Laptop GPS Software for EMS Service

awraynor · 02-02-2006, 07:41 AM

I work for a Critical Care Transport service in Wilmington, NC that wants to add GPS tracking software to our Panasonic CF-73 semi-rugged Touchscreen notebooks. Some of the requirements are present position indicator, street level directions and solid coverage of North Carolina, especially the Wilmington area (one hour north of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina). Any recommendations for software or features is greatly appreciated.

grimor2000 · 02-02-2006, 09:03 AM

I recomend the MR350 USB RS-232 GPS Receiver due to it's permanent mount and solid construction. and on a laptop, Microsoft Streets and Trips 2006. Very user friendly, accurate maps, ability to redraw directions with the push of a button if you get off course. Personaly I think I guidance is only good if you have a smaller screen (like 7" or 8") but with a laptop screen S&T is very nice.

awraynor · 02-02-2006, 11:30 AM

Thanks for your suggestion. It will be very important to us to have
graphics that are easy to view(not tiny) as we navigate roads and
through congested areas. Does S&T include updates for a period
or must we buy a complete program to stay up to date?

edikp · 02-02-2006, 12:00 PM

I've had S&T since version 2003. So far they've been coming up with a new version (which is in a form of a complete program) approximately once every year.

I, personally, prefer to use iGuidance over S&T since it's easier to use while driving and navigating at the same time. When I did a ride along with my local emergency response, I had an understanding that you guys usually travel in a group of two or three. S&T might just be sufficient for this case since one can drive and another person can navigate using the laptop. S&T's price (version without the GPS receiver included) is so inexpensive, it's not prohibitive for you to just purchase it to check it out. I purchased S&T 2006 at Costco for $14.99 after rebate.

Edit: I just realized that CostCo doesn't have nationwide operations. Anyway, CostCo is a club warehouse like Sam's Club. Maybe you can find something similar to it in your area.

awraynor · 02-02-2006, 02:37 PM

Our department is one part of the EMS division at our hospital We operate with a Paramedic, Nurse, and EMT driver. We mainly transport critical care patients from hospital to hospital. When needed in our own county we will supplement the 911 division. So sometimes there will be 3 people in the fron of the 4 door cab and half the time just one. I have heard a lot of good about iGuidance and think I may start there. We will probably trial one copy of each and then decide from there. Is there a big difference in the GPS antennas that are typically available?

PURDooM · 02-02-2006, 02:47 PM

iGuidance and streets and trips both accept NEMA compliant gps info, so you can use *almost* any gps reciever with both of them. I hear garmin gps units prouduce its own propriatary gps output.

I was a long time S&T (2002) user before I realized iGuidance exsisted, and because I do most of my driving by myself in my situation I prefer iGuidance. However, for you, I recomend you get both of them (iGuidance for voice directions, S&T for visual navigation) and split your GPS reciever into both programs with an app called GPSGate.

Anywho, S&T definatly wins on frequent updates, and a beautiful interface. One glance at the map and you will know exactly where you are, what road you are on, and where you want to go. iGuidance... uses lines with slightly less reliable road lables. However, the voice directions in iGuidance are superior (sound natural, auto recalculate best route to destination if you become off course, supports adding detour exceptions to the route) and will get you from wherever your car is to where you want to go the best.

Like its name implies, Streets & Trips is designed for, well... trips and vacations. iGuidance is designed to, well guide you to where you're going. Go by the names

If you need automation, keep in mind you can just stick iGuidance in your startup folder and as soon as you turn on your computer it will show your car on what road you are on, and drive for you. S&T needs you to press the GPS pane, press activate GPS, and a few more things (it may have gotten easier in S&T 2006, I haven't used that yet.)

PURDooM · 02-02-2006, 02:51 PM

I made a video of iG in action, because I don't think you are going to find a trial version of iG: (Needs XVID to play I think, if you can't play go get the VLC media player)

http://igmod.iamjeremy.com/igpics/ig1.avi

Marvin Hlavac · 02-02-2006, 06:23 PM

awraynor make sure you let us know your experiences after you have had a chance to play with either S&T or iGuidance. I'm curious to hear from someone in your profession how suitable these products are for your needs.

awraynor · 02-02-2006, 07:03 PM

I will let you know as soon as we trial the software packages. What is interesting is that one transport may be five miles across town while the next may be five hours across a combination of rural roads and interstates. Thanks for all the help so far.

Wiredwrx · 02-02-2006, 07:39 PM

Aren't there programs specifically designed for the Public Service community. They take the special needs of the profession into account when they create them, while IG and ST are designed for a different purpose.

Michael

edikp · 02-02-2006, 08:12 PM

I was going to suggest the same. When I toured the facility for our EMS in my city, the dispatcher showed me the computer screens that she used to do her job. There were three screens if I remembered correctly. One showed where the respond units were currently located, one for computer aided dispatching, and one for something else. Do you have similar setup at your facility? Maybe the provider of the dispatching station software has products available for the respond units?

awraynor · 02-02-2006, 08:34 PM

Our response units are dispatched through the center at the hospital for which we work. The 911 units, even though they also work for the hospital (they used to be part of a county system), are dispatched by the communications center at the County Sheriff's department. I am sure they use a proprietary system which probably carries a hefty fee per install and probably only covers our county. Our service routinely responds within a 150 mile radius of our primary hospital. iGuidance and S&T should list all hospitals in our part of North and South Carolina which is our primary concern. Street level directions in the county will be great, but of secondary importance.

PURDooM · 02-02-2006, 08:54 PM

If your primary concern is Points of interest, go streets and trips hands down. iGuidance has an ok POI database, but it is not always up to date (may be a hospital in the DB that no longer exsists in real life, or a new location isn't in the POI DB). S&T on the other hand has every location for every business you might want, and includes phone numbers.

Wiredwrx · 02-03-2006, 12:22 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by awraynor

I work for a Critical Care Transport service in Wilmington, NC that wants to add GPS tracking software to our Panasonic CF-73 semi-rugged Touchscreen notebooks. Some of the requirements are present position indicator, street level directions and solid coverage of North Carolina, especially the Wilmington area (one hour north of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina). Any recommendations for software or features is greatly appreciated.

What/how do you currently use the notebooks for.

Marvin Hlavac · 02-03-2006, 02:12 AM

Additional benefit of S&T is that you can place you own pushpins on the map. So, for example, you don't need to even worry if all your hospitals are already in the POI (Points of Interest) database, because you can add them as pushpins.

The S&T built-in drawing features may come handy, too. You may draw directly on the map to indicate a new street, or you may add text on the map if needed.

Keep in mind that maps in consumer navigation products are usually about 2 to 3 years behind printed maps which you can buy in your local bookstores. But if you use GPS navigation as a tool (as opposed to thinking of it as autopilot) it will indeed benefit you greatly.

Beside the above mentioned question "What/how do you currently use the notebooks for", I would also be interested to find out how you find your way to your destinations at the present time. Is it mostly the combination of local knowledge and printed maps?