Today I just received the Ranger NDS GPS System from the M3 Team. For those of you who don’t know what this is, the Ranger is a GPS system designed by the people at www.dsgis.net. The goal is simple, to provide a way for DS users to use the GPS (Global Positioning System) system to locate their exact coordinates.
The package is extremely professional and packed inside is two separate plastic shells. One is the peripheral that connects to the DS, the other is assumably the antenna. Together, these two stick out of the DS by several centimeters, far more than your average slot 2. Of course this is completely understandable because of the need for the antenna.
Thankfully the two pieces of equipment seem well made. The fact that they are bent in an odd shape worries me a little, but they can also be separated for easy storage, a definite plus.
About the software, it is still in the alpha phase, there are plenty of bugs to be found and the menu isn’t exactly smooth, but despite this, I found quite a bit of polish on the menu. You can scroll through maps quite quickly, all the settings seem to go so deep that I don’t even understand what they are asking anymore.
Even cooler is the possibility to swap your map to 3D mode, and there are wisps of clouds that go through the sky. The maps can be taken directly from google or even a simple gif image. So it shouldn’t be much of a worry.
However, I simply couldn’t get the actual GPS portion to work. Part of me knows that I am doing something wrong because I am not the most informed on GPS systems. As well, considering that this product is in the alpha phase, we don’t have proper documentation, so confusion for a sophisticated piece of technology such as this is completely understandable. Hopefully I will be able to get a reading, I only spent half an hour or so trying to figure this out, so I am most likely missing something really stupid.
Anyways, hopefully you’ll enjoy these pictures. Until I get it actually working, I don’t want to say anything that will influence your perception of the product negatively because I am rather impressed already.
DO WANT!!!
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I don’t think it is worth it if you have a real gps already.
Probably not, but we don’t really have a price tag yet, if this thing is relatively cheap, it couldn’t hurt. Although I really need some documentation, I just can’t figure out how to work it.
Wait, so this is a purely slot-2 device? And if the system itself is in alpha, does that mean you can plug the GPS into your computer to update the system?
Pardon the double-post, but check this! A DSi-compatible version! http://dsgis.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34
Wow. That really is a nice gadget for the DS. If it gets working perfect I could wanna get one.
Nice work M3 Team
I got my DS for games. A GPS system is good as long as the DS isn’t too bulky to hold otherwise it might be better to get a iPhone or something.
You know what’s sad? I still can’t figure out how to get it to work… Seriously I think I have a faulty GPS receiver…
Would it take me to the nearest flashcart store? 😛
A GPS unit in a DS sounds awesome, but it would be especially awesome in a DSi (too bad that won’t work!)
I just asked the M3 Team for one.
Hopefully I’ll be able to write a review thats nearly to the same high standards as yours!