which gps ?
 

hello,
which gps would you recommand to go round the world ?
is it necessary/ a big help ?
thanks

Here's a place to start, it is an overview I posted a few weeks ago: Topic: Garmin StreetPilot III, Considerations when choosing a GPS

[This message has been edited by PanEuropean (edited 01 February 2002).]

I myself am very happy with the Garmin III (not the III+).
It has a build in base-map from the entire world, it's fast and acurate.
Ofcourse... others probably have other goodies.
Anyway, take one with a built in map. I myself am not crazy with the up-loadable map's... what happens if you "loose" it on the road.. You need a laptop etc.. to put it in there again.

But.... probably the III is no longer in production http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/frown.gif

One more piece of advice, If you fix it to the bike, take care of vibration's. If there is a lot of it, let a "specialized company" fill your unit with polyester to make it "bomb-proof"

Maarten

Garmin seem to have a cool little one called eTrex. You can get all the extras that will allow it to fir onto bike handlebars and is also waterproof. I am considering this one.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/products/product.php?cartid=0202061318001454690&mod uleno=26467&manufacturer

[This message has been edited by Spud (edited 06 February 2002).]

[This message has been edited by Spud (edited 06 February 2002).]

Spud, be carefull with the bike-mount set from Garmin. Don' know what you are plannito do with it but that set is meant for easy nice tarmac roads. It won't last in off road conditions. go check this out: http://www.touratech.de/english/products/enter.html

They have really good stuff to mount a gps etrex on your bike.

The Garmin mounting bracket for the StreetPilot III, GPS III, etc. has a set-screw in it, which provides a supplemental (backup) method of retaining the GPS unit in the holder in case a very rough bump would cause it to come out of the snap-in brackets.

I have found this mounting bracket to be very secure, on my motorcycle for over 18,000 km, at prolonged speeds in excess of 200 km/h in Germany, as well as over the really crappy country roads found in the Republic of Ireland. Also the GPS has stayed in its bracket through very rough turbulence in the aircraft, when the flight bag and coffee cups were bouncing all over.

So far as the mount for this GPS goes, I think as long as the Garmin mounting clip is attached to equally solid mounting hardware - such as a Ram-Mount, you have nothing to worry about.

I don't know if the smaller size GPS units, such as the GPS V, have an equally sturdy mounting bracket. Check to see if there is a set-screw. If you have a set-screw, I think you should be OK. If you don't, then I think Fireboomer has given a good warning.

Paneuropean, has a point. The bigger models have a screw to fixate them. They will hold. But the smaller models (the etrex models) don't have this option.

cheers for your suggestions guys.. maybe won't bother with that bracket then!
Spud

ps. just seen the special bracket for the eTrex.. cool

[This message has been edited by Spud (edited 07 February 2002).]

I had used the Garmin 3+ for a couple of years(and liked it) until recently upgraded to the GPSmap176c. The 176c has a much larger screen
has upload capabilities and is much faster than the 3+. I was told by a Garmin dealer that the 3 series(now 5) is of old technology
and is being phased out of use.
I put a 64mb card in mine and loaded Metro Guide for the Southwestern US, Worldmap for Mexico to Panama, eastern Canada and central Europe to Nordkapp. I am happy so far. Mine is mounted on a Ram mount which seems to be taking the abuse I give with a lot of off road travel.



------------------
Safe Travels

Jay Kaminsky
Happily Homeless
http://jkam.home.att.net

I have also seen two motorcycles that have the Garmin model 176 or 176C (colour) mounted on them.

If you do NOT need auto-routing information (meaning, to have the GPS choose the route for you and advise you of when to turn left and right), then by far the best unit to consider purchasing is either the 176 or 176C, as Jay suggests in his post above.

These two units were designed primarily for marine use, and they offer the user much more control over the display on the screen - for example, to have compass heading displayed, to view the map from different perspectives, etc. For 'off road' (dual sport or pure off road work, like crossing deserts) the 176 or 176C would be a far better (and less expensive) choice than the StreetPilot III. In my case, riding a ST1100, I am almost always on streets or roads, this is why I chose the StreetPilot III.

StreetPilot = fantastic for 'streets'. 176 or 176C = fantastic for 'navigation'.

Note that the 176 and 176C will also display the same street information as the StreetPilot III, if you load the appropriate cartographic data into it. They just don't have the auto route creation capability. Note also that auto route creation ability is only available in Canada, the US, and Western Europe. So if you will not be spending your time in these three areas, there is no advantage at all to buying the StreetPilot III.

[This message has been edited by PanEuropean (edited 08 February 2002).]

Most GPS will come loaded with either North America basemaps or rest of world, not both, so if you're going everywhere, get one with uploadability.
Other than that it's a matter of budget and if you want to use it for everything, or just to keep from getting permanently lost. For full features and big display I agree on the 176 as a good choice. For a small unit the emap is really nice.
On a bike an external antenna isn't necessary, in a car it is.
Factory mounts are Ok for on road travel, but if you're in the dessert or vibrating hard get a solid mount. Factory mounts do nothing to protect the unit from shock, and i have seen them fall apart. Ram mounts are good, touratech are better. (and I'm not saying that just because I sell them)
No matter what mount yo use if your gps has a hand strap, use that to strap it to the bike.

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I am considering to mount a Garmin Etrex. Reasons are: price, small, waterproof and I can also use it when backpacking.

I do realise that it will not be possible to read anything on the screen when riding. Also I do not expect it to tell me were to go. I will only use it as a navigational aid togather with a map and compass.

Any remarks, considirations, hints and tips concerning wich version,... are welcome.

hi,
thanks to everyone for answers :-)
i saw the etrex too, quite cheap, simple
if i understood how it works, it gives you your point then you put other points (towns, etc, ...) in it and it will help you to find your way ???
enough to avoid getting lost, with a local map of the country and a compas maybe
i would keep it in the pocket.
i also saw the 76 and map76, same one as 176 (i don't know) ?
what's the advantage with a map : you can follow your route on the map, that's all ? do you have to buy maps seperately or it is included ? i guess the maps are perfect for the major cities or countries, finding a helpfull map for mongolia, i'm not sure ???
streetpilot looks perfect for our countires and cities.

in fact, i just need to avoid getting too much lost, put some points (towns, etc ...) where i'll go, like anybody i guess :-)

where do you find the points to put in ?
thanks a lot for answers again :-)

Hai Vincent,

The nice thing about a build-in map is that you can recognize where you are in a glance.
The base-map build in my GPSIII covers the entiere world. It show's citty's, lake's, rivers, main-road's, rail-road's. In this you see a little arow, that's you. In this way it's easy to see if you are near that town already, or maybe you missed that junction. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/cool.gif
Also it's easyer to "project" your position on a (paper) map. Even if a map has coordinate's (witch a lot do not http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/frown.gif ) it's usually in a very rough scale (every 10 degree's) while you want your position as clearly as possible (want to find that well in the dessert?).

I hope this clearafy's the ease of a build-in map.

Maarten

Note that on all of the newer (meaning, made in the last 2 years) Garmin units, you can upload maps of different countries into the units. By 'maps', I mean topographical maps (available for USA only) or street and road maps (available for North America and Western Europe).

Garmin also makes a product called 'WorldMap'. This provides reasonable geographical information - cities, towns, lakes, railroads, and major roads and highways - for the whole world. It can be uploaded to any of the newer units - although some of the Garmin units come with portions of the WorldMap already 'burned in' (meaning, permanantly loaded) into the unit.

The different map products come on CD's. You buy the CD, then use a computer (any computer) to upload the information into your GPS, using a serial cable.

The CD's range in price from about US$ 60 (for worldmap) to US$ 200 (all of Europe, or all of North America). Frequently, used CD's are advertised on eBay. Do a keyword search on 'Garmin' and 'MapSource' together (both words) and you will find them.