covers so you can make it look like one of these fancy gps receivers. The GPS 6036 comes with a solid SiRFstarIII GPS chipset and the battery will last you 8 hours.

If you are wondering where you heard of Rikaline before, it was probably here about their GPS wrist watch which seemed like a 3D computer rendering rather than the real thing.

Here are some more specs:

• Fast acquisition: 20 parallel satellites acquisition
• Advanced GPS chip: SiRF Star III SOC
• Fast TTFF: 200,000 effective correlators for fast TTFF at low signal levels
• Built-in WAAS/EGNOS (Optional model for WAAS/EGNOS covered area) and DGPS for accurate positioning result.
• Quick Host start: Built-in rechargeable Lithium battery for backup ephemeris for quick hot start.
• Support MNEA 0183V2.2 data protocol.
• Enhanced algorithms provide superior navigation performance in urban canyon and foliage Environments.
• User initialization is not required.
• LED display status : The LED provides users visible positioning status of BT / GPS / Power.
• Built-in Magnets inside the cradle for easy using on dashboard of the car (with the easy-place metal pad).

rikaline gps tracklog wrist watch GPS-50

Jul 19, 2006 fitness, gps navigation, tracking, wrist watch 1 Comment

We’ve seen a few other wrist watches equipped with GPS but not from Rikaline. GPS-50 comes with a SiRF Star III receiver and can measure temperature, altitude and of course provide a tracking log. It also provides a friendly sharing interface where you may send your tracking log to your friend. An optional external solar charger is available so you can harness the infinite power of the sun.

Now make no mistake; this is not as advanced as the Suunto X9i which costs half a grand. Looking at the specs we see that GPS-50 doesn’t even let you create waypoints so you can find your way around the jungles of Amazon. The GPS-50 can only hold 600 points in its 8Mb flash memory for later retrieval… seems like a waste of a nice SiRF III chip. We have no info on pricing but it better not be expensive.