GPS Looking for opinions on other Garmin GPS Systems.

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I have had the gps 60cs sense it first came out and I love it, it replaced my etrex vista and Iam glad it did I have the mapsource topo maps and the optional remote antenna which really helps with reception in the woods. Its color has plenty of memory and all kinds of stuff that I would never need but if I do it has it. I got it from gpsdiscount.com for about 400$ ...antenna 70$ and cig lighter adapter 30$ . It has good battery life and small enough to put in your pocket and waterproof. highly recommended


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for poor folk like me, the etrex is a nice inexpensive unit. gotta get me one of them pc cables and see what happens when i program in some stuff. and wish it had expandable memory (don't think it does, but i'm technologically an idiot).
 
I have been doing some research and have 3 catagories:

Good - Magelleon Platinum or Gold package for under $400\

Better - Garmin GPS 60CS or 76CS for $400 plus $100-$200 for SW

Best Garmin 276C - $800

$800 is too much for me to spend on this. I am currently leaning towards the Garmin 76Cs simply because it has twice the memory of the 60CS. Otherwise, other than appearance, I can't see much difference between them for about $30 more.

The Magelloens take memory cards for expansion though, but the GPS SW does not appear to be as good as Garmin.

Garmin also has those PDA GPS receivers that no one has chimed in about. That would be nice if it was any good as you could use it for OBDII monitoring while driving as well. The PDA comes fully loaded with all the SW for about $400. Still researching those.
 
Two things, I want one that is WAAS capable and GPS Information review said this about the Quest

"But.. It really is not designed or equipped to be a good hiking/outdoor/marine GPS unit. "

Thanks for the input though.
 
I felt the same way, $800 for a GPS was alot of $$, but after having it for a week, it was worth every penny(and then some), even Connie said so, its an amazing unit. I have been using the auto routing out in the freakin boonies.......its gotten me to each and everyplace I have asked it to, even down 5-10 dirt roads......takes me right to the door.......its damn handy, super super easy to use.

sense I have gotten my unit, I updated the software and Garmin sent me a free updated CS CD, both a piece of cake to install and the upgrades on both were great.

Romer said:
I have been doing some research and have 3 catagories:

Good - Magelleon Platinum or Gold package for under $400\

Better - Garmin GPS 60CS or 76CS for $400 plus $100-$200 for SW

Best Garmin 276C - $800

$800 is too much for me to spend on this. I am currently leaning towards the Garmin 76Cs simply because it has twice the memory of the 60CS. Otherwise, other than appearance, I can't see much difference between them for about $30 more.

The Magelloens take memory cards for expansion though, but the GPS SW does not appear to be as good as Garmin.

Garmin also has those PDA GPS receivers that no one has chimed in about. That would be nice if it was any good as you could use it for OBDII monitoring while driving as well. The PDA comes fully loaded with all the SW for about $400. Still researching those.
Click to expand...
 
Romer said:
Two things, I want one that is WAAS capable and GPS Information review said this about the Quest

"But.. It really is not designed or equipped to be a good hiking/outdoor/marine GPS unit. "

Thanks for the input though.
Click to expand...

Yes, this is true. It has no marine functions that I know of. More packaged as a car unit.
 
I thought of the 76cs first but after seeing it in person my 60cs is smaller and fits better in a pocket and I am not worried about the extra memory...I loaded my 60 with mapsource topo with all of oregon, most of washington,Idaho, north california and all of nevada and still have some memory left. but make sure you get the external antenna it really helps.

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So I am really interested now in the Garmin M3 PDA/GPS

http://www.garmin.com/products/iQueM3/

It's drawback is its not as durable as a handheld. Its a scaled down version of the M5. Big difference (from M5) is the battery is not removable and it doesn't have Bluettoth (Which I wouldn't use) and is $150 cheaper. I can find it online between $400-$450.

Based on lots of reading (eyes are tired) it appears to have similar GPS functionality as the 276C. It also has the added benifits of the PDA. You can click on your address book and route to a specific address. It has the City Streets Maps installed so as a System, so it is cheaper than the 60CS or 76CS.

I see the drawbacks to this as the battery is not removable (I'm an engineer, tell me I can't do something!) and not as rugged as standalone Garmin GPS Systems.

The Plus is I can easily take it with me on Business trips for locating places. I can use it as an OBDII monitor (Have to buy that crap), It comes with the City Streets map installed, so I don't have to shell out the extra $100, it has the PDA function so I can connect to my Home network via wifi-(Have to buy the adapter) and use the PDA computer stuff when I am out and about (Games, Office, etc.). The other advantage is this is brand new (July 2005) and has the latest technology, where as most everything else is 1-3 years old.

Anyone have any first hand experiance with this?

( I have been spending my MUD time researching, which has been many Hours over the last week, anyone miss me?)
 
MoJ said:
Romer -
Will it work OK with topo maps?
Click to expand...

It says it works with Garmin Topo Maps. It also has some neat Geochaching capabilities and you can download 3rd party SW (as it is running MS Windows 2003) to augment the geochaching.

Since it's new, There are very few reviews and I read a bunch of reviews on the M5. I visitid a lot of forums like MUD, if you want to know go to the people who are "addicted". and the only complaints I saw were discussed above.. One review did dog the redraw performance if you go past your destination and it has to recalculate the route and re-draw. Of Course, not a lot of people have these so there isn't a wide swath of information to pull down either.


There is no way of really knowing how good it is without trying it. That's why I was hoping someone here had one. The few people on the GPS forums who had them seemed to like them, those that didn't said they were too fraigle as "You will always be dropping the unit on Rocks". Must be some serious climber/hikers. Mine will stay nice and comfy in my Lexus.

Here is a link to some screen shots (M5):
http://www.gpsinformation.org/dale/PocketPC/M5images.htm

There is one advantage of the M3 over the M5, you can use your finger to navigate while your driving instead of fumbling with a stylus.
 
Quote: There is one advantage of the M3 over the M5, you can use your finger to navigate while your driving instead of fumbling with a stylus.


that is the first object I was looking for - seems like a great unit - 64 megs you should be able to get some good spread on there
 
The one guy I know likes his IQue as he uses the PDA function as well. Good choice.

There is a couple of things to watch though. WHen you are driving it is diffcult to ue the GPS as the buttons have to managed with a stylus (very difficult driving even very slow offroad as your hand moves), with the GPS only units it is simple to zzom in and out while driving with dedicated buttons on the unit. Just a gotcha.

FUnctionality is obviously better as you can load more SW like OBDII, etc.

ALso when loading maps remember to load all the maps you need at once (Topo and City).

See
http://www.toyota120.com/forum/showthread.php?t=77&page=2
 
Wondering how the resolution will be for details on the topo maps?

just for comparison

m3
Screen dimensions: 3.5” diagonal Display: 240x320-pixel, transflective TFT display; 64K colors

276c
• 3.8-inch diagonal, 480 x 320 pixel, 256-color TFT screen with adjustable LED backlight
 
Found this on the ttora site
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Garmin GPSMap 76CS

I thought I would use this thing all the time but have only taken it out of the case a couple of times since I got it a few months ago. Perfect condition, only used on one trip. Here's what I've got:

http://www.garmin.com/products/gpsmap76cs/

GPSMAP 76CS unit (preloaded with Americas Highway basemap and Marine point database)
Trip and Waypoint Manager software
MapSource City Select North America software package
Cigarette lighter adapter
PC interface cable
AC adapter
Carrying case

$500 plus shipping. Email or PM if you are interested - camaddy@yahoo.com
 
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