Garmin GPS

Anyone have a Garmin Emap. I'm about to pick one up and watned some feedback from owners

thanks

I'm about to buy the GPS V from Garmin. Found a guy on eBay that is willing to sell a brand new one for 390 delivered...

- Jon

Wow, those are really cool. I looked into them some more and realized that the Garmin V is the one i want. Primarily because i think its the least expensive of the ones that does turn-by-turn directions. Happen to know if he has anymore?

Yes, I believe he has more. Write to Eric at eric@getitgotitgood.com. Tell him that I sent you!

- Jon Bauer

To follow up on this... I just found this place:

http://www.onlinemarine.com

that has the Garmin V for $358!!!!

I just got mine off of EBay for $377 shipped... could have gotten it from there for $366 shipped. Doh.

Damn. That's a great price! I ended up paying 395 for it delivered... Oh well. I'm still trying to figure out if I'm keeping it or not...

- Jon

Not that anyone here is needing one of these sonar/GPS combo units, but this is what's getting put on my new boat. Sonar and GPS logging that you can save to an MMC card and offload to a PC. This unit is sweeeeeeet!

Why are you thinking of not keeping it Jon? Not what you thought it would be?

I'm trying to get used to it. The thing that really pushed me into getting a GPS is using Hertz rental cars "Never Lost" system. That one is very clear to use, the maps are clear, and I literally never got lost (the name does fit). I've travelled all over Florida and the east coast with nothing more than that unit - no map or directions - it got me right to the door each time.

I'm finding that the GPS V's mapping to be slow and hard to read. Also, the mapping with MapSource is less than stellar. I'd like to be able to do something like "show me all the banks local to this area", or "what hotels are closest to this waypoint". Can't do any of that kind of stuff.

Also, if you don't like the route that it picks for you, getting it to use your preferred route is another pita. I tried to use it this morning to go from SF to Sunnyvale, and it was absolutely hell bent on forcing me to take 101 even though I had waypoints set up as part of the route on 280...

The speed of the unit also concerns me. It sometimes takes 20-30 seconds to draw or re-draw the map. That's slow and if you don't know where you are going, can be uncool...

What's your experience been like so far?

- Jon

ahhh... interesting. All valid concerns for sure. The 280 part sounds aggravating... as i f'n hate 101 and take 280 at any chance i get. Interesting. 20-30 seconds to redraw a map seems very excessive, aggravatingly so. As for having features like "closest bank to waypoint"... there's no way you're gonna get anything like that for $400. Systems like that cost upwards of $1600... so that's part of the tradeoff i knew i was getting into for such a cheap unit. Wait... now that i think about it... doesn't the included CD have CityGuide typs tuff with info like that that you have to load up for a certain city?

My experiences so far have been me tracking it on the UPS website. So far it seems pretty accurate... it says it has left it's destination...

I'll post my thoughts as soon as i get it. Visuvius just ordered one too...

[edit] yeah... for the points of interest stuff. It should do stuff like that with the MetroGuide info...
http://www.gpsinformation.net/gps5/findpoiscreens.htm

FYI, I think you can do quite a few of these features if you hook the GPS up to your Palm. Yeah, it's a pain because it should be built in, but if you really want it, there's various software available.

I'm currently trying to determine what software is the best for what I want to do.

Hm. Yeah, you can do a lot of that from the GPS, but not on the Windows side...

Let me know how you like it when you get it.

- Thanx
- Jon

I love my GPS V. It takes a little while to get use to, but then its all gravy (ghetto slang).

The unit actually will do what you're looking for. You can move the arrow around with the rocker keypad, then hit Find, and look for Points of Interest. From there, you can choose to find the ones that are closest to the cursor. You can have it display all the banks, bakeries, fast food places, ATM's, etc, etc, etc. Of course, you must have uploaded the info from the CD, as the basemap doesn't have all the detailed info.

Also, i'm 90% sure that there is a way to find the closest "whatever" to a waypoint.

As for redrawing the map, it can be slow at times, but i havn't had 20 - 30 sec slow. My biggest complaint is that at times, it gives you the turn too late. Other than that, i'm stolked.

- off to go look for a good deal on NiMH's.

Hm. I saw that you could search for a local place on the unit, but can you do it from the PC side?

