Outer Limits 4x4 Board

I now own a Magellan Platinum GPS and a Laptop.

How do I go about getting the whole Computer GPS mapping thing working for the lux. (want to set it up for comps and general crap).

Software, hardware.

What do I need?

You need the correct cabling to interface the two. Some software. OziExplorer seems to be the best and easiest to use. Their website is at http://www.oziexplorer.com/
Then you'll need some digital maps on cd.
John.

I have the Magellan and the oziexplorer, with the maps I have for ozi I find the Magellan the easiest to use. But I haven`t played with the ozi much yet.

With Ozi you can scan your own maps and then calibrate them. Pretty simple. Some map places can (or know someone who can) scan a whole map at once. A drum scanner or something I think. Otherwise you need to scan it in little A4 chunks and piece it together using some software. I use Photoshop but there are heaps of others you can use.

Would a laptop survive comp use? I would be hesitant using mine on normal offroad stuff.

Don't know if your GPS and laptop have got Bluetooth- but if they have you shouldn't need a cable for them to communicate.

I got Oziexplorer and my Garmin to work OK via a serail cable. Scored maps off various people. Alls good but finding hard to find somewhere to put the laptop that it doesn't end up in your lap or on the floor. Can't be too good for it.

Where does everyone mount / sit their laptop? Especially if you have a front passenger.

Alec

Surfin Alec wrote:I got Oziexplorer and my Garmin to work OK via a serail cable. Scored maps off various people. Alls good but finding hard to find somewhere to put the laptop that it doesn't end up in your lap or on the floor. Can't be too good for it.

Where does everyone mount / sit their laptop? Especially if you have a front passenger.

Alec

If I have no passengers I put it on the front seat and put the seat belt around it. Otherwise the ront seat passenger gets to hold it. Usually though I just get it out when I am stopped or lost to check my position. There are table holder things you can make but I haven't got around to it yet. I saw some pics on the net of one someone had made up but can't remember where.

Like this?

This is how the www.exploroz.com guys did it.
Paul.

All you need is a cable to connect the 2. Ebay is your friend but GPS stuff is popular at the moment.

Other way to go is a GPS "mouse" (looks like a mouse but performes no mouse functio.) Its essentially a GPS antenna.

Haven't played with any software for off road use except Oziexplorer mentioned above. Demo versions are easy to find but hard to use (can't zoom etc) If you have a little brother who spends way too much time on internet, you may be able to get a crack code for it.

As for navigating the 'burbs, I've seen co pilot which is quite good but destinator is excellent. Has very detailed maps. Problem is, can only find a PDA version of it without spending $1000 plus

Someone had to say this...

"What does this have to do with 4WD Tech??? Shouldn't it be in General Chit Chat"

once your used to OziExplorer it is very easy to use. You can set up hotkeys for any function you want. Entering waypionts is very quick. i used it the other weekend in a comp and found every point. Mate had a special computer he made up that can fit into your glove box and we used a touch screen.

V8 Middy wrote:Someone had to say this...

"What does this have to do with 4WD Tech??? Shouldn't it be in General Chit Chat"

This has everything to do with 4x4 tech, havent you ever been on a track, havent looked at the map for a while and needed to find were you are or need to go.

GPS is another tool for 4x4ing, as is lockers compressors, tyres, uhf etc etc. Posting in general chitchat would be wrong, that place is for people to talk shitttt.

I run track ranger and think it's great, find it easy enough to use.
Best thing ever when ya just glance over at the screen and that dot is me,
much better than cross referencing a map and the track trace function is great to save trips and go trough notes.
Similar to the above picture i have a swivel bench that the laptop is strapped to but you have to make sure the screen is supported aswell cos it don't like bouncing around. Haven't had a drama with the computer and damn does that get a hiding, it has been splattered with mud more times than i can recall and is mostly in a dust filled cabin thats soft tops for ya.

Surfin Alec wrote:I got Oziexplorer and my Garmin to work OK via a serail cable. Scored maps off various people. Alls good but finding hard to find somewhere to put the laptop that it doesn't end up in your lap or on the floor. Can't be too good for it.

Where does everyone mount / sit their laptop? Especially if you have a front passenger.

Alec

Been using Laptops and GPS for a while now a its the Dogs Danglys.Yer got to be careful though and use the right mount. With the right mount the passenger is almost uneffected (and thats in a Defender!)
In a recent challenge event we entered there were three other teams using lap tops with various home made or bought mounts. EVERY single laptop failed apart from our unit.
It ain't anything special, but our mount is able to flex so the shock is absorbed rather than sent through to the unit. This why we think ours is still going strong?
However lets us get some more events under our belt before we start really ranting about it.
Oh yeh, The name of the mount....
Ram Mount, American i think.

