Adam wrote: PanEuropean: I think you should declare yourself...
Hi Adam - Sure, reasonable question, here is the declaration:
I'm an aircraft pilot by profession. I first became aware of Garmin products when I was involved in the purchase of a large quantity of Garmin avionics for a fleet of aircraft. I was quite impressed with the capabilities of the avionics (Garmin 430 and 530 panel mount units), and this led me to look at getting a GPS for my motorcycle, which is a Honda ST1100. I bought a SP III in the spring of 2001.
I do a lot of travel in Europe on the moto (usually ship it over by air freight, once shipped it to the UK by boat), and when I began using the SP III in Europe in 2001, I noticed some things I thought could be improved - cartography issues, and things like how the GPS handles direction through roundabouts, how to improve it for moto-riders, etc. So, I wrote some of these comments down and sent them to Garmin. Eventually, we developed a correspondence, and I started beta-testing software. I was riding 2,000 km a week, so this was pretty easy to do, and I really enjoyed doing it - it is a nice break from my day job of flying planes and training pilots. Last summer, the folks I correspond with asked me if I would help test the SP 26xx in a moto environment, and I agreed. Everything I do is always as a volunteer, I receive no payment or consideration in any form.
Sure, I have a preference for Garmin units. I like the functionality they offer. More than that, I really like the fact that Garmin listens to both what I suggest, and what other riders suggest, and they subsequently adapt their GPSR's to suit the needs of the motorcycle community.
I have nothing bad to say about any other manufacturer. Truth is, I have not used GPSR's from other manufacturers, other than in an aviation environment. I don't think I have ever written anything down - in this forum or elsewhere - that is critical of another manufacturer's product, unless is is in the context of a plain truth, for example, it's not a good idea to use a PDA GPS on a moto because it is not dust or waterproof.
There are, however, a few things that get under my skin, and perhaps you have noticed this. First, I get annoyed when a company that has proposed to make a new product states that there is a "problem" with the SP26xx that requires their new product - in this case, the reference to the SP 26xx being difficult to use with gloves on. You might have seen my response to that in the post on the My-MC BB (which, by the way, I have no involvement with other than as a contributor - but because that board has a big ST1100 constituency, it's my home board). I remarked there that the SP 26xx worked perfectly well with gloves on, and I knew that because I had done a hell of a lot of riding with gloves on. Heck, I made a post on that BB back in July of 2003 mentioning that my biggest worry about the new SP 26xx was that gloves would be a problem - and later (5,000 km's later), I posted that there were no problems with gloves. Here's the link to the original thread - note the dates when you read it:
New Garmin StreetPilot Models Announced
I've got no opinion at all on the company that plans to produce an add-on device, but my belief is that they should promote it on its own merits, not try to suggest that there is a non-existent deficiency that thus requires use of their proposed product.
In my 4th post on this thread, I stated that the BMW Navigator II mount and the proposed new product were not the same thing. This was only to point out to less-experienced readers (riders) that there were two different products being discussed here. The title of this topic (Turning your 2610 into a BMW Navigator II) is not exactly clear about the difference between the two products. There's a lot of readers (lurkers) who still confuse MapSource (the executable) with map CD's - and those are products that have been around for a long time. Here, we're discussing two new products, neither of which is in wide distribution yet.
What else gets under my skin? People bitching about map software prices, and people bragging about "beating the system" dishonestly. Concerning the map software, all Garmin does is purchase cartography data from companies that specialize in producing it, then compile that data in a form that the Garmin GPSR's can read. Garmin is in no way involved in the collection of map data. So, who the heck do you think is influencing the prices??? It's obviously the companies who own the map data, not Garmin. They are the ones who set the price at which they sell the data to Garmin. Want proof? Just go to a VW dealer, Mercedes dealer, or BMW dealer, and price the cost of a new map upgrade for one of the OEM auto systems. It will be a hell of a lot more money than the Garmin upgrade for the same region, that is for sure. I am sure the people at Garmin are even more upset at errors and omissions in the map products than we are, because it's Garmin people think of when they are unhappy with a map, not the company that supplied the data (NavTech, eTak, DTMI Spatial, whomever).
About "beating the system, dishonestly" - I read a post here by someone who stated (and I quote):
"To get around this problem, I bought a U.K SPIII for £ 499 & registered it. This let me use the European City Navigator software supplied with it, on my 2610 (Garmin let you unlock a second GPS unit for no additional charge ). I then sold the SPIII and actually made a little profit from it. As a bonus, I'm entitled to the City Navigator V6 upgrade."
Well,
Excuse Me. Read the policies on the Garmin web page about getting a second unlock code. It's pretty clear -
"Your MapSource coupon code is valid for use with your own GARMIN GPS unit. If you own two GARMIN GPS units, you are allowed to obtain a second unlock code for the same region at no additional charge. Simply repeat the unlock process for the second unit. This agreement provides a one-user license, and it is illegal to share this data with others. (Here's the link:
MapSource Unlock Policies).
Why does that piss me off? Because if enough people decide to obtain a 2nd unlock code and resell it, which is exactly what Garmin makes clear the free unlock policy does not permit, then Garmin is going to stop providing 2nd unlocks to people who actually own and use two GPSR's (usually, one marine unit and one automotive, or one aviation unit and one automotive). I'm in the group that legitimately owns two GPSR's, and I don't want to see Garmin stop extending the policy of a free second unlock to me because too many other people are abusing the system - then going on a public BB and bragging about how to do it.
Well - you asked for it, that's my declaration. I'm not trying to pick a fight with anyone, and I've tried to be pretty circumspect with my remarks in the 65 previous posts I've made. The only reason I joined this board is because it looks like there are a lot of moto enthusiasts here with above-average knowledge of GPS use on motorcycles, and also because I think my next moto (when I get rid of my ST) will be a BMW, and I might need to get some advice from you folks about which one to choose. So, I figured it might make sense to contribute something first (GPS knowledge), then ask for your BMW knowledge later on.
PanEuropean
