on a quest

[russell]

Hi wise sages , I'm thinking of getting my first ever gps system. Don't know much about them. I'm really looking for something that will find my prebooked hotels when touring in Europe and get me sorted if/when I get lost over there. I don't really want phone use or mp3 use and it will only be used occasionally. I believe the Garmin Quest is still available new at £195. Do you think that would suit my needs or is it now completely out dated??? Any info on the quest good or bad gratefully accepted. I see it does'nt accept post codes, is that a problem. Am I right in assuming you can enter hotel grid references? If I was to get a quest with ram mount and cradle for £195 is that it or would I need any sneaky extras. I would want to plug it into my autocom.
well, I think thats it for now,
cheers
Russell

 

[Bumpkin]

I believe the Garmin Quest is still available new at £195. Do you think that would suit my needs or is it now completely out dated???

The original Quest is a decent GPSR for it's time but a little compromised by a few factors:

• No postcode search
• Limited fixed memory that means you have to load mapping specifically for your trip, limits range and off route excursions if you're going to say Italy returning via a different route
• No proximity alerts for scameras etc

Other than that a great unit, plan your trip in Mapsource before you go or at the least the way-points for the hotels and must visit destinations, upload to the Quest and off you go.

I'd factor in a powered cradle, either the RAM QPAC or a Garmin one. Even though the internal battery will last for a days riding it's easier to charge on the move than having to bother with the mains charger when you reach the hotel. Both facilitate audio out which would require 'surgery' on the car cradle to do otherwise. You'll need a specific isolating lead from Autocom to connect otherwise you'll get interference.

I have one but am currently limited to UK use due to family and budget. If it were lost or broken beyond repair I'd probably get another.

Quest 2 does all of Europe and has proximity alerts and poostcode search but has problems of it's own that make it a risky buy, see other threads on the subject for info.

 

[Archie Beag]

Me too

I’d like some advice on this too if poss. My thoughts and probable usage seems to be pretty much along the same lines as Russell.
GPS is something new and mysterious to me as well.
And, while I think I’ll enjoy using it once I get used to it, you just never know.
(I actually quite like poring over Maps 'n stuff which is a bit of a worry!)

As an entry model would the Quest be suitable or should I just go for broke, take the chance and spend the loot on a Zumo?
Are there any wee extras that really need to go with the basic system?

You gurus have probably been asked this a ton of times before so apologies in advance for being a GPS numpty

Archie

 

[russell]

''plan your trip in Mapsource before you go or at the least the way-points for the hotels and must visit destinations, upload to the Quest and off you go''.

Cheers for that Bumpkin. I 'm a complete novice when it comes to gps so I wonder if you could give me an idiots guide to the above quote.

 

[Bumpkin]

''plan your trip in Mapsource before you go or at the least the way-points for the hotels and must visit destinations, upload to the Quest and off you go''.

Cheers for that Bumpkin. I 'm a complete novice when it comes to gps so I wonder if you could give me an idiots guide to the above quote.

If buying new the unit will come with a DVD with the current mapping (or the previous version with a free upgrade), this DVD also contains a copy of the program Mapsource which is Garmin's route planning software.

You load the mapping and Mapsource software onto your PC and can use the latter to load the former onto your Garmin GPS unit via USB cable. The Quest should come preloaded with UK mapping pre-installed so you'll only need to transfer new mapping when travelling abroad. When uploading mapping you select the parts of the map you require in Mapsource (each country is split into a number pf map tiles so you don't need to load all of a country just the parts you need for your route, Mapsource can also automatically select mapping tiles around a route). When you upload mapping you delete the mapping data currently on the unit (not routes or custom way-points though).

Using Mapsource you can define start point and end points of a route and then drag the route to roads you prefer if the calculated route isn't to your liking. Once done you then upload this to the unit (the Quest can hold up to 50 of these that you can call on at any time.

Mapsource can also be used to define way-points that you can upload. For example night stopovers etc. You can just use these on the road and tell the Quest to take you there working out the route for you. You can do full route plotting on the Quest but the small screen makes this very fiddly, far better to do it on the PC where you can easily see the 'whole picture'.

