Which GPS [Archive] - TWT Forums

99VFR

12-14-2006, 10:16 PM

I'm new to GPS and I'm trying to figure it out. I had never used one until Tourmeister went down and I got to use his Dad's. I was hooked. Now the problem for me is which one.

I want to use it on the bike and in the car. It would also be neat to use when we go hiking on vacations. I like the ideal of being able to track where I've been and elevation. I'm not sure about brands and I've started looking at specific models listed on the site but your ideals and opinions would help alot. So many choices. It seems Garmin is pretty common so I'm off to their site to wish and want.

Thanks

kurt

12-14-2006, 10:22 PM

The Garmin 60CSx would fill the bill nicely.

Tx Rider

12-15-2006, 03:52 PM

60Csx, Quest, or my fave the 276c or 376c if you have the cash. I think Scott's dad's is a 276c.

Tx White Knight

12-15-2006, 07:07 PM

I will be ordering a Garmin 2730 next tuesday. it also has a built in MP3 player and XM radio. this would not be good for hiking as it does not have battery power. :drool:

In the battery powered ones be sure to go with color as the B/W ones you cant follow the road at 70mph__:rider:

Sprocket

12-16-2006, 08:15 AM

I've been using a Garmin Quest2 since they came out (1-2 years ago?). Easy to use, comes with car windhield mount/charger, waterproof, light, internal battery, built in maps, etc. I have the $79 motorcycle hardwire/mount on both the XR650 and ST and it works great. You may also want to check ebay for a refurb/used orginal Quest as well...

No XM radio, MP3 player, cell phone thingie like the bigger 2730's and such, but a great all around unit. I've tried to convince myself to buy a 2730 for just the ST but can't bring myself to shell out the $$$ when the Quest2 does everything I need...

kurt

12-16-2006, 08:25 AM

The only disadvantage to the 2730 and Quest series are they were designed as car mount models and lack some of the features (compass and altitude) that are useful for hiking. The 60 CSx uses easily replaceable AA batteries and the others use internal rechargeable that might be an issue if you do not power it off of a vehicle. You can for a few hours, but then have to plug it in instead of just swapping batteries. I'd prefer the 2730 for vehicle use, but since you stipulated you would use it for hiking, I recommend the 60CSx.

Sprocket

12-16-2006, 08:36 AM

Actually the Quest2 does do altitude. It does lack the compass though. The old Garmin III+ that I use on my XR400 has the compass though. They're pretty cheap on ebay if someone wanted one just for hiking. Downside is you'd have to load topo for the area you're in before seting out.

You know, the single biggest issue I have with moving to the 2730 (or similar)? I kinda like having a seperate XM receiver with the preset buttons. No navigating for presets, they're always there. I tend to skip around channels a lot so that is an issue. Silly eh? :)

kurt

12-16-2006, 06:36 PM

sherob

12-16-2006, 07:03 PM

If you want to use it off and on road... back packing... geocaching... runs on AA's too... and cheap, the Garmin GPS V is a great little one to have. You won't be able to load alot to it, but it has the whole NA loaded in it. I got mine at Bass Pro Shop for $199 on sale. It has been a great GPS for cheap... I didn't need all the extras... just get me there and back. ;-)

Tx White Knight

12-16-2006, 10:16 PM

I saw Costco has them for $599 FWIW.

Thanks I will check them out ;-)

TAPnTX

12-16-2006, 10:22 PM

Also consider the 76CSx, My 76cs has tumbled end over end down the freeway at 70+ and never missed a beat. Garmin replaced it since it came out of their cradle. It was not broken just scratched up. When I got it home I looked at the track log, and shook the unit to see if I could hear loose pieces inside. Nada worked perfectly, and according to the log it never lost signal. :)

Todd

1TallTXn

12-17-2006, 01:41 AM

thats comforting!

the 76 has the nice feature in that it floats. since I want to take mine on a canoe trip or 12 thats a nice feature! all the rest of the features are the same as the 60 from what I can tell

terrebandit

12-17-2006, 06:28 PM

I was in the same position as you and I decided on the Quest.

http://www.twtex.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13940

swallack

12-18-2006, 07:43 AM

I'm not sure it's actually out yet, but Garmin has a fairly slick motorcycle oriented model coming out. A bit pricey, but VERY slick (had I not already got a GPSMAP76Cx, I'd be looking at it).

http://www.garmin.com/products/zumo/

TAPnTX

12-18-2006, 07:51 AM

Scott,

The Zumo is nice, but does not have the flexibility of your 76cx. I have been looking at the Zumo too, and would consider it a downgrade to the 76cs I currently have. Garmin has tried to make their new units too user friendly, and has taken away alot of features we have come to like.

