AyAy slim GPS receiver

With $25 s/h added on it put its up there with some other GPS's...the form factor is very nice though...wonder what the "weather proofing" is on it..if any.

Wish I knew more about them...that's still a good price for a GPS.

If someone has one or buys one let us know :)
 
Okay, I received my AyAy GPS a couple of days before the Mar 12 outbreak, and used it on that chase. I have also tested it a little bit at home. Here are my findings thus far:

The unit is tiny, literally the size of a credit card, but slightly thcker. It is made of titanium, and seems quite durable (although I don't know how well it would handle moisutre). It connects via mini-USB to USB cable, two of which were included with the unit I purchased. The driver installation was quick and easy, via a mini-CD which also contains the PDF user manual. There is no hardcopy of the manual included. The manual contains detailed instructions, although the english is occasionally fractured (Chinese writers, I believe).

The unit gets its power via the USB interface, so no power cable is needed. This is good, in that I don't have to clutter my vehicle with another power cable. However, it does mean the unit requires laptop power to function. It also requires an external program, such as Delormes Street Atlas, in order to record the data. Thus, it isn't entirely practical to record an entire chase with the unit, at least for me, because my Dell would overheat if I kept it running for a long time. Again, this is no big deal, though, unless you want to document every minute of your chase.

I plugged mine in, sitting in my house, with quite a few trees around. It took longer than the advertised 45 seconds to lock from a "cold start". In fact, even in the open field, it took a couple of minutes to get its initial lock. Once locked, though, it performs as advertised. And if you stop and restart it (a "warm start", I think), it locks much faster- under 10 seconds. It can track up to 12 satellites. I get 5-8 in my house consistently.

Overall, I am pleased with the unit, although such a long cold start lock time is troublesome. The only other place I found reviews was here:
AyAy Reviews on mp3car.com
Some of the users there experienced the same problem, while others reported quick locks. On AyAy's own page, they indicate average cold start lock times of 50 seconds under IDEAL conditions (i.e. open sky, away from tall buildings, etc.). I don't know how this compares to other GPS receivers. The only other GPS I have used was an old Garmin handheld, which I believe locked more quickly. Some users on the mp3car forum also reported this problem mysteriouly vanished after a few weeks of use.

Take away the cold start problem, and this is a great unit. It takes up virtually no room in the vehicle, fits nicely in the laptop case when not in use, and it's just plain neat looking. I got mine for around $40 on ebay (including a ludicrous, non-returnable $25 S&H fee). I will post additional findings, if there are any, as I continue to use the unit.

Relevant links:

AyAy manual
AyAy FAQ Page, including blurb about long cold start times

TonyC
 
Thanks for the review of this unit Tony;

The "COLD" start time doesn't sound too far out of line with what I've experienced with other units. The best way to avoid that is to use your GPS for every leg of your trip. I suspect some of the units based on the newer SiRFstar III components may perform a bit better.

An option to reduce the overhead of USB-powered devices on a laptop is a "powered" USB hub; I incorporated one into my laptop mount. The downside is yet another power cord.. but if planned ahead of time it works out well.

It sounds like you use your GPS/mapping program a bit different from average; I know that I want my mapping program up all the time to see where I'm going. Looking at the track that I travelled afterwards is neat from a documentary point of view, however that would be secondary for me.
 
I bought the Delorme Earthmate LT-20 yesterday. I can't use at all in the house, even when it is facing out a window. I'm surprised that you can use the Ay-Ay inside then. But I took it for a spin in the car, and then it had no problem connecting.

GPS connected for the first time and loving it!
 
Hi Josh,

I've always been a paper-map kind of guy for realtime tracking, but now that I have a GPS, I may start using it for that purpose. It certainly would have helped a couple of chases in the past, where the paper maps and/or my sense of direction have failed. I have Street Atlas, and I've trained it to work with my voice on speech commands, so I'm almost there.

The real limiting factor is my current laptop (actually, my current employer's laptop). It isn't real good for "mission critical" usage. Hopefully, I'll be getting my own laptop before the meat of the chase season gets here.

Thanks for the response.

TonyC
 
Okay, I received my AyAy GPS a couple of days before the Mar 12 outbreak, and used it on that chase. I have also tested it a little bit at home. Here are my findings thus far:

The unit is tiny, literally the size of a credit card, but slightly thcker. It is made of titanium, and seems quite durable (although I don't know how well it would handle moisutre). It connects via mini-USB to USB cable, two of which were included with the unit I purchased. The driver installation was quick and easy, via a mini-CD which also contains the PDF user manual. There is no hardcopy of the manual included. The manual contains detailed instructions, although the english is occasionally fractured (Chinese writers, I believe).

The unit gets its power via the USB interface, so no power cable is needed. This is good, in that I don't have to clutter my vehicle with another power cable. However, it does mean the unit requires laptop power to function. It also requires an external program, such as Delormes Street Atlas, in order to record the data. Thus, it isn't entirely practical to record an entire chase with the unit, at least for me, because my Dell would overheat if I kept it running for a long time. Again, this is no big deal, though, unless you want to document every minute of your chase.

I plugged mine in, sitting in my house, with quite a few trees around. It took longer than the advertised 45 seconds to lock from a "cold start". In fact, even in the open field, it took a couple of minutes to get its initial lock. Once locked, though, it performs as advertised. And if you stop and restart it (a "warm start", I think), it locks much faster- under 10 seconds. It can track up to 12 satellites. I get 5-8 in my house consistently.

Overall, I am pleased with the unit, although such a long cold start lock time is troublesome. The only other place I found reviews was here:
AyAy Reviews on mp3car.com
Some of the users there experienced the same problem, while others reported quick locks. On AyAy's own page, they indicate average cold start lock times of 50 seconds under IDEAL conditions (i.e. open sky, away from tall buildings, etc.). I don't know how this compares to other GPS receivers. The only other GPS I have used was an old Garmin handheld, which I believe locked more quickly. Some users on the mp3car forum also reported this problem mysteriouly vanished after a few weeks of use.

Take away the cold start problem, and this is a great unit. It takes up virtually no room in the vehicle, fits nicely in the laptop case when not in use, and it's just plain neat looking. I got mine for around $40 on ebay (including a ludicrous, non-returnable $25 S&H fee). I will post additional findings, if there are any, as I continue to use the unit.

Relevant links:

AyAy manual
AyAy FAQ Page, including blurb about long cold start times

TonyC
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I just won mine on an ebay auction and I ended up paying $6.00 plus shipping for it. Ended up being a very good deal in the long run even with the crappy shipping rates. I'm happy to get a good GPS unit for less than 40 bucks any day. :)
 
Recieved the GPS yesterday. Had a lock on my location within 15 seconds. AMAZING! Very nice with the titanium casing and I have had no issues using it with Streets and Trips as well as GRLevel3/2.
 
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