Teardrops & Tiny Travel Trailers

[xccelagator]

[eamarquardt]

I have a delorme unit that I use with my laptop for going garage saleing. Their database isn't real great and the unit gets a bit lost, confused and gives wrong directions. I talked to delorme and they wern't enthusiastic about cleaning up thier data base. Not like the focus on customer service I experienced at Garmin. I reallllllllly like the large map display versus a realllly small screen that shows limited information. Makes planning ahead a turn or two easier and if you have an idea where you are and it's just a whole lot nicer. Garmin is coming out with a new laptop setup that will retail for about $100 bucks. 2nd quarter. I plan on replacing my delorme with it. The other unit belongs to my better half (she works and gives me an allowance). Lat/long is lat/long so you can always reference to a topo map that is loaded on your computer.

[xccelagator]

I can attest to Garmins customer's service.

About 4 years back I anchored my zodiac off an island on Lake Superior. Long story short the wind picked up and swamped my boat and Garmin Etrex on the beach. My Etrex held water better than my boat in the display area. When I got home I called them and told them the situation. They agreed with me that it hold up to the NMEA water test. I sent the unit in and they sent new Etrex. Now remember the unit was 6 years old too.

I was happy,
Dan

[Guy]

Deaer Gus,

Is the Garmin product for the laptop the same as the Garmin Mobile 10 on their website?
_________________
Regards,

Guy
Keep on living, laughing, learning and loving.
http://picasaweb.google.com/GuyMazzeo

[eamarquardt]

The current usb version of the pc interface is the garmin 18. I bought one and it didn't do autorouting of multiple waypoints so I returned it. The replacement will be the garmin mobile pc due out 2nd quarter. It too will be a usb interface. From what I understand looking at their website, the garmin 10's big feature is tht the interface with the pc is bluetooth. I don't know about how the three versions compare in software capabilities.

Cheers,

Gus

[Nitetimes]

[eamarquardt]

I dropped my 12 inch laptop. It still worked fine but the bezel around the screen was cracked. I ordered a new bezel, fixed it, but now the display doesn't work after I "fixed" it. Darn. I "guess removing 4 r and r ing 4 screws and the bezel was beyond my limited abilities. Have won a similar pc on ebay for $30 bucks and hopefully the screen will fit and work (worth $30 gamble). If not will sell some stuff on ebay (rather than spend my wifes hard earned money) and buy a brand new 12" laptop (unfortuantely 12"ers are more expensive than larger laptops, go figure). You guys have me convinced that I need a stand and will do that as soon as I know what computer to mount on it.

Cheers,

Gus

[eamarquardt]

I dropped my 12 inch laptop. It still worked fine but the bezel around the screen was cracked. I ordered a new bezel, fixed it, but now the display doesn't work after I "fixed" it. Darn. I "guess removing 4 r and r ing 4 screws and the bezel was beyond my limited abilities. Have won a similar pc on ebay for $30 bucks and hopefully the screen will fit and work (worth $30 gamble). If not will sell some stuff on ebay (rather than spend my wifes hard earned money) and buy a brand new 12" laptop (unfortuantely 12"ers are more expensive than larger laptops, go figure). You guys have me convinced that I need a stand and will do that as soon as I know what computer to mount on it.

Cheers,

Gus

[pete.wilson]

Hey

I have to be honest this is a thread that I have been trying to find and couldn't for a while now (obviously). The newer garmin handhelds that carry the letter HCX has the latest in sensitive receivers and should eliminate most problems with tree cover, canyons, tall buildings etc.

I will never say Garmin is perfect and as fast as things change it's impossible to know every product in depth; also, because like most high tech industry we are ever conscience of corporate spying, therefore only a very few people know entirely of what is being made or in development. Sometimes this gets frustrating as a "need to know thing" but if someone leaves to go to a competitor, they are limited with the knowledge they take away. Also products change almost every year which limits again the getting familiar with certain products before they get changed to knew one, features change, name change, model numbers, part numbers, pricing. After a while you tend to give trying to know everything. I hope you understand.

Keep me working.......Buy Garmin.......My kids Thank You.

