Touring - PDA+Destinator for touring

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PDA

View Full Version : PDA+Destinator for touring

ronyex
03-22-04, 04:28 PM
Is this a good idea for navigating while touring ?
It looks like a great idea bc you don't have to carry
tons of maps and books with routes and information.
It's all inside a small PDA.

Any comments ?

khuon
03-22-04, 05:13 PM
How long does your PDA last on a charge? I suppose you could use a solar panel to keep it recharged. The late Ken Kifer has a good writeup about this with a laptop (http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/touring/laptop.htm). You can find plenty of small portable solar panels. BTW, Garmin and some others make nicer GPS units. Garmin has a GPS enabled PDA too. If your PDA has an SD or CF slot, there are also a few modules that can just plug straight in. Another idea would be to use a Bluetooth capable receiver and mount it to your helmet. This would give it the best vantage point in terms of picking up and maintaining the GPS signal while eliminating the need for wires to be strung everywhere. This of course assumes that your PDA is BT enabled but you can get BT cards for SD or CF slots to fit into your PDA which of course assumes you have one of those types of expansion slots. But first and foremost, you want to tackle the power issue.