Laptop GPS World

* Waterproof
* Magnetic base for easy mounting on the roof of vehicle, if needed
* Bigger antenna size (in comparison to your Pharos GPS-500) would give you slightly better performance

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Marvin Hlavac

Laptop GPS software reviews | Stores offering discounts to our members: Semsons & Co. Inc. and Deluo Electronics

I agree for about the same price, much better deal, and I have as yet used the "Connected services". Don't understand S&T dropping it for this year, but may have been a problem getting it to work or reliability?

For the Connected Services to work well enough to satisfy people you need an absolutely monstrous amount of data to cover North America. And you have to keep it all up to date. If someone subscribes and they can't get all the data they want for their subject of interest in their region of interest, and/or if it's not absolutely up-to-the-minute correct, they'll complain and they won't renew and they'll tell all their friends not to subscribe. And if they belong to any forums like this one they'll also tell everyone in the forum, who will tell all their friends..... And so it goes.

Most people find it's just easier to get on Google or Microsoft's online live services before they hit the road and find what they need.

...ken...

Ken;

Is this answer from personal experience? As I said I purchased a lifetime subscription, will have to go back in records to see how much I paid for it, but is a bummer not to use it.

BTW Purchased online the BU-353 for $36.95 with free shipping, I going to try putting the connected service unit without GPS in one USB input and new GPS in another and see if it will work.

Thanks

Paul
Part time RVer
Part Time Tax Pro

Hi Paul,

It's not from personal experience with Microsoft's Connected Services. At least not directly. Indirectly, it's the reason I never even considered purchasing it. I live in an area of Canada where we will never see anything from it in my lifetime ... perhaps not even in my daughter's lifetime. There is too much data required and too little population (eg. potential paying customers).

Also, indirectly, I am a retired IT professional (computer guy). So I have a pretty good idea of the quantity of data and the update processes required to keep it current. And as a student of human behaviour I'm very aware of our expectations of various things. In this instance, we have a fairly reasonable expectation that if someone is going to charge us for the things offered by Connected Services, they better make sure they are current and up to the minute. Otherwise they are of less value to us than month-old sausage.

When you combine that with all of the money and effort Microsoft is putting into their Live services that they are deliving via conventional internet connections, it's not a large step to understand that they might eventually find that Connected Services, as it currently is delivered, might not survive.

Your experiment with connecting the two receivers seperately could work. I am not aware of any intimate dependency between them. But that's only arms-length educated guesswork, not personal experience.

Best of luck with it.

...ken...

Ken

Thanks again for the info. I did not have great expectations for the less populated areas of the US and probably will not be in Mexico or Canada, except for the border areas.

Again, since I now travel alone, I was hoping for info that would be shown on screen without needing to access anything. But also the way I travel with a RV, I am seldom in any hurry and when I run into traffic I usually just pull off and wait, even if only pulling to side of road. It is actually rather nice to sit on side of road, or in a rest stop or gas station with my folding chair and a nice soft drink watching all the others being frustrated by the stopped or slow moving taraffic.

BTW during the last 5 years of my working career, worked hand in hand with IT but we were using a mix of all kinds of software including DOS, since the job was with C141 simulators, which had been designed 30 years earlier and piece meal updated marrying together whatever was current technology with the old. It was really a very interest job.

Paul
Ex sub sailor
Ex Feild service tech
Ex sim tech
Ex Textile
part time tax pro
still Rving

I seem to be in the same boat. I ended up buying Streets '09 at Sam's ($28 - software only), then I had to call M$ to get the reset patch to get it to launch. The GPS-500 that I got last year with the Streets '08 bundle was rolled up in the bottom my laptop bag.

When I fired up '09 this afternoon and tried to configure the GPS, a pop-up said no device was connected. Huh!? I unplugged the cable, plugged it back in and the computer "saw" it for a short time but lost it again, so I decided to play with it after I got home.

As best I can tell the contacts between the GPS-500 and the USB adapter are intermittent. If I hold the module and the adapter with some pressure, the blue light stays on, but as soon as I let go or set it down the light goes out. I cleaned the contacts on the adapter with a pencil eraser and may try to do the same on the module tomorrow at work where I have several thin burnishing tools.

I'm not expecting much if any success, but we'll see. I've always thought the cable with the adapter and module dangling from the suction cup on the windshield was awkward anyway.

The BU-353 (under $40 from Amazon) looks far more rugged, and several of the user reviews talk about how good it works. I think it's a better deal than paying Pharo $70 for another 500 that'll last how long?

FWIW,
Ron

Ron, yes, I strongly agree. Microsoft has included interesting and unique GPS receivers with Streets & Trips over the years, but I suspect user satisfaction would be better with a plain and inexpensive BU-353 by Globalsat. The unit is definitely not as visually appealing as Pharos GPS-360, Pharos GPS-500, or the new Navation GPS 168, but it just simply works, and works well.

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Marvin Hlavac

Laptop GPS software reviews | Stores offering discounts to our members: Semsons & Co. Inc. and Deluo Electronics

My cable seems to be fine, as I said, used a friends older GPS and my cable and it worked fine. Blue light stays on no problem. Connected services receiver is detected, just not the GPS. BTW I assumed the quote I was given was just for the GPS chip, not the entire arangement including the cable.

To all interested, received my BU-353 receiver and hooked it up to 1 USB port and connected services receiver to another without defective GPS and everything works great, have a quick, powerful GPS receiver, working inside my house along with connected services. I am satisfied that it will now do the job. Now I can go back to finishing my laptop mount in my truck and possibly one in my compact car (2003 Kia Rio)

GreybeardJR, I'm glad to hear that Streets & Trips 2008 can work simultaneously with both units, the MSN Direct receiver, and a third-party USB GPS receiver. I think this is the best solution in your circumstances.

Good luck with your laptop mount project! Post some pictures when you are done

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Marvin Hlavac

Laptop GPS software reviews | Stores offering discounts to our members: Semsons & Co. Inc. and Deluo Electronics

Maybe i am a little paranoid about the BU-353 unit, but if i am remembering correctly, this one has a very powerful magnet in the base.

I would take care not to hold it near my computer hard disk or near my credit cards. While travelling, probably my credit cards are more valuable than the GPS unit

As you should know, magnets can erase magnetic medium in the long run...

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S&T Keys 2007 English and French version with remote control
S&T Keys 2009 version

While a magnet might affect your credit card, you would need something like an MRI machine to cause problems with a hard drive. Pocket magnets, even the rare earth variety, won't do that.

Terry

I know i am a little out of subject,

Terry, you are probably right for hard disk. Some google searching shows that some hard disk includes small magnets:

So it seems to be safe...

Some manufacturer are selling very strong magnetic device to erase hard disk (7000 Oersteds), much stronger than a small magnet... (http://www.orient-computer.co.jp/eng...dd_crusher.htm)

But for vhs tapes, 8mm tapes, audio tapes, credit card it is not safe...
I have already destroyed some audio tapes leaving them near a magnet for some weeks... So my car vhs entertainment system won't like this kind of magnet in gps unit if kept near the video tapes...

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S&T Keys 2007 English and French version with remote control
S&T Keys 2009 version

Keeping strong magnets away from tapes is a great suggestion. I never had any problems when I was using the GPS10; but then, it was always stuck on the roof or hood somewhere. A magnetic mount GPS just begs to be mounted out in the open.
I still have a magnetic remote GPS antenna from the GPSIII era wired in and waiting to be mounted on the hood. Of course, first I need another device that can use it.

Terry