NewtonTalk.net October 2008 archive: Re: [NTLK] GPS CF Newton-Co

From: SteveCraft <steve_at_craftsathome.net>
Date: Fri Oct 10 2008 - 22:14:12 EDT

I purchased this

http://www.mightygps.com/pccard.htm

"
The Mighty GPS PCMCIA receiver turns your laptop, notebook or Tablet PC into
a complete GPS navigation system. This is a wireless GPS solution that
provides robust performance across various applications for driving, marine
use and military applications. Added the external antenna for additional
support and accuracy. Our receiver applies the latest semiconductor
technology to reduce power consumption and provide robust performance.

MightyGPS PCMCIA receiver is one of the most powerful GPS receivers for
laptops on the commercial market."

Which is a CompactFlash GPS receiver in a PCMCIA "carrier". I popped it into
a 2100, installed TeleType GPS, and got a signal in about 15 seconds. I
played with a few other utility apps (just readers for Lat/Long/Alti), and
they worked as well. I could not get MapPad to work because it only reads
from the serial port. I have a few other experiments to try, but am
generally pleased with the hardware.

Now the other side - the Mighty GPS company is not all that customer
friendly. I placed an order and heard *nothing* for several days. Since I
paid with PayPal, I called them and asked for some additional contact
information and to hold my payment until I actually heard something. A day
later PayPal got through, and then the company sent me a pretty nasty email.
I emailed them back and said if they had simply responded to one of my
emails several days before, there would be no problem.

The hardware is good, I might actually order another one as a backup,
despite the seller's actions. I think these things are pretty rare and I
feel lucky that I "guessed right" on this one.

-----Original Message-----
From: newtontalk-bounce@newtontalk.net
[mailto:newtontalk-bounce@newtontalk.net] On Behalf Of Tony Kan
Sent: Friday, October 10, 2008 5:24 PM
To: Newtontalk
Subject: [NTLK] GPS CF Newton-Compatible Flash Cards

Folks
I've been looking into using the Newton as a GPS device. Websites on the
matter
say that you need a PCMCIA or CF GPS receiver that is NMEA compatible. Is
that
all? Sounds too easy. Has anyone tried the SD GPS receivers with a
converter
to PCMCIA?

I'm looking at a GlobalSat BC337 Compact Flash SiRF on auction. Has anyone
else
used this on a Newton? I thought about getting a Haicom unit but they are
really rare around here.

Thanks in advance
Cheers

Tony

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Re: [NTLK] GPS CF Newton-Compatible Flash Cards