Comments on: Rand McNally Street Finder GPS Review

I have had the GPS unit for a couple of months now and experienced problems getting satellite locks, I read this article and immediately disabled my installed hacks and got locks in minutes.
I would be intersted to know if any one else has had similar experiences.

I, too, have had problems getting satellite locks. If I have the GPS unit in it's cradle above the dashboard, it takes a few minutes. If I have it in my hand, it takes forever. No hacks or anything installed.

I was also disappointed by the quality of the maps. One street that ends IRL they show as continuing, and they're missing my whole subdivision, which has been here for at least 6 years.

Their map compression algorithm needs some serious help, as well. The map of Austin, TX, is 2200KB. Definatly not a product for a V, ya gotta have a Vx for it to be useful. Solus Pro appears to have better compression, but they're claiming maps from '98, and I'm not thrilled about shelling out that much money after expecting something better from the bundled software.

My preocupation is:

Existing sofware and maps for only US. and Canada Countries??

I need The StreetFinder GPS for Palm in Lima Perú.

I love the GPS unit and the maps (even though they are memory hogs). However, I've experienced numerous PC lockups while using the CD-Rom software. I've heard others complain about the same problem. Anyone come up with a resolution?

As a result, I use the GPS unit with Quo Vadis version 2.0.

"To being using the device you must first install the StreetFinder Deluxe software onto a PC."

And if I don't *have* a PC...???

You'd think that since Palms come with the ability to synch to MacOS, that developers would figure out they can't just release PC versions of their Palm products. *sigh*

-Kurt

Some additional comments/gripes about the StreetFinder GPS/Palm V unit:

1) Any map of a reasonably sized area (e.g., Washington, D.C. w/beltway) is >1.5Mbytes without points of interest. Can barely squeeze this into a Palm V. With all the points of interest (restaurants, banks, etc.) files covering such an area easily exceed 2Mbytes.
2) Cannot produce large area maps without the surface streets. E.g., would like just the freeways of Southern California. Without any points of interest, this would result in a >10Mbyte file (which takes a looong time to produce on the PC).
3) The GPS unit, plugged into the cigarette lighter, does not charge the Palmpilot. It would have been so easy since the mechanical connection is there! So you can't leave the Palm Pilot on for long trips, even though the GPS unit is happily working off the car's DC.
4) Often have to fuss for 15-20 minutes to get the unit to acquire a lock after a short period of non-use. This renders it useless for short trips. Better off with a paper map.
5) The GPS unit often "freezes" after a period of time. Resetting it requires removing all power (including batteries) and then a cold start (~15 minutes). Don't know if this is a software/hardware interaction, but it sure is annoying.
6) The street map detail is very good, but as stated in the review, it would be nice to (optionally) display the underlying GPS data, i.e., Lat/lon, altitude, speed, heading.
7) Trip directions can only be created on the PC with access to the Rand/McNally web site. The PC software does not have that logic.
8) No Documentation on the GPS hardware. (What's the button for?)
9) No Mac-support. You need a PC to create any maps.
10) No non-US maps.

Otherwise, ... I'm very happy with it.

While I am a fan of my Palm Vx; (I have been an OmniSky user since early
BETA days, I have the Kodak PalmPix camera with the Palm Dock adapter,
and seemingly every other paraphernalia that has come out for the V.
Unfortunately, the Rand Mc Nally is not the choice of the Road Warrior.
Yes, I have tried it, & returned it do to reasons listed above among
other things. Instead I use my StreetPilot from Garmin.
http://www.garmin.com/products/streetPilot/index.html" CLASS=NEWS TARGET=_NEW>http://www.garmin.com/products/streetPilot/index.html
Coupled with the pre loaded Metro Guide cartridge(s) I can find
virtually any street, restaurant, gas station, bank, etc. For those who
only need major roads, the unit comes standard with just that. It runs
on batteries or car adapter. No, it does not charge but I have a rarely
used the batteries so they last at least a month(6 AA).
The whole setup listed above will set you back a cool $550! But I never
get lost & have Zero problems with this bad boy!

The Road Warrior

I do now have my second unit after the first one was returned (very quick service that was), but still problems show up. Power drain is around 80mA during operation. After switching off GPS recognition in the software, power drain is still there. Even after disassembling it from the Pilot. After about 2 minutes power drain increases to 125 mA, falling back to 80 after another couple of minutes. No auto switch off after 90 seconds, thou. The only way to bring current back to zero is to remove a battery for a second.
AAA Batteries do not last long especially with the usually quite long satellite detection times (1 hour at most). I found that with QuoVadis software detection was much faster than with Compass, GPSFinder. I cannot use the Streetfinder Software anyway as I am living in Germany. I would very much opt for a rechargable device including recharge of the Palm Vx which itself does not stay up very long either in GPS mode (2-3 hours).

I need maps to pacific sea, for information of Fishing:

Tides, waves, temperature, ubication, satellital information etc

Hi,
I picked up a streetfinder not for my old Palm Pro.. I picked
it up for my outdoor robot that I am building.
I'l be posting what I have found on my website.. nfn.homeip.net
First I will post the pinout. Next a DB9 female connector
for it so you can use it with any computer. I have this working
with my Palm Pro. Sometimes a satellite lock takes 3 minutes or
so, I am looking into why this happens. Possibly the antennea does not
have enough gain, I was looking at the data and several of the
sattelites that were visable had poor signal strength.

I have a Rand McNally GPS for a pc and would like to know what is the pinout for the Palm IIIc Cradle and the GPS unit. Does anyone If I can use an adapter for the GPS unit?
Thank You!!
Tomp