GPS Guidance

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motojavaphil said:
We are looking at the different GPS systems out there and it is confusing.  Any recommendations/observations?

Thanks, Phil
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We have a Garmin 2610 but I doubt we will buy another Garmin. IMHO Garmin has handicapped their system with their City Nav software.  If we were to buy now the Lowrance iWay500 would be high on the list.
 
You can be in business for less than $100 at Costco buying Microsoft Streets and Trips with the GPS unit.  I works on your laptop so it is good in the tow also.  We have used it on our last couple trips and now it is a must have.  The hardest part was seeing the screen.  We found that the navigator could pull the curtain over the side window and that would help block the light.  I could still see the mirror.

My daughter took hers on a recent trip to MO and had routing problems with it on some of the rural country roads.  Really where you need it.

Carefull how you add waypoints or those may direct you off course temporally.

All in all, it has been a good product for us.  We use it a lot for the map location instead of routing.  Gives the DW something to enjoy.

Mike
 
In spite of what Ron says, a lot of us on the Forum are hooked on our Garmins.  We have "other" nav systems in our cars (the ones provided by the car manufacturers) and they're the pits next to our Garmins.  Like all nav systems, there will be problems, but they're nothing we can't get around.  Only two places provide the maps to all the nav system manufacturers, so it's the algorithms they use and how they program their software that makes the biggest difference.  None of the maps will show a road that just opened so you do have to update your maps occasionally, especially if you drive a lot in fast-growing areas like the southwest.

ArdraF
 
I have several Garmins & love them all...I just got a Nuvi 660 for my anniversary gift & it answers my BluRay equipped cell phone, voice dials the phone book, outputs over the car speakers & allows both Betty & I to both be involved in the conversation...It also navigates.<G>

My favorite is the 7200 although it is too big for a car, SUV maybe.
 
Terry and everyone else,

In the new Chevy truck we just bought, it has a navigational system that we really like.  Now I want a portable one for the little tow car and the motorhome.  Terry I looked at the specs for your Nuvii 660.  It look great but it's really more than I want, we just want navigational ability.  I've been looking at the Garmin Street Pilot c330 and wondered if anyone had any opinions on it.

The one thing we really like about the nav system on the truck is that there is a split screen.  When you get close to turns or intersections it gives you a close up view of where you are going.  I can't figure out if the c330 will do that or not.

Marsha!
 
I've been researching GPS units as well. 

On our most recent trip, we used my laptop with Delorme's Street Atlas USA and a small GPS receiver plugged in via USB port.  I think for right now we will stick with this.

The main problem with it is having to make room for the lap top.  Our truck has a split bench seat with a fold down console between the driver  and passenger.  While using the laptop for GPS, we folded up the console and placed the laptop on the seat between us.  That's a bit inconvenient.

After researching GPS units, I'm now researching laptop mounting systems to see if there is a way that I can use the laptop without the inconvenience of it being on the seat between us.  The best one I've seen so far is the Ram Vehicle Mounts.
 
Marsha, I also have the Chevy built in gps mapper in my Tahoe.  I use it only when I am out without the Garmin Nuvi 660 which I much prefer.  One problem with the built in unit is that it sits so far down in the dash that I need to take my eyes off the road too long to check it.  The other problem is that it doesn't have guidance for many of our country roads.
 
Mike,  The laptop set up you use is how we do it in the motorhome as well.  However, ours sits on the dash and really isn't inconvenient.  We connect our GPS unit to the laptop and it's really nice.  Also, having the big computer screen makes it easier for us to see.

Caltex, I agree it's not convenient to look down at the display in the Chevy.  We've never had a navigation system in our cars, so we were impressed.  I thought to myself as I typed my message asking for info on the c340, that I try to ask myself when I get the itch to buy something:  "Is this something I need; or just something that I want"?  Then I remembered I'm married to a "toy boy", so perhaps the answer is "I need it".... ;)

I'll have to look at the Nuvi 660, however, I bet it has more bells and whistles than we'd like.  We just want the navigation portion, no hands free, no mp3 player or books on tape.....

M~

Marsha~

 
Mike,

I have one of those RAM vehicle mounts in my motorhome, courtesy of Russ Mahoney. It works great for me and replaced an inconvenient coffee table that was taking up too much space and got in the way of the driver exiting.

If I were the driver rather than the navigator, I wouldn't attempt to use a PC for navigation and would use our iWay 500C.
 
We have had two Garmins and was at one time very satisfied.  Then Garmin came out with their Cit NAv software and the accuracy was just not there anymore.  Even now my original software seems to be more accurate than the newest City Nav in established areas.  From the limited comparisons that I have been able to see the iWay500 does a much better job even though they both use Navtech data.   Personally I recomend looking at several units and make your choice.  IMHO there are better units than Garmin since they chose to handcap their units with CITY NAV.

 
Ron said:
...I recomend looking at several units and make your choice.
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That's what we did Ron. When it was time to replace our Garmin I took Chris to Fry's Electronics and had her play with all the different makes and models. She kept coming back to the iWay as the most intuitive to use, so I bought it. Since, at the time, it was half the price of the equivalent Garmin, I was also a happy camper.
 
Marsha

>> When you get close to turns or intersections it gives you a close up view of where you are going.<<

All the Garmins I have include that feature plus like Caltex said the road detail is much greater than any built-in Nav unit I have seen/tried.  The Garmin Street Pilot series are very nice because they include a remote control so you don't have to fiddle with touching the screen, I think the newest models are 28XX. Just because it has all those features doesn't mean you have to use them...However that cell phone feature is really sweet.
 
Thanks Terry,

I'll go back and take a 2nd look.

I'm sure a lot of this is "personal" as to what one likes and doesn't like.  I think for us, it's being able to see the darn thing....

Back to my research.

M~
 
Tom said:
That's what we did Ron. When it was time to replace our Garmin I took Chris to Fry's Electronics and had her play with all the different makes and models. She kept coming back to the iWay as the most intuitive to use, so I bought it. Since, at the time, it was also half the price of the equivalent Garmin, I was also a happy camper.
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And from what I have seen it is much more accurate.
 
Jerry's been doing his own test comparing our Garmin against the Lexus-provided GPS.  When he's going someplace he tells them both to get him there.  What a difference!  He says the Garmin is far superior (and, yes, he's using City Navigator, version 8 maps).  The other day, the one in the car kept telling him to make a U-turn and go on another road that he knew was much farther and less convenient.  It wasn't until he finally turned onto the last road that it finally decided maybe he was okay after all and told him to proceed.  The Garmin gave him the correct directions from the time he pulled out of the garage until he got to his destination.  The Garmin also tells us much sooner whether our destination is on the left or right which is important if we're in the motorhome and not a car.

ArdraF

 
I agree the GPS installed by the manufacturer has much to be desired.  IMHO there seems to be as much improvement from a Garmin handicapped with City Nav to a Lowrence iWay500 as their is from the built in vehicle units and the Garmin.
 
I wonder if the iWay600c is worth getting.  Looks to be about $100 more than the 500c with some increase in processor speed and storage capacity.

I had not read up on this unit but after reading that both the 500c & 600c are good for marine use as well as auto, it certainly appeals.  Marine charts and a totally waterproof unit are huge pluses.
 
Newt said:
.... after reading that both the 500c & 600c are good for marine use as well as auto, it certainly appeals.
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Where did you read that Newt? I have an iWay 500C, but had no idea that marine charts were available. I have 3 Standard Horizon chartplotters for marine use and also use the Nobeltec Visual Navigation Suite charting software on a PC.
 
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