GPS recommendations

[pseacraft]

I have the Zumo 450 on my new KLX250 and was using it to cruise the back roads around Nong Khai with Garmin's SD version of the ERSI map to acquire break-in milage this past week. Very happy with it even though I had two roads, really trails, "vanish" on me, one into a fun boggy open area full of mud and the other into the Maekong (my fault as I had the scale set to high and was on the wrong one). Major and minor roads seem fairly reliable so far. Mounting the Zumo is a breeze as was wiring it up, and direct sunlight didn't bother my view of the display. Only think I don't like and it's probably personal is the way it does it's tracks, keeps them as a daily track log where as I'm use to each track being a solo item. No worries though, easy to work out.

I also use the SD map card in my NUVI 200W in the car. I have the NUVI updated so that it talks and displays in Thai for SWMBO, my son calls it the talking box, the wife's business partner thinks it so I can track her where abouts! :twisted: The NUVI series really is not for use with anything outside of the car though.

My issues with mapsource are with my older Dell laptop and but all is good with my alienware laptop.

Eric

 

[xlineshooter]

The reason I chose the Nuvi was for several reasons.
The unit can be removed from the bracket that holds it simply by pushing up a lever on the bottom of the bracket and tilting the unit forward and it comes off in your hand instantly. This serves several good purposes such as 1 hand removal with the left hand and placing it in my pocket if it starts to rain; or if I want to use it in one of my vehicles with the suction cup, I just release it from the metal base which stays permanently mounted to the bike. Thats about a 10 second job; also it allows me to take it off the bike instantly so its not stolen when parked, and lastly, its also a hand held unit which can be placed in a pocket and taken anywhere.

As for the Non- water proof issue, that wasn't much of an issue considering all the above advantages PLUS the fact that I don't ride in the rain. One of the advantages of being retired and in no hurry to get anywhere.

I don't understand your meaning when you say it doesn't accept routes. Could you clarify that for me?

Thanks for your reply

 

[pseacraft]

I'm not familiar with a Nuvi 310, but Routes refers to creating a route (series of waypoints) in Mapsource in advance that can be loaded on to the GPS or created on the GPS itself that you can setup to follow. My Zumo 450 will convert any of my tracks to a route which I can then download and share or save and utilize to duplicate a route that I had taken and desire to duplicate. Tracks are are series of "raw" waypoints that plot where you have been while the GPS has been logging your movements. These too can be downloaded to mapsource or other programs.

Hope this helps.

Eric

 

[tonykiwi]

Pikey

Good that you are starting to get to grips with it. I am doing the same and have a great guy who is guiding me through e-mail and phone. He is part of the NZ Open Map project and is one of their mappers. I am expecting my Handlebar mount to arrive this weekend and have also arranged to get a direct electrical connection fitted to my Baja so with summer on the way it will be all systems go. Sitting down and reading the manual is a great idea and a must, although practice and experimenting has taught me far more than any manual could do. The manual confirms and explains but I am also learning by mistakes. Did a great route the other day and was very proud of myself until I went to save it and had forgotten to turn the 'tracking' on. I'll not do that again.

There is a positive side to my practice too, that I can run routes and refer any changes to the NZ Map for corrections so in my own small way I can contribute as well as take the rewards.

I have donwoaded the only map I could find of Northern Thailand which works on my Garmin so ar familiarising myself now.

In looking to upgrade my Mapsource, I was given this site for downloads. It seems to have a huge amount of resources and i do not profess to know what they all are, however the link may be on interest or help to other Garmin users here if you don't have it already.

http://www.gpsinformation.org/perry/msource/

http://gpsinformation.net/

also has some interesting links

 

[Pikey]

Tony,

Thanks for the links mate and with all those versions of Mapsource you shouldn't have the problem with the unlock wizard that I had. Yes, "hands on" is definitely the way to go with the manual for reference.

BTW, and it's probably been mentioned here before, I am now using rechargeable (2100Ma) batteries in my unit. I bought 4 which means 2 in use and two ready charged for backup. I got a really small and light charger which means when I am on the road, I can charge batteries at night in the guesthouse.

Cheers,

Pikey.

 

[tonykiwi]

pikey wrote: Tony,

BTW, and it's probably been mentioned here before, I am now using rechargeable (2100Ma) batteries in my unit. I bought 4 which means 2 in use and two ready charged for backup. I got a really small and light charger which means when I am on the road, I can charge batteries at night in the guesthouse.

Cheers,

Pikey.

