Tablets: a new era in chasing?

[STexan]

BTW, FWIW. Verizon, Galaxy Tab 4 ... Signal reception is lousy (poor antenna or antenna placement?). My iPhone is the only thing that kept me connected w/ radar updates in central TX and other weak coverage areas with Verizon. I'm not carrying my Windows laptop anymore. I miss having GrLevel available, but oh well. Just my Android tablet, iPhone and Macbook. I would probably run a Windows tablet if it wasn't for the fact some apps I have other needs for are best available for Android and non-existent for IOS or Windows

 

[rob.cannon]

-Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 that I run either RadarScope or Pykl3.
-Google Nexus 7 running my offline GPS (Navigator app)
-Note 3 running as my Verizon hotspot.

All are mounted on RAM X-grip mounts.

I still have my Ram laptop mount, but I haven't used it this year, it has sat in the hatch of my car.

 

[Jake Orosi]

Something worth noting. If you have a tablet that runs Windows and it is eligible for an upgrade to Windows 10, you may be interested to know that Windows 10 has a feature that allows you to download maps to use "offline" with the included Maps program. The maps are downloaded manually and by state, so obviously you would want to download your target state as well as all the adjacent states at least, if you don't want to download the whole US for space-saving purposes. And of course this is only useful for navigating if your tablet has GPS capability.

 

[Robert Forry]

The mount is kind of wobbly but it does the job. I'm not looking at going crazy with all the techy stuff. Just the basics, a handheld scanner, the tablet and a GPS unit are all I need. I have a CB radio just to monitor the truckers channel. Sometimes they have the best vantage point and they can relay any info on upcoming traffic or road safety hazards.

I like the look in the (Cherokee?) Chuck. I'm using the X Mount for Ram for my Surface Pro III in my Cherokee and it takes up quite a bit of leg/knee space for the passenger. The mount itself is pretty sturdy and very easy to use. Depending on what chase vehicle I upgrade to, I may have to do some modifications in my shop to get more space savings. BTW - how do you deal with where you have your CB'c control head mounted? In my Cherokee I'd be banging the hell out of my left knee all the time..

 

[Robert Forry]

I haven't kept up with this thread but I see a couple posts about issues with Windows Location Services and the GPSDirect driver software. I just wanted to touch base and mention that I did testing yesterday and it still functions like it should. I added the GPSDirect into my startup programs so it starts whenever my tablet does. When you set the COM port it is using you should also click the Make Default Location button that way the software will always look on that port when it starts. Without doing that, I believe you have to hit the Install button every time you run it.

So GPSDirect and GPSGate are in startup, I think I have COM4 or something from GPSGate as the one I use in GPSDirect, so it goes GPSGate -> Virtual COM 4 -> GPSDirect -> Windows Location Services. Everything works fine.

Feel free to send me a PM on here if you want assistance in getting this working, as long as I'm not out chasing I should be able to walk you through it

Nick, your advice on this was very valuable. I did the same think with mine in startup so I don't have to fiddle with anything anymore. Works flawlessly. Thank you!!

 

[Brett Roberts]

As an update to this thread I started three years ago:

I purchased a Surface Pro 2 on clearance before the season began, and I'm officially a convert to tablet-based chasing. I didn't touch my laptop all year, and the SP2 mounted (in a rather unique, jerry-rigged way) to my dash provided by far the best chasing experience I've had to-date.

To address some of the concerns I had going in:

- I'm using a $15 Bluetooth GPS receiver from eBay, and although the initial setup wasn't entirely painless (as evidenced by a lot of the discussion the past 2 pages), it's been working at least as well as any USB puck I used prior. By far the most painful part of the setup was configuring GPS to work with Metro apps.

- Regarding offline mapping: it turns out that "Maps Pro" in the Windows Store, despite its mediocre user ratings and lots of complaints, is a fully functional touchscreen-friendly navigation app with the ability to use OpenStreetMap data. In this regard, it's very much the equivalent of MAPS.ME found on Android/iOS, which is good enough for me (even if not quite as full-featured as DeLorme/S&T were, e.g. for navigation). However, I should warn that once again, the initial setup was not without hiccups and annoyances -- the app author wants you to purchase OpenStreetMap data through the app, but you can easily download these free files from elsewhere, place them in the appropriate directory, and things work fine.

- As the first chase drew near, I had everything resolved except for a touch-friendly GRLevelX interface on the high-PPI screen. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the program itself to give tablet users an optimal interface (I'm sure it'll happen someday, but who knows when). As a result, I messed around in Visual Studio and created a rather ghetto x86 program which can float above the GRLevelX window and provide large touch-friendly buttons for basic tasks like switching products, playing/pausing a loop, and moving up/down through tilts. I used it myself all season and it made touchscreen operation of GRX painless for most in-chase tasks. However, I still need to go back and polish a couple things so I can post it here for others to use if desired.

All in all, I couldn't be happier chasing with the SP2. The only real challenge is mounting, although in larger vehicles that may not be an issue either. If you're able to dash-mount, the amount of space freed up compared against a laptop setup is monumental, and you lose virtually no functionality or power. I'm sure the same can be said of the SP3, even though it has a bit larger footprint that could possibly make mounting it even harder. However, after playing around with one at the store, I would say the Surface 3 (non-pro) is probably the ultimate chase device. Similar footprint to the SP2, but much thinner and lighter with a better power connector. On the other hand, the price-to-performance proposition for the SP3 (or SP2 if you can find one) is probably better than the S3, and I'd stick with the Pro series if you want to do full-on 1080p+ video editing on the road.

 

[Chuck Kavanaugh]

I like the look in the (Cherokee?) Chuck. I'm using the X Mount for Ram for my Surface Pro III in my Cherokee and it takes up quite a bit of leg/knee space for the passenger. The mount itself is pretty sturdy and very easy to use. Depending on what chase vehicle I upgrade to, I may have to do some modifications in my shop to get more space savings. BTW - how do you deal with where you have your CB'c control head mounted? In my Cherokee I'd be banging the hell out of my left knee all the time..

Sorry, I haven't had much time to visit this site like I want to. Yes it is a Cherokee and the mount I'm using works well and provides ample leg room. The only problem is that it's not on a swivel and when I try to turn the screen over to the passenger I have to re-bend the mount (which the manufacturer doesn't recommend because it could snap in half) so I'm the only one who can see/use the radar. As far as the CB I the just lay the mic and cord over the steering column. Kinda hillbillyish but I don't want to wrestle with the mount which is practically mashed between my leg and the drivers door, lol. Have a Merry Christmas and bring on spring!!!!