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/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> The Cafe >> Cheap GPS unit for your handlebars .... /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1405529651 Message started by Oldfeller on 07/16/14 at 09:54:11 |
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Title: Cheap GPS unit for your handlebars .... Post by Oldfeller on 07/16/14 at 09:54:11 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834738001&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3640101&SID=skim32X105Xdf649d1325ec20d1ff963fc1b1fc0b36 http://images17.newegg.com/is/image/newegg/34-738-001-TS?$S300$ Well, this little liar of a tablet really really sucks. it isn't the Hisense 7 SERO PRO at all -- it is a new thing called an LTE or light version of the same tablet which really isn't worth having at all. Thanks for helping me by catching my goof. We'll keep an eye out for the real mccoy if it becomes available cheap. (Verslagen found the right one down thread some for $49.99 refurbished, so read on read on gentle reader) |
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Title: Re: Really Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars Post by Steve H on 07/16/14 at 15:39:57 According to the reviews, this unit does not have GPS. |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by BalingWire on 07/16/14 at 19:34:20 Nearly any tablet can be modified for navigational purposes. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/images/h2/h2_03.21.38.jpg Portable Diptych Sundial, ca. 1598 Hans Troschel the Elder (German, 1549–1612) www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/03.21.38 :D |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by verslagen1 on 07/16/14 at 21:01:51 73505D585F5666584354310 wrote:
only if you have wifi or a map app. |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by Greg on 07/17/14 at 04:23:45 My map app fold to about tablet size... ::) |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by Oldfeller on 07/17/14 at 09:47:53 Now a days there are several apps, Google Maps (and the default Samsung/Google Galaxy 3 Navigation app) that will load a whole section of a state into memory automatically -- which will remain in memory if you get out of wifi range just fine. Just don't turn your device off and please do stay on the app while you are traveling. Google Maps will remember an entire trip from A to B and keep it in memory as for just as long as you are using the app. Actually, Google Maps is so good it has actually discouraged folks from trying to do some competing apps. Wifi connection is needed to download a new section of maps. My phone will use the data plan to download in a pinch, but you actually stop in McDonalds, etc periodically which all have wifi now. Obviously tablets need a wifi connection to get a new map. GPS is really needed for a motorcycle as we get up in mountains, etc. where the triangulate between cell towers trick will not work at all. People in a car can get away with Apple devices that use cell towers only as long as they are on major roads with lots of towers. Google Maps has done a large upgrade just recently, so it may pay you to do the upgrade to get to the improved trip mapping and off-line map functions of the new Google Maps 8.0. http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/05/06/google-maps-gets-a-huge-update-to-v8-0-with-better-offline-maps-management-lane-guidance-in-navigation-and-more-apk-download/ Google Maps 8.0 has a new feature where you can have multiple named off-line maps saved, so you can work up your trip by chunks and save each route in a separate named offline map. |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by Oldfeller on 07/17/14 at 09:53:09 So we are keeping the eagle eye out for a cheap 7" tablet that has GPS. |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by verslagen1 on 07/17/14 at 09:57:42 The hisense 7" pro is still available at wally world. They are nice little tablets and have had no problems with them. originally they were $150, now they are $115 they also have an 8" using •1.6GHz Cortex A9 Quad-Core processor |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by Oldfeller on 07/17/14 at 10:02:06 The Hisense 7" Sero Pro goes on refurb sale periodically for about half price, which is what I had thought we had found upthread. Why would Hisense even put out a tablet with the same name that was gutted so very badly when they had a very successful tablet in the original version? Stupid, really. The one we want has the old Tegra 3 chipset with the GPS built right into the Tegra 3 itself. Watch out for other tablet chipsets, many do not have GPS built in. Generally, phone chipsets are more likely to have GPS built in than tablet chipsets, and the Tegra 3 started out as a primo phone chipset. |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by verslagen1 on 07/17/14 at 11:09:21 here's the real thing... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834738002 |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by Oldfeller on 07/17/14 at 11:19:46 Yup, that's the one. $49.99 is a very good price for this tablet and it will do GPS duty for you. |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by red12049 on 07/17/14 at 17:47:57 52415657484543414A15240 wrote:
Thanks for this. Just ordered it. Rick |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by Greg on 07/18/14 at 06:44:20 OF, I disagree. Google maps is the biggest turd on the GPS planet. Especially for motorcycles. Take my latest experience as an example. I am leading 12 bikes around for a cruise. No map. No destination. Just a cruise. We make a stop and now I need to figure out how to get us home. I pull out my phone and no signal. No signal=no map. I spent $12 on Co-Pilot and have a REAL GPS app on my phone. I suggest everyone do the same. |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by jman on 07/18/14 at 06:52:29 I have a well-developed mind that is very good at remembering where I am and where I have to go to get to where I want to be. I rarely get lost, especially if I have any sort of directional marker, like the sun or moon being visible. What's wrong with a tank bag with a map in a transparency compartment? People these days are too reliant on electronic gizmos (I say as I'm typing on a computer...). Map navigation has almost entirely become a thing of the past, and it's kinda sad. |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by nickythegreek on 07/18/14 at 06:54:09 I use an old iPhone 4 without a SIM, these are getting pretty cheap to get used. I got a free app, Co-Pilot (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/copilot-gps-plan-explore-offline/id504677517?mt=8). I loaded it up, had it download the Midwest Maps over wifi and got a cheap handlebar mount. App works well on the old iphone. It displays the map, speed on right and direction on left. Battery drain without a data connection is alot lower than if I used my regular cell. I think I lost about 12% over 30mins. Although if you combine that with a battery to USB charger (http://instagram.com/p/qknuMBSVY7/?modal=true), that issue would probably be moot. Anyone know how well the LS650 charging system would handle charging a cell well riding? I just put in a lithium earthx and don't want to kill the thing. |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by jman on 07/18/14 at 06:55:42 I've heard of others wiring up a simple 12v power port. |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by Oldfeller on 07/18/14 at 06:57:01 Greg, I am glad you disagree. Disagree leads to "better" and that is what we are all after. http://copilotgps.com/us/personal/ CoPilot app is only $8.99 right now on Google Play and it looks to be a well designed item that does keep the maps on the device itself. Is it better than Google Maps 8.0 ?? Likely it is easier to use since its normal mode is to save the map locally and Google 8.0 you have to go do the steps to save it locally yourself. So, $49.99 plus $8.99 equals a good motorcycle GPS that you can take off the handlebars and then go into a McDonalds and post about your trip? As for storage space, the recommended Tegra 3 based tablet has a SIMM card slot that can hold thousands of map sized files, and the stock built in memory allocation can hold a dozen or more. Are we getting closer to a real solution to "the best motorcycle GPS" humanly possible? Those that do this trick, tell us about the mounts you use, we need to ID the very best handlebar mount. Then you can tell us about how you stole some power from the bike to keep her all charged up all the time. We got key controlled hot wire connectors running inside the headlight -- you can stick a stripped and tinned wire into the back side of the connector to get you some juice. Tablets don't draw enough current to upset the standard fuses, not unless a wire wears through and shorts, that is. In which case a standard fuse would blow cutting off part of your bike. A separate lower amp fuse rigged in-line to the charger cable would work better, and that would keep your bike running on all functions if the in-line had to blow for some reason. We are looking to use a easy disconnect handlebar mount type and a stock charger plug into the standard tablet charger jack (cut off a dead charger or else adapted from a USB type replacement cable). End result of this thread might well be a tech post, a pictorial "how to". |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by MMRanch on 07/18/14 at 07:45:24 I fixed a reg plug on both my bikes. Got the things off ebay for next to nothing and wired them to the front running lights. I think the S-40 charging system is only 100 watts , but those electronic gis mosso's don't need much ! The standard "BALL" on garmin type GPS units is a 17mm ball and handlebar mounts are all over ebay --- some of them are not tight so I've got "red" thread-lock in one of mine . ;) I like the idea of being able to use the phone instead of a Garmin especially if the phone is positioned at a picture taking angle on the handlebars :) . (that thought made me remember how much my little Honda 175 used to vibrate). those garmin model 205's are really cheep on ebay now , I'm not afraid to leave them on my handlebars anymore because nobody wants to steal them. ;D |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by Oldfeller on 07/18/14 at 08:10:14 Yes, you used Garmins you bought on sale (because you LIKE Garmins) which was still a good bit more