Our survey group have 3 Lowrance GPS handhelds and want to update. We thought of getting the Magellan Map 330 (used in the Promark 2 ?), and so put ourselves in a better poition to update to the full Promark 2 in the future.
Is this a possible option, or am I dreaming?
Keep looking?
Modified By STEPHEN PICKFORD on 10/23/2001 at 7:04 AM

The map330 will navagate exactly like the ProMark2 but the map330 does not have the external antenna port like the ProMark2 has. So to upgrade is probably not a reality without buying the new ProMark2.
Rb

1) I suspect that there is different firmware in the package, it may or not be upgradable from the consumer receiver.

2) and that the receiver is the least expensive part of the PM package after software and antenna.

I would doubt an upgrade would be offered but you could inquire of ashtech via email, dealer if no one here offers any corporate response.
Modified By jerry wahl on 10/23/2001 at 9:22 AM

Thanks for the response guys, but it would be a great incentive to buy the Magellan Map 330 Handheld (or many!) if we could tell our beancounter bosses that we could possibly upgrade to static GPS in the future, and Ashtech would sell more 330's!!

just cross your fingers behind your back when you tell'm

"ya could possibly upgrade."

Nah...they wouldn't go for it.

;-}

Jimbo
Modified By James Webb on 10/23/2001 at 10:30 AM

Keep looking Stephen, and don't hold your breath, there are much better handhelds than the map 330.
Modified By jon stratton on 10/23/2001 at 10:41 AM

Jon,

Toss a model out there and what ya like about it. I'm kinda looking for a cheapo, leaning toward a Garmin etrex Venture <$175.


Jimbo

It takes a lot of nerve to post messages in a sponsored forum, bashing the sponsor's products with no specific criticism.

sorry.

If there is something ya don't like about the 330 speak up. That is all Brian is saying. Criticism can be constructive!! Just saying something is bad without saying why you think so is the problem. And we all like to hear other opinions, even tho we may not agree !!

I must say that Ashtech, as proven by this forum, is receptive to constructive criticism and ENCOURAGES it so that they can produce better products, soft and hard.


Jimbo

Ok, ok. Here goes.

I am sure that the Map330 is a great little unit, BUT...

We are thinking of updating our handhelds too, and are looking for GPS's that have even more potential and usefullness like the Garmin, because of the fact that they can output the raw pseudoranges from the data port, and, optionally, carrier phase measurement data into programs like GRINGO that which then converts the records into RINEX format.

There are many software programers on the net who offer cheap programs, using the Rinex data, to get decimeter positions.

Imagine, potentially calculating your coordinates to 10 cm or better with carrier phase measurements from a handheld!

Quote from (freeware)developer site:
"We are led to believe that only the expensive geodetic equipment (or bare OEM boards) have all those bells and whistles. Apparently every GPS have to use those things. Otherwise they wouldn't be able to compute your position. It is only that the manufacturers consider you an average consumer that will be satisfied with a simpler 40.38N 136.56W kind of answer. Therefore, the more basic kind of data (so called raw data) never sees the light."

This is the sort of stuff I want to play with!!

Maybe you can do this with the Map 330, but there is no indication of it on the net.

I, too, was attracted by the various small-dollar approaches to obtaining survey-grade GPS results, and had been eagerly following the efforts of the folks who were cobbling together such systems. I figured that, sooner or later, someone would come up with a collection of low-cost hardware and software that would enable just about any surveyor willing to invest some time and energy to make use of GPS without having to shell out $10k or so.

Then Ashtech released the PM2. They coupled state-of-the art L1 hardware with a similarly advanced software package, and put a price on it that makes the build-it-yourself approach look much less appealing.

It sold me anyway. I now have a 3-receiver system for about half of what I would have had to pay for commercial gear prior to the PM2, and I don't have to worry about the bubble-gum-and-baling-wire complications of a homebrew solution.

I don't mean to discourage the experimenters; on the contrary, I applaud those willing to find alternatives to the prepackaged offerings. However, my primary interest in GPS is as a means to obtain improved positioning accuracy at lower cost, not as another hobby, and the PM2 fit the bill.


Modified By Jim Frame on 10/24/2001 at 10:33 AM

Plus, you get receivers and software that have been tested specifically for performance in a surveying environment, tech support, etc.

I like to cobble stuff together, but it's not always a practical approach.
Modified By Brian Ewing, PLS on 10/24/2001 at 2:34 PM

John, some of the guys at work have been doing experiments with cables and connectors to do things with the ProMark2 that are outside the box of what it is being sold to do.

If you have the technical proficiency to create cables and operate software that is outside the realm of what tech support is going to do for you then the Map 330 or ProMark2 will let you go there. I was amazed at what one of the guys put together and was doing with the box. Is it for sale? Heck, no. What they cobbled together was so fragile it probably would not make it through packaging. This is for the tinkerers and experimenters only.

But your first comment was that it would not do some things you wanted to do. Well, it might do more than you think.

Let's put it this way. I have been using Garmin GPS40 receivers for years. They are rugged and they work as well as they did when I bought them. I ordered a Map 330 of my own yesterday just so I can take it home and play with it on my own. Am I going to throw away my Garmin? No, it still does everything it did when I bought it.

Can you upgrade the Map 330 to be a ProMark2? Nope. It is a different tool. The box may be identical in appearance but what it does is different. One thing to consider... The ProMark2 makes you split the memory resources between the Map 330 portion and the survey data. If you want something just for navigation you get to use all 16MB for it in the Map 330.

They handed me the ProMark2 and told me to figure it out on my first day at work. I started with Ashtech Dimensions and PRISM and am very impressed with this new tool and the Ashtech Solutions software that goes with it. I may be riding for the brand but I know what works and what does not. The ProMark2 works.

Please note: Nobody paid me to say this. If you check my profile you will see that I am doing this at home.