Railfan Technology > gps for laptop

Hello, all:

I did a search on this issue but came up with nothing. What recommendation do you have for a GPS interfacing with a HP Envy 17" laptop. I'm taking an Amtrak trip, and would like to use this feature.

Thanks!!

I've got a DeLorme BU-353S4 USB GPS Receiver, but I got it bundled with their Street Atlas USA software.

There are several options but some are more user friendly than others. GPS receivers that sort of look like a small hockey puck or maybe a medium size watch (without the band) that are usually intended to be mounted on a metal surface with an internal magnet, for example. Many have a USB interface and others have other types of interface. All of these need some kind of software to make them work. Most of these are intended OEM, Original Equipment Manufacturers or experimenters. There are at least a dozen formats that they can use to output the data. These receivers can be from about $20 to $50. These devices are just what the name says, they are receivers, not mapping, not tracking, not "find your way to the nearest eatery" devices. It's the same as buying the guts to your TV and no display.

There are some other options that are probably better suited for your needs and will fall into that same price range. DeLorme has a product in their Earthmate series. For $49.99 you can get the USB GPS receiver and the map software in one package. Garmin, Trimble, Magellan, and others probably have similar packages. The advantage is that the receiver and the mapping software are made to work together as a package. It's $49.99 directly from them but you can saver about $10 at Amazon. At DeLorme you can go to shop.delorme.com and search for the USB GPS Receiver w/Street Atlas for $49.95 to see what I'm talking about. The software up's the price of a "receiver only" by about $10.

I have not used this product so I can't vouch for it's properties or suitability for your needs. I know that this pack or its predecessors have been around for about 20 year. Hope this is helpful to you.

John

sums007 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hello, all:
>
> I did a search on this issue but came up with
> nothing. What recommendation do you have for a
> GPS interfacing with a HP Envy 17" laptop. I'm
> taking an Amtrak trip, and would like to use this
> feature.
>
> Thanks!!

To add to wa4umr's excellent post above, a better question might be, what map software for my laptop will support USB-connected GPS receivers?

I've been a user of DeLorme products for more than a decade, Street Atlas USA with a serial port GPS receiver on my Win95 laptop back in the early 2000s. Newer versions of Street Atlas should support many brands of portable GPS receivers by popular makes like Garmin, using USB to connect. Street Atlas USA has been good at including railroad tracks in their maps.

sums... Check this out....http://www.laptopgpsworld.com/2599-globalsat-bu-353-s4-usb-gps-receiver

I've used a Global Sat receiver and the Franson GPS Gate software on my laptop... Works like a charm....

leroy

n5dhg,  Does your DeLorme GPS receiver work in a passenger car or do you have to hold it up to the window?
  Does it plug into a laptop and locate the train in motion on an Amtrak route saved in Street Atlas software?