expensive that the trick we are talking about. Unless you got a really good sale on Garmins -- a 4.3" Garmin is currently $79 and Garmins tend on only last two or three years or thereabouts before they die. (my experience anyway as an old Garmin and TomTom user) Refurbed tablets offer a nearly 2x bigger screen than a Garmin and I hope they have better "sunshine definition" than your Garmins do. I am also hoping that an out of date, replaced, non-plan supported wifi cell phone (like a Galaxy S3) will be able to work as a wifi only GPS device --- I know it works well as a in use data plan supported GPS right now because I use it in a car that doesn't have a in-dash GPS unit. We are developing a longer lasting, Yoda style super cheapie trick, we are. Garmin and TomTom and all the other dedicated GPS's have lost their place in the world because tablets and phones can do all their tricks just as well as they ever could, and they can do it for FREE instead of with a yearly subscription price. Plus you can take a tablet or a phone off the handle bars and carry it into the McDonalds and do lots of other stuff with it. |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by MMRanch on 07/18/14 at 08:36:06 My son has shown me the GPS on his phone and its GREAT! where my old garmin has roads and green --- his phone has trees and houses and such ... Its NO CONTEST comparing the two . The phone is WAY better. Have you checked out the "dash mounts" for phones ? and are they using the 17mm ball thing ? |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by Oldfeller on 07/18/14 at 08:48:14 Some do, some don't. Cell phones have hard backed protector case thingies (yeah, that rubber and plastic thingie you had such a struggle to get on to the phone when you first put it on) that also have replacement backs that you can drop into the protector case set up that you already use -- this leads to a pretty secure grip on the unit using the ball type mount. If you don't have a replacement ball back sold by your case vendor, you can epoxy on a generic ball back thingie on to your stock protector case. Or buy something that mounts the phone directly (although not using a protector case on a phone means that the screen will break the first time you drop it) If it starts to rain, take your phone off your handle bars and put it in your saddle bags inside a zip lock baggie, it isn't water proof you know. ===================== Buying used cell phones for GPS units only works cost wise if you go back 2 or 3 generations (and they still cost more than the Tegra 3 processor 7" tablet we are talking about in this thread). |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by old_rider on 07/18/14 at 09:56:12 I use the GPS one I purchased a few years back (Garmin)....my wife still uses the 8yr old Garmen on her bike. In the car the other day I prompted ok google now on my cell to find Lamberts Cafe' in Foley and low and behold I got a really decent google gps thingie come up. But my little Motorola mini-droid phone sucks in the sunlight, so I don't think I will be using my phone as a gps on my bike anytime soon. |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by Greg on 07/18/14 at 11:13:54 I agree that a tablet or phone may not handle the bright sun very well. I used my cell phone a couple of times for GPS. Since the display is always on, it got hot. Too hot and kept shutting down. Especially with the sun beating down on it. That just may have been my model. I was using Google maps and along with the backlight, GPS and cell data was constantly running. Plus trying to find wifi. I do use a TomTom wide screen unit. Free map updates for life. I have a model specific cradle that attaches to a ball mount which replaces a bolt in my riser cap. I have a cigarette lighter port added near the battery for my trickle charger and 12v items. I just lace the cord under the tank. I use Co-Pilot on my phone while in the car or when I need to find something by dragging (like my previous issue). I got the pay version for the voice guided directions. If I were to use it strictly on the scooter, I would consider the free version. And OF, I meant no disrespect or to sound short. As you know, I have a real nut for anything Google. :) |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by Oldfeller on 07/18/14 at 18:00:00 Air cooling boys, air flow is really good for cooling them tablet thingies ...... ;D |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by Oldfeller on 07/18/14 at 18:30:25 ..... and remember we enter into these discussions in a friendly and jocular fashion because they are a lot of fun if taken that way. You can't be too serious in a discussion where you might turn out to be wrong !!! ;) .... and sometimes I am you know, wrong that is. :D |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by MMRanch on 07/18/14 at 21:03:40 Whats a tablet ??? :-? Greg How does that 17mm ball do on top of the riser clamp ? Is it steel ? and if so how can I get one with-out going to the lath ? I'm picturing a bolt with a shoulder then a head then a stem then a ball ? :) |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by Oldfeller on 07/19/14 at 07:18:22 Ask your kid, they always know what this cryptic stuff is and can tell or show you