Is there a mapping program that's compatible with the GPS V that is more fully featured? I once ran "Microsoft Streets" and it had all kinds of features that would be nice to have with my Garmin...

Let me know what you end up getting for NiMH's as I'll prolly end up getting some too. Everyone raves so much about the GPS V that I'm starting to think I'm just not giving it a fair shot...

- Jon

Using the Mapsource software, you can search for pretty much anything. Click on the binoculars in the toolbar, that should do it.

I don't think there is any other mapping program that will work with the GPS V. Go to the Forums section at www.geocaching.com, there is a good GPS hardware forum. I've only had mine a few days so i'm still exploring.

As for batteries, www.thomasdistributing.com has 4 AA - NiMH's (1800 ma) and a quick charger for 40 dollars i think. I'm probably gonna get that and an couple extra sets of AA's off of ebay. This should do the trick. I hate having the big, ugly 12V cord in my car. Its too bad my dash is has a weird contour to it, can't seem to find a good place to mount the GPS.

hamid

In reply to:

---

- off to go look for a good deal on NiMH's.

---

When I got my Kyosho Mini-Z I went on a quest to find good (high mAh) NiMH batteries. One site is Greenbatteries. They are one of the few places I've found that sell 1800 mAh AA cells for around $3.75/ea, and AAA cells for around $2.50/ea. Another one that is a little cheaper is Thomas Distributing. They have 1800 mAh AA PowerEx cells for about $3.72/ea, and 700 mAh AAA PowerEx cells for about $2.39/ea. I use them in the Mini-Z, my digital camera, wireless mouse/kb, wingman cordless rumblepad, and all my remotes. It's a good idea to get a good 1-hour charger as well, which you can usually find for around $30.

Anyway, hope that helps....

So are the 1800 mAh cells the preferred ones to get? What does that number actually represent? Any recommendations for a good charger? So I guess no name batteries are just as good as brand named ones?

Thanks.

- Jon

So are the 1800 mAh cells the preferred ones to get?
For AA, yes, 1800 is the current highest rating.

What does that number actually represent?
Milli-Amp Hour, which is the capacity rating for the cell. Therefore, the higher the rating, the longer it will last.

Any recommendations for a good charger?

Now here's where the fun part is... Good rule to go by is: Charge slow, your batteries will last longer. So, only use a rapid charger if you NEED to. There are a few models that will actually allow you to switch their charging "behaviour" from trickle, to medium, to rapid. This one is probably "the best" one to get at the moment; it could be said that it's the uber-charger as it has a digital display that shows voltage, and capacity (among other things). The one under that is probably the best buy for the money. It will charge just about any NiMH & NiCAD you could find, it does trickle and rapid charging, but it will require that you also purchase battery holder(s). Something like this is good to have around as a secondary charger (maybe even just for conditioning), and is definitely good enough to have as a primary as well, if you're not going to be doing a lot of charging and switching. The other chargers go down from there, I guess it really just depends on how much you're going to be using them and how much you're willing to invest.

So I guess no name batteries are just as good as brand named ones?

As far as i've seen, yeah. I've used Panasonic, PowerEx, Energizer, Rayovac, and a few others that I can't remember right now and all of the ones that have the same mAh rating have performed pretty much the same. There are a few brands that tend to test at higher mAh ratings than they are sold at, but most of the time it's not really significant enough for it to be worth paying more for them. Of course, if you can find them at the same price, or cheaper, then go for it.

There's a ton of information on the Thomas Distributing site, and most (if not all) of the products they sell are of pretty high quality.

Oh, one more thing I should note: When you put batteries into a device, it is recommended that you use the same brand and rating. If you start to mix brands/ratings you might notice weird behaviour and/or a decrease in battery life. I've put two Panasonic's and two Rayovac's into my Mini-Z (because they were the only ones charged and I just wanted to get back into the race) and had it respond sluggishly, as well as having the two Panasonic's die within just a few minutes while the Rayovac's were barely touched. Needless to say, I never did that again.

Hope that helps..... Now I'm REALLY tired.....Time to go charge MY batteries (couldn't resist)

Ricin, thank you for the info!

Went on my first geocache expedition today. Right down the street from my house, so it wasn't much of an expedition, but I can see how it could be a lot of fun. You guys into geocaching?

