How much to pay for an A4?

[Brett Dikeman]

At 4:34 PM -0400 7/31/02, George Selby wrote:
>At 04:00 PM 7/31/02, you wrote:
>>WE wanted a model with the navigation system, but preferred
>>the 1.8tq. We don't know if the 1.8tq has a nav available. If the 3.0
>>does, then how much?
>
>
>How about a handheld or Laptop hooked up to an Delorme Earthmate GPS
>receiver?  This would be portable, a hell of a lot cheaper than what the
>car companies want for their nav systems

Steer well clear of the Earthmate; reception is quite poor compared
to the on-board antennas of most handheld GPS units.  Put a $40
external antenna on the handheld GPS, and you'll get even better
results.

Second reason not to buy an Earthmate: no internal clock(at least in
the version I used.)  What does that mean?  Really long startup times
every time you go to use it, because the thing has no idea where it
last was, or what time it is(by "time", I mean time accurate enough
to use for GPS.)  My ancient Garmin II+ gets a lock with an external
antenna, in an open space, in about 10 seconds, and has all a lock on
all unobscured satellites within a minute.

Third reason not to buy an Earthmate: not NMEA compatible(ie, nothing
will be able to talk to it except the included software.)
-Everything- that does GPS can talk to NMEA gps units.

Fourth reason: Earthmate was pretty expensive, more than a GPS unit
and mapping software separately, if I recall.

Fifth: can't be used separately, for hiking/boating/whatever(GPS
units make pretty handy bike trip computers, for example.)  Most
data-interface-equipped units allow for downloading/uploading
waypoints, tracks/routes and such(there's a sport now called
Geocaching, where you download/input a waypoint where there is a
"secret" stash; the object is to find the stash.  Some are -very-
difficult; remember, GPS only gets you to within 10-50 feet!)  Some
units allow maps to be downloaded into them.


When shopping, look for:
-auto power adapter capability(Garmin has both direct wire and cig
lighter cables, as well as cables that have both power and data since
its the same connector)  Handy if you decide to go on a long trip and
you're buying a PC interface anyway(at least for the garmins) since
its a few bux more to have power.  Otherwise, use batteries and just
keep a spare set w/you on long trips.

-data output(could be called "PC interface", "RS-232 interface",
"serial interface", "NMEA-xxxx interface"(I forget the #, I think its
NMEA-1832?), etc.

-external antenna connector(on several Garmins, the antenna comes off
to reveal a BNC connector.)  There are several companies making
external GPS antennas in all shapes+sizes.  My garmin external
antenna is the "active" kind(ie, amplifier in the antenna body), and
came with interchangable glass and magnetic mounts.

I had an Earthmate receiver for about 5 hours...it went straight back
to the store.

I don't recommend laptop/GPS combos as replacements for factory nav
unless you have a significant other/friend/sibling/trained monkey to
operate the laptop...even with voice prompts, laptops are just about
useless for one person(and WAY too much of a distraction; I speak
from experience on both counts.)  The factory nav system is -very-
slick, and can easily be operated by the driver.  In daily "how the
hell do I get to 23 Somewhere Street in Neverbeenthereville"
situations, factory nav wins hands down.  GPS units and laptops also
represent a theft risk.

Another option is any of the dozen or so aftermarket nav systems from
companies like Blaupunkt, Pioneer, etc...some are excellent and you
get your choice of user interface; several, including Blaupunkt's,
are in radio-format(ie radio/CD player with nav builtin.)  Phil Payne
installed a Blau nav unit in his wagon and said accuracy was
absolutely amazing; it links to the speedo, reverse gear switch, and
a bunch of other things, to give incredible accuracy(I suspect most
of the better units use more than just GPS to give nav information;
acceleration, compass, and gyro sensors are cheap these days.)

B
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