since they likely have one tucked away somewhere in their room. If not, think of a 7" screen cell phone like he has ..... a bigger screen so you can actually SEE it out on the handle bars. |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by old_rider on 07/19/14 at 07:28:33 Yup and as we old guys know...when viewing something....bigger is ALWAYS better..... Hey! we was talkin' bout view screens here! ;D ;D ::) |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by Greg on 07/19/14 at 07:35:02 Here's their video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmc4kOuZSN4 And here is their stuff: http://www.rammount.com/Products/MotorcycleMounts/tabid/128/Default.aspx#/ |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by MMRanch on 07/19/14 at 09:59:30 Wow Greg I'm beginning to think ebay is not the best thing for mounting systems ! :o Did notice a lot of the "RAM" models use a 1" ball. They seem to have a fit for everything . OldFeller How about a screen saver/filter to beat the bright daylight ? :) |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by Oldfeller on 07/19/14 at 11:05:02 Same screen filter might play against you at night, so a removable filter might be nice. The too pale in the sunlight idea really isn't proved out either way since no one has really done it yet, and we are responding to issues folks have actually had with smaller Garmin GPS units (which are kinda pale in the display anyway) which we don't know if are going to cross over into the Hisense 7" pro tablet units as no one has actually done it yet. Now you could put one of these units on your bike and have a comparison base since you do use GPS a lot and you do have an experience base from your previous efforts. Or Verslagen could take one of his two units out into the sunlight and tell is if it is affected much by the bright sunshine. |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by Oldfeller on 07/19/14 at 11:36:02 7F78747B150 wrote:
Why do we use these things, use pre-programed in route layouts, etc? Blacklining up in the mountains (chasing obscure very curvy ridge running roads, hunting them out and running them) has become our mountain riding obsession. Easily visible readable GPS on the handle bars has become a real aid in this effort, and having the ability to punch "home" and get guided back to the campground with no waste effort is a REAL ASSET at the end of the day. Not that I use it, I just run like a bat out of hell down whatever road we are on and just stop and wait for everybody else at the next intersection. Me, I am not the pathfinder, just the road runner. But I do realize each riding group needs to have at least one good working GPS unit. Maps, yes I can read them, yes I can but the map only comes out once we admit we are lost and are already all screwed up -- and of late what comes out of my pocket isn't the map but my Galaxy S3 cell phone with Google Maps on it. Actually, MM tends to play guide leader, so if he needs a better tool, well, we'll see if we can find him one. Or invent him one. He currently has two Garmins, one on the bike and one in his bags (seems like one is always off the bike being programmed). Garmins are like 95% effective which is like 20% better than a bare map ever was for what we are trying to do (blacklining). Paper maps don't even list a lot of the little donkey trails between where we are and where we want to get to, much less keep track of the various turns for you. |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by verslagen1 on 07/19/14 at 11:37:28 46656D6F6C65656C7B090 wrote:
[smiley=thumbsup.gif] I'll let you know. From what I see with my back up cam display, direct sun from above makes it very hard to see... kinda like glare on a dirty windshield. |
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Title: Re: Cheap GPS unit for your handlebars .... Post by verslagen1 on 07/19/14 at 11:40:00 when I need gps lately, it's been my iphone. a bungee cord strapped around the flyshield and the belt clip attaches to it nicely. gotta remember my earphone though, can't hear it. |
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Title: Re: Cheap GPS unit for your handlebars .... Post by GridMonkey on 07/19/14 at 18:31:54 Basically the exact opposite, as far as cost, but this thing, this is what i want to have when i decide to take off to parts unknown for time unknown. now... how to refine gas from plants..... ;) http://www.meetearl.com/ |
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Title: Re: Cheap GPS unit for your handlebars .... Post by MMRanch on 07/19/14 at 20:41:27 on our last trip , I had the GPS on "Shortest route" (which is always fun ::)). So : while the main road was winding (four lane style) in between the high points in the landscape , the route we took was winding through two lane blacktop with lots of skip-a-heart-beat surprises ! ;D . Then we would do little short runs on the main road till the next "short-cut" would show up. The GPS on the handle-bar also show how long and deep is the next curve. So whether or not its a phone or old fashioned type : Electronics are Great ! :) |
