GPS Advice

Grandadeo · April 21, 2006, 05:44:54 PM

Was talking with some folks yesterday about driving out for the Roadster Show in June and was asked if I had a GPS unit. Although I can spell GPS that's about all I know about them. The guy said they were great and you could not only find your way but you could look up gas stations, camp grounds, motels, etc. including phone numbers, for planning stops along the way before you got to them. Anybody have experience/recommendations about them and where to get the best deals? Is there a monthly fee like satellite radio? Help Me - Help Me.

Lee

kb426 · April 21, 2006, 06:48:58 PM

No monthly fee. I have a Garmin V. Don't buy one if your eyes are poor. The newer models that have a color display are much easier to read. I'm a Garmin fan but don't have any good reason to be. Go to Garmin's website and look around. If my memory has not failed, GPSCITY.com has videos to show you what the units will do.

donsrods · April 21, 2006, 07:16:44 PM

KB426 is right, Garmin is generally accepted as being very good, and user friendly. I am in the marine industry, and there are inexpensive hand held units that will work, even in a car. But if you want street maps, etc, you need something like what used to be called the "streetpilot." Been a few years since I sold them, so they probably have a new model by now.

I'm computer stupid, and even I can use the marine versions. Garmin makes it easy by prompting you all the way through the menu.

And as he said, the signals are free, right from a number of Government satellites flying overhead at all times.

Like everything else, the more you spend the more you get, but you can get good, basic systems for not a whole lot of money.

Don

MrMopar64 · April 21, 2006, 08:16:14 PM

If you use a PDA you can buy GPS for it.......
I've got an I-Paq with bluetooth and a HP GPS receiver (bout $120) with bluetooth which makes it all wireless and easy to move from car to car

MM64

tomslik · April 21, 2006, 08:49:35 PM

i personally LIKE getting lost...

Grandadeo · April 21, 2006, 09:18:14 PM

I found some refurbished and guaranteed Garmin Quest Pocket Size Street Navigators for just over $300 that seemed to have adequate bells and whistles. I won't need one till June but I'm out of retirement and working up until we leave so I have a few extra bucks to spend on one besides the suitcase full I'll need for gas to LA. Anybody have a Quest model?

enjenjo · April 21, 2006, 09:27:57 PM

Fatcat has a GPS attachment for his lap top , it works good for those of us that can't see to read.

kb426 · April 21, 2006, 09:29:40 PM

The quest or the next step up would be my choice. The higher priced versions have the entire US maps preloaded. My V has very limited memory.(kind of like me) I can only put in a few cities and than I'm done. The cheaper models all have that hangup. Garmin's website has got adequate info to show you the differences.

Crosley.In.AZ · April 21, 2006, 10:01:53 PM

I use a Garmin 2610 in my cars and on the motorcycle. It requires a 12 volt power source. It uses a standard Flash card memory. You can put the whole USA maps onto a 2 gig flash card.

The 276C has a better screen resolution and is battery powered. It also uses a proprietary memory chip, 256k in size.

phat rat · April 21, 2006, 10:40:08 PM

I'm with Slick. Kinda takes all the mystery out of travel. Personally I like just heading in the general direction a lot of the time

Grandadeo · April 21, 2006, 11:49:20 PM

Phat Rat, I don't disagree with you. But there are some trips for adventure and some trips that you just need to get there with out any surprises. Although come to think of it, it seems most of my trips are an adventure. I'm looking at the GPS more for the extra information I think it will provide to make the trip more enjoyable and interesting than just its ability to give me a map. My friends Rand and McNally do that for me. Lee

Dirty2 · April 22, 2006, 12:13:30 AM

I have no radio just loud headers. My X tried to get my daughter ( who I have custody of) a DVD for our trips. I said NO. We do it old style. We even pee on the side of the road if we have to. Leave all this high tech stuff to the wifes suv's.

58 Yeoman · April 22, 2006, 09:35:45 AM

I've got a gps on my laptop that allows us to hit the garage sales when we go on trips in the cage. We buy a local paper, type in the addresses, I navigate and Bonnie drives. Works well.

For the bike, I bought a Navman icn510 for just over $300. It serves its' purpose for directing me to various addresses, and takes up much less space. It is the third one (in just over a year), as the first died right after receiving it, the second one died last month. This time it cost me over a C-note, as it is out of warranty. Fairly easy to use, but you have to do all your scheduling on the unit itself; you can't do it on the puter, then download it, which is okay with me. You do download the maps that you need from cd's supplied. It has an internal battery, plus dc adapter for your vehicle, plus ac charger. It has voice directions, which can be run through larger speakers. It uses an SD memory card.

On the cycle website I frequent, seems there are a lot of Lowrance Iways that are having problems with longevity. Some have been having probs with Garmin, also. You also have to look at some units using proprietary memory cards, which in my opinion, means 'more costly' than generic cards. Most have speed displayed, so you can check your speedo's accuracy, altitude, time to destination, miles travelled, etc. When you're in the thick of things with a lot of different interstates all meeting at the same time (as I ran into last year in Portland, OR), the voice directions can really be a help. Most will also have arrows onscreen to help you on your next turns.

This should be the site for the gps forum on the cycle website:

http://www.gl1800riders.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=12&sid=4cfdb6dbf1981b3a42daf29fd28562eb

donsrods · April 22, 2006, 10:33:42 AM

I'm sure all of you know about MapQuest online, but I'll throw it out there just in case.

Just type in mapquest.com, then enter the starting location and the ending location, and it will give you detailed instructions, including exact milage to the next turn, etc.

That is about as high-tech as I get, but I do a printout from their site any time I am making a trip to a strange place.

Don

Ed ke6bnl · April 22, 2006, 10:49:24 AM

I have a portable magellan platinum that i put in direct route sofware and it will direct me to most any location. no talking but beeps and I will be taking it hiking and on the fishing boat to mark the hot spots. But I don't recommend Megallian any longer for there poor support Go with Garmin. Mine was $125 on ebay with the DR software. It is know a discontinued model but does what I need the 1/2 of California is programed in and it will hold more. E dke6bnl