I've had two Garmin units to date, and both have been excellent.

Initially I had a GPS2+ mounted on a Touratech handlebar mount. The mount broke on the M40 heading for Morocco, whereas the GPS2+ worked faultlessly for 2 trips of mountain and piste bashing! I used maps (Michelin and IGN) for navigating roads, and the GPS2+ for following offroad waypoints from Sahara Overland.

Now I've got a European GPSV. This unit can be switched into off-road mode and used as per the GPS2+. And that's igonoring the satnav features which come in handy for road touring. But it doesn't stop me keeping the maps in my rucksack.

My two pence worth:
1. remove the batteries from the GPS unit and power it off of the bike's power,
2. mainly use the GPS unit to confirm where you are on a map.


Iain

I'm not sure I entirely agree with Chris Scott's assessment of GPS in Africa (his May 9 post, above).

I ride a lot in out of the way places - Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, rural Croatia, etc. - all countries that have about the same quality of mapping data as Africa, in other words, WorldMap only, no street level detail.

I do spend a LOT of time in Africa as part of my "day job" (an aircraft pilot), and I take my portable GPSR - same one I use on my motorcycle, a Garmin 2650 - with me whenever I go to Africa.

I have found it VERY useful in remote, out of the way places such as Algeria, Libya, Sierra Leone, Liberia, rural Angola, south Sudan, and other "way off the beaten path" spots. I need to point out that its usefulness in these places is quite different than its usefulness in more developed countries with more detailed electronic mapping data.

In any African town or village, you won't find all the roads mapped - heck, most of the time you won't find ANY roads mapped - but if you set your GPS up to display the path you have followed (show your track), you kind of "write your own map" as you go. I have found that this greatly speeds up the process of getting oriented to a town or village. I can create waypoints for my house, office, the airport, the market, etc. and then I can stray off the main roads with a fair amount of confidence that I know where I am, and I know how to get back to familiar turf when I want to.

In Africa, much of the town and village layout relates to the position of rivers, lakes, gulches, and other topographical features that usually are depicted on WorldMap. So, not having street detail is not a big loss - I can always refer to the topographical detail to orient myself.

I would recommend that travellers to Africa take a GPS, even if it is just a simple unit with a built-in basemap. A unit that can accept upload of WorldMap data is, of course, much better. WorldMap coverage of all of Africa, with Europe south of the Alps tossed in as a bonus, only occupies 17 megs of storage space, which allows the whole continent to be loaded onto a GPS V, which has 19 megs of built-in memory.

Respecting durability - I've had a StreetPilot III for two years, put 70,000 km on it, all on the bike, crashed twice, including once where the entire weight of the front end of the upside-down 400kg bike was supported on the GPS, and never had any mechanical problems. I've just used stock Garmin mounts attached to Ram-Mount hardware.

Having a GPS with you is great for peace of mind, and as others pointed out, great for getting out of town when you are disoriented. Obviously, it will never replace paper maps (until the cartographic data reaches the same standard as current Europe and North America data), but it is as much a compliment to a paper map as a flashlight would be for riding at night.

PanEuropean

[This message has been edited by PanEuropean (edited 12 November 2003).]

hmm. I use a ruggedised etrex (more later) and Michelin 1:4m. to be honest (smug smirk), I'm a pretty good navigator and find it hard out here (ethiopia, Sudan etc) cos the few signs are in arabic/amharic and there are many more roads on the ground than on the map. most of the locals don't travel etc etc.
I rode with someone with a G5 and his maps were impressive. they go much further than a 1:4m can. I don't like to depend on GPS as I actually like navigating by sun, compass etc, but when you're short on fuel ... so I'd say that the african gps maps are superb, but don't put your life on the line with a GPS that might fail.

unapproved ruggedisation of etrex ... 1st unit died after 10 days in Algeria, new unt still going strong after 130 days from Joburg.
remove rubber banding and cut away sealing tape. split case carefully to avoid breaking antennae. fill case with RTV silicone (5 quid at maplins) and reassemble case. make sure you don't RTV the contacts from one case half to the other as you can't reopen the case later!!! remove stupid flimsy tin contacts from battery compartment (at bottom of unit) and replace with steel strip. dismantle GPS end of power supply cord and RTV. dismantle Touratech mount and shorten plastic bushes 1mm to allow some float between the two plates. make additional bushing with RTV. good luck and don't tell garmin!

Silicone works well against vibration, but....
....use a 'Neutral Cure' Silicone !

Most silicones are acid cure which will corrode your circuit board.
Typically silicones made to work with metals are neutral cure so pick one for roofing or aluminium window frame use.


[This message has been edited by BurnieM (edited 18 January 2004).]

Hi Jerome

I'm planning a UK to Cape Town trip, departure in about two months. I've just bought a secondhand G III plus to help with the navigation and I was wondering if you had any advice re: working with the GPS and also which set of maps did you use?
Stay well



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Enzo
BUNDUBASHER.com

Garmap ( http://www.garmap.com/ ) have a Garmin GPSR loadable 'Africa Road Atlas' just out.

You might need a bit more memory than a GPS III+ tho.

Many thanks, I'll check it out.
Go well,


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Enzo
BUNDUBASHER.com