- Jon

ha! I really like it. My friends and i love to just drive around aimlessly; geocaching gives an actual purpose to it. Of the three that i've done so far, i've found the actual cache on one. A lot of times you can't trust the GPS once you're within a certain range. For the cache that i did find, the GPS read that it was 300 ft away from where i found it.

It can be frustrating, but still really fun.

what's up with that? i thought those things were acurrate to less than 3 meters with the WAAS stuff.

turns out that there are two WAAS satellites curently up, one over the pacific, one over the atlantic. On the GPS V, it comes turned off by default, you have to go to the menu to turn it on. So far, i've noticed that it has done nothing.

Another cache that i went on was a little better, it narrowed the area down to about 20 feet, which is normal. If it got any closer, it wouldn't be fun.

When the GPS is outside, i can usually get an accuracy of 12 to 15 feet. Pretty standard according to the geocaching forums.

hamid

How do you use the GPS V for Geocaching? Do you turn off the "snap to street" feature that tries to put your triangle on a street? How can you see your position as you move around? I found my cache by blind luck... Just kept searching til I found it...

- Jon

I don't think "blind luck" is a particularly apt description when you have a handheld device capable of pinpointing your position anywhere on the globe and a set of coordinates for the general area of the target

Blind luck would be replacing the GPS unit with a fake star trek tricorder and still finding the target.

Hugo

Haha. True. Well, I read about this cache on the www,geocaching.com web site, and they described it so well that I was able to drive there (I knew where it was), and find it without really using the GPS... I don't yet know how to continually show your GPS position on the unit I have... I only know how to show it for your current position, which I did to verify that I was in the right ballpark...

The cache was hidden in thick bushes at the site, and I stumbled onto it...

I have more to learn about GPS...!

- Jon

Hey I've just thought of a fun idea for an empeg-meet. Try and persuade someone at Empeg to geocache one of the units they reserved for support use. Instant meet

I know the question isn't about non-rechargables but the Alkaline Kirkland "Costco" brand batteries do not have a good shelf life. If you sit them around for a few months to a year, the batteries degrade very fast. Duracells last a long time in storage however.

speaking of batteries and charging... one of the electric bikes I have has a 36 volt battery that has a charged voltage of 42 volts and requires nearly 50 volts from the charger.

Calvin

Okay, i got it Friday and started using it a little this weekend. So far i'm impressed. I'm comapring it mentally to the $1600 system that Rob (CruzThs) had, and for 1/4th the price with almost all of the same functionality, i'm doubly impressed. Oh... and it's TINY!!! When they say handheld they meant it. I was amazed when i opened the box, i had thought it would be twice as large. Build quality, looks and usability are all up there on the scale. I used it Sunday to direct me to a BART station (which was in the mapsource info... nice) to pick up a friend and then to the airport, and it worked great.

I can see what you guys were saying about slow map redraws and quasi-late turn notifications. It was never so bad as to cause me to miss a turn, but it was close in some instances. The map redraw is pretty bad at times... i haven't expiremented with turning off some of the map details though, which i'd assume would help out on that front. Rerouting and routing in general isn't superfast, but it's not too bad. The thing could definitely have benifited from a faster processor though.

The one problem i had was when i was testing it to get me from Cesar Chavez Park in Berkeley, home to downtown San Francisco. I got on the interstate, and it thought i was on the service road which runs directly next to I-80 South. This caused it to freak out when it realized i was actually on the interstate, and it spent the next minute trying to recalculate a route. If i didn't know where i was going it wouldn't have told me to take the SF exit in time... but that's what signs are for i guess. It didn't figure out where i was and a proper route until i was on the bridge. Other than that little flub, it did very well.

Overall, i'd give the unit a B or B-. It has flaws, but for the price, you can't beat it. It's funtionality matches that of systems that cost way more, and it's tiny and portable. I'd definitely recommend it if you're looking for a cheap turn by turn GPS for your car.

word

Agreed. Same thing happens to me when I cross the Golden Gate Bridge. It always thinks I'm on the road under the entrance to the bridge...

I'm really starting to like it more and more. I don't fully trust the directions it gives me yet...

There are some other pretty nasty bugs with the current firmware, so I'm expecting Garmin to release the next one pretty soon.

I also read that they are going to be offering the GPS V with ALL of the unlock keys soon. I think the timing of my purchase will not allow me to take advantage of that offer, but I read that the upgrade is 50 bucks, so that's not too bad.

- Jon

$100, more likely:

"If the original, single *and* all unlocks were ALL unlocked on or after 4/22/02, you will receive the upgrade at no charge. If you unlocked your single original unlock before 4/22 the update will be $50 for one region or you may purchase the all unlock for $100. This also applies to the all unlocks whether purchased before or after 4/22 if you unlocked the original before 4/22. If you unlocked the original single unlock on or after 4/22 you may purchase the upgrade to all regions for $50."

For reference, I think the "new" V that has all unlocks included out of the box is about $50 more.

I think the new map data includes nearly all roads, as opposed to the "metropolitan areas" in the current data, but I'm not 100% sure.

Alex

Geez. I unlocked mine on 4/18!!! Grr.

- Jon

yeah that fuckin' blows man. I unlocked mine on like 4/20

Just got off the phone with Garmin. Sounds like this new release is gonna be 100 bucks flat and will have updated City Select data and all area unlocked... Buying the unlock code now would be a waste of money as you'd still need to spend the 100 later to get the updated data...

Also, the base maps that are in the V can't be upgraded without a chip swap. Bummer.

Lastly, the guy said that there's an upgrade for the V that is being worked on now - he couldn't give a date, but it's in Beta now. Wish I could get on that Beta team...

- Jon

Sweet... looks like i get the full upgrade for $50.

So... how do you go about taking advantage of that deal? ( he says without checking the Garmin website...)

Support at Garmin says that they are going to be emailing all registered GPS V owners in the next few weeks...

- Jon

Ah, thanks Jon. Guess i better scoot over there and register.

I still have half the manual to read, and i still have no clue how to use the mapsource software on my PC... lot's o' reading to do.

This thing does a LOT of stuff.... it's one of those gadgets that you need to keep the manual around for just so you remember how much crap it actually does

totally.

Mapsource is a really easy program to deal with. Uploading 18 mb of maps took about 45 minutes.

I still havn't gotten to all the features that the GPS V can do, although i probably wouldn't use them anyways.

BTW, for geocaching, i've found that putting the coordinates as a waypoint and using the "Off Road" feature makes it easier to narrow down the location of the cache.

Yeah, the off road feature is the next cool thing i wanna check out. I gotta go find me a geocache. It looks like it does some really cool tracking stuff, so you can backtrack offroad and stuff. The off road compass feature looks pretty sweet. I think i'm gonna plant a geocache on the hill behind my work...

How much memory does the GPS V have?

Calvin

19 megabytes.

See this:

http://www.garmin.com/specs/GPSV_1101.pdf

- Jon

It's already an amazing little tool... but oh, the step up it would have taken if it had an upgradable memory expansion slot and a slightly faster processor.

Agreed. That will probably be the GPS VI !!!

- Jon

Is the GPS V the best Garmin handheld right now? I've been itching to get my hands on a Rino. I woner if the Rino would be as capable?

Calvin

Hm. Never heard of the Rino. The GPS V can do address to address, which doesn't have a lot of competition in a small form factor now...

Going to search for the Rino right now.

- Jon

It's a little Garmin GPS with a built in FRS and GPRS radio. They use those frequencies to transmit tracking information from one to the other. So you can essentially play hide and seek in the mountains, or track one another down, do at-a-distance following. Etc. Very damn clever application of this spectrum. The GPRS feature requires faa licensing but allows for greater distances.

Calvin

Wooo... That would rock! Geocaching is like treasureh unting for adults... that would allow hide and go seek adult style! I've been hearing lots of buzz about it, but couldn't find any info on the Rino. Got any links? How much is it supposed to cost?

I found two geocaches, one yesterday and one today. So much fun!

[edit] n/m... here's the link to the Rino.

K, after reading up on the Rino... The Garmin V is way more capable. The only thing the Rino has over the V is FRS/GMRS Radios. Otherwise the Garmin V has more memory and does turn by turn directions, and apparently a few other things the Rino doesn't.

The thing with the Rino is, the GPRS only works decently well on flat terrain. If someone is on a ledge 1/10th of a mile away from you, it doesn't work very well. Same with the FRS radio feature. Or at least thats what i understand from other peoples reviews.