IMHO it's Mapsource, and the legendary customer service, that makes Garmin products the better GSPR.

See here for an illustrated example of map tiles selected around a route, also demonstrates the problem of memory capacity with the Quest.

 

[russell]

That's a fantastic piece of information Bumpkin. Thanks a million for that. Even I understood that, what about you Archie? It's certainly given me plenty to think about.
cheers

 

[Den]

Archie and Russell. Ive got a streetpilot 3 with all the bits going cheapish.
State of the art a few years ago, but like everything else electronic, seen as old hat now.
The only difference from the new ones is that it is slower to recalculate when you go off route.
If I remember rightly, it has a big card with most of europe already on it and another one with scotland on. Car mount. Most of a touratech mount. City nav etc.
It would be good to start your gps experience with.
If either of you are interested, or anyone else, send me a pm. But Id rather have it picked up than posted as you will wait weeks for me to get round to it. I live in Fife.

 

[ST4S]

Queat user Here..

For what it's worth chaps, here's my 3 pennyworth..

I've had a Quest 1 for a couple of years or more now. Elsewhere in this forum, someone suggested that 3 upgrades is the max you can do before your GPS starts to show its age and I'd have to agree.. I'm running CN V9 maps on the Quest now and recalc times have become silly.. I started with City Select 6 (fast recalc time), upgraded to CN V8 (acceptable recalc time) and finally CN V9 (takes so long to recalc you could be a mile off even the recalculated route by the time it finishes!). I think that the reason for this is that each mapping update has more and more detail, slowing the recalc time.

It also has an old technology chip, which loses signal in areas where there are tall buildings etc.. But that's not to say I wouldn't recommend one..

In terms of operating the unit, ignore the lack of Postcode search facility.. it's something that everyone thinks they need, but typing in an address is no hardship and it's more accurate. Also, the Quest is small, has a good internal battery which means you can use it 'off bike' and has facilities lacking in some of the newer units (i.e. you can add lots of via points, download routes from your PC, it's waterproof etc etc).

If you prepare your routes in Mapsource first and use the Quest as a 'moving map' with a marked route (recalc when 'off route' turned off) it's fine , that's how I use it to tour France a couple of times a year.

To put things in context, I'm actually diappointed that I can't get a 'new' Quest with the later SirfStar chip, more memory and a card slot.

If you can get one at the right price it's definitely worth a go..

(but don't get a Quest 2, if you search this forum you'll see that it was a step backwards)

 

[Archie Beag]

Bumpkin and ST45

Thanks for making the effort to explain some of the basics to us novices and clarify more than a few things. It’s much appreciated that you took the time to present info that’s probably viewed as ‘old hat’ in such an understandable way.
You’ve also probably educated a lot more people than just me and Russell.

Thanks for that Gents

Archie

 

[Bumpkin]

I've had a Quest 1 for a couple of years or more now. Elsewhere in this forum, someone suggested that 3 upgrades is the max you can do before your GPS starts to show its age and I'd have to agree.. I'm running CN V9 maps on the Quest now and recalc times have become silly.. I started with City Select 6 (fast recalc time), upgraded to CN V8 (acceptable recalc time) and finally CN V9 (takes so long to recalc you could be a mile off even the recalculated route by the time it finishes!). I think that the reason for this is that each mapping update has more and more detail, slowing the recalc time.

Admittedly I'm still running City Nav v8 and don't have a problem with recalc speed, It could be quicker but isn't crippling. There are options within the settings menu to change the recalc method, options being; 'Quickest', 'Quick', 'Better Route' and 'Best Route'. Mine's on 'Better Route', maybe selecting a lesser method would speed things up. TBH I haven't noticed a difference in recalc speed between City Nav v8 and MetroGuide v8 and the latter definitely has fewer road attributes. I've tried turning off Automatic recalc but prefer to have it switched on.

The Upgrade disk for City Nav v9 is sitting in my desk drawer and might, or might not, get used. V10 may be a step too far if ST4S' theory is correct for a unit that started life on City Select v6. I will have to save my pennies for a Zumo.

 

[Aidan1150]

For any GPS newbies, please have a look at the three "Mapsource for Dummies" threads posted by Whatton and stickied at the top of the GPS Info section.


