I want to get one of those portable-ish navigation systems...like a Tom Tom or a Garvin...because I have no sense of direction whatsoever. Anyone have any idea what to look for or can suggest a good one?
Go with the Garmin. I have 2 of them and I love them both.
What models?
I just bought a 60-CSX. You can download all of the mapsource data for the entire US after upgrading to a 1 GB memory card.
My other one is a GPSMAP-295 which I use for aviation. Unless you're a pilot, that one won't do you much good. ;D
I piddle with airplanes upon occasion.
Quote from: Locutus on November 16, 2006, 03:20:47 PM
I just bought a 60-CSX. You can download all of the mapsource data for the entire US after upgrading to a 1 GB memory card.
My other one is a GPSMAP-295 which I use for aviation. Unless you're a pilot, that one won't do you much good. ;D
any idea how much they run or wheres the bes tplace to get one. (Im sticking it in a honda pilot, does that count?)
Mine came with the auto kit. I ordered it from GPSDiscount.com (http://www.gpsdiscount.com). Just click that link and you can shop around.
Mine was right around $500.00, but it's a good one.
sweet! thanks!
Hey Loc...know anything about this one?
http://www.gpsdiscount.com/products/index.html?p=905
it has XM radio too...which is another plus for me.
There are a couple of drawbacks about the street pilots. First and foremost, they are most useful in the car. Most of them don't have batteries, so you can't use them anywhere that there isn't a power source. Another drawback is that you can't enter waypoints (LAT/LON coordinates) into them. This becomes useful (and necessary) if you ever want to use it in any capacity other than in your vehicle.
For example, I can't have one of these because I do the geocaching. However, I can load all of the mapsource data in my unit, and with the auto kit, it can go on the road and provide the same sort of directions that the street pilot does. Another instance where you couldn't use it is if you do a lot of boating. You couldn't take it out on the lake (or ocean) and mark a favorite fishing or diving spot.
Those are some of the considerations that you need to make when choosing a unit. You need to consider what you may want to do with it in the future and choose appropriately.
Im thinking I will only use it in the car...but waypoints might be a consideration...because I know from the old built in I had in another car that a lot of places I go arent "there" yet...my house and street for one! My reservation with a handheld is visibility of it while Im driving...and I want one that talks to me!
Well then the Street Pilot may be a good match for you. ;D
Gryphon, If you haven't bought anything yet you may want to hold off for a little while. In the near future several more satelites will be in the system, but won't be accessible to the equipment that's already in use. The new equipment will be much more accurate than any handheld or car system in use today.
Quote from: Graybeard on December 29, 2006, 12:11:03 AM
Gryphon, If you haven't bought anything yet you may want to hold off for a little while. In the near future several more satelites will be in the system, but won't be accessible to the equipment that's already in use. The new equipment will be much more accurate than any handheld or car system in use today.
thanks for the tip, I havent yet, just because Im car shopping and thought I might get one with factory nav. When will these new satellites be up and running?
Quote from: Gryphon on January 03, 2007, 08:25:54 AM
thanks for the tip, I havent yet, just because Im car shopping and thought I might get one with factory nav. When will these new satellites be up and running?
I'm not real sure. The goverment is kinda strange when it comes to GPS. They could very well already be in use, But the gov may be holding up the access. They can move the satelites around and put them in the orbit which best suits their needs. If you just want one for car travel, what's out there now will do you just fine, probably no more than a fifty foot error at the worst case and the error is random, so at times it may be extremely accurate, plenty good enough for car travel.
OK...well Im going to car shop this weekend...if I dont find what I want this time, i give up...and will just have a portable one put in the car I have now.
Thanks!
Quote from: Graybeard on January 03, 2007, 08:04:35 PM
I'm not real sure. The goverment is kinda strange when it comes to GPS. They could very well already be in use, But the gov may be holding up the access. They can move the satelites around and put them in the orbit which best suits their needs. If you just want one for car travel, what's out there now will do you just fine, probably no more than a fifty foot error at the worst case and the error is random, so at times it may be extremely accurate, plenty good enough for car travel.
Unless you live in WV. I've actually thought about buying one of these because it would be great for my job where I get directions like, take the old mall road, when you see a big white church turn left, follow that road up the hill, at the top of the hill go right down the lane, look for a house with a big deck on the back.