Check out the forums at http://www.geocaching.com, there is a good section where people take about GPS units.


Hey any of you guys tried your first geacache yet? If you're havin' trouble, lemme know cause I bet you guys will have the same problem i had with the V.

I found two of them over lunch the past two days. The first one was awesome.

What problem were you having? Seemed to work perfectly for me. A digital compass would have made it a little easier, but as it was it wasn't that bad... you just had to move a little in one direction to get a corrected bearing.

The first cache i found was 350 feet away from where the GPS said it was. On other hunts, the unit just gave me weirdass readings. I would walk in the direction that the V told me to go, only to have it completely change directions on me once i got within a few feet.

I don't know if you use the "Off Road" feature, but that helps me. Secondly, make sure "Lock to Road" is off. This feature is good for when you're in the car following directions, but for geocaching, it needs to be off.

I had awful luck my first few times. I'm going out again this weekend so hopefully i'll have better luck.

Hamid

For all of you with V's, there was a software update (2.03) posted yesterday with a number of features that you'll probably want:

• Improved the next turn notification when turns are close together.
• Reduced off route distance threshold for City Select maps.
• General improvements to auto-route calculation processing.
and lots more little things.

http://www.garmin.com/products/gps5/download.html

I just uploaded it to my V, and haven't had a chance to try it out yet. The "close turn" fixes and faster off-route detection are very welcome. (My SO was just complaining about the close turn problem a couple days ago.)

Alex

RIGHT ON! Thanks man!

Off to go update.....

Off to update tonight.

As for the problems with geocaching, well... i dunno. That hasn't been my experience at all. The second one i did, it was acurate to within 2 feet! I'd experiment with using both WAAS on and off, and see if it makes a difference on your next try.

Well, the appeal to me is the ability to follow another Rino. For example if you are on a road cruise you can give one Rino to one person and another to the tank/shepherd car. GPRS gives extended range over FRS.

Calvin

I thought GPRS had much more transmitting power than FRS does. Thus the license requirement.

Calvin

I don't think your guys luck could be as bad as my first Geocache. I had bee hives and poison oak. The rash still hasn't gone away after two weeks.

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.asp?ID=20902

OH christ. That sucks. I've been scared of poison oak after reading that almost every cache around here is in or around patches of it, and i have no idea what it looks like... well, now i do. I've looked it up, and am going to be sure to bring pictures of it on my next cache so i know what to avoid. I'm used to the Poison Ivy in the South, Poison Oak is new to me, though i know we have plenty of that down there too.

Where I live, Poison Oak is like grass, it's everywhere. I think I'm immune, as I've never gotten it, even when directly exposed.

With as much outdoor stuff as you do, Loren, I'd think that if you were suceptible to Poison Ivy or Poison Oak, you would have gotten it by now.

Poison oak is pretty easy to spot once you have a vauge idea of what you're looking for. Next time you're out with someone who would know what it is, just ask them to point it out to you. I think all outdoor camps for kids are forced to do a unit on identifying it, so most people who group up around it can spot it... Now is a good time to start looking, as it's got leaves. Once it looses its leaves it's just as bad and much more dificult to spot.

Matthew

Yeah, i think you're right there Tony. My backyard in Baton Rouge had a tree line that was about 40 feet deep to a drainage ditch, and it was LOADED with poison ivy. I never got it, though i'm sure i was rolling around in it at some point. I know last week's first geocache... i MUST have had contact with it, i was sliding down rivines and grabbing onto all sorts of plants. Well, regardless, i'm not gonna push it, i'm still gonna avoid the stuff. I'm going to do this geocache tomorrow... which is supposed to have Poison Oak everywhere, so i'll be on the lookout.

Doot doot...

You can now order the City Select update. It actually doesn't cost a cent for the CD or shipping, but if you want to actually do anything with it, you'll have to purchase an unlock code after you get it. (Unless you unlocked your V on or after 4/22/02, of course.)

http://www.garmin.com/unlock/index.html

Details:

• Full coverage for metropolitan and rural areas throughout the United States!
• Updated mapping detail for the United States with coverage of Canada
• Updated points of interest - to include over 5 million business listings. New categories such as movie theatres, campgrounds, post offices and more.

