What GPS?

[SG1 Bones]

G'day I. Oil by find anything about people's opinions on 4wd gps units. I'm thinking of getting one in the near future and it will practically live in my SIII, so I need it to be a portable device preferably.

I've looked at the Hema HN6 and 7, and I've had a squiz of the VMS (I can't remember the new one). I wouldn't be able to spend $1000's so something on the cheaper side but still have quality would be good. I've even considered getting the VMS app on my iPhone 6. I would need both city/town maps and offroad maps.

I'm curious what other people use and what everyone's opinions of the different brands.

Thanks for all the input,
Nathan.

[vnx205]

It may not be the sort of thing you are looking for, but I have been very happy with my cheap Chinese GPS.

For off-road I have OziExplorer on it using topo maps that can be download free.

For on-road, I use Igo Primo with maps that are free to download from several sources.

There are hundreds of versions of those unit available for well under $100.

[Nick S]

I've done the same for years in bothe the RRC and the 130. Cheap Chinese GPS + Oziexprorer + topo maps for off road. On road, whatever comes on the GPS, last one was iGo. I bought Oziexplorer in 2008 and you just download the newest versions as the come out
Nick

[SG1 Bones]

Did you guys get the Chinese cheapie a off eBay?

Nathan.

[Nick S]

Yep eBay Chinese GPS, last one was 7" screen.

[vnx205]

Yes. It was so long ago I can't remember exactly which ebay seller. There are so many.

It was something like this one.

7"HD CAR GPS Navigation FM Touch Screen Multimedia Player Wince 6 0 Update MY | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/7-HD-Car-GPS-Navigation-FM-Touch-Screen-Multimedia-Player-WinCE-6-0-Update-MY-/261975413036?hash=item3cfef3912c:g:1U4AAOSwstxVTJW x)

Or this one.

http://www.dx.com/p/7-hd-touch-screen-mt3351c-windows-ce-6-0-gps-navigator-w-8gb-fm-au-map-386544#.VmV1ulgrIQo

[Ranga]

The Chinese units VNX refers to have served many very well for a long time. Despite this, and having dozens of these units pass through my paws, I've now moved on to tablet style devices, with much larger, clearer screens, user friendly interface, and a plethora of on and off road mapping solutions.

Haven't had the need for any off road navigation in a while, but when I do I usually use OziExplorer on Android. It's hard to go past Google maps when on road if you have mobile internet access, and plenty of offline options also.

The tablet devices are also much more versatile if you're willing and able to use them for other functions such as media playing, reading, games, and general internet access.

[Ranga]

Forgot to mention, if you're device has the storage space, you can now also download Google maps for use offline, and they update on wifi periodically.

[SG1 Bones]

I think I might get a tablet and just add the maps to it, maybe something like OziExplorer or the VMS Map Explorer. That way I can add Google maps and use it for other things aswell. I can upgrade memory to and its not much different in price either.

I've been looking at the Samsung Tab A 8.0 I think it's called, has anyone any idea how they are with navigational maps?

[Ranga]

So long as the tablet has a true GPS, it will be fine. Some of the WiFi only iPads never had a GPS for some reason.

[1nando]

I run a Hema HN7......best gps ever. Love it

2.2 110 limited edition, Davis remap, intercooler, exhaust, terrafirma 30mm wheel spacers, snorkel, first four bb, apt tree sliders, apt diff guards, terrafirma rear bumprettes, mantec rear wheel carrier, Uniden UHF, hema HN7, roof rack, custom made rear draws, dual battery setup, hella ralye 4000 xenon lights, Engel fridge setup, puresine invertor.......coming soon upgraded suspension, diff locks and 33s, nearly finished......

[Ranga]

Hema HN7......best gps ever

With all respect, I could never really see how these justified the price tag. Wouldn't a cheap tablet have more grunt, versatility and ability to run the same maps/software for a much cheaper price?

