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Now for something Completely different... GPS Unit Advice
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Author:  daspes [ Wed Feb 27, 2008 10:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Now for something Completely different... GPS Unit Advice
OK, I've looked through the posts in the forum, and the majority of questions/answers have been dealing with handheld units. So a little advice please, what I'm looking for.

A portable car unit (dash mount style) with the following features:
Color Screen
Rerouting (make a detour, and the system will calculate a new route)
Live traffic updates)
Topo maps (tighter the scale the better)
Ability to upload new maps and routes (apple/mac/osx compatible)
tracks your current route with a 'back track' function.
Blue tooth (not need but desired)
Makes martinis (also not needed, but boy would be fun to have in the rig on camping trips)

Thanks all, I've gotten fed up with trying to find info online, they just don't really cater to the offroad crowd on the non-handheld types of GPS, so trying to find the info has been exasperating.
Author:  Turbo Tim [ Thu Feb 28, 2008 12:32 am ]
Post subject: 
I too looked and looked and then some of the guys with off road cars showed me this.
Some of them are using the Garmin 276C. It is a marine chart plotter. I know what your thinking, but go look at it. I ended up buying one.
It loads topo’s and road maps. Does everything you could want. Go to a new town and your hungry, just search for restaurants, pick the kind of food you want, and it will take you there. It even has different accents for the voice.
The map sets were pricy, about $200.
I found the unit at BuyEretail.com for $420. Everyone else wants $600+.
Bought and extra mount from RAM industries for $7. I bought just the mount, not their whole system. Made my own bracket and done.
It will also run about 10 hours on it’s own internal battery.

Now that I have it, I am very pleased. Not sorry at all.
Check it out.
Author:  501 [ Thu Feb 28, 2008 1:12 am ]
Post subject: 
I bought a Garmin Nuvi 200W. So far I like it but I haven't used it a lot yet. I don't think it does trackback, but for 259.00 it's a really good unit.

It comes pre-loaded with the lower 48 states, came with a car lighter adapter, a window/dash mount and you can add waypoints to it by hand or through a computer.

Like I said though, I haven't used it a lot yet but it seems pretty good for the money.
Author:  bthomas [ Thu Feb 28, 2008 3:26 pm ]
Post subject: 
This is the in-dash GPS I use, but you won't find it in a car :wink:
Image

I think the prices have come down enough that even my auto club magazine sports "softball" reviews of units. I'm sure Consumer Reports or Cnet will have a useful review. I imagine, like autorouting in the handhelds, new maps give the best chance at a correct routing. Here in California where the housing boom replaced orchards with subdivision after subdivision, new map uploads every 2-3 years prevents goofy routing.
Author:  Cacher123 [ Sat Mar 15, 2008 9:53 am ]
Post subject: 
Most of the "newer" units are made strictly for "non-gearheads". Not a put down but I think that most of the people on this site are looking for a little more out of their GPSs then the average driver. Your best (and cheapest) option, believe it or not, may be to look at some of the "older" models (the ones before this new crop of touch screen interfaces) as they seem to have more in the way of off-road useability. Most of the new units are "Input an address and I'll route you there" type of equipment and don't support topos, off road routes (trails, etc.).

I currently use a Garmin V which is a bit older (and like under $200 even new on eBay) and I hook it to my laptop for larger screen/color use.

Hit up the Garmin site and look at the comparo listings to see what handles off road stuff better.

(PS LOVE all the fingerprints on the last photo! :lol: )
Author:  daspes [ Sat Mar 15, 2008 11:55 am ]
Post subject: 
Thanks for the help guys. I found a Lowrance XOG pretty cheap. So far I'm fairly happy with it. Now if I could find some Topo maps that I could download, instead of having to buy a 100 CD....
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