Garmin Quest 2

[shedracer]

After selling my Nav 11, I have been busy reading the various pros and cons on the various units, with the view of purchasing a new unit. After careful consideration I put it down to 2 options, either Quest 2 or 276c.

Well I went for the Quest 2. Big mistake. When it arrived, I studied it carefully and thought it was ideal, small and compact, so I could put in my pocket and battery powered. It seemed to be just what I wanted, with Full Europe mapping preloaded, POI`s and Topo UK. But to my surprise, when I tried it out, on the way to work, I was shocked at its poor re-draw rate, very slow to say the least, having to wait up to 15 sec sometimes, and continued re-calculating, even when I was travelling on the chosen route! Apparently its slower than the Quest, due to the new NT mapping!

I think its a great little unit apart from one thing, it deeply flawed, the processor doesn't seem to be up to it. I spoke to the company I bought it from, and asked if I could return it, which they agreed.

All I can say is, try before you buy this unit, you may be deeply disappointed as I was. I know the Nav 11 is a far superior unit, when comparing memory and processor, but I thought the Quest 2 would do better than it did, being a newer model. As it turns out, even Garmin couldn`t disagree with me!

Anyway, trying to improve on the Nav 11`s performance, may not be that easy, but my requirements for a battery powered unit, that I could use at work, in the car, on the bike and while walking, has led me down the road to the 276c. I tried it out at the Boat/caravan and outdoor show today, and it was enough to convince me. It has a superb screen, very fast re-draw and great adjust-ability, it will serve almost all my needs bar POI`s, and I will be able to use the new UK Topo mapping on it for walking. Having now looked at and tried the 276c, I can quite understand why so many people have great affection for it. With the new firm ware, it has a nice feature that allows you to have the Trip Computer page, which looks similar to the Nav 11 Trip computer, but it has a small window in the middle that shows the map/route.

All I have to do now is get my order in.

This is only my opinion, but others may think differently, fair enough.

 

[ninja man]

garmin knew about this look at my post Quest 2 on 27-01 06 Quest 1 is much better

 

[ebbo]

I’ve read a number of reports regarding the Quest II poor routing and re drawing performance, can’t think what Garmin are playing at

You should be quite happy with a 276c

 

[DodgyGeeSer]

Isn't the new City Navigator v8 mapping based on the NT technology?
Just wondering if the new mapping will cause a simillar slow-down on my Quest I...

 

[ynotbiker]

happy

bought the quest 2,had it 3weeks now never had a gps before well happy with it,on the redraw longest ive waited is about 8 secs,done varios routes round my area just to get used to it made a few mistakes like putting vie certain towns and villages ect and find that it takes me into the centre of these places then out again,so now on my mapsource i click a road passed the town works better for me,if there is a better way advice would be appreciated but very happy with mine

 

[pantscorcher]

Been looking at a 276c, do Touratect or any other fabricator make handle bar mounts for this unit? and can you plug it in to the GS Adv power socket?

 

[shedracer]

Been looking at a 276c, do Touratect or any other fabricator make handle bar mounts for this unit? and can you plug it in to the GS Adv power socket?

Touratech do a couple of mounts for the 276, but I`m going to use the new GSA12 BMW mount for the Navigator II, with my new 276c, (it will be available in March/April) on the screen support, saw it at the Brussells Bike show. It can also be mounted on the handlebar cross bar. You can also use the cigarette power cable, or buy the Garmin motorcycle power/audio cable and wire it direct.

All you have to use is the marine mount. You can dissasemble the marine mount , by un-doing the screw/bolt in the middle of the mount, which then leaves you just the immediate mount to the unit. You can then screw this mount to either a Ram or BMW mounting.

Sorry about the size of the pic!

 

[DodgyGeeSer]

bought the quest 2,had it 3weeks now never had a gps before well happy with it,on the redraw longest ive waited is about 8 secs<snip>

Eight seconds is horrendous. On the Quest1, the redraw would never be measured in more than mili-seconds. How can you ride/navigate? Do you have to pull in to the side of the road and wait for the screen to refresh?

Getting worried about future map updates for my Quest1 now. Am I stuck with CitySelect v7 for all eternity?

 

[Mouse]

Don't get all hung up about mapping updates - having used City Navigator v5 and v7 (in fact got them both installed on my PC) I can honestly say there's little or no difference in the UK mapping. Unless you need the mapping for countries that weren't mapped in the older versions, the map upgrades seem to me like a waste of cash.

 

[ampthill]

Unless you need the mapping for countries that weren't mapped in the older versions, the map upgrades seem to me like a waste of cash.

So can anyone tell us what new areas are mapped in CN8 in comparision to CN/CS7?

Peter

 

[Mouse]

Can't find any info on Garmin's web site about CN8 - but here's a map showing what v7 includes:

http://shop.garmin.com/cartography/mapsource/update/cd_update_details.asp?CD=010-10432-02

 

[DodgyGeeSer]

Don't get all hung up about mapping updates - having used City Navigator v5 and v7 (in fact got them both installed on my PC) I can honestly say there's little or no difference in the UK mapping. Unless you need the mapping for countries that weren't mapped in the older versions, the map upgrades seem to me like a waste of cash.

I'm hoping for significant updates in the Irish mapping, which is fine at the moment for cities, and between cities, but very poor for rural roads, small towns, etc).

Here's a mail I got in response to some questions I asked the Garmin Support team (slightly re-worded - bloody copyrighted e-mails):

1) I currently use a Quest1 with City Select v7 - I understand that City
Navigator is a lot more demanding. Will it be supported on the Quest, and
will this affect the performance of the Quest (specifically with respect to
screen refresh rates?)
- City navigator has more routing attributes so it will take slightly longer to calculate a route, but its not something that will be noticeable.
2) Will v8 be available as an update to current CitySelect v7 users? Price?
- The update price is $75+tax. You can apply for a mapping update by sending your address and information of the unit you have to: [email protected]

3) When will this be available?
- Version 8 mapping is due for release 25TH February

 

[beemerboy9]

Question: is the redraw rate slower in 3D (birds-eye) than in 2D mode?

 

[DodgyGeeSer]

Question: is the redraw rate slower in 3D (birds-eye) than in 2D mode?

Not on a Quest. No 3D display.