Mapsource for Dummies Part One. Here.


Mapsource for Dummies Part Two. Here.


Mapsource for Dummies Part Three. Here.

 

[Phil Clarke]

GPS warehouse are doing a quest 1, a ram mount and a Qpac bike power cable with supressed audio lead plug in for £215.

Excellent unit pity Garmin wont add a card slot for more memory. I've had no problems with route recalcs on mapsource version 9 or signals in built up areas.

 

[thauma]

I'm just back from Tuscany, having used the Quest 1.

I think that the device is fantastic, it does have it's limitations, but then so do maps!.

Ultimately you need to be able to sort your route out on the computer first, and then transfer it to the quest. Whilst you can do it directly on the device itself it is a pain with the small screen. However if you just want to get from A to B with a few via points, then that is easy on either the computer or the quest.

A question for ST4S - I'm running v7 of the maps, and it's fine. I can load quite a large section of France (most of it), and for routes of a greater distance I can obviously select the maps around the route. But in reality how much bigger / detailed are the latest set of maps, and how much could I realistically load onto the Quest 1 (Not in Kb, but in terms of actual maps / routes). I realise that this is difficult to answer, but I'd like to know whether it is worth upgrading the maps themselves (to v9 or whatever the latest is)

Thanks in advance

Cheers

Dave#...

 

[Bumpkin]

I'm running v7 of the maps, and it's fine. I can load quite a large section of France (most of it), and for routes of a greater distance I can obviously select the maps around the route. But in reality how much bigger / detailed are the latest set of maps, and how much could I realistically load onto the Quest 1 (Not in Kb, but in terms of actual maps / routes). I realise that this is difficult to answer, but I'd like to know whether it is worth upgrading the maps themselves (to v9 or whatever the latest is)

Sorry for butting for in here; If you look at the link from my post to the VFR site you'll see a comparison between City Select v6 and City Navigator v8, this compares roughly with the difference between City Select v7 and City Navigator v9. All City Nav. products have bigger map tiles which make long distance, trans European routing with the Quest a problem unless you just use the base-map for parts of the journey. Apparently the tile sizes are slightly smaller in City Navigator v9 when compared with the previous version, might make a slight difference but not much.

An alternative is to use Metroguide Europe which comes in a current version (v9) combining this with MetroWizzz to make the mapping route-able. There are downsides to doing this as the audio instructions for roundabouts can be misleading without a glance at the screen but other than that it is very similar. Tile sizes in Metroguide are similar to those in City Select v7 so long European trips are a possibility again.

I will continue to use City Navigator where these will fit onto the Quest, if I had the chance of a long European trip I would be loading Metroguide mapping.

 

[ST4S]

All City Nav. products have bigger map tiles which make long distance, trans European routing with the Quest a problem unless you just use the base-map for parts of the journey. Apparently the tile sizes are slightly smaller in City Navigator v9 when compared with the previous version, might make a slight difference but not much.



Here's a comparison of coverage of the UK (incl Shetlands)

CS V6 124 Maps, 156.6 Megabytes
CN V8 19 Maps, 173.4 Megabytes
CN V9 54 Maps, 194.2 Megabytes

 

[Bumpkin]

Here's a comparison of coverage of the UK (incl Shetlands)

CS V6 124 Maps, 156.6 Megabytes
CN V8 19 Maps, 173.4 Megabytes
CN V9 54 Maps, 194.2 Megabytes

Whilst it's true that there's some bloat in the total required to cover a country/specific area the real difference is when you select maps around a route. Due to the larger tile sizes you end up loading lots of off-route map detail that you just don't need. Admittedly having it there makes off-route excursions easier but with the smaller map tiles in the earlier products (and current Metroguide) you can still select those using the map tile selection tool in the areas that you need them.

 

[thauma]

Thanks for the replies Bumpkin and ST4S.

It looks like I'll have to investigate the options. I like the quest and don't want to have to buy another device, but I guess that ultimately it's fixed memory could become its eventual downfall.

In the short term I'll have a look at Metroguide and Wizz and see what they appear to provide.

Thanks for the assistance.

Cheers

Dave#...