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Title: Re: Cheap GPS unit for your handlebars .... Post by verslagen1 on 07/20/14 at 16:02:52 Results for the Hisense Pro 7" with a well used screen protector. Mounted vertical as you would for use taking movies. Taken at 3pm http://www.savageriders.com/verslagen/images/results.jpg |
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Title: Re: Cheap GPS unit for your handlebars .... Post by Oldfeller on 07/20/14 at 16:29:13 All the pics look sorta weak, but somewhat better than a well used Garmin looks. :-? Versy, your opinion -- worth chasing as an idea or a no-show? |
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Title: Re: Cheap GPS unit for your handlebars .... Post by verslagen1 on 07/20/14 at 17:00:42 You would certainly have to do some work. might need a polarized filter and the map app for unconnected travel. the google map app did not cut it, no voice and not definitive enough. the iphone is much better in that regard. I did take a movie as I moved it around and it was pretty decent and that was taken thru the medium tint sport windshield. well medium compared to the flyshield which is near black. I wouldn't do it just for mapping as I have a iphone. I might do it for video, although finding the video was a chore. It would just take a mount. |
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Title: Re: Cheap GPS unit for your handlebars .... Post by Oldfeller on 07/20/14 at 18:44:08 Huh, I didn't think of that, using it as a curvy road video recorder. But yeah, most tablets will take a video and will store it on a SIMM card and obviously this one does just that because you just went and did it. Needs some development work, well, heck yes -- it certainly does. We'll let somebody more needful do that as I really don't need anything else on my handlebars right now. My contribution will have to be having identified the base idea, that it could/would work and it would be inexpensive enough to do. Mounting, hook up, software/apps -- yes, more development is needed. ;) in about a year I may have a slightly used Galaxy S3 that might show up on my handlebars, as it will be a replaced item at that time. http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/515BVOfz%2BqL.jpg |
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Title: Re: Cheap GPS unit for your handlebars .... Post by old_rider on 07/22/14 at 06:06:01 I took a couple hundred mile trip yesterday and found I need to "re-angle" my garmin... I had it too flat for full sunlight...could not turn it far enough into a vertical position to keep the sun from fading the screen and almost got lost...rofl. In big cities I've never been to much, a gps is a must for me. Dang, I remember a time when my "sun sense" could tell me what direction I was traveling....and now-a-days I get lost if I don't have a little arrow pointing the way home. ;D ;D |
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Title: Re: Cheap GPS unit for your handlebars .... Post by Oldfeller on 07/22/14 at 06:20:28 For a bike, a 5" thereabouts cell phone would do the trick very nicely. Screens are designed to be readable in the bright sunshine and they are not so large as to "overpower" your handle bar area. They are still pretty large and they do have good viewing angles, them old cell phones. I suspect that in a few years a Galaxy S3 would be able to be bought cheaply on Ebay -- cheaper than a Garmin certainly. Intentionally built motorcycle holders/weather cases exits and I may pick one up while they are still available. This one is "rainproof" and allows the phone to rotate between vertical and horizontal. The cover is about like a film cover and it allows you to touch program the phone with the cover closed. http://www.amazon.com/Heavy-Weather-Holder-Samsung-GALAXY/dp/B00B7XVZAS http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41F-Xz4cKjL._SX425_.jpg$24.99 A Dual layer anti-shock protective case dedicated to the Samsung Galaxy S3 / GT-i9300 supplied with the popular Easy Fit bike handlebar mount. The holder consists of a Polycarbonate outer shell along with an anti-shock silicone liner. This case remains true to the Galaxy S3 contours. All function areas including the camera, speaker, volume, hand strap, power button remain accessible. Protective flaps over the headphone. Hinged fitting for handlebars with a diameter between 21mm - 30mm. Simple one screw fixing makes fitting quick and easy - NO TOOLS! Sold exclusively by CyberTech with one year warranty |
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Title: Re: Cheap GPS unit for your handlebars .... Post by old_rider on 07/22/14 at 06:52:46 Wish they would make an old "used" phone capable of using as a gps without having to connect it to a phone service.... I have an old thunderbolt series phone that I liked, until it started autodialing people..... and the plug in for headset stopped working.... I use it for a music player now-days (I Bluetooth link it with my truck stereo)....and to search the internet when there is a free Wi-Fi around. The screen resolution and size was great, but the quirks made me "upgrade".... It also has a 10mp camera with 2 lights...so it is great for videos and picture taking... |
