GPS Navigation in a classic truck

GPS Navigation in a Classic Truck

Why not have GPS (Global Positioning System) in your classic Suburban? The technology has been around long enough to get inexpensive too. And... former president Clinton did a very good thing on May 1st last year - he signed a bill of law to disable the SA in the GPS system. SA stands for Selective Availability, and was an error introduced into the civilian GPS receivers for security reasons. That was why the civilian GPS specifications all said something like "accurate to within 100 meters" The military versions were closer to 6 feet accuracy, and now, with SA removed, civilian receivers are almost as accurate as the military units. (depending on the quality)

Most likely Clinton signed the bill because of complaints from On-Star and other vehicle navigation system makers, since their error prone positions were placing cars off the roads most of the time, and the error could be as much as a 100 yards. Now, the average GPS receiver is accurate to about the length of your Suburban regardless of any listed inaccuracy specs in the manual of your GPS receiver.

I use a Magellan Color Trak since I already had one. All I needed was a laptop computer and data cable for full in-truck mapping and voice navigation. It's great for the truck since the speed is listed in tenths of MPH. It also tracks the truck's movements on a tracking screen, and has an odometer and trip odometer. Even without the computer, it's nice knowing the exact speed you're driving. All the satellites are equipped with atomic clocks since the position accuracy depends totally on precise time coding, so your receiver's displayed time is as close as it gets. When it says it's 3:00pm, it's 3:00:00.00000000000000000000000000pm!!

DeLorme's Earthmate receiver would be a good choice for people who don't already have a GPS receiver, but do have a laptop computer. The receiver comes with the DeLorme software too. Otherwise, make sure the portable GPS receiver you're looking to buy has a NEMA port for external data access. Most cheapies don't have the port and/or any way to link up to a computer running mapping software.

Another consideration for buying a portable GPS for hiking etc. is getting one that will import/export its waypoints to management software. I can change waypoint names and backup the data in my Magellan from the desktop computer. It's a lot easier to rename waypoints and saved favorite marked locations with a computer keyboard compared to scrolling through characters on the Color Trak's cursor pad! Also, the 'Trak will place it's waypoints right onto the DeLorme map where they belong by downloading them right from the mapping software. This cannot be beat when wanting your saved waypoints in the receiver translated into the real world onto a map.

My personal choice of software is DeLorme for reasons listed on this page. The new Road Warrier Edition also has voice commands from the driver via the laptop's microphone such as "Are we there yet?" for time/distance to the destination, "next turn" (obvious) and "Shush" to make the synthesized voice stop talking. That way, you seldom have to use the keyboard/mouse/trackball/glidepad except when creating a route.

DeLorme says you should have a passenger use the mapping software when the vehicle is in motion for safety reasons. I find the map handy when it's zoomed into magnitude 14 and GPS tracking turned on, as I can see a turn coming up in the dark on unfamilliar roads with just a quick glance at the screen. It's almost like having radar since you can see a road coming up long before it actually appears outside the truck in the dark.

If you get lost on back roads, you can park and see where you are with a green dot. (It becomes an arrow while on the move) All you need to do is look at the map to see where to drive next to get back to civilization again. Or... create a new route back to the interstate and have DeLorme's synthesized voice guide you. Just be sure to pull off and stop when changing map zoom, GPS settings routes, etc. as it takes too much attention away from the road. DeLorme's maps are good, but not detailed enough to show the approaching tree or lamp post while playing with the computer while driving! Don't do it!!

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This is the Magellan Color Trak GPS receiver on a magnetic base cellular phone mount. I also carry this unit on hiking trips, use it in the boat, (permanent cell phone mount there) and mount it on my mountain bike handlebars when riding. I got the Suburban chrome script piece laying on the floor from my uncle Art. I haven't figured out what to do with it yet, so it just stays on the floor. Notice my Betty Boop floor mats.	The Magellan has many screens for position and navigating. This is the satellite status screen. This is a very nice unit, and even has lighted keys and screen for night use. It's also water proof for marine and hiking, and has a 30 hour battery life. The antenna is removed, and an external antenna cable attached in it's place. It's powered from the truck with a power/data cable.

