GPS - Again

[piguglyshandydrinker]

OK, considering buying a GPS.

I've been looking for a while and have an idea what I want from a unit, price in an important factor, as is coverage of Europe but I don't want to sacrifice too much by buying a "cheap" unit.

So far;

Garmin 2610 - Big screen, does everything I want, Good value for money @ well under £300, let down by no battery (can't use it off the bike/car), will it lose all trip info if I remove the power supply ie when filling up? To me this is a real issue as most trip planning is done on a night in the tent/hotel. I have wondered If I could make a small battery pack from AA batterys to feed into the power socket when programming away from the bike?

Garmin Quest - good unit, compact and has own battery, can be found @ good value, small memory lets it down and knowng my lack of computer prowess/patience 'r'sing about trying to load maps might not be a good thing.

Garmin Quest 2 - An Ideal unit? But a bit pricey.

Others are the Mitac Mio 269- which offer lots of features inc; europe ready installed, use for viewing pic's and doubles as an MP3 and has it's own battery, Can be had for well under £200. Not sure if it is at all water resistant.

Mitac also do a newer version, the C710.

Any opinions greatly recieved on any of the above or any other candidates....

Cheer's Phil

PS, please don't daffle me with tech jargon - proper english only :roll:

[Whealie]

I have the Garmin Quest and I love it. I have it on the bike, in the car, when out walking and on my bicycle.
I doubt any GPS would lose trip info just through loss of power. My Quest still had every single bit of my trip in it when I go home.
I'd buy the Quest 2 just to have all the maps of Europe, but, saying that, I managed to get all the maps I needed to get from Kings Cross to the Stella on mine. I rarely have the nagging women's voice plugged in and just look at the screen for directions.
One other thing, I understand some can search by postcode. Sometimes this would be handy, but I'm not losing sleep over it.
One tip: When you take the unit off its powered bike holder, stick a bit of tape over the connectors on the mount to stop the rain getting in. These are meant to be hardy and impervious to rain but they're not, and if the bike is powered up when they are wet there's always the risk of some current seeping across, which may hasten any corrosion.

[xrv_jim]

PM'd you Phil.

[Simon]

PM'd you Phil.

Now i would love to know what you Pm'ed him. Do you know some secret GPS that costs £10 but you don't want to tell everyone? :?

[xrv_jim]

PM'd you Phil.

Now i would love to know what you Pm'ed him. Do you know some secret GPS that costs £10 but you don't want to tell everyone? :?

Rest easy!

Sorry to be so secretive, I hit the 'PM' instead of 'Reply' button for some reason and couldn't be arsed repost. It's just the normal sort of crap - something about buying Michelin maps and staying low tech. :wink:

[Mudwiz]

Depends if you want a car style "directions" GPS, or one to work with maps, either by coordinates or lat/long.
I need the GPS more off road than on, so use a Garmin ForeTrex 101, tied in with the Anquet map system and my laptop (from work!).
This system gives me the chance to set up routes before leaving home, then follow them etc. It also gives perfect grid refs for OS maps, that I print out at funny scales to fit on 1 or 2 sheets of A4.
The GPS uses AAA rechargeable batteries, that last 12hours or more, is water proof, and fits to the bike with a push-bike mounting system.
It also has the fun of tracklogs - you can see exactly where you went, not just where you thought you went!

The GPS was about £70 of the web, map for £25 ish (twice for all GB) from eBay, cable £12, map case (waterproof) £5, and 900mAh recargy batteries, £10 (already had the charger!!)

You can now get maps of france from memory map, but I don't know about the rest of europe.

[Chad]

must admit im with phil im thinking of getting a GPS but dont want to spend the earth im not really worried to much about it having europe mapping because im not likely to get out there any time soon :( how ever it would be nice :lol: :lol:

ive heard you can get the older garmins for around 180sovs but from where i havnt a clue it would be nice to have something that just gives you the pointer without having to peer at maps :D

i really used to be strictly a map person till i had a go on a mates bike with one on and was really impressed so im now converted :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Cie]

Streetpilot III

It's a bit old, can be slightly slow, but it works just fine. Should be able to pick them up for £100-£200 now that Garmin are pushing out refurbished 2610's

[Chad]

nice one cie i'll look into it :D :D

[GeoBloke]

