Compass, a global positioning satellite (GPS) unit called Eagle Explorer, connects to any PC laptop with CD-ROM drive and interfaces with Precision Mapping Streets version 3.0. Special

Software uses satellite to turn PC into a Compass

Web posted April 21, 1997

By Larry Blasko
Associated Press

Science fiction is becoming consumer fact at an alarming pace.

A Lemont, Ill., company called Chicago Map Corp. has teamed with Lowrance Electronics of Tulsa, Okla., to produce Compass. It's $339, but it's about the neatest hardware-software combination I've seen in a year.

Compass, a global positioning satellite (GPS) unit called Eagle Explorer, connects to any PC laptop with CD-ROM drive and interfaces with Precision Mapping Streets version 3.0. The result is an on-screen map of where you are, where you're going and how to get there.

The GPS unit itself is about the size of a cellular phone and runs on four AA batteries. Turn it on and it picks up signals from as many as 12 satellites and lets you know where you are within 300 meters (330 yards) horizontally and 150 meters (100 yards) vertically.

Those are just the specs. When I unhitched the review unit from the computer and took it and the dog on a three-mile walk, I found positions accurately recorded within 50 feet. Back home, I loaded the data from the Eagle Explorer GPS unit into the software and displayed where I'd been.

Or, I could have loaded the unit with a map of where I'd like to go, with points along the way, and then follow it to the destination.

The other option is real-time mode, which, when hooked to the laptop, displays your position on the relevant map.

Whether connected to the computer or not, the Eagle Explorer constantly displays where you are in latitude and longitude, how far you've traveled, how fast you're going, your present heading and how far off course that might be.

The area displayed on the back-lighted liquid crystal screen can range from one-tenth to 2,000 nautical miles.

If you've ever gone hiking or canoeing with a map and a compass or tried to figure out whether you were headed right on a dark, rural road, the benefits of the Compass package are immediately apparent. Even if you haven't, the sheer niftyness of the package is sure to give you top techy bragging rights for a while.

The system does have some inherent limitations, including an indifference to terrain. It will want to go from starting point to finish in a straight line, while you might prefer to walk around the mountain instead of climbing over it.

But if you get lost going around the mountain and want to retrace your steps, no problem. They've been recorded.

The mapping software part of the package is very good and generates scalable, printable maps that you can customize and export to other applications. It correctly portrayed my Summit, N.J., hometown except for mislabeling one of the elementary schools, but it accurately depicted a brook that for much of its length is underground.

Beyond the obvious portable PC with a 256-color VGA monitor, the software wants to see four megabytes of RAM for Windows 3.1, eight for Windows 95 and 16 for Windows NT.

You can reach Chicago Map Corp. at (800) 257-9244.