navigation programs
 

I was wondering what computer navigation program people perfer i was looking at trucker copilot also how do these programs work as in how the get there signal and is there a monthly fee

tom3130, programs such as copilot and micrsoft streets & trips get their signal from a GPS receiver that you can hook up to your computer or PDA. They connect either by a USB port or by Bluetooth (wireless). I'm thinking about getting copilot myself. Check out their website - http://www.alk.com/copilot/truck_lpt.asp

I've got CoPilot, Microsoft Streets & Trips 2006 and DeLorme Street Atlas 2006.

CoPilot is nice, but has some drawbacks (major ones). I came through Columbus, OH yesterday with a non-hazmat load on I-71 heading south. It initially had me routed to take the loop around, but I went straight through. It kept trying to re-route me off the interstate, constantly. In fact, it'd tell me to take an exit ramp, then get right back on the same ramp. The 3-D view is the best feature of the program.

Streets & Trips is great, but the driving part isn't that great. The new version, due out next month, is supposed to have a full screen driving view. Can't wait to see that.

Delorme, I've only used once. I don't like the layout of the program, and sure as hell don't need 3 maps of the exact same thing open, which it does by default.

All 3 of the programs use a GPS receiver that comes with the software, and there is no monthly fee.

I use Microsoft streets and maps 2006,for just over $100 it works fine.

any programs out there for macintosh G-4 os 10.3.9 ?

Streets and Trips is all you need. Supposedly CoPilot has truck routing, but more than a few people has told me that their truck routing is not very reliable at all. Hence, I just use Streets and Trips for a small fraction of what CoPilot cost.

Initial setup for Streets and Trips w/GPS is around $100 via amazon.com, and then you can buy the new program each year when it is released for around $25 to $35, which is a small fraction of what CoPilot will cost you.

If your company provides routing, then great! Just sync up Streets and Trips to match up with your company routing and you are ready to go. If your company doesn?t provide routing and you have any questions regarding specific routes, then always check them against your Motor Carrier Road Atlas.

Finally, for final directions to the shipper or final directions to the consignee, a GPS software solution just can?t be beat, and Streets and Trips for a small fraction of what other GPS solutions cost is a wonderful program to have.

I used to have the same problem in Columbus with Streets and Trips, except Street and Trips always wanted to route me through Columbus instead of around it and when I would drag and drop the route to fix it, you had to be very careful or you?d end up with a route that would tell you to take an exit ramp, then get right back on again, or more or less the same problem you had.

The way I fixed that problem was to draw a big square right through the heart of Columbus and designate it as an area that I didn?t want to route through, then I saved it in my default map. It worked perfect. I have since used that same trick to prevent the program from routing through the cities of Atlanta, GA and Washington, DC as it always wanted to do it in those two cities also, and anytime I want to go through those cities or inside them, I simply remove the square in the working map that I happened to be working with at the time.

Hey...would you say that CoPilot is worth the extra $200 -$300 more than it cost for Streets and Trips and which one of the three would you say is the simplest and easiest to use overall?

Thanks for all the Imput just bought microsoft streets and trips 2006 with gps locater got brand new on ebay 86.00

goodluck
 

goodluck