Off-topic / GPS question

A friend gave me a Garmin emap GPS from 1991. It's old but it works.

Anyway, I would like to upgrade to a more modern one, I can actually still sell this for about $80.00 to help offset the cost. I would rather have a hand-held unit, and I won't try to program it while driving.

This would mainly be used in the car but may be taken hiking as well.

Can someone recommend a best bang for the buck on a GPS? I never thought I would use one but I am finding even the older unit helpful.

Thanks!

Pat

Reply to
pws
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I think that's where you may come unstuck. Car-GPSs and hiking GPSs tend to have quite a different feature-set; I'm not aware of any that do both well, though I may be missing something.

A few years ago I bought the Garmin e-Trex Legend

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for hiking; it does its job very well and was good value for money at the time, but I do find the limited and unexpandable memory a bit of a pain. If I were to buy one again I'd definitely buy one that either has more built-in memory, or one that allows you to put in memory cards of some sort. I did initially use this in my car as well but that's really not what it's for and it's not particularly handy for it. The main limitations include no colour and no on-the-fly recalculating of the route (if you take a wrong turn you're on your own - any route needs to be programmed beforehand on your computer and uploaded to the GPS, and it can't account for anything going wrong en route). The screen size and resolution is also not particularly condusive to being able to see it while driving.

Last year I then bought the Garmin streetpilot i3

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) which has proven to be excellent value and really does everything you'd need. It's certainly not the most whizz-bang one out there and buy spending more money you can get more comprehensive screen information, touch-screen input and that sort of thing, but if all you want is a low-cost, good value device I can recommend the i3. It's always got me where I wanted to go with no fuss - can't really beat that in my book! Eric

Reply to
Eric Baber

I'm in a similar boat (upgrading from a Garmin StreetPilot III). After looking around on the web a bit I think I'm gonna go with the Garmin Nuvi 350, their entry-level unit in the snazzy Nuvi line. Very compact, nice features and is getting good user reviews. Not sure how good it would be for hiking, but it does have a lithium-ion battery and would be easy to carry.

It is a little pricey, I think I was seeing prices around 460 to 480. Before I found the Nuvi I was looking at the StreetPilot c320/c330s and they look good for less money (~300 range?), but are not as sleek (though still a sight better than my III).

Reply to
earache

Out of interest, what do you find missing in the Streetpilot i3? That's the one I've got, and the features that are missing are cosmetic ones in my opinion. What's missing in it for you, causing you to upgrade?

Eric

Reply to
Eric Baber

Sorry - I should have said that the i3 is for car use, while I still use the Etrex for hiking.

Eric

Reply to
Eric Baber

(checking to see if Google lost my first reply..)

Reply to
earache

The new Delorme unit looks very promising although I haven't had a chance to lay hands on one yet.

Reply to
John McGaw

have a look in alt.satellite.gps.garmin

Reply to
Justin

Assuming we're talking about the same model, I actually don't have any complaints about the actual navigation function, and I believe its screen size is in fact a bit larger than what is standard on many current units, which is a plus for me.

But it is clunky, for one thing. When I leave my car parked somewhere, I usually stash the GPS inside rather than take it with me

- which with a little Nuvi would be no problem to do. I also take my III from car to car and I'm hoping I'll like the Nuvi's suction cup mount a little better than the bean bag mount I've been using (although I've heard a few mixed reviews on the former).

The other thing for me is, the III's memory card can hold detailed maps of only part of the US at a time, and to load new parts onto it is a big hassle if, like me, you have to use a Mac running Virtual PC. In everyday use it's not an issue (my III has pretty much the West Coast on it right now, IIRC), but the latest GPSs with their built-in maps of North America are definitely handier if you're visiting other parts of the US or Canada.

Reply to
earache

Thanks all, I will have to do some further research. The one I have now has a huge 8 MB data card. I wonder what it cost when it came out, the copyright date is 1986 to 1991.

My GPS would be used mainly in the car. It has been a while since I have hiked anywhere that it would actually be helpful, and I could always buy a dedicated one if I decide that it is worth the weight on the trail once I do start hiking further out again.

Thanks again!

Pat

Reply to
pws

Reply to
Christopher Muto

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?

Aha, ok.

I use the suction cup on mine and use it both in my car and my wife's; I've never had any problems with it.

OK. That's not really an issue for me on this tiny island - I've got a card with all of the UK and Ireland plus parts of France and Germany on it, which is more than adequate for me! But I suppose it might be challenging trying to fit all of the US onto it.