Alex

Sweeeet. Ordered that sucker. They won't [censored] until 6/24 though... bah.

Wow, that's a long time to hold it in.










(Yes, I'm aware it was an unfortunate typo. I couldn't resist.)

LMAO... that's hilarious. I had no idea i'd typed that. Wow... i must type shit more than ship... nice slip. hahah.

Ok, when this thread appeared, I was still in my expensive GPS mode of going the route of an in car system, complete with DIN sized LCD, etc.

But, I now realise that idea will be quite expensive for the little I will use it in car. So, I'm looking at the Garmin products now to decide on one for car, motorcycle, and possibly portable use. I had an impressive demo of the StreetPilot III thanks to the trip to Dionysus's new apartment at the empeg meet. How does the GPS V compare to the StreetPilot III for navigation? I'm assuming pretty close. Beyond the color screen, and some extra "portable" features on the V (like the sun/moon screen), how do the units differ?

And lastly, battery life. How many batteries would I need to look into if I plan on using one of the above units all day on my motorcycle?

OK...

The StreetPilot III is awesome, mainly, IMO, because of the color screen. It just makes it sorta easier to make stuff out. As far as navigation goes, i believe they are exactly similiar. The V gives you the arrows and a visual representation of what you're supposed to be doing. Where the V gives you beeps to notify of turns, the StreetPilot has got the advantage of voice prompting, however, i'm not sure how well this would work. Sometimes these things give you directions too late, and then start giving a slew of directions as they catch up with themselves.

What i like about the V though, is its size. This makes the screen smaller, but i think its worth it, and anyways, you get used to it. I'd say if you were planning on mounting it on your bike, the V would be easier. I'm sure you could get the StreetPilot mounted, but it might be a distraction.

The streetpilot also gives the advantage of the 32mb memory card, on to which you can add as much as 96 more MB. The V only comes with 19mb. On my V, i have all of LA, San Bernadino, Orange, and San Diego Counties loaded. LA county took the most space at 7 mb, so take it from there. If your'e planning on doing a lot of traveling, you might need the extra memory. But if not, i think the 19 is plenty. Plus, its not like you're screwed if you don't have the residential level detail, but it IS nice to know where all of the Dairy Queens are around you.

As far as battery life goes, i'd say i've put about 12 hours of life on the alkalines that i put in there when i got the V, and its still going, but it won't let me turn on the backlight (which kicks ass by the way, however, i think the color screen out does it). I'm planning on getting some rechargeables from thomasdistributing.com. I know the V has the option to choose weather you're using NiCads or Lithium Ions. I'd go to the boards on geocaching.com , they have a cool hardware forum where thats a talked about subject.

Anyhow, i hope this helped. For me, doing all the research about them was half the fun of buying one. I'm totally stoked with my V, and i think Loren will agree with me that V is a kicksass toy. Its got its drawbacks, but its still being improved. They just recently put out a nice firmware update. Also, i think with the V you can get a nice little deal where you get the unlock codes for the whole US for an extra 50 bucks. Pretty nice.

PM me if you have questions.

Having never played with the III, i can't really comment other than to say I love the Garmin V. The more i use it, the more little subtle cool things and shortcuts i find. I used it this weekend plenty... namely to find the Ghost Town geocache down near San Jose... check out my pics!

The only negatives i've found are that the screen can be a little hard to read in the car if it's not mounted at the right angle, and that the screen redraw can be a little slow... all stuff we've hashed over in this thread already. But the size and low price makes up for it's negatives. I pocket it and walk with it all the time. Someone told me they saw one online for $320 the other day!

The battery life is pretty good.. supposed to be 25 hours without the backlight. I haven't left them in long enough to have them run out since i rechard my NiMH batteries after each geocache. The last firmware upgrade added support for NiMH and a couple of others as well as the NiCads and Lithium Ions.

The StreetPilot III is awesome...

Yes it is. I've had it for a little over a month now and I absolutely love it.

The voice prompting is just right, it warns you a few times before you get to a turn (i.e. "Turn left in 1.7 miles" .... "Turn left in 300 feet") so it's never too late.

I was originally going to get a V, but after thinking about it and realizing that the main reason I'd be getting one was for navigation in the car, I thought it better to get one that was better suited to be a "navigator," not having to look at it all the time, and just be (yet another) distraction.

