Which GPS to buy?

[Kelvin]

Hello all,
I am curious about getting a GPS primarily to play with in the car/truck (/tractor???).

Based upon online specifications that I have seen I am considering either the Garmin GPS III or Garmin GPS V. The GPS V seems to sell for $399 at several places, with EBAY prices ranging from $320-$399 (occasionally more).

Anybody have any experience with these units? Any other recommendations? Since I travel every now and then to strange cities it would be nice to play with as I'm out sight-seeing. The voice prompts for navigation and "nearest restaraunt" would seem useful. My problem is that I've never actually seen one in use, so I don't know if they're really as useful as they appear to be.

Another place that I would like to use the GPS is possibly while flying, but this is not a great priority right now (I am currently not flying the small airplanes and the larger airplanes I fly have fairly new GPS systems). I understand that some of these smaller GPS units can't handle ground speeds greater than 150 or 200 knots.

Thanks for any input,
Kelvin

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

GPS has been a very hot topic on another online board I frequent and the consensus there seems to be that, for your uses (all with 12V power at hand), the Garmin 2610 is the way to go. From what I read in older posts there, the prior consensus winner (before the introduction of the 2610) was the Street Pilot III. The flip side is that after all of the hoopla over the 2610, the prices on the others might come down further and you also might be able to find some cheap on the used market from people who moved up to the 2610. For what it's worth, I'm going with the 2610 but I'll never tell you I'm the one to emulate in this or just about anything else. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Good luck with whatever you decide. I hope this helps. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[RockyMnt1]

I like the Garmin 295. I use it as a backup/independent unit for the panel mounted IFR Garmin. I haven't seen any problems when used in a C-150 up to a C-601 (Challenger). It helps to have the ability to download the updates via a laptop instead of the cards.
Lots and lots of options for displays. Doesn't seem to chew up the batteries excessively. Able to run on anything power source from 12V-48V.

 

[OkeeDon]

My son has a Garmin GPS (not sure of the model) that he uses primarily on his boat, but we've never used it on land. Instead, since I always have a laptop with me when I travel, I use DeLorme's Street Atlas with an Earthmate GPS antenna. I like the larger display, and the entire US is on the CDRom - nothing else to buy or download. $129 for the software and the antenna. I just ordered Street Atlas 2004, which also has all or part of Canada's roads, also.

 

[thcri]

Kelvin,

Go to www.geocaching.com. It has a discussion board just like here. You can talk to people that sleep with GPS. The ones you mention are good but may not be for what you want to do with it. I have a Garmin Etrex Vista. Also Garmin is coming out with a new one this spring that everyone is ranting and raving over. I may even sell my Vista to get one.

As for buying check out www.gpsnow.com or www.gpsdiscount.com. There you will find the allowed advertising prices, but when you click on add to my cart the price drops a whole bunch. I bought mine from www.gpsnow.com and had good luck with them.

murph

 

[Bob_In_MN]

The nice thing about Garmin is they offer a ton of options. I have the GPS 12 which is a very basic GPS.

95% of my use is getting me from shore out to the fish house and back. We usually fish about 5-6 miles out and even the most experienced person would have a tough time finding their house at night or in a storm.

I also carry it with me when we are traveling. In an emergency, it's nice to be able to tell people where you are.

Anyway--sounds like you have different uses for you GPS, but Garmin definitely will have a product for you.

Good Luck

Bob

 

[DocHeb]

?"Fish house"?

Made me think for a minute - but finally realized that in these here parts we call them "shanties", as in ice fishing shanties.

And whenever I think of ice shanties/fish houses, I think of those ice fishing scenes in Grumpy Old Men /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[EarPlug]

Kelvin,

First concerning purchasing Garmin product through E-Bay be carefull. Garmin WILL NOT honor warranty unless purchased through an Authorized Dealer.

I have both the GPS V and the 2160. The 2160 is by far a better unit. The V is limited to 19 mb of maps at a time and to download a new set from your PC will take about 45 minutes. The GPS V does not have voice prompts but the 2160 does. Both have autorouting. Just put in your destination and it will calculate the route there. Both also have off route calc. If you miss a turn they will recalc a new route. The 2160 is probably 10 times faster at calculating.

Neither one of these units are aviation systems. I have taken my V on the airline and in a Lear 35 and they worked pretty good based on roadway databases.

I got my unit from Atomic GPS and they were great to work with and had the best prices.

Jack

 

[rdam]

In a prior life, I ran commercial vessels for a living. Garmin gained a very good reputation for reliable and user friendly units. Most are intuitive with little need for the manual.

I have a Garmin GPSMAP 76. It is extremely reliable and accurate out of the box. Lot's of accessories for those who like the latest gizmos. I DO NOT recommend this unit for a primary unit on a boat. It's too small.

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

Jack,

Did you mean that you have the 2610? or is there a 2160, also? I'm just trying to keep them straight. Thanks. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif