Beginner setup recommedations

[fishEH]

I am looking for recommendations for a good entry level set up.

Laptop(or similar) budget = $400 or less. I would prefer a touchscreen but budget may not allow. I would also like it to pull double duty, meaning function to download pictures to, internet access, etc.

GPS receiver = ~$50, would prefer wireless

Software = already have DeLorme TOPO NA 9.0. I'll stick with this for now since I already have it.

Thanks

 

[PNWDad]

So go to Best Buy, pick out a laptop that has USB ports and a CD drive thats in your budget. While your there buy a 35 dollar USB GPS receiver. Your set. One store, one trip.

There are lots of inexpensive laptops on the market, all about the same quality. My gf bought some Dell laptop that works well for everything for 389 delivered or something. Tablets are the new rage, but are mostly out of your price range.

 

[fishEH]

Is there a GPS puck/receiver that is highly recommended?

 

[rambrush]

I use the Delorme LT 40 with my laptop running topo 9

 

[PNWDad]

I havent been studying whats best for more then a week, but I just ordered this, but I only found it on Ebay:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/i-Blue-GM-2-Receiver-MTK2-WAAS/dp/B0045JSUP4"]Amazon.com: i-Blue GM-2 USB GPS Receiver (66 ch, MTK2, 5Hz, WAAS): Electronics[/ame]

It is supposed to be the "cats meow" of GPS receivers. The second best was released in 2006 or earlier and is this one:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/GlobalSat-BU-353-Waterproof-USB-Receiver/dp/B000PKX2KA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1295288963&sr=8-1"]Amazon.com: GlobalSat BU-353 Waterproof USB GPS Receiver: Electronics[/ame]


More info on it, and all GPS receivers:
http://www.laptopgpsworld.com/3933-i-blue-gm-2-usb-gps-receiver

If you google them there is a few GPS guru websites that run crazy tests on them. And the first one came out on top most of the time. But in reality your not surveying mountain topography, so any one really will work.

 

[fishEH]

I use the Delorme LT 40 with my laptop running topo 9

I like the looks of that and it comes with Streets. I really would like to avoid another wire running inside my truck.

 

[rambrush]

You can order it as a standalone without the software. The BU-353 I had got pitched just did not work properly for me. I can use my PN 20 or 40 when out away from the truck.

 

[off-roader]

I prefer an SSD over a standard Hard Drive although folks will tell you their HD off road is fine. I've had them go bad in laptops before and know they're one of the most common things to go bad in a laptop.

If your driving over simple non-bumpy/non-aggressive trails a HD is probably fine.

If you're looking for an SSD based laptop, I find my Acer One fast enough for GPS work and light enough that my non-RAM setup supports it well enough. It comes with an 8 or 16GB SSD drive and 2 SD card slots. In those slots I have a 16GB and 32 GB sd cards for my topo & streetmap needs.

One item of caution for any flash memory device (SD, CF, etc.) is that you want to use it as a read only device if possible and definitely not as your primary drive since they will only last for a limited number of write cycles. A true SSD does not have this same limitation.

Also, if you want to upgrade to a touchscreen, there are touch screens available that work with my Acer One laptop and tutorials are available on YouTube but you want to double-check what touch screens are available based on the models laptop you can buy today.

HTH.

 

[evldave]

If you're interested, I put up my expo/camping netbook up for sale on CL a few days ago...has all the mapping software you want built in and trail tested, no GPS included, but you can get a BT-359 from Amazon cheap (no wires!). Works great on and off-road, you can just install Topo 9 on there (I have 8)...has your touchscreen...reasonably quick for a netbook...and I'd never really expect to get $450 for it

http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/sys/2158648821.html

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Globalsat-BT-359-GPS-receiver-module/dp/B000GWGHOK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1295549710&sr=8-1"]Amazon.com: Globalsat BT-359 - GPS receiver module: Electronics[/ame]

Not trying to hijack, just offering something that might meet your needs