$2000 for equipment and data...

[Doug Raflik]

I have $2000 to budget for equipment and data for this years chase season. I plan to chase from mid April thru mid Aug. (Live in Wisconsin but will be heading out to other states as systems provide. I have nothing as far as data retrieving equipment. This is what I want...

Hi def radar program. I have used GRL3 in the past. It has to have velocity and the ability to zoom in and still be great clarity.
GPS overlay showing where I am in relation to radar.
Shows polygon warnings.
MDs and watches would be a great plus but not demanded.

I guess I need a GPS unit for the radar. Or do I? Do the new machines have the ability to see where I am while on line?

If I am going to buy one device, it needs to have multiple programs running at the same time. I.E. radar and internet browsing. If a laptop AND tablet would be the best, I could do that as well.

I do not have, nor do I want a smart phone to do any tethering.

I need a laptop for other things so a laptop is pretty much a given. I can use a tablet for non chasing as well to, so both would be ok.

Now, how do I get data? I only need to be online via non wi-fi for 5 months. I will not be streaming. I would guess 5 gigs a month should be fine.

What do you think I should get?

Thanks for your time.

Doug Raflik

 

[Skip Talbot]

Laptop: $500 for a 15" Dell Inspiron
http://www.dell.com/us/dfh/p/inspiron-laptops?~ck=anav
I just bought a Dell Inspiron 15R with Windows 8, an i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, and dedicated video. It's a very nice build. I got it for $500, discounted because it was a refurbished unit and I also applied a 20% coupon I got through slickdeals.net. If you watch that site for a coupon and apply it to a unit marked down for a scratch or refurb, you can pick up a very nice deal. That machine is normally $800-$1000.

I recommend a touchscreen. You may not think you'll want or need it, but trust me, it's extremely handy being able to pan and hit buttons with your finger while chasing instead of having to dink around with the touchpad and keyboard. The world is turning to touchscreen interfaces as well, and Windows 8 is designed for it.

Data: $200 + $70/mo for a Verizon mobile hotspot sold through Millenicom
https://members.millenicom.com/members/order.php?step=1&productGroup=23&product=106
Millenicom resells Verizon data for that particular plan. They'll send you a device that creates a wifi hotspot for your laptop and give you 20GB of bandwidth. Millenicom's service is reliable and their support is good. Verizon currently has the best coverage on the plains.

Radar software: $80 for Grlevel3 v2
http://grlevelx.com/grlevel3_2/
Grlevel3 is still the standard for radar software on Windows even though the original version is about 10 years old now.

Nav software: $50 for Delorme Street Atlas 2014 + Globosat GPS puck
http://shop.delorme.com/OA_HTML/DELibeCCtdItemDetail.jsp?item=32386&section=10122
Street Atlas has also been the standard for Windows chasing for over 10 years. The interface is a bit chunky due to its age, but there still is no better navigation app on the Windows platform, and I'd also argue that iOS and Android do not have a competing app. Some prefer Microsft Streets and Trips, but I find Street Atlas to be much more feature rich and the software more stable. The maps are not perfect, however, and you may come across missing roads or out of date roads. Streets and Trips isn't much better in this regard. Google Maps is better here, but requires an internet connection(or downloading your maps ahead of time) and has far fewer features. The included Globosat-BU353-S4 GPS puck is a standard for chasers, works great with Windows 7 and 8. You'll use this for both your radar and nav software.

GPS Utility Software: $40 for GpsGate
http://gpsgate.com/purchase/gpsgate_standard_license
A utility that makes sharing your GPS between GrLevel3 and Street Atlas a snap, and also will save a GPS log for you if you add that as an output, which is great for reviewing your chases.

This is the setup I use, with the exception of the mobile hotspot which I haven't bought yet. You should have a solid chase setup for under a grand. Spend the other thousand on gas and burritos.

 

[Skip Talbot]

I forgot to mention Allisonhouse:
https://www.allisonhouse.com/pages/pricing

$10/mo gets your level 3 radar for Grlevel3, visible satellite, warnings, and MDs. This isn't a required subscription, since the radar data is free and you can get those other products elsewhere too, but the reliability you get from Allisonhouse and having all your products in one place is easily worth the price for less than one lunch stop on a chase.

 

[Marcus Diaz]

Skip posted a solid setup there. And as long as you don't have a gas hogging vehicle, you should be good with $1000 so long as you go home if there's an extended period of inactivity.

 

[Doug Raflik]

Thanks skip. What is this cradle point thing some talk about.

 

[John Wetter]

Skip nailed this one. Might as well close up this thread! The only possible add would be a cell amplifier... But LTE ones are still MIA except for a couple brands... I haven't seen any "all bands, all modes" amps yet like I'd hoped.

 

[Skip Talbot]

Thanks skip. What is this cradle point thing some talk about.

