2620 vibration v 2610

[MATKAT]

Having had my 2610 stolen along with my Snooper I have just bought a 2620 as a replacement. On looking at the MNC group website and the reviews they warn that if your bike is prone to vibration the hard drive in the 2620 can be a problem?? I use a TT mount and as i have yet to recieve it wondered if I may get problems with it..feedback please

 

[Kropotkin]

Search on Advrider for 2620 and you should have your questions answered. The 2620 has an internal microdrive which doesn't like the high-frequency vibration generated by a motorcycle (especially a twin), so they tend to break. I would ditch the 2620 and either wait for a 2720 (which has solid state memory, which isn't affected by vibration) or another 2610.

 

[MATKAT]

2610

thanks for that, already confirmed that 2620 incompatible via GaRMIN. So have cancelled order and now have another 2610 coming, at £520 which is £156 less than I paid for the one stolen. from MNC group in Plymouth. 2610 does all I need, plus I have a profusion of mounts for the 2610 with hardwires to bikes and 4 wheel cans

 

[Dabba]

You probably know it but the 2610 comes with a 32MB flash card whilst that microdrive on the 2620 is 2GB, 2GB flashcard can be had for £80 so still better value.
cheers
Dave

 

[PanEuropean]

Hmmmm - it might be worthwhile if someone actually looked inside the box of a current production 2620 and examined what is inside the GPSR. I was under the impression (and this could be a misguided impression, so don't quote me on it) that Garmin had switched over to solid state memory in the newer production 2620 and 2660 GPSRs, simply because solid state memory is now much cheaper than microdrives.

If someone gets their hands on a current production 2620, have a look and see if the thing has a door on the side of it or not. I know that the early production 2620 GPSR's did have a door on them (same as a 2610), and if you opened the door, you found a little microdrive in the slot where the CF card goes in a 2610.

Perhaps the easiest way to find out would be to power up a current production 2620, and listen very carefully to find out if it makes any kind of noise. If it is totally silent - then there is a good possibility that it might have solid state memory in it. Again - I am only speculating here.

FWIW, I tested a 2620 on my moto - used it for about 2 months, had no problems with the microdrive at all. I think microdrive suitability on a moto will be very dependent on how you mount the GPSR. If it is mounted directly to the frame of the moto, probably it is not going to like all the vibration. But, if it is mounted on a RAM arm - no matter how short - or one of the Touratech isolation mounts - then I think it will probably do OK.

Michael

 

[BurnieM]

I believe that up to August 2004 the SP2620 had a plug in microdrive and after that a wired in microdrive.

 

[judge]

You probably know it but the 2610 comes with a 32MB flash card whilst that microdrive on the 2620 is 2GB, 2GB flashcard can be had for £80 so still better value.
cheers
Dave

In this country the 2610 ships with a 256MB card which I have found has met all my requirements over the 9 months of ownership. But yes if you feel the need you can get a bigger CF card and still be quids in over the 2620's 2GB microdrive or the BMW NAVII's offering.

 

[MATKAT]

2610 and v 8

In this country the 2610 ships with a 256MB card which I have found has met all my requirements over the 9 months of ownership. But yes if you feel the need you can get a bigger CF card and still be quids in over the 2620's 2GB microdrive or the BMW NAVII's offering.

I have the 2610 again. Fortunately when I had mine stolen it had the 256mb card in which i just have uk on. I have another 2mb card so at least I dont have that expense. Its version 6 the new one. Apparently v. 8 is out in 10 days so will wait to upgrade to that insted of v. 7
Dood'

 

[Bert]

Garmin 276C

thanks for that, already confirmed that 2620 incompatible via GaRMIN. So have cancelled order and now have another 2610 coming, at £520 which is £156 less than I paid for the one stolen. from MNC group in Plymouth. 2610 does all I need, plus I have a profusion of mounts for the 2610 with hardwires to bikes and 4 wheel cans

Have a look at Garmin's 276C- excellent unit

http://www.garmin.com/products/gpsmap276c/#

 

[PanEuropean]

Burnie: Thanks for the clarification about the 2620.

Burt: I agree, the 276 (and the 296, and 396 for that matter) are outstanding GPSRs, but the huge handicap they have for automotive navigation is that they use the proprietary Garmin memory chip for cartographic storage, and that chip is a) expensive, and b) limited in size.

The 276 is primarily a marine unit, with secondary support for automotive use, and the 296 and 396 are primarily aviation units, with full support for marine use and secondary support for automotive use.

Garmin stayed with the proprietary chip size in the 276, 296 and 396 because many mariners own charts that are stored on the small chips - for years, Garmin sold marine charts pre-loaded onto 8 meg chips. But, as the automotive maps continue to grow in size, touring riders will find themselves seriously constrained by the limited storage capacity of these models.

Although I really like the user interface of the 296 - it is one of my favorite GPSRs, and certainly the most 'tech-oriented' of all the Garmin handhelds - I cannot in good conscience recommend it to someone who intends to use it primarily for automotive use, simply because of the ever-growing size of the automotive cartography. I'm already using V8 cartography (testing it), and trust me, it ain't smaller than V7.

Michael

 

[Bert]

it is true Michael

The Garmin chips are a nuisance but then that's business!
Prices for those 256MB chips are coming down as no longer the only choice so not a bad thing.
As to cartography growing, yes doesn't it just!
Would it not be wonderful if Garmin made a much better quality World Map? Anyone listening???

You do have consider its use. Does one really need every nook and cranny? I tend to load what I need before I go but it does mean a few chips in the pocket!
In terms of quality and 'bang' per £ compared to other units, I do believe the 276C wins hands down if one is willing to accept the chip issue.

And if ever I go somewhere without the appropriate map showing the latest coffee shop or if something has changed (as it will inevitably will have by the time you get there, it's not the end of the world there is always a trusted compass!! after all is it not about Adventure?
And let's face it, for most it's always 'CAV-OK'