I knew the V was small, but wasn't really sure how small until I saw it the other day at Best Buy. Wow, talk about hand-held. I was expecting it to be kind of bulky.

One of you guys should take a picture of it to show the relative size.

Here's a pic with a quarter on it for reference.

Same here, went and saw it as Best Buy last night (though I won't buy it there, $450 or so was their price), and it is quite small. It will probably work out best for the motorcycle and portable use.

Time to find the best place to order it. I think I saw one for $370 with overnight shipping, time to dig into my history.

this is where i got mine... they shipped it overnight for $8 too!!! Great service.

Looks about the same size as my 3+. Small enough to take anywhere without a hassle, large enough to still be functional

Hmm, they quoted $27 for me on overnight service, I must be farther away from their shipping point.

I did find the retailer from yesterday, they give free ground shipping, and are only 60 miles away, so it's overnight for me. But they are out of stock.

I'm still browsing the list of online retailers Garmin maintains.

edit: Just bought it for $375 shipped overnight. Now to impatiently wait for it, and pick up a motorcycle mount for it locally.
(second edit, typo in my price)

Wow, how'd you get it for $275?

right on man,

you'll have tons of fun with that thing. I got practical use out of it the first night i got it. You should check out Geocaching, you might like it. Also, make sure to get the firmware update once you get your unit, although, i'm sure you knew.

and check out the new geocaching "game": Benchmark Hunting

oooooohh.
didn't know about that one, i'll have to try that out.

I got around to finally playing with my GPS V today, and I definitly like it so far. One complaint, my dash is anti sticky. I ended up having to buy some 3M mounting tape to get the base to stay put, and it's still a bit loose. Though I can't hold that against Garmin.

I also grabbed the handlebar mount from a local store (They had the GPS III for sale, and the accessories were for the GPS II, I think they need to update their stock :-). Finally got it on my motorcycle after a bit of decision making, and it works out well. (I had to mount it on the left side, due to the middle part of the bar having a big bolt head keeping the mounting kit from getting around the bar). I let it lead me on a trip to Garden of the Gods, and was amazed it had all the small roads for the park in it. Unfortunatly the turn notification sound is worthless on the bike, but since it has some tweaks for the turn notifications, it should work well as long as I look at it from time to time.

I wish the ETA to next turn would update based off the recent average speed, since it kept saying I'd be somewhere earlier then rush hour traffic would allow.

I figure I might try out the handheld GPS functionality tomorrow by visiting a Geocache.

And in case other owners missed it, 2.05 of the software came out on the 11th, download it here http://www.garmin.com/products/gps5/download.html

Software update! Thanks.. didn't notice it.

Did you try the temporary adhesive? It's like super thick sticky tac... i'd say it works better than their permanent adhesive disks.

Drakino,

out of curiosity, what sort of motorcycle mount did you get and how exactly does it hold the unit? I'm looking to get some sort of GPS device in the next couple of months mainly to put on my bike, but also to use in the car if necessary. Since I have a Gold Wing, I can probably put it on the bars, on the false gas tank, somewhere on the inside fairing, on top of the dash, or all sorts of places. I'd like to see how other people are doing it to see if I can narrow down my options a little.

Here's a Garmin question for you guys:

Does the Garmin V (or others) allow pedestrian directions (e.g. ignoring one way streets) and car directions (with directionality in mind) as a mode?

Calvin

I got the Garmin handlebar mount. It looks like this:


The bracket is what holds the GPS, and detaches from the ring that fits arounf the handlebar. It comes with two pieces of rubber that get put on the inside of the ring, and a screw to hold the ring shut. It hold it in place well, and the rubber helps to mimimise vibrations on a motorcycle. It's probably the best place to mount it, since you hand can easially press any of the buttons without moving far from the grips. The kit is ment for a bycycle, motorcycle, ATV, snowmobile, or similar devices. The GPS V is waterproofed enough to allow it to survuve even if your caught in the rain.

If you want, I'll take a picture of mine tonight when I get home.

And Geocaching is awesome. I hit 3 sites yesterday, 2 with a friend. I got him hooked, and will probably be getting my roomate into it as well.

Yeah, I'd like to see a picture on your bike, if possible. Some more questions. Did you look at the RAM mounts (http://www.ram-mount.com/)? Any advantage this would have over the RAM mount. How much does the Garmin bracket cost?