Also I tried to put the Fall Colors DS Routes in the Zumo, it would not take the Saturday route as it had too many way points. My 76cs took all the routes without any problems. I believe Garmin is working on some fixes for the new unit, just not there yet.

Not sure why Garmin made a motorcycle specific GPS, that did not include "SCENIC" Routing. Like some of the PC mapping programs do. Most of us do not want the "Shortest or Fastest" Route, but the most pleasant for 2 wheels. :)

Todd

CBAT

12-18-2006, 11:49 AM

swallack

12-18-2006, 01:32 PM

A bit pricey is right. :eek2: I can buy a lot of gear for that much.

I know several "gadget freaks" that are salivating over the thought of a Zumo.

Funny, but that facial expression is about the look my wife gave me when I told her to swing by the North Park Apple store & pick me up an Apple 30" flat-screen monitor (plus the higher end graphics card to drive it) for my holiday gift.

I'm guessing I'll have better luck with my alternate request of some jerky from Kuby's. :rolleyes:

CBAT

12-18-2006, 01:42 PM

I know several "gadget freaks" that are salivating over the thought of a Zumo.

Funny, but that facial expression is about the look my wife gave me when I told her to swing by the North Park Apple store & pick me up an Apple 30" flat-screen monitor (plus the higher end graphics card to drive it) for my holiday gift.

I'm guessing I'll have better luck with my alternate of request of some jerky from Kuby's. :rolleyes:

Wanna see her eyes pop? I see you have a HD in your avatar. Take her to the HD dealer and show her the price on the Sreamin' Eagle Ultra Classic Electa Glide. Three of 'em here at Cen-Tex for a whoppin' $37,000. :eek2: That's what I heard from a Harley freind. I think they are crazy! But, to each his own.:rider:

Sprocket

12-18-2006, 01:52 PM

I'm guessing I'll have better luck with my alternate of request of some jerky from Kuby's. :rolleyes:

Nah, have her snag you some Robertson's (http://www.robertsons-hams.com/store.htm?mode=shop&cid=7). I have looked for well over 10 years to find a better jerky and have been unable to do so.

Every craft show, gun show, flea market, meat market, butcher shop, grocery shop, general store, gas store, hunter, and rancher I come into contact with I'll snag a sample of any new brand or bag I see. All have tried to surpass Robertson's, all have failed. :)

Um, oh yeah. YMMV of course... :)

1TallTXn

12-18-2006, 02:42 PM

I know several "gadget freaks" that are salivating over the thought of a Zumo.

Funny, but that facial expression is about the look my wife gave me when I told her to swing by the North Park Apple store & pick me up an Apple 30" flat-screen monitor (plus the higher end graphics card to drive it) for my holiday gift.

I'm guessing I'll have better luck with my alternate of request of some jerky from Kuby's. :rolleyes:

no kidding on that screen!
$1999 for the screen
$150+ For the Dual-link DVI card

yes, I still want one :drool:

I do like the Garmin Quest, its a nice little machine. the kicker is that I want something that I can take on week+ long backpacking trips where I can't recharge the thing. so the onboard battery just isn't going to be enough.
if I could afford it, I'd get a 60/76CSx for hiking around and a 276 to leave on the bike. sadly my budget doesn't seem to like that idea :(

swallack

12-18-2006, 02:48 PM

Wanna see her eyes pop? I see you have a HD in your avatar. Take her to the HD dealer and show her the price on the Sreamin' Eagle Ultra Classic Electa Glide. Three of 'em here at Cen-Tex for a whoppin' $37,000. :eek2: That's what I heard from a Harley freind. I think they are crazy! But, to each his own.:rider:

As a matter of fact, Sat when she was bugging me about what I wanted, I offered to run up to the Allen Harley shop & pick up an Ultra Classic. :rofl:

Funny, but the topic was dropped for the time being. :giveup:

(BTW, once you start adding all the accessories & chrome to a Heritage, you can get to $30+k fairly easily)

Back to the GPS topic, looks like gpscity.com has the Zumo 550 for $799.

DaveC

12-19-2006, 10:59 PM

I just picked up a E-Trax, mono screen. I used it in the San Jose to San Fransico area this last week. I had topo loaded, it shows the creeks and with some fooling around it shows points of interest. Now I need to figure a mounting system for the bike. The batteries last 12+ hours. I am still with out topo software so I can down load my tracks and up load topo maps. It does not work well in mountian forested valleys. Those red woods pretty much held the signal at bay. American Airlines does not like you using them on their flights:doh: but I did manage to registar 39,000 feet and 514 mph:eek2: .:lol2: Way cool to watch the pointer just zip across the screen, tracking satellites and updating take about all it has to keep up. Cool stuff to know where you are when your "8 miles high"! (http://youtube.com/watch?v=1dnko5YrWNE)

WoodButcher

12-20-2006, 10:26 AM

Back to the GPS topic, looks like gpscity.com has the Zumo 550 for $799.