Ok, whats the relevance of the 2100Ma. Is the higher the Ma number, the better the battery? Does the charge last longer? Also the manual says not to use lithium batteries. All I can seem to find is NiMH. Can anyone enlighten me on the best type or standard of rechargable battery.

 

[Pikey]

Hi Tony,

Yep, the higher the Ma, the stronger the battery - i.e it'll last longer. Not sure about the lithium question and I am not at home until tonight but do know that they are Panasonic brand and cost 280THB for two - a good deal when a couple of disposable Toshibas ran to 130THB and the Panasonics are supposed to be rechargeable up to 1000 times.

Cheers,

Pikey.

 

[pseacraft]

Batteies...just chatted with a buddy of mine who has more knowledge than me:

Cadium - great cold weather but will get a charge memory which shortens its life.
Lithium - hazardous and not so popular, used only when required - what ever that means.
NiMH - Will not gain a charge memory. lasts long time provide you do not drop them - some design issue that will cause to to fail quickly, take care of them and last long time, longer than a bar babe.

I have a bunch of energizer NiMH and have used them for a few years.

Eric

 

[SilverhawkUSA]

pseacraft wrote: I'm not familiar with a Nuvi 310, but Routes refers to creating a route (series of waypoints) in Mapsource in advance that can be loaded on to the GPS or created on the GPS itself that you can setup to follow. My Zumo 450 will convert any of my tracks to a route which I can then download and share or save and utilize to duplicate a route that I had taken and desire to duplicate. Tracks are are series of "raw" waypoints that plot where you have been while the GPS has been logging your movements. These too can be downloaded to mapsource or other programs.

Hope this helps.

Eric

Thanks Pseacraft- I was about to respond but you have done so very succinctly.

Xlineshooter-

All the units mentioned are easily detachable, or in the case of the Zumo, may be "locked" on. The 60 and the 76 series, along with some others, are meant to be used as handhelds also and are so designed. They have added features for this and I would say built a little more rugged.

As for the mounting issue, I use the stick on mount for my truck and have a strong "ram mount" for the motorcycle. The unit is hard wired to the motorcycle to eliminate the battery issue. Some Garmins were notorious before for the batteries breaking their connection and shutting down the unit due to vibration.

Please don't get me wrong, I am not being critical. I am just throwing out some counter opinions for others in the market for a GPS.

Jeff-

I read somewhere that there is actually a slight difference in overall length in the diferent type of batteries. Sorry, can't remember where. This was in reference to the battery vibration problem on some Garmins, so that throws even more sh*t in the game.

 

[beddhist]

Yes, I can confirm from bad experience that rechargeables are bigger in all directions than disposable AA batteries. I got one stuck in my GPS V and cracked the case trying to get it out. I have now stipped off the outer layer of plastic and they are a nice snug fit. And yes, my V also has big problems with vibrations, so hardwiring is the solution there.

 

[tonykiwi]

Hi

Regarding power sources and batteries. I have now bought some rechargable ones and they seem to fit just right so the size was certainly not an issue for me as it appears to have been for others.

I wonder if anyone else knows the answer to this though. When you are running on an extrenal power source, and leave the batteries in the unit, does the external source over ride the battery? My impression is that it seems to do so.

When I am out driving between jobs for my business I have the laptop on the passenger seat, running from the cars power source (ciggi lighter.) I connected my Garmin to the laptop via USB for routing and of course the power then runs via USB to the GPS also. The display on the GPS indicates I am running on external power source.

When I disconnected the GPS from the Laptop, the battery indicater came up but after maybe 12 hours of use, the battery did not seem to have lost any power. My conclusion is therefore that the external power source over-rides the battery.

If this is the case, I am presuming that I can connect the GPS to the motor cycle power source and leave the batteries inside. Then, when the power of the bike is turned off, I hope the battery starts to operate in its place, giving constant supply of power whether the bikes ignition is on or off.

I have not yet discovered any intructions to remove batteries when operating either on USB or external power.

Any comments?

 

[Auke]

Yes, the external power source overrides the batteries as there is a circuit inside that "senses" external power and "cuts out" the power from the batteries. You can leave in the batteries when running on external power but the batteries will not be charged from the external power.

The moment the external power is switched off the GPS reverts to battery power. You probably will give a "Beep" depending on how you have it set up (look in "Set Up" where you can select "Stay On" or "Turn Off) indicating that external power has been lost and you will have to press the "Enter" button within 30 seconds to keep the GPS running on battery power

 

[gobs]

Hi friends,

I'm on the going to buy a GPS, thinking about the Garmin C60S or XS, here in CNX, so already loaded with the Thailand map.