It's a router that you plug your datacard into instead of into the laptop. The router then creates a wifi hotspot from the datacard and allows you to share the connection with multiple devices (phones, tablets, and laptops). The fancier ones will also use multiple devices to create a faster and more reliable connection, and will automatically reconnect for you if the connection is lost. This solution works better than relying on your laptop's software to connect using a datacard.

A jetpack, mifi, or mobile hotspot device combines the datacard and cradle router into one device, so a cradle is not needed with the Millenicom mobile hotpsot solution I posted above.

 

[Brett Roberts]

Skip has just about everything covered. I would add that if you need GPS splitting, but don't want to fork over a rather hefty $40 for it, there's a free program called XPort that does just about the same thing as GPSGate: http://www.curioustech.net/xport.html

I'm very surprised this gem of a program doesn't get mentioned more often among chasers. I've used it for two seasons with zero problems to split my GPS between DeLorme, GRLevelX, and SN. The only caveat is that it requires 32-bit Windows. That's a dealbreaker for chasers running newer laptops with 8 GB (or more) of RAM, since it limits the usable RAM to 4 GB. But a lot of us are still running older machines as our chasing laptops, so I thought it was worth mentioning.

As for data, I'll repeat what I've said in other threads for the past two years regarding Millenicom: I used them for a few seasons in the past, back when Sprint rivaled Verizon for the best coverage in the Plains. Now that it's all Verizon, I find it better to get service directly through them for my purposes. You can score a dirt cheap USB modem on eBay (we're talking $20-30), then activate month-to-month service with Verizon for $50/mo. The only catches are a 4 GB monthly cap and a $35 activation fee. Still, this is significantly cheaper than the Millenicom route. Bottom line: if you need tons of bandwidth, go with Millenicom; they can't be beat for that. If you just need enough bandwidth to view standard meteorological data while you're chasing, Verizon can get you that for a good bit cheaper.

Finally, do yourself a favor and get a Cradlepoint if you do end up with a USB modem. It will pay for itself in a matter of three chases by saving you the relentless headaches and problems of Verizon's Windows connectivity software.

 

[Skip Talbot]

http://www.curioustech.net/xport.html

I'm very surprised this gem of a program doesn't get mentioned more often among chasers.

I didn't mention it because I actually had a very difficult time with that software. Configuration of the GPS was more fussy, the program would lose its connection to the GPS puck, and crash. These problems were probably specific to my hardware configuration, so it may have worked flawlessly for others. That was years ago too. The software has probably been upgraded since then.

64 bit operating systems are basically standard now. Every machine I looked at on that Dell page is running Win 8 x64. So an app that's 32 bit only is practically defunct. It looks like development on XPort has stopped as well. The author cites that Windows 8 makes XPort obsolete, which is a bit misleading. While new phones and laptops may have built in GPS units that utilize the new Location API, if you're using a USB GPS puck with GR and Street Atlas, you will still need a COM port splitter.

 

[Matt Hunt]

Another option would be to get a 2nd gps receiver, provided you have the available USB ports. You should be able to find the one that comes with Streets & Trips (probably including the software) for under $20 on eBay.

 

[STexan]

I recommend Verizon for the bulk of your data as through millinicom but if you have a cell phone and it's ATT with hotspot feature, that's even better. this gives you a redundant cellular data option. There are a few places where ATT will work fairly well and Verizon not, and vice versa. I also recommend a quality cell booster (magnetic roof mount with internal "wireless" connection) In the remote corn patches, you'll be dealing primarily with 3G and this is well supported for signal boosting and is almost vital in more then a few areas. It's not mandatory, but when you need it, you need it.

 

[Marcus Diaz]

Verizon coverage is exceptional in most of western OK south of I-40. I was getting 4G LTE out near the middle of nowhere near Anadarko. But in NW OK and parts of KS you'll struggle to get cell coverage. I know AT&T is lacking big time in most of Nebraska that isnt near I-80. It's like you have to decide where you'll be chasing the most and check their coverage. For me down here its Verizon all the way.

 

[Jason Boggs]

I have a Verizon mifi hotspot that I use along with an ipad with AT&T data. Having 2 different carriers gives me a better opportunity at having data more consistently.

 

[Taylor Wright]

Millenicom is a bit more expensive at $70 per month than going straight through Verizon. Especially since I would never use 20 gigs of data chasing. However, Millenicom seems much more straightforward and you get more gigs per dollar. I've also heard bad things about Verizon's hotspot devices. How does the device provided by Millenicom compare with a pre-paid verizon jetpack? I'm one of the poor souls with T-Mobile, so even though my phone acts as a 4G hotspot, 4G data is only provided in heavily populated areas and thus it relies mostly on 2G (or often worse) data in the plains.

 

[Doug Raflik]

The Delorme software is on a DVD. The laptop I am buying does not have a DVD drive. How do I get around this?