I picked up a Zumo from www.tvnav.com (http://www.tvnav.com) for $765 about 10 days ago. Daryll who runs tvnav also has a yahoo group for garmin questions and is a very nice guy to deal with.

One thing about the cost of the Zumo, you get two mounts, one auto and one motorcycle, with all the cables, plus the DVD for City Navigator. The other GPS I considered was the 276C with has a bigger screen, but I would have had to buy all the mounts, cables, software and a SD cartridge to load the maps. That made the cost much closer. I also still have my old eTrex Vista for the low level, GPS functionality. I agree that there are some quirks so far, but I've found that several were just me getting used to using it differently.

I do hope they tweak the routing options some though. I'm a dual-sport guy and would like a little more control on what roads I use. The bluetooth to the phone is really slick though. I'm using some cheap sound isolating earphones on the bike, figuring that I really just want to hear the voice prompts and the music...and block noise like when I wear earplugs. Not sure I will actually put a mike on the bike.

swallack

12-20-2006, 07:53 PM

The other GPS I considered was the 276C with has a bigger screen, but I would have had to buy all the mounts, cables, software and a SD cartridge to load the maps.

Been there, done that (with my 76Cx). Had the Zumo been available when I got mine, I might have at least considered it.

All the goodies sure added up.

terrebandit

12-20-2006, 08:02 PM

All the goodies sure added up.

and thats why I got the Quest.... The unit was 300 with everything except the MC mount. For an additional 75 bucks, you can have that too. Its the best deal going if you can get past the smaller screen size and fixed memory.

swallack

12-21-2006, 07:10 AM

Incidentally, for those of us who's GPS' use MicroSD, this buy.com deal on Kingston 1GB MicroSD card might be of interest:

http://www.buy.com/prod/kingston_1gb_microsd_secure_digital_card/q/loc/14982/202984127.html?adid=17662

$30 - $10 if you use Google Check Out (aka GCO) - $10 Kingston Mail In Rebate (MIR) = $10 w/free shipping. The Kingston for says offer good from buy.com 12/17-23.

Not sure I need another one, but apparently it comes with a SD adaptor which might be useful if I didn't have 1 from a 500MB MicroSD card purchase (for more than $10).

No promises that the card will work in your GPS (mine's only certified for 500MB cards), but at $10, I figure it's not a bad risk and if it doesn't work out, I can give the card w/adaptor to some friend that has a digital camera that uses SD cards (it'd probably be a bit slower due to the adaptor, but for free, they'd be be happy with an extra card).

3 Foot Half Devil

12-21-2006, 10:27 AM

Check out Amazon for the Garmin 2730 I believe they are selling them for even less than $599.00. Huge blow out on GPS's on Amazon.

STill Fiddlin

02-04-2007, 10:18 AM

(Dredging up an old thread vs. starting a new one.)

Costco has a $499 online price on Garmin 2730s right now. That's a deal.

euromedic

02-13-2007, 07:24 PM

http://www.edgegps.com/eCart/viewItem.html?idProduct=263 :clap:

terrebandit

02-13-2007, 09:59 PM

http://www.edgegps.com/eCart/viewItem.html?idProduct=263 :clap:

Great deal but the unit is overhauled, just so everyone knows.

Sprocket

02-14-2007, 12:01 AM

Also the 276C's have gone down as well. I just picked up a new one for $465 including shipping from an ebay dealer. Amazon has them for $469+shipping too.

Not sure what software to get though, kinda confused by all the Garmin has. My Quest2 will be regulated to street bike/cage duty while the 276C is for offroad/dual sport. Not sure if the topo or one of the street CD's is the way. Plus I don't see an offering for a Mexico topo. Maybe I'm missing something though...

euromedic

02-14-2007, 01:08 AM

Some may be, but most are most likley left over stock from Garmin. Friend has had one for a week now and loves it and works terrific. :rider:

STill Fiddlin

02-14-2007, 10:20 AM

I've not heard of anyone having more problems with the *Garmin* refurb units than with new ones. I suspect the vast majority may simply be returns that they can't resell as new, or outdated stock that had a f/w upgrade. For MC use, most US users like the 2610, 27xx, 28xx and Zumo because they come with City Navigator SW. 276C does not, and you have to buy that as an option. Rehashing old info - 2610 does not come with enough memory to store all of US maps, so you have to budget for an SD card (2GB) to make it the equivalent of the 27xx series, which have built-in (but not upgradeable) storage. Competition in this product area is definitely heating up, so the longer you wait, the better it gets. I have to say I like the 2720 I picked up because it moves easily from the bike to the car - though at the "expense" of an insecure (i.e., non-locking) bike mount. Time will tell if that's wise.

Hood Ornament

02-15-2007, 12:17 PM