The magnetic mounted GPS antenna. GPS uses two frequencies during its operation... L1 (1250 Mhz) and L2 (1550 Mhz) These are obviously much higher than CB (27 Mhz) or the FM broadcast band, (88-108 Mhz) so the antenna can be very tiny indeed. The magnet mounting lets me plop the antenna on other vehicle's rooftops when needed. The cable is small, and runs in through the driver's door. An external antenna is an absolute must on an old truck, as the windshield is way too vertical for good signal pickup inside from a GPS receiver laying on the dashboard. Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt... it doesn't work. Get an outside antenna.	My laptop computer sits on the floor in front of the radio console. It sits well enough on the carpet that it doesn't slide around. It's powered from a 150 watt 12 VDC to 120 VAC inverter, and is covered with a 1/4" thick plexiglas cover. Notice the "Buck" on the top of the screen. The plexi was salvaged from an old store knife display cabinet. (more info about the cover below) The sound card is plugged into the stereo's CD input with a patch cord for the voice navigation part of the mapping program. After a day trip, our club's historian, Mike, said "It's pretty bad when you have to shut down Windows 95 before getting out of your '65 'Burb."

I guess the gadgets are getting a tad out of control in this old truck, but that's me. I can see the map screen easy while I drive. The "phone" under the dash is a circa late 1960's CB radio made by E.F. Johnson. I put the computer in the truck when heading out on trips. Normally, it's in it's case at home.	A view of the computer with it's cover in place. The holes are for certain key access and heat venting. The laptop's own trackball is covered up with plexiglas, but I use a handheld Logitech trackball so I can move the cursor around without bending over to reach the trackball on the computer itself.

This is the position screen hovering over the map in DeLorme Street Atlas 8.0. It has large easy to see-while-driving speed, direction and position numbers. DeLorme is my choice for several reasons. The *main* reason is you can extract needed areas from the CD onto the hard drive so you don't have to use a CD-ROM in a moving (and vibrating) old truck. Or... fill up a hard drive with hundreds (and hundreds) of megabytes of unneeded map data. (like I'm really going to New York next week) Running from the CD in a vehicle is bad news unless you really enjoy the blue screen of death when it can't read from the CD-ROM everytime it skips. DeLorme's maps and road info is very up to date too.	The satellite status screen. The list on the left is the satellite numbers and signal strengths. The circle is the overhead map with each satellite shown as numbers and (if the signal is good) green satellite icons. DeLorme Street Atlas has GPS voice navigation. If you create a route before you drive, the software will tell you when turns are coming up, and how much longer 'til you get there. "Daddy, are we there yet?" Another good reason for using DeLorme Street Atlas is the "via's" when creating routes. That means you can just select a desired road to travel during the route, rather than having to add route stops.

Here's the cover after getting it made, holes cut, and the edges sanded smooth. I played a propane torch over the center of the plexiglas until it was warm enough to bend. Just keep the torch moving! Otherwise you will blacken the plexiglas surface. It will bent easy when it's fairly hot. The cover keeps seat belt buckles, dropped coffee cups etc. from destroying the screen and/or keyboard when it's in the truck. The trackball is covered over since I use a handheld trackball from Logitech.	Strategic placed holes... the big one in the center is the processor's vent grill. Your laptop will probably be different, so plan accordingly. The upper left hole is the power switch. The lower right is the DeLorme key commands for current road, time to next turn, etc. during voice navigation when running a route. Also, I can find the keyboard holes easy by feel without looking away from the road. Finding the right keys without the cover was difficult and dangerous since I had to look down at the keyboard.

A side view of the cover. It's held on with small patches of Velcro, and the cover is easily removed for normal use. Also, the 1/4" thick plexiglas makes the laptop screen solid so it doesn't flop around on it's hinge. That keeps the laptop's delicate hinge from getting stressed in the vehicle environment.	A close up of the key holes. Insert tells you the time/distance to the next turn. Shift+end is the time to the destination, current road you're on, and speed you're moving. These holes make finding the needed keys fast and without having to look at the keyboard.

Page last updated: 2/22/01