My two pence' worth here. Unless you're feeling particularly flush, don't spend too much money on a GPS because you might feel like ditching it in the not too distant future. In about 2 years' time the first bilingual(possibly trilingual) units will be appearing on the market and will likely be the new "must haves" of the satnav world. I use the term bilingual because these units will be able to determine your position from both the American GPS and the European Galileo satellite constellations. The beauty of this is that instead of having to make do with the piddling 21 satellites in the GPS, you'll have 48. This will go some way towards mitigating "the blind spots" of satnav like urban canyons, deep hilly areas and to some extent, heavy forest cover. It''ll also be slightly more accurate.
If it's trilingual, and I already have one of these advanced units, it'll be able to speak to the Russian GLONASS constellation as well. The GLONASS has been up there almost as long as the GPS but due to various political and funding difficulties, it's never been fully operational and what limited constellation survived budget cuts and the fall of Communism was optimised for national purposes(primarily assisting the Russian military in Chechnya). So, no surprises if you haven't come across it before. However, the Russians have been chucking their new oil-money at it AND have also signed an agreement with the Indian Space Agency to complete GLONASS with upgraded satellites. Should fully operational at just about the same time as Galileo, if not sooner as they alredy have a headstart. We'll be spoiled for choice, navigation wise.

All the above is just FYI, possibly useful at a pubquiz. :D My advice is just to open your wallet just a crack if buying a GPS and if you can, make sure you get one with the Sirf III chipset. Bit more reliable in variable terrain. It'll be a good time for bargain hunting when the new satnavs come out. You should be able to pick up a true GPS(one that speaks only American) for a song.

[Richie B]

I recently splashed out on a TomTom Rider. Expensive, I know, but they're coming down in price. Now at £300 I believe.

The difference between the SIRF III chipset and the original TomTom one is amazing. I never seem to lose 'lock' even in heavily built up areas or dense forest canopy.

Another added benefit is the bluetooth phone integration - you can receive calls routed through your lid whilst on the move. You can also update the traffic situation onto the TomTom via your phone. It's also really easy to add your own Points of Interest, e.g. speedcam locations.

I am currently experimenting with plotting routes on Fugawi (1:50000 mapping software on my PC) and transferring the waypoints across as an itinery on the TomTom. Should be good for planning rideouts.

An option not to immediately dismiss!

[Xander]

In case any one want a REALLY cheep GPS unit.. I have a Garmin eTrex (?spelling) that I want to get rid of. This unit has been in the field including Antarctica with me for maybe 100+hours, it has no dents scratches or anything and it works fine. :D . but I need one for work with much better resolution. 8) These things go for £80 So I would be looking for like 30£ +shipping (legal bs :twisted: : Although I know of nothing that is wrong with this thing.. I make no guarantees about it and it comes "as is".)

I may also be selling a palm 550 (colour) palm pilot and Magellan GPS unit with nav man software..maybe including Aussi maps..as of now I have given it to my wife but she is not using it :x ..so is there is someone who might interested I will talk her into getting rid of it. :wink: ( we just have too much junk! :oops: ).. it has all the usual palm features plus a GPS cradle and 12V adapter plug (and I think I have 3 desk top cradles.. all will go with it if any one is interested....)


here i cut this from amazon:
Manufacturer's Description
The result is a unit that will literally fit in the palm of your hand.
The eTrex takes the best features of a 12 parallel channel GPS receiver and put them into a six ounce package that is only four inches high and two inches wide. The result is a unit that will literally fit in the palm of your hand.

Besides its small size, mariners and outdoorsmen will likely notice the sleek design of the eTrex. All buttons are located on either side of the unit, allowing for simple, one-handed operation that won't obstruct your view of the display. In fact, the eTrex features only five operator buttons for the ultimate in user-friendly design. Thanks to its bright yellow case, the eTrex will be hard to misplace and easy to find in any boat or backpack. The eTrex is completely waterproof so it can take an accidental splash or dunk in the water and still continue to perform.

Inside the eTrex, you will find the proven performance of a 12 parallel channel GPS receiver that will run for 18 hours on just two AA batteries. No need to worry about dense tree canopy with this unit, the eTrex will continue to maintain a tight satellite lock even while operating in forest-like conditions. The eTrex will store up to 500 user waypoints with graphic icons and boasts GARMIN's exclusive TracBack feature that will reverse your track log and help you navigate your way back home. In addition, the eTrex uses animated graphics that will help you identify your marked waypoints quickly and easily.