Which sat nav?

kevtherev

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Thinking of getting a sat nav but no bugger all about them. I do some touring and certainly would like to know where those darn gatso are. Any advice - and can they also detect radar guns and the like?:confused:
 
I'm no expert on Sat Nav but I'm not convinced my Zumo 660 is much better than my iPhone 4 with TomTom on it which cost a fraction of the Zumo (assuming you have the phone already). Only advantage I can see of Zumo is pre-planning on laptop, endless waypoints and a slightly bigger screen.
 
Zumo 660 Garmin Sat Nav

Garmin Zumo 660 this has speed cameras built in ipod for music, blue tooth facility, links to your phone to make and receive calls,waterproof, comes with all fixtures and fittings for both car and motorcycle. It holds 1000 favourites(waypoints) etc etc, had mine 5 years brilliant seen them for sale new for around £430.00 mark :beerjug:
 
If you do not want all the "gadgets" of the zumo 660 then I just bought a tomtom rider urban, it does what it says on the box has blue tooth for your phone too for a lot less than the 660.
It does speed camera's (beware you have to turn them off for France) but not speed guns, I donot think any sat nav would do that but I may be wrong.

Plus aswell a dedicated sat nav is water proof where as a phone is not so you have to try to keep it dry, and still be able to read it.

spike
 
Garmin all the way - mainly because of mapsource and the ability to plan a route on the laptop and drop it onto the unit.

When you're planning a trip and want to use the best roads rather than simply go from a to b it's in invaluable.
 
Cracking info on the respective Garmin pages on this forum, which might help.
 
The speed camera warning and mobile speed camera warning constantly beeping at you will drive you potty. :blast

Turned mine off for France and left it off back in the UK for peace and quite.
 
Kevtherev, there is a complete guide to all things GPS like on UKGSer, with some great (and not so great) contributions from assorted bods. Have a flick through its pages.

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=46

Me? Well, over the years I have been very happy with my Garmin devices and paper maps. I like the ability to plot / hack routes around on a PC using MapSource and the ability to share routes reasonably easily with others. I also like the way I can ammend existing or create new routes when away from home, without the use of my PC.

I do not use the music or phone functions.

I like the sub-menu displays available on the 660, favouring the 'less map, more data' display. Others prefer more map, less guff. Like underpants, it's a personal choice.

I think the Gatso warning device is a pain in the butt, but others like it. I disable mine, others do not. Gsrmin now disable it by default for France.

It will not detect lasers or any temporary radar operated speed detection devices. In fact it does not 'detect' anything at all. All it does is carry a database of known fixed camera points, rather like its database of hotels, garages, points of interest or whatever. The device monitors your position on the road continuously, it then compares where you are against the database of known fixed sites, pinging up a warning as you approach each one. Is it foolproof? No.

Is the device perfect? No. Is it cheap to buy? No. Is it worth the investment? For regular and repeated usage, yes. For occasional use, no.
 
Thanks guys - food for thought and the 660 looks like a strong contender but i'll do a little more research on the gser site before finally making up my mind.:)
 
Very happy with my Tomtom Rider 2 since 2008 (now Rider Pro), itinerary planning with Tyre free software http://www.tyretotravel.com/ works a treat. I've been all over Europe including Norway without any problems. Recommended! :thumb Possibly for Morocco or other more remote palces Garmin maps are better although I think Tomtom may catch us soon with Tele Atlas. I also use it in the car with the dedicated speaker. Regarding speed cameras the subscription with Tomtom is around £20 per year and is pretty accurate.
 
Had boats for years and hence have been using GPS systems more or less when they first arrived on the scene about 1994.

Had lots of Garmin equipment over the years and currently running a Zumo 660, Quest (old bike satnav but still used in car), Nuvi 1200 (for the wife's car), Etrex Vista Cx (for general trail finding), GPSMAP 192C (for boat) and a Garmin VHF portable radio for the boat.

I wouldn't dream of even considering any other make for a satnav as Garmin is so relaible, excellent after sales service from the UK HQ and all my gear interfaces with each other through the Mapsource software.

Its also a world wide company which I don't think can be claimed by some of the other manufacturers.

The Zumo 660 is brilliant as as already been commented on.

Chris
 
Personally i prefer Garmin gps over Tomtom after owning both. whilst tomtom are easier to use straight out of the box, the Garmin is much more versatile for planning routes how and where i want to ride them and for group file sharing. Add to that the stereo bluetooth connection to my helmet, the cradle mount for charging without loose wiring flapping about and the ability to answer calls on the move using a Nav iv.(660) and Interphone F4 and you have a set up that can take you where you want, how you want but the wife can still nag you!
 
Omias said:
Personally i prefer Garmin gps over Tomtom after owning both. whilst tomtom are easier to use straight out of the box, the Garmin is much more versatile for planning routes how and where i want to ride them and for group file sharing. Add to that the stereo bluetooth connection to my helmet, the cradle mount for charging without loose wiring flapping about and the ability to answer calls on the move using a Nav iv.(660) and Interphone F4 and you have a set up that can take you where you want, how you want but the wife can still nag you!
Click to expand...

we have just got a new car Garmin, very good, lifetime updates

make sure you get one with trip planner, allows you to set way points if you dont like the route, another way is to use a free download program for route setting which you import into the device, we use TYRE, this will download into Garmin and tomtom, you do have to know a trick to change the sat nav memory to get it to work
 
Spike said:
If you do not want all the "gadgets" of the zumo 660 then I just bought a tomtom rider urban, it does what it says on the box has blue tooth for your phone too for a lot less than the 660.
It does speed camera's (beware you have to turn them off for France) but not speed guns, I donot think any sat nav would do that but I may be wrong.

Plus aswell a dedicated sat nav is water proof where as a phone is not so you have to try to keep it dry, and still be able to read it.

spike
Click to expand...

Garmin have amended their Safety Camera title specifically for France to Safety Hotspot or Accident Hotspot (something like that anyway) which apparently makes them OK as regards attention from les flics.

I've just returned from France (regret that it was a car trip rather than by bike) and although I do subscribe for EU-wide safety camera updates, I saw quite a few which weren't in the database. A big "NB" for the French speed cameras - they are very discreet, a neutral grey coloured box, often mounted on or near the ground where they're not that visible. The only concession to visibility is some minimalist black and yellow tape along the edges - and I don't think it's reflective tape either! I'm not suggesting they've been hidden, it's just very easy not to spot them!

Rumour has it that more than 30kph over the posted limit could see you collecting a temporary ban - which is applicable across the EU, not just in France. On the other hand, the French seem to be generally very bike-friendly.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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