Handheld GPS info

brightfang1

hello,
i have only just started this forum but i am doing a GCSE course for technology and the project includes to design a handheld GPS bracket.

if it is possible, please could i have some:
sizes of GPS's
costs of the bracket
holder materials

thank
brightfang1

RealMan

My garmin edge 305 is sitting right next to me. And so is a tape measure. Your lucky day.

9.5cm long. 4.5cm wide. 2.25cm deep. The brackets are about £5-10 depending on whether the big boys at garmin need another set of golf clubs, and they are complete rubbish. They break constantly, and ruin the GPS for future brackets.

So designing a new one is a very good idea.

Obviously rubber and plastic are the best things to start with, as metal is overkill and too heavy. I think you can already get some alternative brackets from other companies, and they work quite well. Might want to look in to those and nick ideas, but I think a cradle idea would be simplest and best. If you use some kind of clamp system, it may even be able to fit lots of different types.

brightfang1

RealMan wrote:

My garmin edge 305 is sitting right next to me. And so is a tape measure. Your lucky day.

9.5cm long. 4.5cm wide. 2.25cm deep. The brackets are about £5-10 depending on whether the big boys at garmin need another set of golf clubs, and they are complete rubbish. They break constantly, and ruin the GPS for future brackets.

So designing a new one is a very good idea.

Obviously rubber and plastic are the best things to start with, as metal is overkill and too heavy. I think you can already get some alternative brackets from other companies, and they work quite well. Might want to look in to those and nick ideas, but I think a cradle idea would be simplest and best. If you use some kind of clamp system, it may even be able to fit lots of different types.

thanks a lot... this info will help me loads.
what do you mean by a cradle idea? is it the way the bracket sits on the handle bars?

RealMan

Well the Garmin has two horizontal slots in the back, that means it slides sideways on to its bracket. The brackets are made of cheese, and break constantly. Also, road vibration causes the Garmin (which is a little on the chubby side for a bike computer) to wobble slightly, as expected. This causes the brackets to erode slightly (as mentioned, made of cheese, to be expected) and this wobble increases over time. Eventually the slots on the back of the unit also erode, although slower. This eventually means you get a new bracket, slide it on, and its wobbling and loose straight away.

The cradle idea is more like how you hold a phone in your hand. Imagine a baby in a cradle, and the sides close on the baby to hold it securely. It won't wobble, its very secure, and it will support it on all sides so won't break easily.



Something like that would be cool. Except don't use sponge. Rubber is much better. And the adaptability of a cradle system means it can hold different sized units.

brightfang1

ahhh ok then thanks for that i will keep it in mind

Frodo1095

The Garmin edge 500 has a slightly different locking system wherby you rotate 1/4 turn I think to click it in rather than sliding it in which I can imagine holds it better but I dont like rubber O rings it uses to secure it onto the stem/handlebar.
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=65215#

If you design one make sure you have a good way of attaching to the bike itself as well, not just holding your prized GPS

shoddy

I have a Garmin Etrex which i use on my bike.
The Etrex cycle mount uses a bracket which clamps around the handlebars (with different thickness rubber inserts to compensate for different thickness handlebars). You get a new battery cover which replaces the original one. The 'new' bat cover has a bracket on it which clips onto the handlebar clamp. See link below: -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-eTrex-Ha ... 495&sr=8-1

this is a very good system. The bracket is very small and light so you can leave it on your bike, and the unit is very very secure once clipped on.

If i were you i would copy this, although for each type of GPSr you want to support with your design of clamp, you would have to come up with a new battery cover.

Hope that helps

brightfang1

it also has to be universal and incorporate an alarm system for unauthorised removal of the GPS

Thread8

for the alarm bit, you could have a sensor/some form of magnet in the back of the unit, that makes it go off when another sensor on the cradle detecs its not there anymore, and then have a keyring deactivator thing or something that you wave near to the system for the "authorised" person to remove it

brightfang1

so like a key fob on a car?

Thread8

brightfang1 wrote:

so like a key fob on a car?

Yea that kind of thing

For my dad's office alarm system they have a kind of keyring sensor thingy that they wave in front of the alarm control panel to arm/disarm it instead of putting a code in, a similar thing to this