Hi,
The note below is about GPS's used for soaring. I think it will be of interest to the gliding community, based on the many e-mails I have received from glider pilots on the subject.
I've received a lot of good questions from glider pilots about the NAVMAN and TeleType GPS since my postings a week or so ago. I had mentioned some features that the NAVMAN did not offer and I think I gave the NAVMAN less credit than it deserves. Actually, after answering some very good questions, I can honestly say that the NAVMAN is great for some applications. I'll start selling them right away. They are very elegant and rugged when compared with the CF card GPS's. They are great if you are able to provide 5 VDC power to the iPAQ, and you don't want a GPS that is WAAS ready. I have talked to several users who really like their NAVMAN GPS's.
WAAS is the latest GPS technology that offers 5 times the accuracy found in most GPS's (< 3 m). All new GPS's from Garmin are WAAS ready. So is the Teletype CF Card GPS. I should add that I don't think WAAS functionality is available worldwide. It may only be available in North America so far. There are details on WAAS on the Garmin web site at
www.garmin.com. The improved horizontal accuracy is probably not too important for gliding applications, but the improved vertical accuracy could prove very nice for providing GPS altitude to final glide software. I have not yet seen any data on how accurate WAAS GPS's are in regard to vertical position. Can anyone help with that?
The TeleType GPS is nice for different applications than the NAVMAN. It is not as elegant because you need a CF Card Expansion Pack or one of the new 'CF Card Expansion Pack Plus' models which include a battery. It doesn't appear quite as rugged as the NAVMAN because the CF card GPS sticks out of the CF card slot and is somewhat thin at the point it exits the slot. I think it will be fine for use in gliders. The advantages are that it is WAAS compatible, it is inexpensive, and it can be used with the CF Card Expansion Pack Plus which may allow the iPAQ to run for many hours without the need for an external power connection to the iPAQ. There are two battery sizes available for the 'CF Card Expansion Pack Plus': 0.920 Ah, and 1.84 Ah. I've run the TeleType GPS in my iPAQ 3950 for more than 4 hours on one charge with the smaller battery. It should run much longer on the larger battery - I ordered a larger battery for testing purposes. I think that combination may be ideal for club members who want a solution for use in several gliders. There is no need to find a way to connect to the glider's electrical system. I also offer an inexpensive suction cup mount with a cradle for iPAQ's which could be mounted temporarily to any glider canopy.
I've tested the TeleType GPS with Glide Navigator II and it works great. I haven't tested the NAVMAN with Glide Navigator II yet. I will soon. I'm nearly certain that we will be able to get it working. WinPilot is compatible with the NAVMAN, and I'm nearly certain it would also work with the TeleType GPS.
Again, they are both very nice GPS's. I sell them both. I hope my explanation is useful.
Good Soaring,
Paul E. Remde Cumulus Soaring Supplies
