GPS solution for green laning required

[Eddy802]

I have the Garmin 2610 and have been more than happy with it in the car or on the GS.

I have a KTM 200EXC for green laning (and a little racing) and it is without a battery,which means that I use my eTrex for GPS when out on it.

I think a Quest is the comprimise I'm looking for.....

Questions -
Is there something better as an all rounder (without spending a fortune)?
What's a reasonable sale price for the 2610?
Is anyone interested in a swap - Your Quest and bike mount for my 2610, mount and bike cables?

Cheers

Eddy

PS. One more: How daft is it to consider mounting a battery to power my 2610 on the KTM? Perhaps charging it only in the gargae, rahter than from the bike?

 

[robD]

Probably something like the 60CX or 60CSX....

Downsides?

No maps with the unit, but you should be able to unlock your exist 2610 maps to the 60CX.
No voice prompts in auto routing.
Pricey?

Upsides?

Battery powered - good for 15-20hrs real world usage.
Can use UK topo maps for far off road excursions
Highly rated in the offroad communities - hiking, mountaineering, laning etc.
Reasonably cheap memory cards - up to 1gig at present. You can put all your UK maps on one card, Topo, City Nav, speed cams etc etc....

 

[Eddy802]

Thanks Rob.

So long as it auto routes, the voice prompt is not such an issue. Pricing might be...

What Topo maps are available? Can I upload map detail from MemoryMap to it?

Cheers

Eddy

 

[BLUE(UK)]

I have the Garmin 2610 and have been more than happy with it in the car or on the GS.

I have a KTM 200EXC for green laning (and a little racing) and it is without a battery,which means that I use my eTrex for GPS when out on it.

I think a Quest is the comprimise I'm looking for.....

Questions -
Is there something better as an all rounder (without spending a fortune)?
What's a reasonable sale price for the 2610?
Is anyone interested in a swap - Your Quest and bike mount for my 2610, mount and bike cables?

Cheers



Eddy

PS. One more: How daft is it to consider mounting a battery to power my 2610 on the KTM? Perhaps charging it only in the gargae, rahter than from the bike?

I power my Etrex vista off my 450exc without ANY problems....simply run a cable from the battery to behind the headlightand fit normal electric connectors on(male+female so you know pos + neg without having to lick it.....female on the pos side...this can be used to charge the battery up without removing the seat.).Now get the female plastic coated cigar lighter thing from a car accessory place and cut off the male plug in.Put on the electrical connectors so it works.Keep it behind the headlight where very little water actually gets....anyway,as i said,it's what i do.

 

[robD]

What Topo maps are available?

From Garmin, UK v2 Topo is quite nice....

For free (My kind of price!) There are some available detailed in this thread HERE

Can I upload map detail from MemoryMap to it?

I've honestly no idea, sorry

-Rob

 

[Eddy802]

Hey Blue,

I guess the missing pre-requisite for me to follow your set up is the battery?

Eddy

 

[(RIP) Bin Ridin]

I think he means from the gps battery to the wiring behind theheadlight. Since there is no battery in your one, you still have a problem.
Could you buy a battery like say one from a burglar alarm, let it charge from the headlight wiring and hook the 2610 to it? All you want is a fairly steady supply.
I would stick with the 2610, find a way to power it.

 

[Eddy802]

Ah, my apologies Blue.

I know I've the space and the mount points for a battery.

I guess I could see what fitting the pucker battery would cost without the circuitry for the bike to charge it.

Is relying on my Optimate for the charging an option?

Eddy

 

[(RIP) Bin Ridin]

Optimate idea sounds fine!
GPSload depends a lot on screen brighness setting.
In Darkest UK, it can be left quite dim......

 

[Greg Masters]

Eddy

For Green Laning I use a Garmin Geko 201. I captured all of the Saturday Sheep-Shaggers trail with it and will be using it to navigate by in 2 weeks time.

I attach mine to my DR-Z with a home-made mount using 2 x P-clips, a small piece of perspex and some industrial strength Velcro. It's survived a river-dunking and the bike being chucked up the road by yours truly a couple of weeks ago.

When you use it with MapSource, it's the dog's danglies!

My advice is to keep the 2610 and buy a Geko to supplement (it also gives instant OS grid references, which the 2610 doesn't).

Read this thread. You should be able to pick up a Geko 201 for about £60-70 from Fleabay. As they have no maps, you don't need an unlock code.

GFI

Greg

 

[Eddy802]

Thanks Greg. I have the eTrex which I am already using for green laning. It will do what the Geko does and a lot more.

I was being greedy in looking for an autorouting, bigger screened , battery powered (better endurance than my Vista) unit that would led me between BOATS and down them.

Eddy

 

[HMR]

I have the Garmin 2610 and have been more than happy with it in the car or on the GS.

I have a KTM 200EXC for green laning (and a little racing) and it is without a battery,which means that I use my eTrex for GPS when out on it.

I think a Quest is the comprimise I'm looking for.....

To my opinion the 60Cx is, by far, the best alternative for you. It has better handling of tracks than any other Garmin navigator and your existing map license can be used on it.

Tracks are very important for planning "routes" where the maps are poor. If you want a larger screen the best option is the 276C.

 

[Eddy802]

Today I played with the Vista I already own, in the way Greg suggested.

Believe it or not I had never used it to actually follow a road based route in the 5 years that I have owned it! Yet I firmly beleive I've had my monies worth in the meanwhile, primarily for this


I think for now the combination I have will suffice.

Thanks for the advice gents.

Eddy

 

[BLUE(UK)]

Ah, my apologies Blue.

I know I've the space and the mount points for a battery.

I guess I could see what fitting the pucker battery would cost without the circuitry for the bike to charge it.

Is relying on my Optimate for the charging an option?

Eddy

Sorry mate,during a quick memory lapse i assumed you have a battery on your 200exc as i do on the 450.Much appologies.
Alternative would be to mount a battery in the airbox??add one of them car cig lighter female sided things.Run the GPS lead to the front where you mount the GPS.Plug both ends in and should be ok.Charge it before each runout.
One thing myself and my mate who has a legend i think it is found out,VIBRATION from the bars......use plenty of insulation tape under the mount.He continued having problems til we did the hardwire so it may well have been the batteries.(they only last half a day).
Hope this helps.

 

[BLUE(UK)]

Today I played with the Vista I already own, in the way Greg suggested.

Believe it or not I had never used it to actually follow a road based route in the 5 years that I have owned it! Yet I firmly beleive I've had my monies worth in the meanwhile, primarily for this


I think for now the combination I have will suffice.

Thanks for the advice gents.

Eddy

I've never used mine for a road based route either.
I s'pose i should learn more about it to be honest.....rather shameful,all that money and not using it to it's full benefits.

 

[Greg Masters]

New discovery!

Check this thread!

Greg