Help for a GPS novice please?

BigBugger

BigBugger

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Hello,
I’ll start by saying I know nothing about GPS/SATNAV but want to get one for a European trip this year.
I have been watching for a good 2nd hand 2720/2820/Navigator unit but have seen the following on Ebay and it looks a great deal.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GARMIN-STEETPILOT-2720-NOH-AUTO-GPS-SYSTEM-VOICE_W0QQitemZ170290283680QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGPS_Devices?hash=item170290283680&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1301%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

“What's in the Box:
StreetPilot 2720
Preloaded City Navigator® NT for North America
MapSource® City Navigator North America NT DVD or City Navigator Europe NT DVD (full unlock) Please ask dealer for European dvd- sold separately)”

Now, this is where I need some advive from someone who knows about these things.
It states the unit is preloaded with City Navigator® NT for North America but that I can specify it be shipped with a MapSource® City Navigator Europe DVD.
Does this mean that I just reload it from the DVD and I have a fully functioning UK/Europe unit or am I missing something here?

Thanks in advance for any advice
 
I'd advise unless you (a) know what you're doing or (b) know someone who does, not to get into a non-european GPS, unless you live in the USA but suspect you don't, as your first GPS.

You may find that if there's any problems Garmin will tell you to deal with the supplying dealer for any returns etc. I have seen someone convert a 2820 IIRC from US mapping to European. But Garmin don't intend that you can do it ;)

Basically what they're saying is correct, you can put CN Europe on, and here's the but, unless you do the work around that I mentioned above, then you won't get all of CN EU on the GPS :( And AFAIK you'll never have the EU basemap on the unit, this can also be worked around by using WorldMap, but it doesn't have autorouting capability.

IIWY I'd look out for a European 2610 as a starting point.
 
Don't discount a Garmin Quest (not Quest 2). They will run for two or three days on their internel battery.

They slip into your pocket when you leave the bike and the inexpensive RAM mount is easy to fit. RAM also can supply a small adapter to pick off the audio directly to your helmet if you don't have a comms system such as Autocom/Starcom

One was recently for sale on this forum and at £75 with CN8 mapping it was a bargain

If you are happy to ride down to the Channel crossing using the basemap you will probably have enough map space for any European tour

Again, don't touch the US model, it has a smaller memory and North American basemap

Mine works just fine in the car
 
If it does come with City Nav Europe as the ad suggests then I would say that it's a bargain. However, the seller may have just copied and pasted that text from the Garmin web site :nenau Worth getting them to verify that statement before ordering.

I upgraded from a Quest, which is a very capable GPS (within limits), to a US import 2720 so I can speak with some experience.

By all means, as Kritou, suggests a Quest will do the job though might be limited on a European tour as it only has space for 243MB of mapping which is about all of the UK plus a little bit of France. The way Garmin mapping is arranged is in tiles, there are many tiles to a country so if you just load tiles around your route then you can get to Spain and back but more ambitious touring with a Quest will pose a problem. Beware, the US versions of the Quest only have 115MB of mapping space so avoid these.

Whilst he might supply City Nav Europe on DVD if the preinstalled mapping is for the US then you will only be able to load part of Europe into the spare space in the memory. It won't all fit on as there's about 500MB free and CN Europe is about 1.4GB. There will be enough room for all but a very extensive tour though.

There is, however, now a work around to the problem with this model and the preinstalled mapping that makes replacing it with complete European mapping possible. I've done this to mine and can report that it works.

If you have to buy City Nav Europe separately then this would probably make it a deal breaker.
 
From their advert:

What's in the Box:
StreetPilot 2720
Preloaded City Navigator® NT for North America
MapSource® City Navigator North America NT DVD or City Navigator Europe NT DVD (full unlock) Please ask dealer for European dvd- sold separately)*
Portable non-skid mount (friction mount)
Dash mount
Alphanumeric remote control
Vehicle power cable with external speaker
AC power adapter
USB cable
Protective cover
Owner's manual
Quick reference guide
*City Navigator North America NT DVD included in North American Version; City Navigator Europe NT DVD included in European version(SOLD SEPARATELY).

Package contents may vary per version. See your local dealer for more information.


To me it say's it doesn't come with CN Europe 2008.
 
Also worth bearing in mind that the 2720 doesn't come with a bike cradle or mount. That'll set you back another £50 or so unless you can find this 2nd hand.
 