Well, is there any Garmin subscription (or other) needed after the purchase? In other words: shall I have to pay anything to some "XYZ provider" when I shall use it (a rate per hour, month or whatever)? Or are the rights already full-paid by buying the thai map?

By an other way, I was checking the use of a mobile phone as such the Nokia 6210 Navigator. But I expect accuracy and flexibility are not the same. And at the end, maybe the cost would be more expensive by paying the "right of use" to Nokia on a monthly or yearly basis more the expense of data transmissions to the provider (AIS, DTAC, etc...).
Am I right with this?

Any advice welcome for sure!
Cheers,
Gobs

 

[tonykiwi]

gobs wrote: Hi friends,

I'm on the going to buy a GPS, thinking about the Garmin C60S or XS, here in CNX, so already loaded with the Thailand map.

Well, is there any Garmin subscription (or other) needed after the purchase? In other words: shall I have to pay anything to some "XYZ provider" when I shall use it (a rate per hour, month or whatever)? Or are the rights already full-paid by buying the thai map?

Once you have bought the unit, it is yours to use as you wish. If there is a purchase price to the map then you pay that and it is also yours to keep. There are no ongoing charges assoociated with the unit.

The interface with a computer/laptop allows for a more easy management of your map. The unit transfers informaiton very easily, to and from the PC so you can do a lot of your editing and preperation on a reasonanable keyboard and screen then update the unit as appropriate.

Using Auck's information and for NZ$40 I have attached a power outlet just in front of the handlebars to save internal battery power when the bike is running. When I turn the ignition off the internal batteries take over.

Good luck, I am sure you will enjoy the unit. Search the web also, there is a lot of information on mapping and Garmin units available.

T

 

[gobs]

Thanks Tony,

Great to read your post! Before asking I was guessing the way you say, but not sure...

I saw a bike in CNX that have an after-market power outlet attached to the inside of the fairing. The guy uses a Garmin GPS as you do. Stepping down he takes off the plug and then go by walk with his device in hand... running on "fresh" batteries.
Good tip...

Cheers,
Gobs

 

[daewoo]

tonykiwi wrote:
Once you have bought the unit, it is yours to use as you wish.

Not 100% - The GPS is free, and the information from the satellites is free... the phone will usually come with maps, the costs of which is included in the purchase price... sometimes the maps installed will not be the most recent and you may choose to buy the updates straight away...

The maps do get out of date... roads change, become one way, more roads are built etc, therefore, every couple of years or more, you may want to buy updated maps which you do have to pay for...

At the least, make sure you know what version map is included with the purchase price...

gobs wrote:
By an other way, I was checking the use of a mobile phone as such the Nokia 6210 Navigator. But I expect accuracy and flexibility are not the same. And at the end, maybe the cost would be more expensive by paying the "right of use" to Nokia on a monthly or yearly basis more the expense of data transmissions to the provider (AIS, DTAC, etc...).
Am I right with this?

Gobs,

Most high end Nokia phones have the GPS in built. The 6210 and 6110 have the 'text to speech' i.e. spoken directions function, built into the navigation program for free as well. The other Nokia phones do not have this built in, and you pay for the instructions as you use them as data downloads from your phone company... but you can turn it off any pay nothing...

Phones have a function that normal GPSs do not, called Assisted GPS, where you will get your location through the phone network until the phone gets a lock on the satellites in the sky... also helps in built up cities where the 'look angle' at the satellites is cluttered with buildings... you pay for AGPS as data from your phone company... but you can turn it off and pay nothing...

The problem's is that the maps that come with the phone for free are a year or two old, and updates are very expensive...

Also, the inbuilt navigator program, navteq, used by the two phones (6110 & 6210) with 'text to speech' built in is CRAP... really really crap... it is slow, it can not find major landmarks... it can not find simple Australian CBD addresses, let alone Thai addresses... Mapteq is owned by Nokia, and only used in these phones, so it doesn't get anywhere near the development of real GPS systems...

I have a 6110 and never use the inbuilt navigator... I just use Nokia Maps or Google Maps that will run on any Nokia Smart Phone... either using the inbuilt GPS, or if the phone doesn't have one inbuilt a plug-in GPS... but no 'text to speech'...

Still not a patch on a proper GPS like my Garmin Nuvi310...

Cheers,
Daewoo

 

[Auke]

gobs wrote: Hi friends,

I'm on the going to buy a GPS, thinking about the Garmin C60S or XS, here in CNX, so already loaded with the Thailand map.