Eric

Reply to
Eric Baber

And the batteries have a decent life-span, even when using rechargeable ones - that's not the case with my etrex which dies within an hour when using rechargeable ones. Which is a real pain since it's the one I use for hiking.

Eric

Reply to
Eric Baber

Is that a hint? :-)

It has only been about 1 1/2 years since I said I would remove the lighter from the wrecked '96M. I had long-forgotten about it until I read that. The dash is sitting out there and nobody wants it. I will pull the lighter and see if I can tell if it still works, it is easy enough to get to now. I will send you a private e-mail when I have an answer, hopefully before

2009.....

Pat

Reply to
pws

lol. no it wasn't a hint. even if you were kind enough to send it i don't think i could install it because removal of the current lighter apparently means taking out the entire dash. from what i have read it can not easily be serviced. the new one would pop right in but the old one is next to impossible to remove. so no worries pat. i wasn't trying to poke fun. just trying to point out that if you have a broken lighter, or use a cell phone charger or some other device in the lighter then it is nice to know that you can leave the garmin running on batteries.

Reply to
Christopher Muto

I did replace the lighter in my '91 in about 15 minutes using the "Pat method". Looking at the lighter out of the car, you can see two very weak plastic clips that hold it into place. They don't need to be strong for what they are supporting.

I unhooked the power, took a screwdriver, and carefully worked the lighter back and forth while making sure that it was not distorting the dash at all. It didn't take long to hear the snap of the clip breaking free on one side. After that, it was simple to pull the lighter from the front, attach the power cord to the new one, and push the assembly back into place. No problems and no rattles from the tiny loose plastic clip in there somewhere for over two years.

I assume no liabilities for anyone who may destroy their dash trying this, but the lighter is not easy to access properly with the dash in place. They really could have made it screw in from the front instead, using a cover to keep it looking nice, but we know how that goes.

Pat

Reply to
pws

pws wrote in news:45f609d3$0$18931$ snipped-for-privacy@roadrunner.com:

One other idea to considder:

I don't remember if it was you or Lanny who said they don't have a cell phone - and I'm sure the confusion will offend one or both of you :) but...

I use Garmin Mobile on my cell phone (for automotive use). Obviously, not all cell phones will work and there may be other issues/restrictions, but it works for me. Depending on carrier and package, there may be a monthly fee involved - mine is free. Obviously, a dedicated unit will do the job better, but for the price, free is hard to beat. If you have a capable phone or are looking to get a new phone soon (and aren't too concerned about the screen size, etc. of a dedicated unit), you might save some money looking at this option.

-Scott

Reply to
Scott Hughes

I am offended, how about you, Lanny?

Lanny is the one without a cell phone. I gave in and got one about 8 years ago. I have a feeling that the very idea of a cell phone/GPS combination is the stuff of Lanny's worst nightmares. ;-)

The voice commands, easy direction inputs and a bigger screen are what I was looking for. The one I have now works, but I don't want to use it while moving. A passenger could use it to get us anywhere in town, though I am sure that this thing has serious limitations if used for traveling, plus who knows when it might give out. It wasn't used enough to drain even one set of batteries, but it is 15 or 16 years old now.

I'll still check into it, but I would certainly need a new phone for it. The one I have is a real POS, but it does make calls.

Pat

Reply to
pws

pws wrote in news:45f86868$0$28102$ snipped-for-privacy@roadrunner.com:

The phone definately won't do for the bigger screen. Direction inputs are about as easy as they can be with a phone keypad (tho if you got a phone w/ a full alpha keypad, that would improve that aspect). You can enter an address manually, enter a search term (have it find the nearest walgreens etc.) or select from their categorized lists. You can also save locations. I'd expect most normal to long red lights would give you enough time to add a destination & get your directions.

It also has traffic & weather info. I imagine the feature set is probably very close to what you get from any Garmin GPS unit.

The phone does the voice commands nicely (you do mean GPS telling you, not you telling it, right?). I've only used mine a few times - have actually only had real use for it once since I got it 6 months ago - and am pretty impressed.

You can have it display a map w/ your route highlighted or just your next turn. The next turn display is much more usefull on the small screen cause it shows a nice big arrow and the distance to that turn in nice big numbers.

My biggest complaint about using my phone for a GPS unit is just that I don't have a dash mount for my phone. Right now I just set it in my cup holder..

-Scott

Reply to
Scott Hughes

Thanks, I will look into it. Yes, I meant it telling me what to do, not the other way around.

That actually sounds like it would do. A few people have told me that they would just be distracting, but I am so bad at finding addresses that I don't think so for myself.

Just curious, does the phone GPS give a speed reading as well?

Pat

Reply to
pws

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