www.custom-toughbooks.com?

interestingfellow.... That is exactly why I like to do what I do... I know that my customers WILL possibly need it for life and limb.Several Fire Depts, First Responders, Emergency Preparedness outfits are using the tried and true GPS systems that were developed here by many people over the years. (And installed by me or one or two others here.) We, each in our own way, have developed our own offshoots or a blend of systems. All of which beat out OEM and the "kits" that are available. I've tried the kits... Mine didn't work... Maybe he has made them better now... But you can't beat the ZEN (AND RESULTS) of building and installing your own... If you have the tools, know-how and spirit of adventure.

Perhaps the kits are better for certain segments of the population that don't particularly need 100% reliability and or quick and continued satellite acquisition.

 

How true.... In fact, P.T. Barnum was right.... There IS a sucker born every minute! We try to educate here... "Sucker reduction".... If you will.

 

Actually, Air Force Space Command currently has 31 "birds" flying, along with Russia's 21 "GLONASS" satellites and China's 5 "Beidou 1" satellites, with 35 more when "Beidou 2" (or "Compass") goes fully operational in 2017.

The European Union is in the process of bringing their GPS system, "Galileo", to fruition with 30 more pieces of hardware "up there."

So, theoretically at least, a "50-channel" receiver will have a lot to "listen to" in the near future.

 

And we'll be there to mod it all in!

 

Toughbook;
Let me just say, I mean you no disrespect in any way (incl. comments or posts). i had mentioned before, it's obviouse who the real players are on this forum, and in my opinion, one of them is you.


That being said, I tracked down one of your auctions, and saw the gps info pic. so I decided to get one of my own, just for fun.

so here it is, taken from inside my house, while i was using it.


Not as good as yours, and it was inside. I'll try and get one from outside, tomorrow, just to see.

Again, priorities are an important factor in deciding what to install as far as gps. For me, to be able to just drop it in, ready to go, it was a good choice. will I do that next time? No. I have a greater understanding of TB's (however limited it may still be), and now know I could save a couple dollars and have a better unit installed.

Hey, is there a performance gain by using the "sirfIII" connect vs nmea. It's just a matter of how quickly it tracks, isn't it?

 

i.f..... I'm not saying that his stuff doesn't work.... Well it didn't for me. What I AM saying is that the kit is very fragile with cheaper components. Perhaps if you handle it with kid gloves, follow his weak and sometimes incorrect directions, you may get a signal. The ones you've shown are about 30% lower than mine with not as many birds.... Let alone how well they hold and how long. Who knows...

The simple fact is that you can build a much better GPS system for your CF-29 for about half his price.

I take my shots outside but hardly in the open. I take them on my deck with my house covering at least 30% of the sky and the trees and houses on the other side covering about another 20%... If I took my GPS out into a field I'd be 45+ all the way across the board.

The definition of a good sale is if the person selling is happy and the person buying thinks they got their money's worth. You apparently do. I do not... SO we differ in our opinions.

I do find it strange that he never shows up on this forum as a retailer to offer advice or to refute claims that he knows are true.

 

We use nmea
I have only used sirf for changing the default baud rate
I personaly prefer the sirfIII chipset units
And your reception looks fine



Alex

 

The part in the brackets is the most important! The number of satellites you track and the reported signal strengths are less important than the angles separating the satellites and the dithering the receiver does as it processes the data. A good 12 or even 8 channel receiver will give you more accurate positions than a poor receiver "capable" of tracking 20 satellites. I'll say it again, the em408 and its usb cousin the bu353 are better GPS receivers than you will ever be likely to need. GIS professionals are not included in that statement.
CAP

 

Come on Cap... The Toughbook is a better laptop than we are ever likely to need... But that's why we like them! Otherwise they would be Dulls!

Having the best within the best makes sense to me... Perhaps not to others. And it may be overkill but I'll take that anyday knowing I have the best over, "Something that works" and/or "Is okay"....

And I will repeat it again since, for some reason, we now have people popping up all over asking about these kits... For the average plug and play person... They MIGHT work. The two kits I had did not. Granted one was a prototype... (Well the PCB was a prototype.) The components are still the same. The only overbuilt part of the kit is the Copper reflector that is included. The rest (though I have heard okay things about his latest PCB) are the parts where it looks like he got bulk discounts or the lowest bidder won. The Holux engine is way too fragile if unhooking the MMCX connector makes the brass collar break off. The antenna is not anywhere close to JDA specs nor is the cable that carries the signal. There is NO reason to "glue" the antenna to the "ground plane" as he suggests... And the ribbon cable is about 1/3 the thickness of what I order from Farnell.

I suspect the reason that people flock to the Toughbook is because, well, it is Tough... It is overbuilt. Why on Earth someone would want to put in less than the best is beyond me... But then there are always people who either can't fab up their own or don't have the tools or knowledge to do this with superior equipment.

The simple fact is... You can build your own and have a superior GPS system! EOS...

 

Here's one those kits in a junk laptop....

HERE!

Gee... Nice installation...

 

And in this case the normally reliable cf-29 is toast

It looks to me that the modder that installed the kit is all thumbs and should of not attempted anything more complicated than a battery replacement


Alex

 

I realize that:

A)purchasing the kit
B)installing the kit
&C) defending the kit

makes me the equivalent of a bass tard stepchild day walking ginger, but I can say my install turned out a helluva lot cleaner looking than that.

 

I like the kit idea and i am considering getting one for a CF-29, even if some folks here does not like them.

 

I'll be honest with you CZ75, if I were you, I would contact him about the board, and get a 409 and/or sarantel antenna.

It's what I would do, if I had it to do again (which, I will, hopefully)

 

I bought the kit for the CF-29 including BT. My BT mouse (Saitec Eclipse touch) even works in over 5m distance to the TB.

I don't have any chance of comparison between my GPS and other systems, since this is my first. But I have to say that installation works good (if you're a bit handy). First, I didn't get a good signal indoors (but I don't know how much of a signal I should get?). Then I figured that the installation manual said to use conductive glue to glue the antenna to the copper reflector. So I removed the antenna again and soldered it to the copper plate (with low-melting solder). I just put the copper plate on my kitchen stove, melted the solder on the plate, put the antenna with it meal housing on it and put it in the (dry) sink to cool down.

Now I have a fix of 5 sats indoors (5m away of a window though). Outside in the car it worked well, too.

Said again, I can't compare this GPS to other units since this is my first. But as far as I can tell, it works fine for me (the BT too).

 

There is a trade off.

do it yourself with a 409/sarentel if:
If you want the best price
you want the best signal/reliability
you fell like you know what you are doing

get the kit if:
it's for recreational purposes
you don't feel comfortable with your knowledge of how to do it/know what to buy
you're not sure

Some have claimed the kits were too fragile, or malfunctioned/didn't work.
Mine did, and I like it, and use it in the car every day, but like I said, I will do my own next time.

Good luck!