GPS questions

[Jovial Henry]

I am interested in a gps. Main interest is knowing where I am when out in the boonies (I am old). A decent size screen would be nice (I am old)?? Would like to see where I am on a map even if no roads, though I an usually on something that resembles a road?? Do not care about traffic, but travel directions might be nice sometimes. (I might forget how to get home). Thanks and remember you will get here some day.

[RockBottom]

You just described about every GPS there is, but sort of at the low end since the more expensive ones include a lot of stuff you didn't list. The big issue is whether you want a motorcycle specific one like the Garmin Zumo line or a automotive one like the Garmin Nuvi line. The auto ones are cheaper; the motorcycle ones have bigger controls to use with gloves and come with a motorcycle mount which you'd have to buy separately with an auto one.

[elkroeger]

I take it that this would be your first gps? You're liable to be overwhelmed with the choices and impressed with their functions. Most car units will get the job done for $100 give or take. The motorcycle units will be waterproof and have a variety of features which you may or may not desire. They're also relatively expensive. Some people, who aren't gps addicts will buy a cheaper car unit, and put a zip-loc bag over it in the rain.

 

That nuvi 550 comes as an auto-moto kit. It's a pretty economical way to go. it's waterproof and has a larger battery than most. It should do everything you want, right out of the box. Take a look at the videos they have there on gpscity. Looks like they've done a nice job with the videos.

 

http://www.gpscity.com/garmin-nuvi-550-automoto-kit.html

[lkraus]

Do any of the road oriented GPS units also provide terrain (topographic) info? Our auto TomTom is happy to point the way to my destination, but off road, it tells me nothing about that big white space between me and the nearest road. It might be nice to know if there is a cliff or a swamp lurking out there...

 

Larry

[dirtrider]

Morning Larry

 

You probably should start your own thread as this is getting slightly off subject but the OP was also asking about showing where he was while out in the boonies so a short answer here might also be helpful to him.

 

IF, your GPS unit is able to take additional mapping (most Garmin units are) then you can install something like the 24K topo maps for the area you are riding in.

 

I have topo mapping on all my personal off road GPS units--

 

The 24k topo mapping has good off road detail & shows good river, lake, hill, valley (off road features) as well as most roads & some trails in the area.

 

The downside to the 24k topo mapping is the maps are very large due to all the detail so just a small area will completely fill an older small internal-storage GPS unit.

 

Also, due to the fine detail the 24k topo gets difficult to use on smaller screen GPS units as to much detail covers the screen with topo lines & other obscuring details.

 

I usually ride off-road on the NT mapping then switch to the 24k only if I get so lost in the outback that I have to use the topo designations to work my way around swamps & steep hills/valleys with very narrow ways around un-ridable areas.

 

One thing I can suggest is that if you ride in real nasty or mostly impassable remote areas that you use a GPS unit with good Track-Back abilities. If the going gets so bad you just can't move forward & there is only one way back-out (the EXACT way you came in) then a good detailed track-back feature is a VERY valuable feature to have.

 

[Jovial Henry]

Thanks, That answers some of my questions.. Looks like the Garmin NUVI 50 might be good for me? Can one have both Topo 24K and street maps loaded at the same time then switch back and forth??

[elkroeger]

i've got a nuvi 500. it comes preloaded with topo and road maps for the US (I'm sure there are others). I think it's about the only difference between it and the 550 (550 comes with canada/mexico roads, but no topo). There's no need to "switch" between the two. Both maps come up on the screen simultaneously. A lot of units come with expandable memory so you can add the maps that you want (like your upcoming trip to Latvia). I would avoid the el cheapo and off brand units. It seems to me that many folks prefer garmin over the others.

 

One thing I like about the 500 / 550 is they are marketed as a multi use unit. They have car / bicycle / hike / motorbike and even boat mode (if you buy the marine maps), and they have larger batteries than typical car units. You can set avoidances for the motorbike that are different than for the car, etc. It makes a pretty good all purpose unit.

 

 

[markgoodrich]

Henry, do you have a smart phone with gps? If so, and if all you want to do is see where you are and get home, it may be sufficient. I have both; the phone's gps directions are much clearer than my Garmin's, but you'll want a way to keep the phone charged, as the gps sucks the juice out of the battery in a hurry. I keep the phone in the glove box of the RT, out of the weather. The garmin unit is mounted where I can see it.

[mackerman]

Smartphones work well for GPS navigation - IF you've either:

 

Got a data strength signal....

 

Purchased an app from TomTom or Garmin that loads the maps to your device.....

 

Thought to preload Google Maps for use off line in areas that don't have service....