[vnx205]

$600 to $700 and it only has a 7" screen. :eek:

That makes some of the other options look like much better value for money.

Is it really 8 or 10 times as good as my setup? :p

[DiscoMick]

Could just buy the Hema Explorer download to phone or tablet. Cheap and works for us. Unless you have a specific need for extra functions I can't see the need to spend lots of money.

Sent from my GT-P5210 using AULRO mobile app

[1nando]

I rate it as one off my best accessories on my vehicle.....love it. Easy to use, very accurate, great suction cup (has not come off since instalation over 6 months ago), well built. Perfect size, doesn't occupy to much of my forward vision and not to small, just right.

Also i do not own a tablet.....i know.....who doesn't have a tablet these days? Lol......



My opinion, each to their own i guess

Great piece of kit....

2.2 110 limited edition, Davis remap, intercooler, exhaust, terrafirma 30mm wheel spacers, snorkel, first four bb, apt tree sliders, apt diff guards, terrafirma rear bumprettes, mantec rear wheel carrier, Uniden UHF, hema HN7, roof rack, custom made rear draws, dual battery setup, hella ralye 4000 xenon lights, Engel fridge setup, puresine invertor.......coming soon upgraded suspension, diff locks and 33s, nearly finished......

[alittlebitconcerned]

My HN7 was great until the battery overheated; expanded and destroyed the unit.
Hema's response... Not designed to be left in the vehicle.
They also charge big $$$ for map updates where most GPS companies now offer free lifetime maps.
Better options out there.

[Xtreme]

I think I might get a tablet and just add the maps to it, maybe something like OziExplorer or the VMS Map Explorer. That way I can add Google maps and use it for other things aswell. I can upgrade memory to and its not much different in price either.

I've been looking at the Samsung Tab A 8.0 I think it's called, has anyone any idea how they are with navigational maps?

I bought a Samsung Tab A 8.0 two months ago as I wanted something more compact and lighter than the 10"" Panasonic Toughbook that I could use in a hired motorhome in NZ.

Suffice to say that I'm very happy with it. I used a RAM Suction mount and found that I could run the Samsung as a dash cam (frequently utilising the pause function) while running the GPS with OziExplorer in the background, bringing it to the foregroung when needed.

The only (slight) disadvantage I found was in needing to run the android version of OziExplorer when I had been spoilt by using the full version for years on the Toughbook - but I'm getting use to the reduced functionability of the android version.

[cactus]

went through the same thing last year. ended up with the samsung tablet 8 inch with wifi and built in gps. no phone but via wifi can use your smart phone as hot spot to download internet stuff if needed. works perfectly.
i purchased the hema map package at about 40 dollars. reasonably detailed maps of whole of aus. you can purchase more detailed maps of simpson desert, high plains victoria, and a few more. OR you can download them as a trial package and have full use of them for free. only glitch is you need to reboot them every 10 minute or so being trial maps. only takes a couple of seconds to do so. they inlclude a little more than the basic map package for 40 dollars.

the tablet cost me 170 from office works and the maps 40 so not to bad a price given you can use the tablet for anything a laptop can do.. i have a few radios in my 4wd and can never remember the set up details so i have all the manuals downloaded to the tablet . also all my music that can be blue toothed to the car stereo. weather apps are great, anything you can think of . for out of phone reception areas you can preload any area in australia to micro sd cards that the samsung takes. i downloaded the whole otways in sattlite pics and this didnt use much memory at all.

worth taking a look at i think.

cheers cactus

[DiscoMick]

Yes similar here. I cant justify spending about $500 on a fancy unit like a HN7 or VMS when I can get the Hema Explorer on my Samsung Galaxy for $29.99. Obviously it has less features but I probably wouldnt use them much anyway. There are better ways I can spend the $470 saved.

