Which GPS will be suitable for my needs?

[ciano125]

Hi guys,

Need a bit of help here. I'm going to be starting a new job in the next couple of months and it will involve driving/riding all over the county (south yorkshire) I know my way around/to most places, so i dont need huge memory for maps of southern india etc, but i was wondering which GPS unit would best suit my needs. Bear in mind that I am a mature student (fnar fnar) so funds are going to be limited to a couple of hundred quid or so. I will need it to be able to direct me to streets not just towns as well. Is this possible or shall i just get the map out (which i am hopeless at reading too ) ??

Cheers

Cian

 

[Beemer Boy]

Cian,

Your limited budget is going to be the main drawback here. A Garmin Speedpilot III is your ideal, as it covers the whole of GB, but will cost between £500 & £600 secondhand on eBay, or £500 if you can get one at MAKRO stores etc, but stock is RAPIDLY thinning, and as the ads say, once they're gone, they're gone. Garmin are now into producing the next model, which despite having more bells and whistles, ain't really what we need or want, and it's already into £1000+

They do (did?) a GPS V but with only a small memory, it only holds about a quarter of GB at any one time.

Back to good old maps? OKish if you're in the motor, but a P in the A if your awheel on the old bike.

Change your job...

 

[ciano125]

Cheers Beemerboy

I did have a feeling that the street pilot would be the best thing for my needs but was also aware of the price. I used to work at Maplin's and when they came out a couple of years ago they were the best part of a grand too, so i would guess that the new one they are developing will go the same way too if they continue developing their products, which i assume they will.

Keep saving I guess, cant really change jobs as its a placement year that i need to do to complete my degree!!

Cheers
Cian

 

[boxer]

A Garmin V might suit your need better than you think. The memory may be quite small, but since............

I know my way around/to most places, so i dont need huge memory for maps

you won't need detailed maps for every step of the way. You could load just the maps you need. 19Mb will still hold a lot and if you are returning to base every day the situation improves as you can reload the next day maps each night.

A second hand V should be within your budget on ebay, there are bargains out there.
I offered a brand new V with City select maps for £250 on this forum but for some reason had no takers. In the end I sold just the receiver [I retained the maps] on ebay for £260.

Russ.

 

[cecilthecat]

If you already have a laptop PC you could buy a basic GPS and run this into the PC and then use a mapping program such as auto route etc...

 

[(RIP) Yosi]

Ciano: You could do well with a Garmin GPS II+
No maps, no fancy graphics but excellent as navigator. On fact, probably better than V/III for that purpose.
In practice, is a compass or "direction finder" showing the direction you should go "as the crow flies" but with a line showing the track.
Download GPSU (http://www.gpsu.co.uk/) which combined with MS Autoroute will serve you well once you get use to it.

Cost? Around 100-120 quids

I have one and also the V. Still prefer the II

 

[ciano125]

Yosi - So if i were to get the GPS II+, and i wanted to go to an address, how would i go about it? I presume you cant put post codes in, that would be far too simple wouldnt it! Is there somewhere you can "translate" postcodes into grid locations or something?

Cheers

Cian

 

[(RIP) Yosi]

Two ways:

1) easy: Look at streetmap.com for the post code, it will also give you coordinates (look carefully!) and then enter that information into the II. I got so use to it that I can find locations deep in London, Paris, Prague, etc. The GPS will show an arrow (compass) with the direction to follow. Once you reach the proximity, you'll have a message (alarm). Then look around, ask, look at the map.

2)sofisticated: Use Autoroute, build your route, save the map, open it in GPSU and download into the GPS. This will also create a track line you can follow to your destination (and back).

 

[ianf]

If you just want an idea of the technology etc. I've got an old II+ with version 2.07 firmware and a garmin handlebar brakcet going unused, also got a power lead and remote antenna. You'd need to do a bit of soldering to add in the rs232 pins to the plug, or get a data lead from the pfranc folk to connect it up to a pc.

As Yosi says, it gives you basic waypoint navigation, accurate speed and direction and a tracklog, but no moving map.

Say, 50 quid for the gps, and 20 if you want the remote antenna.

traded up to a gps76map.s a while ago.

 

[ciano125]

Thanks guys

Ianf - i am interested, just trying to find out a bit more about this pfranc lead thing, the sites that google throws up do not seem to be working. any ideas?

Cheers
Cian

 

[ciano125]

Ian, do you have the instructions as well, i have a feeling i will be needing them! By the way, i found some pc cables on ebay, would these be the same ones you are talking about?

Cheers
Cian

 

[adamski49]

ciano

Try Lynks for cables. I think they are the pfranc ones but there is a link to Pfranc on the site as well.

Personally I reckon the V would be the most suitable for your needs. It'll easily hold all the maps you need for local travel and will navigate you to the various addresses you need.

HTH

Adam

 

[ianf]

Yep, found the manual. - because garmin ar e a great compnay, it's also online at: http://www.garmin.com/manuals/GPSIIPlus_OwnersManual_SoftwareVersion2.00-2.11_.pdf

Lynks is the place I get the plugs from, but they do made up leads too. I'll need to disconnect the cable from the car if you want to save yourself a couple of quid. I'll do that sometime this week anyway. pm me if you are interested in the thing.

 

[ciano125]

Ian, I cant PM you and you have your email facility switched off, can you email me at ciano125@hotmail.com please? Can you put GPS in the info bar because it will go to my junk mail and i might miss it otherwise.

Thanks everybody for your help, adamski, I would have like the V but i think it is out of my price range at the mo unfortunatley!

Cheers

Cian