I've been using TomTom for years now. I started off with Navigator v3 on an old PDA, then went through the various versions of TomTom Mobile and progressed up through the Navigator series and am currently running TomTom Mobile v6 on an Orange SPV mobile phone (brilliant when on the motorbike) and TomTom Navigator 6 on a PDA.
We all know how desirable sat nav equipment is to car thieves these days, so I wanted to minimise the risks of theft, but at the same time I didn't want to have to spend ten minutes fitting a suction cup to the screen (there's no way I'm drilling holes in the dash for a bracket), then have wires trailing all over the place to plug chargers in, then position the Bluetooth GPS receiver somewhere, then move it again because it's sliding all over the dash, then then then... You get the idea.
The Bluetooth GPS unit I have has an external antenna and a sliding on/off switch. This has a couple of advantages, the best one being that I can hardwire the unit in place and forget about it. Because of the sliding power switch, it can be left permanently in the ON position and the power supply hard wired to the ignition, the antenna can also be placed somewhere suitable so everything can be concealed nicely on the GPS receiver side of things. Here are some photos which will probably explain all this better than I can (click to enlarge):
The GPS receiver external antenna:
The cigarette lighter charger for the GPS unit (with the tip removed and wires soldered in place). Although the output from this is +12v, using the OEM charger for the GPS unit retains a steady voltage and battery charge regulation:
In the boot of the PT Cruiser is an ignition-switched +12v power outlet. I decided to use this to power the GPS unit itself and also decided to hide the GPS unit behind the same rear quarter panel, which in turn provides easy access to the back of the power outlet, allowing for the +12v to be tapped:
A wider angle shot of the same area:
Here we have the GPS receiver unit in place, easy access if ever it needs servicing too. You can see the two wires, one for power, one for the external antenna. The device now simply tucks in behind the rear quarter panel:
The external receiver is placed in the rear quarter window, providing good line of sight to the sky and also is concealed from thieving scum by the blacked out windows of the car:
It took forever trying to work out the best mounting method and position for the PDA unit itself as I didn't want to drill the dash or stick brackets or suction cups anywhere. The Parrot Car Kit came with numerous mounting brackets so I modified one of the spares and used some JB Weld to stick it to the back of the PDA. The bracket now simply slots into the trim of the dash when needed, a five second job. Power is supplied to the PDA from a wire kept in the glove box, this wire is connected to the ignition live circuit of the car so all the time the ignition is on, the PDA is charging:
So there we have it, a Bluetooth GPS TomTom Navigator 6 with a setup time of around 10 seconds per journey!
Update 29/12/07: Please see the 'WARNING: BASS KILLS' article for why NOT to place your GPS receiver here.
Update 15/03/08: The GPS antenna has now been moved to a more stealth location.
Modifications to date: Parrot CK3100 Bluetooth Hands Free Phone Kit, Debadged Tailgate.
People should read this.
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