My wallet is still recovering from my n800 purchase, but wants it settles down I'm gonna get a bluetooth GPS. Been doing some research here and elsewhere trying to find the best one for me, but I'm hoping you guys can help me narrow it down.

I have a case logic HDD case for my n800 and iGo keyboard. It really has no more room in it for a GPS and I don't wanna have to carry a gps around and easy forget it. Then I saw some that have a keychain attachment. That is requirement #1. Otherwise I'd forget to bring it, or forget to bring it home and lose it

I don't need to use GPS to land an airplane, but I do want one with the best performance I can afford. I live in the USA so I could benefit from a device with WAAS. Also the more Hz the better. I'd prefer at least 5, but 10 would be awesome.

I read this thread and I do love the small size and features of that device, however the no keychain is a bummer, and more importantly I'd really like a device that worked outta the box. I'm not afraid of tweaking settings and scripts if I have to, but I don't have a windows PC to run bundled software and that would probably make firmware upgrades pretty rough too. A no hacking necesary GPS would be much preferred. Also I want one that works well under bluetooth and doesn't require me to get an OTG usb converter for my n800.

Last but not least I wanna spend less than $100. I don't really need GPS but I would use it a lot once I get it. Its a luxery though so I can't break the bank. The closer to $50 I spend the happier I'd be.

So which GPS Small, Keychain, WAAS, Cheap, minimal n800 setup, 5hz or more, Bluetooth GPS. should I get?

Thanks in advance!

Here you go ..

http://blog.elyob.com/?p=11

It's got a place to put a strap, so you can attach a keychain to that?

Regards

The WinTec (10Hz/5HzSBAS) also has a place for lanyard loop so it will attach to a keychain as long as you can thread something through it and link it on the chain.

It is also marketed as being "waterproof", but I'd say water resistant and you might want to make sure you keep the USB cover/plug or insure it was covered if it ever was immersed. But it is far better than the other inexpensive GPS units I've seen - there is a rubber like coating which forms a gasket.

tz1, the firmware upgrade and other issues you mentioned (like faulty WAAS and that you use a USB connection because it works better) kinda scared me. I'd rather have something more plug and play. Maybe its not that bad though, it's definetly on my "consiser list".

elyobelyob, that is just too enormous!

It works better over USB because he's running 10 Hz; as I understand, it's much better at 5 Hz with BT?

No firmware upgrade, as far as I can tell, just changing settings. (A thought: if tz1 has the setup to record and post the exchange between the devices, it would be possible to make an expect script to accomplish the important configuration settings from Linux.

I'd be buying one, except I already blew $50 on an inferior unit a week before he posted...

I have this one: http://www.ergogeek.com/index.php?ta...product_id=549
(actually an earlier model) - and paid about $70 two years ago.

Fits in my brief case/goodie bag. No real complaints - quick fix times (much better than my sons Garmin). Works well with maemo mapper, wayfinder maps, roadmap etc.

Its about 2/3 the length of a business cart. Charges from usb.
Used last night - and it ran for over 6 hours on a single charge.

This one is one I'm looking at. I've read some good reviews on the boards here about it too. This one is ten bucks cheaper. But one user review says he has to keep pairing it :-P

The Witec works at 10Hz either BT or USB, however you can turn on over 100kbps worth of sentences including proprietary which won't work at that speed over BT but will over the USB (with cdc_acm.ko and a host switch cable).

Even at 10Hz, it will miss messages if the signal is weak and it has to recompute or change satellite sets too often. This is usually not a problem outdoors even at speed.

It doesn't do WAAS/EGNOS/SBAS at 10Hz, but does at 5Hz.

My minigps will record BOTH the BT and Internal NMEA sentences, and includes programs/scripts (originally from kbdd) that can bind and release. Search the forums - I think I posted it in General (have to go quickly, more later).

I did get my entire motorcycle ride yesterday at 10Hz, plus the internal GPS sentences, plus the J1850 chatter from my Harley using my own minigpsd, all in KMZ files.

I'm still tweaking and tuning things a bit, but it does work, and I expect to have another alpha mingpsd out shortly. (It automatically logs the data as XML comments within KML/KMZ files so an excursion looks something like a fence where the height represents speed).

For almost every use, anything over 1Hz is overkill. There are few apps which will even read the GPS more than once per second, and if you're just doing general mapping and following a route it's more than adequate. Paying for more than 1Hz is a waste of money unless you have specialized software and are going to use it for specialized stuff which requires the higher refresh rate. Get whatever bluetooth GPS you can find on sale, and it should work fine. I have an F-tech mini solar GPS, which partially recharges itself from solar power while running in the windshield, giving about 30 hours of daytime use on a charge. It works well with everything I've tried it with, including my N800. I've also used a Garmin Legend handheld connected to a bluetooth adapter from PC-Mobile, probably no longer sold, and it works OK. The Garmin is an old model with only a few channels, so it has to have a better view of the sky than the F-Tech, but it works.