Lets see:

GPS with the mount attached http://riocar.org/upload/empegbbs/motogps1.jpg
GPS mounted on the bike, riders view http://riocar.org/upload/empegbbs/motogps2.jpg
GPS mount that is visible on the handlebar http://riocar.org/upload/empegbbs/motogps3.jpg
And the backside of the mount http://riocar.org/upload/empegbbs/motogps4.jpg

I looked at the RAM mounts, their advantage seems to be the ability to move the GPS once it's attached. Though in this case, the position is fine. Plus, the RAM mounts don't seem to have anything to reduce the vibration. The rubber insert into the part that goes around the bar seems to work as both a spacer and vibration reducer.

Yeah, I like what I've seen about the RAM mounts, but I don't know so much about that U-bolt handlebar mounting part. Maybe it actually works well in real life, I don't know.

as far as i know... nope. It does have "off road" mode... but that's not the same. Interesting point though...

Having used the RAM mounts on my last boat and new boat, I can say they are very good. The ball that the RAM mount mounts to is rubber coated to reduce sending the shock through to whatever it's mounted to.
I had my old Garmin III+ mounted on my old boat and this big Lowrance LCX-15 on my new boat with a 1" RAM mount. Though I am considering switching to the 1 1/2" ball for the bigger Lowrance unit. Attached is a picture of the unit you can't see the RAM but you can get an idea of how big a unit can be on a RAM mount. I also have my camcorder mounted occasionally to the boat with 5" RAM arm...

The ball that the RAM mount mounts to is rubber coated to reduce sending the shock through to whatever it's mounted to.

Ahh, cool. Hadn't come across that. Though on my motorcycle, the handlebar mount works great since I really don't need it any higher, and the mount left behind on the bike is unobtrusive.

It seems strange that garmin's stuff doesn't have a mode for pedestrian street navigation. There are places, as we all know, where you have to take a more circuitous route because of the street directions, but can be navigated much more easily on foot. Maybe bike. oh well..

Second question: Does the Garmin attempt to navigate you onto a highway, when you're on foot or on a bicycle?

Calvin

Second question: Does the Garmin attempt to navigate you onto a highway, when you're on foot or on a bicycle?

It has 3 settings for things to avoid, U-Turns, Toll Roads, and Highways. It's a basic checkbox option in one of the navagition setup screens on the GPS unit.

Tell me, does the RAM mount have some easy way to detach the GPS and take it with you?

Not with the GPS V, it has 19mb built in. I believe the StreetPilot series have removable memory cartridges.

does the RAM mount have some easy way to detach the GPS and take it with you?

Yes, it's sort of a clamping action on the arm that locks it into position.
Here's the homepage for RAM Mount systems.
My Lowrance should be back from the factory Wednesday. (Had to be replaced, defective) I can take some better pictures if you'd like to see more detail on how it works (the RAM mount that is.)

ooops, didn't know you were referring to that.

You guys are all jerks. After reading through this thread recently, I was inspired into a fit of research which ultimately culminated in me being almost $500 poorer for the GPS V and needed accessories. Not the best move when I'm still unemployed. And, my wife's out of town and doesn't know what I've done yet. It's all your fault

After reading through this thread recently, I was inspired into a fit of research which ultimately culminated in me being almost $500 poorer

Heh, don't know how many times I've heard that one here on this board...

I finally got my new CD yesterday, anyone elses get delayed this long, or is everyone else running around with better map data?

got mine yesterday too.

wait so what exactly does this new cd get you? You pay 50 bucks more and get the entire US or something? i've been out of it and forgot.

I got it for free since i bought my GPS before the cutoff... i think it was April 21st or something (don't quote me on that). It's got updated data and you get the whole of the US instead of just one region.

Looks like Maha now has 2000 mAH AA batteries available. Is this definitely the kit to buy?

http://www.thomasdistributing.com/mh-c204f-4aa200dc.htm

- Jon

Actually, it looks like this charger is superior...

http://www.thomasdistributing.com/mhc401fs.htm

- Jon

Come on out East and visit.. since we don't quite have the same mountainous terrain over here, we make up for it in different ways..

eg. http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=44560

Come soon, and you might even claim second find..