Pete Wilson

[eamarquardt]

Hi,

I go garage saleing on Saturday mornings (when I feel up to it, and Guy has been joining me, we look for Guy stuff, no girlie girlie stuff as I leave my wife home as she slows us down in our hunt for Guy stuff, ha). I have been using Mobile PC and mapsource. I have figured out some of the idiosyncrasies in the routing algorithm and learned that it doesn't work with the latest version of Mapsource (I use Mapsource to input all of the addresses much faster than in Mobile PC).

I'm not convinced that the routing to the various waypoints is the 100% most effective path, but it is "dead nuts, balls accurate (an industry term, "Cousin Vinny") and takes you accurately from one waypoint to the next. It takes all the stress and strain out of navigating! Mindless! Even if you see an unadvertised sale (a "target of opportunity") you can detour and it will put you right back on track!

I've contacted tech support a couple of times and they've answered most of my questions and issues. I have asked them about including the ability to delete a waypoint when you get there as sometimes the GPS isn't accurate enough to realize that you "have arrived". So far they haven't responded. Maybe you could nudge them a bit!

Over all, I'm really happy with the way Garmin handled upgrading me to a unit that has a replaceable battery, the details (stores, restaurants, etc) in the program, the accuracy of the navigation, etc, etc, etc (to quote the King of Siam). The DeLorme program just didn't hack it. It wasn't accurate (it thought you were 100 yards from where you really were) and would give erroneous directions. Garmin works. Also Mobile PC (at $80 on the internet) does most everything that my wife’s NUVI 850 does at a fraction of the cost.

I'm sold on Garmin, but do nudge them to add a feature to delete a waypoint.

Cheers,

Gus

[TPMcGinty]

I got a Garmin for my car at Chrismas. I love the unit and even use it when I already know where I am. I only have two complaints about the unit.

1. It doesn't have the latest maps in it and you have to pay to update them. My brother owns a Tom Tom and he gets one year of free map updates. In my opinion, if you buy a new unit and it doesn't have the latest updates, you should get at least the latest updates for free.

2. My second complaint is my own fault. I find myself watching the moving map on the GPS while I'm driving! Why do they have to make the darn thing so interesting!
_________________
Tim

[pete.wilson]

Hey

TPM,

One thing you didn't mention was if you had registered your unit with Garmin after receiving it for Christmas. All units are shipped to the stores with the latest maps installed. If the map maker sends Garmin a map update after it was shipped to the store, there is no way for Garmin to know who owns a particular unit except by the registration they filled out with Garmin, this in turn entitles them to an update.

Try this link: https://my.garmin.com/maps/nuMaps.htm.

Note: It good for 60days of when you first used it and only on Nuvi or Zumo units.

Pete Wilson

[halfdome, Danny]

Pete, I know your not tech support but I have a Garmin nuvi 660 and though it is nice, I have some issues.
#1. It was a gift from my wife and I didn't know the battery was not user friendly, I didn't by an Ipod for that very reason.
#2. No matter what navigation setting I use it took me on old wagon train/horse trails with black top to Doug Hodders home. It was an awful and dangerous trip. At other times it wanted me to get off the freeway to cut across surface streets to another freeway.
#3. Even though I can hear the woman in the box very well I can't hear the caller on my new cell phone through the unit even with the cell & Garmin volume cranked up all the way. I can hear a tiny voice from the box but can't understand even if they are yelling in their phone. I plan on turning off that feature and purchashing a separate cell speaker phone.
#4. I noticed no rest stops were listed.
Is this typical of Garmin units and I'll just have to live with it until the battery dies and then buy a competitors unit?
Danny
_________________


My Albums.

"Conditions are never just right. People who delay action until all factors are favorable do nothing". William Feather

[CAJUN LADY]

I have a Garmin Nuvi 650 and I really like it. I bought it off Ebay about 5 months ago and have already had to buy the updated maps 2009. It has tried to take me the long route before but I went the normal route and that little lady in there got annoyed with me. She has a bit of an attitude when she has to "Recalculate...Recalculate".
_________________
~Becca~
Cajun Lady

[Nitetimes]