how much memory do i need

i would like to buy a gps unit for my gs but am unsure of how much memory is required . when we ride out we cover distances of between 150 to 200 mile round trips, usually north west of the midlands .how much map detail and at what scale could i expect to experience.
i'll just wait for a few replies i'm starting to get confused now ???

It all depends!

Some Garmin models have an auto-routing feature (I have the StreetPilot III). On these models, the mapping data must say not only where the roads are, but must include whether the roads are one-way streets, whether there is a 'no right turn' (for example) in force etc etc.

On that basis, the whole of England, Scotland and Wales down to street level just fits onto a 128Mb card.

However, the UK maps are purchased by Garmin from the good ol' boys at Ordinance Survey. These guys produce good maps - of the UK. In other countries, the mapping data is not so good - so you can perhaps get more acreage onto the same sized card.

I hope that helps.

Greg

128megs

Greg your reply is very usefull
are there any units available that have 128 meg capacity or do u need to buy additional memory .your experience with the unit you use would be helpfull, all info is greatfully received.
GPS could be a bit of a mine field it pays to do your homework first
regards jon b

Jon:

The units with larger data capacity achieve this through Garmin's own (and deeply offensively priced) data cartridges. These are mainly useful for the memory hungry units with turn-by-turn navigation.

My first unit a Garmin V had a non-expandable memory of 19MB on which I could get London (South & East), Kent, Surrey and Berkshire (as far as North & West as Reading). Bearing in mind the density of these areas you could achieve more less-dense areas in the same area. The downside is when moving outside of your established area you need to define and download new maps.

Using the routing feature of the V with just the basemaps is a bit of a no-no in anything other than remote areas (due to inherent inaccuracy of the pre-loaded Atlantic Basemap).

Essentially understand whether this is going to be a problem for you as it will be the main driver for changing the unit if you do. I'm now on my second unit (SPIII) and I upgraded for this very reason...and I'm not alone out there am I guys?

I have just acquired a street pilot 1 with only 8mb of memory. I have downloaded the humberside, west, north and parts of south yorks on to it, about 6.97 mb if memory serves.
I believe the north west of england inc the lake district is of a similar size.
Hope this helps

Garmin 128Mb cards are available in the US for approx half UK price, do a Google search for discount houses. If you know someone in the States, or are visiting there on your hols, this may be a reasonable solution. Some people might say that a flash chip is small enough to import without declaring it/them to Customs. I could not condone such behaviour and would therefore strongly advise against it.....


MikeO

Jon, 128 Mb

thanks for your feed back

Guys
thank you for the feed back re memory ect i think if i am going to take the plunge and get myself gps it is well worth buying a unit with expandable memory as this seems to be the weakness with most units.
as usual mike prices over in the states are half that we pay over here as i found out a few years ago when i went out to south dacota to the sturgis rally, and of course i would'nt think of smuggling contraband into the uk NOT
once again thanks for all the help
Jon B

Of course if you buy the whole thing in the USA and use it whilst you're over there, you don't have to declare it. Just make sure it has some "track logs" on it to prove that you bought it to use and it has been used.
Some may argue that the unit will have the wrong (USA) base map. BUT as we've established (jud9e reply) the base maps are next to useless anyway. Just load up your half price data cards (or you could buy twice as many) and away you go..vvvrrrroooom