Mobile mapping setups

I am looking for recommendations for hardware/software setups for mobile
mapping. I need something that can be used for extended periods of time in
wilderness settings to update shapefiles, and store GPS coordinates. My
budget is ~$1000 but dont need a GPS unit.

Any suggestions?


--
Martin Gamache
Cartographer
Alpine Mapping Guild
www.alpinemapguild.com

I've gottten an Ipaq 4355 to which I plan on attaching a Garmin Etex Summit
via a cable from mobile driven, allowing garmin square output to IPAQ
connections. I've also acquired a survey grade GPS unit the Thales Mobile
Mapper Pro and a serial to IPAQ cable to hook up to the PDA. With a battery
backup to recharge the PDA . Having tested the Garmin iQue M5 with Arc Pad
last week I was not at all happy with tthe performance for my intended
purposes. My main concern was having a system that could run on over the
counter batteries (AAs) and would be rugged enough and flexible enough to
permit a variety of work and utilize my present resources. The Trimble GeoXM
was attractive as an all in one solution but cannot run on OTC batteries and
trimble seems like they want to price gauge on every accesory. Recon
ruggedised PDAs were also attractive but the GPS options were either too
expensive or not accurate enough.

Dale DePriest's web site was somewhat useful if a bit out of date and
incomplete. Too bad it was so hard to find as it is full of good stuff:
http://www.gpsinformation.org/dale/

I'm off to Peru in a few weeks to work on a new map of the Cordillera
Vilcanota and in the meantime I'll be testing the whole setup on the streets
of Boston with data from the City in order to get an idea of accuracy,
reliability and battery life that can be expected witht these new devices.
I'll probably be running ArcPad on the PDA to doing my data updates in the
field. I've ended up spending alittle more than I had planned but I'm quite
excited about this setup

Thanks again.
I'd be interested in hearing directly from anyone using an HP 4355 for
mobile mapping work.


mg