Im also a novice so please help. Have just purchased a Garmin 255 WT for use in the car. I also propose to use it on the bike occasionally in the top of my tankbag beneath the clear cover. Question is:- will this be OK? I assume the bag will kill enough vibration and keep it dry. I would put it away if it really pissed down. Any thoughts form the experienced users welcome.
 
Vibration should not be an issue as the unit (Garmin 255WT) has an internal solid state set up as far as I remember...wet and direct sunshine should/would be your only issues . Presuming you are going to bring a power lead to it otherwise battery endurance could be an issue as its endurance is only about four hours.
 
rodsharp said:
Im also a novice so please help. Have just purchased a Garmin 255 WT for use in the car. I also propose to use it on the bike occasionally in the top of my tankbag beneath the clear cover. Question is:- will this be OK? I assume the bag will kill enough vibration and keep it dry. I would put it away if it really pissed down. Any thoughts form the experienced users welcome.
Click to expand...
So long as you keep it dry then there shouldn't be a problem. Vibration, especially in a tank bag shouldn't harm it.

The only issue, aside from arranging power and audio should you need them, is that all but the top end Nuvis only do point to point navigation. You set the destination and the device decides how you get there (OK you can set fastest, shortest etc.). You can add one via point, to visit along the way, but that's it. For recreational bike use it's not much use as you usually want to follow specific roads that the GPS won't necessarily choose unless there are no viable alternatives. For some this is perfectly OK, depends of how you want to use GPS. If it's just to get to your destination then fine but I know, for most, that's not what riding a bike is about.

Using a bike orientated GPS such as a StreetPilot (not i3), Zumo or TomTom Rider in conjunction with PC route planning software (Mapsource in Garmins case) allows you to specify the precise roads you want to follow as well as circular routes etc. Try doing this on a Nuvi and you'll have to keep stopping and selecting the the next point on a list of destinations, might as well use a map.

I did find this out the hard way as have many others.
 
Bumpkin said:
If it does come with City Nav Europe as the ad suggests then I would say that it's a bargain.
If you have to buy City Nav Europe separately then this would probably make it a deal breaker.
Click to expand...

I have just had an email back from the seller, it would be another $120 for the Europe DVD so it's not such a bargain now, especially once you add likely customs/VAT etc. to the total.

Thanks very much for the advice though guys, and Bumpkin, what great info! I'm sure a lot of people will find that very useful. I must admit the first two reads through the linked article gave me a sore head though.

Thanks again:beerjug:
 
BigBugger said:
I have just had an email back from the seller, it would be another $120 for the Europe DVD so it's not such a bargain now, especially once you add likely customs/VAT etc. to the total.

Thanks very much for the advice though guys, and Bumpkin, what great info! I'm sure a lot of people will find that very useful. I must admit the first two reads through the linked article gave me a sore head though.
Click to expand...

Don't forget shipping as well and IIRC the import duty is added onto the sale price + shipping and then VAT goes on top of all that :(

Re Bumpkins link, that's why I said about getting a EU basemap GPS to start with.

Keep an eye out on here for a 2610, they do come up fairly often. If it doesn't have the latest mapping (currently CN 2009) then you'll need to factor in another £50 or £60 to get them updated.

Another piece of advice, if you buy a Garmin GPS try to get one that has the mapsource / maps installation disc on a DVD. 1000% easier than the three CD ones, trust me, I do know what I'm talking about here!
 
Thanks for your help and advice too John.
There's a Navigator III in the "for sale" section that I've pm'd th seller about, if I could get that I'd be happy as (from what I've read here) it's a Garmin 2820 with some extra buttons for left hand use.
 
The Nav 3 I had had problems updating to CN 2008. Other have had similar problems. I don't know if Garmin / BM have between them sorted out a fix.

I'll say it again, but a 2610 is a sensible, cost effective entry into GPS land. If you paid £100 / £150 for it today, then you'd get a similar amount for it in 6 months I'd guess as long as it was in decent condition etc etc.
 
Or keep your eyes peeled for a bargain on eBay. I got my 2720 for £150 a year ago and whilst it is a US import it was in as new condition and came with an unlocked copy of the then current full City Nav Europe, a traffic receiver, a Garmin external aerial, a Brodit car mount and all the manuals unlock codes etc. If buying 2nd hand the last bit is vital as well as the sellers willingness to confirm the sale to Garmin, without this you will be a bit stuck when it comes to legitimately updating the mapping.
 
John Armstrong said:
The Nav 3 I had had problems updating to CN 2008. Other have had similar problems. I don't know if Garmin / BM have between them sorted out a fix.

