My last GPS question

[Trippy]

... not really.

Since I have started looking ahead and planning some rides for next year to places I haven't been before I am beginning to see the possible advantages of buying a GPS.

What I want to be able to do is easily click away a route on my laptop quickly calculting distances time and time again (lots just for fun) and then transer it easily to the unit itself.

The unit should have full European mapping and be very user friendly.

Should I look for 2nd hand unit with all the bits if so which one, or bite the bullet and cough up over twice the amount of cash for a Zumo, is the programme for route planning on the laptop any different to say that of a unit one or two years old?

 

[Doughboy]

Buy a second hand Garmin 1 (Better than the Garmin 2).
From what you've described it meets all the criteria you want and it saves you ££££'s. I'm very happy with mine .

 

[Clive]

is the programme for route planning on the laptop any different to say that of a unit one or two years old?

Mapsource (used by Garmin e.g. 2610, Nav II) has its own updates, separate to any Unit firmware updates.

 

[GSmonkey]

2nd had 2610 should serve you well. Mapsource is the common routing programme for your PC for all Garmin units, albeit you can use "NT" mapping for the newer units. Not sure what the benefits of "NT" are though.

 

[andyclift]

If you are looking for full Europe coverage I am not sure if the 2610 is a godd solution as it needs a memory card and I don't think it can take all the maps needed.

2720 and 2820 hold all of Europe "on board" and are vastly superior systems. Check out screen shots of maps on the web and the differences become apparent.

I have used my 2720 for trips around Europe and all planning was done on home PC with routes transferred to 2720. We then took a small laptop with us (Philips Freevents which took up a corner of the topbox) so we could use Mapsource on that to modify plans enroute - as well as web/email, and somewhere to store digital photos.

It all worked very well and we never took, or needed, paper maps. Not only did the 2720 handle all the nav without problems, it also found back street filling stations when we were desperaste for fuel, hotels in the middle of nowhere and kept a track log of our travels which was a good reference when we got home.

 

[Blackal]

2610/2720/Zumo depending on how flush you are.

Remember that the Zumo comes with all the mounting hardware for the price (get the 550)

When you are planning routes on your laptop - remember that it gives you an approximation of the mileage/time that isn't fantastically accurate (or so I've found). It is only when you get the GPS to calculate - that you get the true distance/time.

If you have lasted this long without one - I'd recommend the Zumo.

Al

 

[Tim Cullis]

To store the complete European map set on the 2610 GPS unit you need something like 2GB memory. I bought a 4GB card (very cheap as it's flash memory) plus a second smaller card for Morokko Topo and WorldMap.

Mapsource is the application and you can install it and the maps on any number of PCs--bit like a glorified Autoroute system. You can cheerfully transfer the routes and waypoints you create to any number of GPS units. The only limitation is on transferring maps to the GPS which requires unlock codes.

2610 is a fine unit and I used mine for more than two years of trips. The main advantages of the Zumo for me is brighter screen, ability to use off the bike (4 hr battery life) and unlimited tracklog storage.

Tim

 

[Trippy]

Thank you.