The software that comes with the Magellian, Map Send I think is called, is good and you'll find it has most of the tracks already on it, even in the High Country and desert regions so I'd give that a go.
I used to mount the laptop on a bracket from the grab bar in the passenger side, use hot keys for diff features, have a trackball mouse on the centre console and have a 4inch LCD screen above the rear view mirror. This all works well, but as already stated isnt good for the laptop, so have resorted back to just the GPS and it is way less complicated.
Anyway I have now teamed up with a fellow with the big screen Magellian that already has the maps on it., I just gotta master the art of using it.
Good Luck but I reckon a laptop is for a desk!

MYTTUF wrote:The software that comes with the Magellian, Map Send I think is called, is good and you'll find it has most of the tracks already on it, even in the High Country and desert regions so I'd give that a go.
I used to mount the laptop on a bracket from the grab bar in the passenger side, use hot keys for diff features, have a trackball mouse on the centre console and have a 4inch LCD screen above the rear view mirror. This all works well, but as already stated isnt good for the laptop, so have resorted back to just the GPS and it is way less complicated.
Anyway I have now teamed up with a fellow with the big screen Magellian that already has the maps on it., I just gotta master the art of using it.
Good Luck but I reckon a laptop is for a desk!

Magellan 324 is the best unit for competition nav IMHO. I can't see how a laptop setup would be better or easier to use in a comp situation.

My tip - use your work laptop and not your own.

(although you do need to have a good explanation for it being covered in mud).

I run Oziexplorer on a pocket pc mounted on the dash (dont bother with the windscreen suction cup crap), works wonderfully, though an external antenna would be needed unless you have a reciever with XT mode (or similar mode for use under heavy vegetation or cities) the body seems to interfere with the signal in normal mode. I use the Topoview maps with it, no complaints whatsoever.

ausyota wrote:Like this?

This is how the www.exploroz.com guys did it.
Paul.

The one I saw had a mounting tray, arm and swivel joints on the floor and the mounting tray. It could be swivelled around for either the driver or front passenger.

I was thinking of making something similar but CBF at the moment. One day perhaps.

This ones made by rover solutions and seems pretty simple. Because of the single post mounting I guess it would flex a bit too preventing damage Mount in pictures is made for a disco but the idea could be adapted quite easily.

edit* I just swa how big the linked pictures were so I've put the thumbs in instead. The adrees for roversolutions if you waant to see more is http://www.roversolutions.com

I use Oziexplorer and find it quite good. However, it is a pain in the arse scanning maps. I would use the Magellan mapping software if I could as it covers all tracks and works out a lot cheaper to get the maps. The only reason I do not use it is that I have a Garmen GPS. I mount my laptop on the centre console. I have foam rubber underneath it and some straps to hold it down. Never had an issue with it moving or breaking.

TuffRR wrote:My tip - use your work laptop and not your own.

(although you do need to have a good explanation for it being covered in mud).

The laptop I used was from the company I work for but it has recently been upgraded and with me knowing more about laptops now than I did back then, have decided that bouncing around the 4bee isn't a good place for it.

TuffRR wrote:My tip - use your work laptop and not your own.

(although you do need to have a good explanation for it being covered in mud).

haha .. been there done that.. (i hope there are no dell techs reading this)..

1st time i broke it was when i had it in the roof console kinda wedged in, except when there was a bit of a drop and it bounced the rear end on the windscreen frame.. it was capturing video via a webcam at the same time as ozi so there was continual writing to the hdd. this hard knock was enough to stuff the hdd.

the 2nd time was when i was packing up and I still had the lappy in suspend mode when i put it in my bag. the gps mouse things have a really strong magnet on the base of them and when this went in the bag it found the hdd bay and nuked the hdd again...

i haven't used this setup for a while and prefer paper maps. i get more use outta the lappy+gps setup to find out where you are once you've camped, stopped,etc..

the other thing i noticed about using this setup (in a 40) is the lappy often gets coverd with dust/sand/etc by the end of a days driving.. this is also hard to explain when you go get it to get repaired under warranty.

bits and pieces explained here somewhat : http://www.hotkey.net.au/~ijcossor/nav.html

Thats Ian Cossor`s TJ, he is a member of our group, he has had that setup for years and years and it works great and hasn`t had any problems with it that I know of.

In our 80 I made up a ugly stand that then has foam on top of it that the laptop sits on. The 80`s got AC so dust isn`t a problem. Plus I only payed $400 for my laptop so if it dies its not to much to cry about unlike if it was new and say $3000.00