I'll say it again, but a 2610 is a sensible, cost effective entry into GPS land. If you paid £100 / £150 for it today, then you'd get a similar amount for it in 6 months I'd guess as long as it was in decent condition etc etc.
Click to expand...

Thanks John, since I seem to have missed the Navigator III in the for sale section I will keep a 2610 in mind. I believe the 2720/2820 have the dead reckoning facility and are faster to get a fix and refresh though?

Bumpkin said:
Or keep your eyes peeled for a bargain on eBay. I got my 2720 for £150 a year ago and whilst it is a US import it was in as new condition and came with an unlocked copy of the then current full City Nav Europe, a traffic receiver, a Garmin external aerial, a Brodit car mount and all the manuals unlock codes etc. If buying 2nd hand the last bit is vital as well as the sellers willingness to confirm the sale to Garmin, without this you will be a bit stuck when it comes to legitimately updating the mapping.
Click to expand...

Excuse my ignorance, but do you mean that the original owner has to tell Garmin that I am the new owner, and what actually do the unlock codes allow you to do?

I'm not exactly up on GPS's am I, I've always made do with a map and a rout written on my tank bag...... :blast
 
BigBugger said:
Thanks John, since I seem to have missed the Navigator III in the for sale section I will keep a 2610 in mind. I believe the 2720/2820 have the dead reckoning facility and are faster to get a fix and refresh though?

Excuse my ignorance, but do you mean that the original owner has to tell Garmin that I am the new owner, and what actually do the unlock codes allow you to do?

I'm not exactly up on GPS's am I, I've always made do with a map and a rout written on my tank bag...... :blast
Click to expand...

Neither 2720 or 2820 have dead reckoning. I believe that the 2650 (a model based on the 2610) does though. They will carry on in a stright line for a while if signal is lost though.

Garmin licence their mapping data from Navteq and are quite strictly tied to making sure that this data isn't allowed into 'the wild' as it were. The unlock code means that a particular mapping product and version can only be used with one GPS unit (a 2nd unlock used to be free if you had another compatible Garmin sat nav but I believe that they have now stopped this). It makes, for example, the sharing of one mapping update between many Garmin users impossible as the unlock code is different even between the same model of GPS. Once you have unlocked the mapping you have a licence to use it indefinitely though it will naturally expire as it gets further out of date.

When buying a new Garmin virtually all buyers will register this with Garmin for warranty purposes. Registration sets up a myGarmin account though which you can update your mapping, buy additional regions as well as view details about your GPS and the mapping associated with it.

For security reasons Garmin will not transfer the details into a myGarmin account for a 2nd user unless the previous owner confirms the sale.

It's a complex subject and prone to differing experience. i.e. My 2nd user Quest was never registered which qualified me for a free update from v6 to v8 mapping. I'm not sure if the seller of my 2720 contacted Garmin (I asked if he would be willing to do so before buying) but I didn't have a problem adding that to my existing myGarmin account.

In a nut shell - Without an unlock code you will not be able to load the mapping onto your computer properly and if you have a sat nav without preinstalled mapping such as a Quest you wont be able to transfer mapping to the unit. With a valid unlock code but no verification of sale to Garmin you will be able to use the unit properly and install on your PC but wont be able to update your mapping when they announce the next release.
 
Bumpkin said:
For security reasons Garmin will not transfer the details into a myGarmin account for a 2nd user unless the previous owner confirms the sale.
Click to expand...

Well I had a BM nav 3 and it was registered along with the mapping and sold it. To the best of my memory I have never given Garmin permission to ren=move it from myGarmin, but looking today it's gone :confused: I don't mind it's gone but I was under the same impression as you.

Changing tack, anyone know anything about this product:

nüMaps Onetime™ City Navigator® Europe NT
Part Number: 010-D0026-01
Suggested Retail Price: $ 129.99 USD
 
Bumpkin said:
Looks interesting

But not for SP 2720 or for import models according to the Garmin web site, that counts me out then :(
Click to expand...

And as long as you're going to keep that GPS for more than 2 years as you can't transport the updates to another unit / person :(

But the maps sound like they'll be updated quarterly which can't be a bad thing. Although you'll proabably see very little change for your particular area in such a short time.

BTW Zumo 550 is $100 more than the 660 according to Garmins site:

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=135
 
Differences

I remember finding a post on here someplace that detailed the difference/advantages between the 2610, 2720 and 2820 models but I have spent the last couple of days looking for it, can anyone give me a pointer please?
I have found various comments but nothing that shows the advantages of each newer model over the previous one.
Thanks again.
 
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