 

IMHO, a standalone GPS is the way to go. A Garmin Montana or Oregon has supports both topo and street maps, the Nuvi 1490 does primarily streets, but has extensive dirt roads shown and has a large 5" screen.

 

 

There are multiple mounting options for just about any GPS out there so jump in and hit the road!

 

 

[Jovial Henry]

Do not even have a cell phone. They do not work any where close to where I live. I rarely ride the BMW as the KLR is much more suited for my location and riding style. I may not need the topo maps??? Would like to try out the street maps and see just how good they are for the forest roads etc? I think as long as I can zoom in and out to see where I am, it might be ok. Would like to have compass?? and altimeter. KlR is too big for single track type riding but with the 6+ gal tank it has 300+ mile range.

[dirtrider]

Morning Henry

 

If you want/need a compass then pay attention to what type of compass is in the GPS you choose.

 

Some use the GPS signals from the satellites to give a compass reading while others have a built in real magnetic compass.

 

I have both types of GPS units.

 

They both work well while moving but the satellite signal type internal compass doesn't work worth a hoot while sitting still. Not a big deal while riding out on the road but on tight trails that have lots of branch off's, or Tee's, or multiple choice's in which way to go if you stop the bike to figure out where you are & where to go a magnetic compass is the thing you want.

 

For single tracks under heavy tree cover the internal magnetic compass is so much superior to the satellite signal compasses.

 

Most reasonably priced GPS units use the satellite signals from multiple satellites for altitude. Not perfectly accurate in heavy tree cover or bad weather but usually close enough to show relative changes in altitude.

 

If you ride under heavy tree cover some GPS units (mostly older designs) are pretty lazy or update so slowly that you will ride right past your turn off & miss a lot of intersections. Some of the newer GPS units are WAAS-capable also have the ability to track MANY satellites at once & that really improves accuracy in some trail situations. Some also have a built in inertial navigation supplement so when the satellite signals are weak (like under heavy tree cover) they still keep you on track until they get another look at the satellites.

 

One of my best off-road (single track & very heavy tree cover) GPS units has been the Garmin 60CSX. That thing works great under even the heaviest of tree cover or bad overcast days & never seems to lose it's way (has great track-back ability also). I have friend that just got a Montana & he is mostly liking that but so far he has had to deal with a lot of little issues to get it to do what his old Garmin plotter did. I think that it will eventually be a good off-road GPS as it seems to be good under heavy tree cover & seems easier to see the screen than my 60CSX. The 60CSX has a very reflective screen & a small window. If it weren’t for those two issues it (the 60CSX) would be the best deep woods GPS unit out there.

 

If you PM me a Google or Bing map of where you ride (not a real big area, just a small section of the area you ride in) or give me the coordinates of your riding area I can plug that into my GPS NT mapping to show you what you will see on your GPS screen when using on-road NT type GPS mapping.

 

Here is a screen dump of your area as seen on Garmin 2013.2 Mapping (pretty well how it will look & what it will show on a GPS screen)

 

 

[Kritou]

Go to www.openstreetmap.org and see if the map detail is sufficient for you

 

If it is the area you want can be downloaded free of charge to any Garmin GPS. It is routeable and usually more up to date than "OEM" mapping

 

Something cheap and self powered like a Garmin Quest will then do the job (though I would suggest the European model with it's larger memory)

[dirtrider]

Evening Kritou

 

I just plugged one of my riding areas into that openstreetmap & not very useful as dirt roads are not shown where I know there is dirt roads & some pavement is shown incorrectly. It shows a river crossing where the bridge has been out for years. My latest NT 2013.2 shows that crossing closed.

 

[greenrider]

For a smart phone I like Navigon. A Garmin product. Approx $50.00 to download.

You don't need cell conection it goes off of saltilite.

You download the state or provinces you want.

 

http://www.navigon.com/portal/us/produkte/navigationssoftware/index.html

 

And for my boat I use Navionics. Also downloads onto the phone.

 

 

[Jovial Henry]

I just looked at an area I am familiar with and found errors too. 2 different roads with same name and dead end where road actually goes through.

[elkroeger]

A high degree of accuracy in relatively remote areas is still kindof asking a lot from the maps that are available for gps-s. Where the gps shines is in relatively beaten paths, where your goal is more to travel to certain places in unfamiliar territory. We wound up on the East coast a few years back, and I would just enter the destination and off we go across Georgia. Never been there before in my life, and I'd still be there riding in circles, if not for the garmin. I easily saved the price of the unit in gas money riding around lost, and fooling around on the shoulder with a paper map. For that it was glorious. But for little traveled dirt roads up in the mountains... you really need a good paper map that's known for accuracy there. Above all, there are inaccuracies everywhere. Ya gotta keep that in mind.

[RAINEY]

I love my BMW Nav IV