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Title: Re: Cheap GPS unit for your handlebars .... Post by Oldfeller on 07/22/14 at 07:15:48 I am thinking a Galaxy S3 can act as a full Wifi device apart from a data plan service. Here is a good discussion on this question: http://www.cnet.com/news/can-dataless-smartphones-still-use-gps-navigation-apps/ Of course, everybody "thinking you can do it" doesn't mean you really can do it -- once again the proof is in the doing. Especially with a Verizon phone, Verizon and AT&T sometimes do some funny things to their phones. "Jailbreak" versions of various custom Android ROMs exist for this phone, so even if Verizon got hinky with it that wouldn't necessarily totally stop you. |
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Title: Re: Cheap GPS unit for your handlebars .... Post by Steve H on 07/22/14 at 15:39:45 My son's got an old LG VM670 with no service. It works great as a wi-fi device and I have used the GPS on it before with no cell or data service. Just have to make sure you download 'preload' the area before leaving wifi. So, at least some old smart phones will function like a GPS. Might have to get a big TF card to hold all the map data if taking a long trip. I have just used it in the local area to find places I needed to go to since the GPS in my phone died about a year and a half ago. |
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Title: Re: Cheap good GPS unit for your handlebars .... N Post by Andy RN on 05/25/17 at 23:35:08 00232E2B2C25152B3027420 wrote:
Hahaha. Good one! |
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Title: Re: Cheap GPS unit for your handlebars .... Post by Oldfeller on 05/26/17 at 08:11:56 Update to this thread: Google maps now supports downloading about two-three state's worth of "on device" fully interactive maps. You do this at a sit down eatery with wifi, a MickyD's or a Hardees will do in a pinch. Once the map is on/inside the device, start Google maps and ask for directions to your end point. Actually start the route up, then carry the phone out to the handle bars, plug up the power cord, ear buds etc and put your helmet on and go. Don't turn it off or you lose everything. YOU HAVE TO START IT ALL UP UNDER CELL TOWER DATA ..... that's the trick. You will now get map and verbal directions even if you leave an area directly supported by cell towers -- sometimes your device will stop and stutter forward suddenly as you just hit a tower zone and got better data for a little bit and it "stuttered you forward". Not to worry if you seem to have quit for a little bit, moving into the next cell tower area will generally get you back going again. This is all working better and better as Google works the "tower hand off bugs" out of their new system. |
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Title: Re: Cheap GPS unit for your handlebars .... Post by Dave on 05/26/17 at 08:50:16 This may be a bit "off topic"..not sure. I have used my Iphone for navigation on the group rides in TN/NC/GA. Cell phone access can be very spotty, sometimes you have it, and sometimes you don't. I discovered that with cell phone access I can go into my "maps" and either search for a location - or just drop a point and the phone will establish a route to the end point. Even if I lose cell phone service the route will continue as long as I still have GPS signal and life is good! What I was surprised to discover - was that if I lose the cell phone service, I cannot change the destination. I believe the phone needs to be able to access the cell service to make changes to the route - and it may be that if I get off the programmed route - I may not be able to have the phone "re-calculate" a new route (not sure). So.....I have a Garmin GPS backup. The Garmin is a bit clumsier to use than the phone, and it won't BlueTooth instructions into my helmet - but it doesn't need cell phone service to function. You can get used GPS units pretty cheaply on eBay, as most folks are getting rid of them as they just use their phones. |
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Title: Re: Cheap GPS unit for your handlebars .... Post by badwolf on 05/26/17 at 09:31:47 Dave, The phone I used for a speedo had a app that allowed you to download the maps for wherever you were going on a state by state or national (If you had enough room) basis.Do that on wi-fi before you go and you should be all set, if the ride leader doesn't take you into a different state. ( I won't mention any names here. ahem, ahem) You won't get traffic updates in real time thou. Check your phones store for downloadable maps. |
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Title: Re: Cheap GPS unit for your handlebars .... Post by stewmills on 05/26/17 at 10:05:01 FWIW, I have a Garmin Nuvi 350 I bought on fleabay for $25 in near mint condition. Fashioned a special handlebar bracket that is removable for when I need it out of the way (that's a separate how-to). This GPS is small enough to not be obnoxious and has a good standard features that I need such as the navigation as well as a "dashboard" mode with trip info. Rarely if ever have issues in the mountains with signal loss, etc. Great little unit for the price and if it breaks, gets lost or stolen, no biggie...I'll get another one for $20 because they are older and people are always selling them to get the new fancy models. |
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