But since I can't afford one, it's a moot point. However, since Mercer Co. started 911 mapping I now have a mailing address, a physical address that puts me in a town that's 7 miles away and my real address in which the street sign is completely different than the recorded physical address. So I wonder if they would work here? Heck, I wonder if I call 911 if they'd ever be able to find me. :)
QuoteBut since I can't afford one, it's a moot point. However, since Mercer Co. started 911 mapping I now have a mailing address, a physical address that puts me in a town that's 7 miles away and my real address in which the street sign is completely different than the recorded physical address. So I wonder if they would work here? Heck, I wonder if I call 911 if they'd ever be able to find me
You would have to buy an expensive GPS for it to have the capability for local addresses. Most have maps that only have major routes,(460,I77,52) some state routes(10,20,etc) The way they work is you go online, or a quad map and find the latitude and longitude, or cooridinates of your destination and enter or download them into your reciever, or you can purchase more detailed maps.
My physical address is also a ways from my mailing address, although only about half a mile.
Quote from: Graybeard on January 04, 2007, 09:30:10 PM
You would have to buy an expensive GPS for it to have the capability for local addresses. Most have maps that only have major routes,(460,I77,52) some state routes(10,20,etc) The way they work is you go online, or a quad map and find the latitude and longitude, or cooridinates of your destination and enter or download them into your reciever, or you can purchase more detailed maps.
My physical address is also a ways from my mailing address, although only about half a mile.
Bet I could find you. :) Seriously, what I do when I'm sent into some remote area is stop by houses and ask "do you know where so and so lives?" Since I'm wearing scrubs, I'm not perceived as a threat. Usually. There was one night I was greeted with a shotgun. :)
GPS just isn't practical in WV since there were a lot of people (like me) who didn't put those cards that said things like "BYKIS" in a prominent location during the 911 mapping. As you know, we're just naturally suspicious of the government knowing more about us than they need to. ;)
And since the directions I get from work are usually not worth the paper they're written on, longtitude and latitude is really out of the question. I'm lucky if I can figure out a 5 mile square region. I'm constantly on the cell saying "Ok, I'm sitting at the burnt out trailer and there's a dirt road to the left. Do I turn or go straight?"
I know what your saying, I don't think I ended up on the 911 map either. One plus with GPS that it shows you where you're at on the map, for instance you might be traveling a back road not shown on your gps, but you can zoom in or out on your screen and see where the big road is in relation to where your at, or if you have to make a lot of turns in an unfamiliar area you can backtrack your return following a cookie trail you left on the way up the holler.
Quote"Ok, I'm sitting at the burnt out trailer and there's a dirt road to the left. Do I turn or go straight?"
you're killin me!!
Whats "BYKIS?"
Quote from: Gryphon on January 05, 2007, 08:30:44 AM
you're killin me!!
Whats "BYKIS?"
Beats the heck out of me. When they started the 911 mapping, people got these cardboard squares with acronyms on them and were supposed to prominately display them on their homes so the mappers could see them. Mine said "BYKIS." By yonder kryptonite interstate? Others had different ones. Like MAACAM.
Oh, and they went to street names vs. route numbers and apparently they had a creative namer because now we got Moo Cow Road, Chicken Farm Road and Granny's Road. :)
911, what is your emergency? Help, my trailer's on fire. I live on Rt. 19/6. Oops, sorry. I mean I live on Moo Cow Road. MOO COW ROAD. Law, just take Old Beckley Road til you come to the white church and go left. Look for the flames. :)
Yer killin' me, annie!!!!!!
:bow: :rotfl: :rotfl: :clap: :grin2:
QuoteOh, and they went to street names vs. route numbers and apparently they had a creative namer because now we got Moo Cow Road, Chicken Farm Road and Granny's Road.
Some of my cousins used to live on Granny's road, actually at the end of the road. That was way before the 911 names.
BTW, did you get a 911 address? I had one of those stupid signs on my door for a few months, got tired of seeing it, and took it down. I never heard from 911 if they give me an address or not.
Quote from: Graybeard on January 06, 2007, 09:53:04 AM
Some of my cousins used to live on Granny's road, actually at the end of the road. That was way before the 911 names.
BTW, did you get a 911 address? I had one of those stupid signs on my door for a few months, got tired of seeing it, and took it down. I never heard from 911 if they give me an address or not.
Nah, never put it up. I don't want them to know where I am. It'll still be the same thing. Look for the tan Ford Escort Wagon in front. Always worked before. :)
LOL!!
yeah, out in the country here, you can tell the road namer was either bored or had one helluva twisted sense of humour.
I'll have to take note of some of them the next time Im driving around...
Here's one of the signs we were supposed to put up. Some people complied. Come around knocking at midnight? :)
(http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n210/redbrushdog/P1020472copy2upload.jpg)