Sent from my SM-G900I using AULRO mobile app

[Ranga]

Yes similar here. I cant justify spending about $500 on a fancy unit like a HN7 or VMS when I can get the Hema Explorer on my Samsung Galaxy for $29.99. Obviously it has less features but I probably wouldnt use them much anyway. There are better ways I can spend the $470 saved.

Sent from my SM-G900I using AULRO mobile app

The thing is, the Hema unit isn't that fancy IMHO. It does 2 things - on and off road GPS - that's it. A tablet or phone can do almost infinite extra things with the right app.

[Avion8]

Having limited space on a Defender windscreen & wanting a dash cam as well I did a lot of online research & purchased a Garmin nuviCam LMT which had good reviews, and combines both functions of GPS for Australia/New Zealand with lifetime updates, & a dash cam.

Does have some annoying features like collision avoidance which sounds an alarm, a different alarm for lane departure - even when you are not near the white line, & yet more alarms for fixed traffic light cameras & mobile speed cameras. I'm getting used to all the beeps, whoop whoop's, pull up, pull over, don't pull over, but it seems to work OK, & I guess if I read the online manual I could probably turn some of these feature off.

It is rather a large unit but I find mounted low down central I can still see the left hand corner & front of the bonnet, so it hasn't impacted the view. I haven't worked out which if any off road mapping software I can download, but will probably use the wife's IPAD mini for that eventually. Must add that for remote travel in the old Series 1 I have always used paper maps, they seem to work a treat.

One drawback it was just over $500 but for both functions I think that is OK, and it did include a small SD card for the camera.

[SG1 Bones]

I'm a big believer in having paper maps when traveling off the beaten track as a backup, I find that the batteries on them last longer. [emoji23]

Nathan.

[lebanon]

I am going through the same configuration of an 8" tablet, but thinking of adding an external bluetooth GPS receiver to get a better GPS signal reception.

Amazon.com: GlobalSat BT-821 Bluetooth GPS Receiver: GPS & Navigation@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41kXfHGByCL.@@AMEPARAM@@41kXfHGByCL

[austastar]

Hi,
The gps chip in my 8" Samsung Galaxy Note is as responsive as any of my other gps devices.
I see no need to connect it to the Bluetooth gps in my data logger.
Cheers

[Chops]

Been going through similar thought processes.
We started off with a laptop as we could use it for everything, but have found its just too large for the Defender.
Have been searching for the right type of 8/10" tablet to suit. Good info here boys, thanks.

[DeeJay]

Been going through similar thought processes.
We started off with a laptop as we could use it for everything, but have found its just too large for the Defender.
Have been searching for the right type of 8/10" tablet to suit. Good info here boys, thanks.


I just bought a Samsung 8" Galaxy tablet today & off to Johnny Appleseed Thursday to get Topodude Vic OZF4 ( Raster Maps)& advice on an app ( thinking memory map should do)
I reckon it should fit off the console & will do a report in a week or so.

[lebanon]

Hi,
The gps chip in my 8" Samsung Galaxy Note is as responsive as any of my other gps devices.
I see no need to connect it to the Bluetooth gps in my data logger.
Cheers

I guess that the terrain over here is different than yours, the country is a plain squeezed between two moutain ranges. The western mountain range is carved by narrow and deep gorges where GPS signal is easily lost.

[austastar]

Hi Lebanon,
The testing I did was fairly crude, in - doors, double brick house with a metal roof, but the tablet was as quick and as accurate as a serial port puck gps, a usb gps, and a data logger. My older e-trex garmin stops working at the roof edge.
Cheers

[TeamFA]

Hi,
The gps chip in my 8" Samsung Galaxy Note is as responsive as any of my other gps devices.
I see no need to connect it to the Bluetooth gps in my data logger.
Cheers

Our tablet that gets used for on/off road navigation (as well as music and other things) is pretty close to the windscreen in the Defender, yet still can have issues with satellite lock-on - predominantly when off-road in areas with lots of tall trees.

