What Garmin To Buy (1 Viewer)

[my 60]

I don't know just what GPS to buy. We have a FJ60 and soon a FZJ80. The unit will go between mine and the wifes. Any info would be great.
The choises I have (we) are
Street Pilot 2820
Street pilot 2730
Street Pilot 7500???? Not sure on this one, but the kids could watch movies.

 

[TX_TLC]

Check the outfitting section......lots of infomation there.


Your post will be moved there as soon as a mod sees it.

 

[siglo]

The 7500 is too big IMO.. The street pilot series from garmin is great on-road but not so great off-road. I have an older street pilot 2620 and got a little frustrated with it off road (no track back, can't even save a track). So I went and got a GPSMap 276c which is really good off-road but the interface is annoying. Unlike the street pilot, it has no touch screen, no on screen keyboard, etc.. If your primary use is on-road, I would get the 2820 since it has XM features, bluetooth and is cheaper than the 2730 which I cannot understand. The only feature that the 2730 has over the 2820 is an "Integrated FM Wireless Transmitter". I have no idea what does it do though

 

[offroad_nomad]

I have a Streetpilot III mounted in my 4Runner. I'm happy with my purchase off eBay, I was previously using my eTrex Vista. Garmin has phased out their SP III line and you can pick up some great deals on eBay for new units, with warranty, and auto kit fairly inexpensively. I also picked up a RAM window sucion cup mount too.

Onroad with the Mapsource City Navigator software, it works great. For offroad trail use, it's conected to a laptop running Delorme Topo USA. No connection issues or problems.

The SP III unit I got off eBay, I registered it with Garmin upon receipt. Recently I unexpectantly received from Garmin their new revised version (8.0 I believe) for the City Navigator software.

We deployed for a search and rescue mission to Greene County Pennsylvania last month (about 4 hours away). Having the detailed maps pre-installed saved me and the others travelling with me in convoy from getting lost early in the morning during transit.

Overall a great purchase for under $275 shipped.

 

[Grench]

If you can still find one get an iQue. Navigation, MP3 & PDA. Takes standard media. Whats not to like?

 

[my 60]

The 2820 is cheaper because you have to buy the XM ant. seperate. I can or will run my notebook with the GPS for offroad apps. We are moving to the Seattle area soon and my wife or I do not know the city well. Now she can not call me at work if she gets lost (like in Portland).

 

[Doug_S]

I have a 60Csx and really like it. There are topo maps available for it so for off road it's great. It has a trackback feature so there is no risk of getting lost. It also has a color screen, turn by turn navigating (on road) and is easy to use.

 

[IBCRUSN]

We have a Garmin 2720 and so far really like it. My wife isn't into gadgets but she can work the Garmin with no trouble. If you need/want XM traffic can be added which may be a good idea in Seattle (not needed in Atlantic City or Wichita). The retail price isn't bad and the Topo software can be used for the trail. I have the Topo software but haven't used it in the unit, only on my PC.

On a side note when I get the next Garmin I may be going with the 7200 or 7500 just for the screen size and reasonable permanant mounting available.

 

[paranoid56]

i also have the 60csx and love it. i have it mounted in my car and truck and it works great. i like the track back feature, adn the log featurs. i also use it a lot for geocaching. what ever you buy, make sure to get the maping softwere. most of these units dont come with it.
Shane

 

[bkfj40]

I recently bought the ique...amazing for $225...

verbal directions, great reception, and I can put mp3 on it as well...


great deal - and I wouldn't have bought it without the suggestions here on mud...


bk

 

[Grench]

Which flavor of ique did you get? There are several models.

 

[bkfj40]

ique 3600....

bk

 

[spressomon]

Stupid question: Is the best Topo map software that is Garmin compliant only 1:100,000? Am I missing something here or is this as good as it gets in a dedicated GPS unit? I have been using my tablet PC with NG Topo software and a Geko for the receiver...but want a smaller package.

And it appears, although I can't find any info regarding this on the Garmin site, the 2730 is NOT SiRF III?

 

[Landpimp]

had my 276C for......I dunno a year or so and just LOVE it! works great in the car and great in the boat. Mom got a Street Pilot(not sure the model) and IMOP...it sucks

 

[spressomon]

had my 276C for......I dunno a year or so and just LOVE it! works great in the car and great in the boat. Mom got a Street Pilot(not sure the model) and IMOP...it sucks

Can you download any other maps other than Garmin to get closer scale like 1:50,000 or 1:24,000?

 

[Timoss]

No, you can't get better than 100k resolution on Garmin units, except for some national parks and inland lakes, which come in 24k. You might try Lowrance. Their iWay500 is a bargain, and the only one I've seen that stores turn-by-turn street maps for the whole U.S., 24k topo maps for the whole U.S., and complete ocean and lake charts--all at the same time (and it still has room to store about 5,000 MP3s). It works great. You might want to wait until about November, though, when the 600 comes out, because it will have further improvements, like pronouncing street names and a built in FM modulator. The drawbacks: not petite, and no internal battery...

Timoss
88 fj62 TLCA

 

[loeky]

i picked up a StreetPilot III on closeout from ebay for $250. used it on my trip to utah this last week and it worked flawlessly. i love the price and the screen is a decent size.

it allows me to upload map data, which is awesome as well. all told, it's a great unit that i can depend on when my copilot is asleep or not around.

 

[bj70_guy]

I got my first gps a few months ago, so I can't compare it to any others. I went for the 60CSx as well. Use it in the Cruiser, on my motorcycle, and a bit on foot for fun. I love it - very useful tool. Wish the screen were a bit bigger, but accepted the compromise to be able to use it for hiking/handheld duty as well.

 

[Brentbba]

I've had a Garmin Streetpilot 2730 for about a month. No heavy mapping use yet and none offroad yet. For me the GPS XM combo was nice. I still have my stock head unit, so I'm just using the FM transmitter from the 2730. Sound quality isn't great - a little muddy. I attribute that to the weak FM transmitter, not the 2730. GPS, from what I've plotted so far has been great.

 

[scotte]

No, you can't get better than 100k resolution on Garmin units, except for some national parks and inland lakes, which come in 24k.

That's not technically correct. While it's true Garmin themselves do not publish topo maps with better than 1:100K resolution for most of the world, that's a map limitation, not a limitation of the Garmin units themselves. There are higher resolution maps available for some areas by third parties or enthusiasts, or you can make your own. I made a rubicon topo map with 20' elevation line resolution using 1/3 arc second DEM data. It doesn't directly translate into DRG scaling because it's a different thing, but it's at least as good, if not better than, 1:24K topos.