Well, is there any Garmin subscription (or other) needed after the purchase? In other words: shall I have to pay anything to some "XYZ provider" when I shall use it (a rate per hour, month or whatever)? Or are the rights already full-paid by buying the thai map?

Any advice welcome for sure!
Cheers,
Gobs

Gobs,

Buy a GPS with an X - either the 60 CX or the 60CSX. These models are more accurate than the 60C and the to 60CS. They also have micro SD crads which makes uploading maps easier while you can also set the unit to automatic recording of all your tracks to the SD card so you don't have to worry about losing part of the tracks.

Normally you will get a 1 year free update of the maps but otherwise, the unit and maps are yours so there are no additional charges for the use.

For phones I have no idea.

 

[tools4fools]

Still not a patch on a proper GPS like my Garmin Nuvi310...

Would there be a difference between a Garmin Nuvi and a GPS phone with Garmin Mobil XT in terms of map and data?
+++++

 

[Auke]

In terms of map data there should be no difference as the same map is used.

With regard on how the map will show up, it depends a bit on how you set up the Garmin in the Nuvi and Mobile XT. I have the Thailand ESRI map in my Nokia N78 using Garmin Mobile XT and have not noticed marked differences.

 

[tools4fools]

Thanks.
ESRI is what's on mine too, so that's what everybody is talking about regarding Garmin Thailand GPS maps? Or are there other map sets?
++++

 

[Auke]

There is the ESRI Thailand map (now version 8.1 in a new format which can be read by newer GPS equipment but not by older equipment). Garmin USA was selling basically the same map in the US for the US market only but as a lot of people were buying this map in the US (120 USD versus 7,000 baht or about 200 USD as sold by ESRI here in Thailand) this map, according to Silverhawk, is no longer available from garmin USA,

The same map (but apparently less detailed) forms also part of the South East Asia map sold by Garmin USA. This map covers Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Hongkong and Macau.

The there is the Rotweiler map which, for as far as I know, is a copy of the ESRI map and which is available for a donation of 100 USD.

In addition there is the North Thailand map which has much more details of the border areas and more offroad tracks and which should be available commercially soon according to Davi GT Rider.

In addition there are numerous hacked versions of the ESRI map available on the Internet. Some are ready for installation in Mapsource, others only for uploading in the GPS.

There are also some non-Garmin maps like MapKing but have no idea how good they are.

 

[tools4fools]

Thanks a lot.
So basically no need to look for further maps if I've got ESRI with my phone.

Still having fun putting in other maps in my GPS for certain areas. Track and waypoint recording seems to be a bit cumbersome to me on Garmin. will have to check in detail but track recording interval seems to be not too good either.
Guess not meant for such things...
+++++

 

[On the rock]

has any tired to use a garmin Nuvi 205 or 310 inside the map section of o tank bag! - are these units strong enough to use on a bike

Also how easy is it to see the 60csx when riding?

 

[tonykiwi]

On the rock wrote: has any tired to use a garmin Nuvi 205 or 310 inside the map section of o tank bag! - are these units strong enough to use on a bike

Also how easy is it to see the 60csx when riding?

I have nothing else to compare with however even though the 60CSx screen is smaller than others, it is easily readable and simple to operate whilst riding.

 

[xlineshooter]

On the rock wrote: has any tired to use a garmin Nuvi 205 or 310 inside the map section of o tank bag! - are these units strong enough to use on a bike

Also how easy is it to see the 60csx when riding?

I am new to GPS's, but after checking prices here in Thailand, I found a Nuvi 310 in Bangkok for 12,900 baht. Everyone else wanted 22,900. At the time, the exchange rate for the U.S.D. was about 33.5. so the price was about $379.00. It comes with a "stick-on" round metal disk, so I mounted it to the left resevoir on my bike, then used the suction cup, and it hold very well and is easy to see with its 4" screen. It came loaded with the ESRI map of Thailand at no additional cost. Its not water p[roof like the 60 model, but you can take it off its mount with one hand while riding, put it in your pocket, and it still works, so I would assume it would work in a tank bag as long as the antenna is up. It is designed as a portable hand held unit.
It's bluetooth, but I have not found a headset that is compatable with it, so I just hard wire it using a standard earbud headset. Also, it has an SD card slot which you can load with maps or music/pics/etc. So, other than not being able to find a bluetooth headset that works with it, I'm satisfied. And, it is fairly easy to use.