The external bluetooth GPS unit, with the external antenna placed on the top of the bullbar out front, has never lost signal.

[Phil B]

I'm also wondering which way to go.
There is lots of very useful information here.
Thanks to everyone that contributed.


Regards,

[1nando]

Ive never lost gps position/location with my hema. Just saying

2.2 110 limited edition, Davis remap, intercooler, exhaust, terrafirma 30mm wheel spacers, snorkel, first four bb, apt tree sliders, apt diff guards, terrafirma rear bumprettes, mantec rear wheel carrier, Uniden UHF, hema HN7, roof rack, custom made rear draws, dual battery setup, hella ralye 4000 xenon lights, Engel fridge setup, puresine invertor.......coming soon upgraded suspension, diff locks and 33s, nearly finished......

[austastar]

Hi,
The position of the gps chip in the device, would, I imagine in conditions of marginal reception, be significant.
Optimal positioning would be top - front, but I have no idea where the Galaxy Note 8 chipset is located.

I have lost position-lock, in tall forest, with the gps on the dash of a cab - over truck. But that was with the old Garmin e-trex, and we had just made a hair-pin turn.

Sloping windscreens will offer a better view of the sky and may be significant in steep valleys or overhead foliage (especially when wet).

Having the gps receiving antenna on the roof (or bull-bar) is the optimal position for places with sub optimal reception.

Cheers

[SG1 Bones]

I'd like to say a really big thanks to everyone's input. It's great to get different perspectives and experience.

I think I've decided to go with a tablet because it's so much more versatile, I think I'll get the Samsung Tab A 8.0". Has anyone had experience using one of these as a GPS?

Thanks again,
Nathan.

[austastar]

Hi,
I believe the Hema H7 device can now be loaded with an Australian wide 1:150K map, and the format is the same as OziExplorer (.OZF4). This sounds like the map may eventually be available for non Hema hardware.

I run both OziExplorer and Hema on my Galaxy Note, but the Hema maps seem to be in a different format to OZF4.

It would be nice if there was a bit more cross compatibility with the files, but perhaps commercial intellectual considerations will prevent this ever happening.

The Hema App is possibly the easier of the two to use, but OziExplorer is more capable - and is still only in Beta release.

Cheers

[lebanon]

I have installed the trial version (ads + less functionalities) of Locus app, it has the advantage of uploading maps from different sources, including Google earth , for offline use.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=menion.android.locus&hl=en

It might be irrelevant to you guys when you can purchase maps like HEMA or run Oziexplorer, but it is such a good app that I had to mention.

P.S you need to download Locus map tweak in order to get the ability to select maps from different sources.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mjk.locusmaptweak&hl=en

[Pedro_The_Swift]

We bought a Galaxy Tab S before our trip and while the maps were complete and easy to follow it was always slow to update, not good in towns. Our older Navman was much quicker to update but we cant plan our day on it,, the tablet was much better at premapping a route.

[lebanon]

We bought a Galaxy Tab S before our trip and while the maps were complete and easy to follow it was always slow to update, not good in towns. Our older Navman was much quicker to update but we cant plan our day on it,, the tablet was much better at premapping a route.

It could be related to a poor GPS signal or if you have the internet connection, the tablet could be running updates for existing apps.

[Pedro_The_Swift]

yea,, the problem is its hard to get a GPS signal to Mrs Pedro's lap,,, mounted on the dash I think it would be fine,, but then its difficult to use wikicamps and search for nice Pubs:p:D

[lebanon]

yea,, the problem is its hard to get a GPS signal to Mrs Pedro's lap,,, mounted on the dash I think it would be fine,, but then its difficult to use wikicamps and search for nice Pubs:p:D

A small external receiver will make finding pubs more secure, this is what I call collateral advantages. :)

[Pedro_The_Swift]

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2015/12/93.jpg

have read lots of good reviews,, only one bad, saying battery expanded due to heat! maybe not a dash fixture then---:D