Putting new life into a barely used x51v

[Funk Acrylic]

Hey everyone,

So for my car, I'm in the market for an mp3 player and a gps navigation system, and I was wondering if anyone had any advice for the most price efficient way to do this for the x51v and/or if it's even worth it. I don't really have any other use for my axim anymore, and this seemed like a great way to get get some use out of it.

Battery life isn't an issue because I plan to have the thing plugged in at all times.

What i'm looking for:

-A stand and car power adapter.
-A compatible 32gb cf card
-A bluetooth gps system
-Car friendly mp3 player software (big buttons for big fingers and big text), with ogg, wma, and mp3 support (im coming from a beloved iriver h320).
-GPS software

So basically I want to turn my x51v into a dedicated car computer thingamabob.

I realize I could just look each one of these up individually (I currently am), but I was thinking there was a good chance that someone on here has a similar setup already.

Price efficiency is key here, so if it could all be kept within $100-200 that would be great.

Any advice at all is appreciated.

[bigtsr]

Hey everyone,

So for my car, I'm in the market for an mp3 player and a gps navigation system, and I was wondering if anyone had any advice for the most price efficient way to do this for the x51v and/or if it's even worth it. I don't really have any other use for my axim anymore, and this seemed like a great way to get get some use out of it.

Battery life isn't an issue because I plan to have the thing plugged in at all times.

What i'm looking for:

-A stand and car power adapter.
-A compatible 32gb cf card
-A bluetooth gps system
-Car friendly mp3 player software (big buttons for big fingers and big text), with ogg, wma, and mp3 support (im coming from a beloved iriver h320).
-GPS software

So basically I want to turn my x51v into a dedicated car computer thingamabob.

I realize I could just look each one of these up individually (I currently am), but I was thinking there was a good chance that someone on here has a similar setup already.

Price efficiency is key here, so if it could all be kept within $100-200 that would be great.

Any advice at all is appreciated.

I use my 51v with a BT332 gps rcvr and have both Dell/Navteq and MS
PocketStreets installed works like a charm.You buy some great gps software
such Oncourse and Garmin XT which come on SD cards.

Arkon GPS Mounts make a number of mounts that will work with 51v
some have the power connection on them.

Check out the memory card compatibility sticky
Storage Card Compatibility List

Mp3 players abound on the net some for free and it's a personal
choice,I have TCPMP on my 51v which does every thing I want.

[Gigi]

I have no idea if this is any good, but it's designed for car use:

KAI'S CAR MP3 PLAYER.NET - Windows Mobile Software and Pocket PC Software from clickapps.com

You might want to give the demo a try.

But for free, nothing can beat TCPMP.

Hey, Funk Acrylic -
Up until Christmas, I was using my Axim x51v with the Visiontac 700 bluetooth GPS, a powered Arkon Mount, and Odyssey Mobile gps software. At Christmas my wife gave me a dedicated Magellan unit, which, admittedly, is a lot less bulky in the car than the Arkon Mount.

The long and the short: I will sell you the GPS and Mount for $45 shipped. The product page for the VGPS 700 is here: Visiontac-Professional GPS Product
I have seen it out there new for as little as $59.

The Arkon Model I have is CM-720 -- found it on the Arkon site. There are slightly different models available for as little as $10-11.

I got both products about a year ago. The GPS works great, and comes with a couple of different cords for charging. I would throw the Mount in with it for free, because it has some looseness in the input jack which makes you have to wiggle it around at times to get sound out of the speaker.

I would not recommend the Odyssey software, because it seems to be a dead product with no upgrade path - and no new maps in a while. I can't give it to you because it is a one machine/owner license. Onccourse Navigator and the Garmin software look good -- check the GPS threads for great recommendations.

PM me if you are interested!

[comptonOG]

Here is my experience with AXim GPS use. When you gas up or get out of your car... the axim You have to re-start the GPS software and re-set your destination. SItting there waiting for all to slowly load and using the stylus got old. I now have a cheap garmin 200 and get in and out of my car and it continues to route and even turns itself back on when you turn on the ignition. My vote is to save yourself the hassle and get a garmin type.

For mp3's you will have to run the sound through your car speakers somehow. The built in axim speaker was not loud enough for me driving down the highway.

[JakeRich]

Here is my experience with AXim GPS use. When you gas up or get out of your car... the axim You have to re-start the GPS software and re-set your destination. SItting there waiting for all to slowly load and using the stylus got old. I now have a cheap garmin 200 and get in and out of my car and it continues to route and even turns itself back on when you turn on the ignition. My vote is to save yourself the hassle and get a garmin type.

For mp3's you will have to run the sound through your car speakers somehow. The built in axim speaker was not loud enough for me driving down the highway.

Curious, I don't have to do that. When I shut down my car to gas it up, the GPS software keeps going, the Ax is still running. The GPS receiver that I am using, which is connected to external power, does shut down on power off, but then restarts and reconnects in seconds when the key is turned on again. I do have other GPS receivers that don't shut down, but shift to battery when external power is removed, so even that can be avoided. In any event, my system picks up the route exactly where it was. You must have been doing something to shut off the GPS when you stopped.

I have some stuff that could help. I just bought my Axim and it came with this GPS car holder thing that I have no real interest in. Take a look at this, it is his original posting. Let me know if you are interested in it.
ksl.com - Ad Listing

Curious, I don't have to do that. When I shut down my car to gas it up, the GPS software keeps going, the Ax is still running. The GPS receiver that I am using, which is connected to external power, does shut down on power off, but then restarts and reconnects in seconds when the key is turned on again. I do have other GPS receivers that don't shut down, but shift to battery when external power is removed, so even that can be avoided. In any event, my system picks up the route exactly where it was. You must have been doing something to shut off the GPS when you stopped.

I haven't had a problem with that, either - except for a stop of an hour or longer. Then the Ax and the GPS sometimes have difficulty resyncing.
comptonOG is right about the MP3 player stuff -- the speaker on the powered Mount is adequate for GPS use, but not for Mp3s. If you have a car stereo with an auxiliary input, a stereo patch cord from the ax to the input would work fine.