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What GPS must I get?

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 2:08 pm
by pietpetoors
I know if you ask what is the best GPS to get some people will immediately give you the range number of the most expensive one because obviously that must be the best.

I am considering upgrading.

I already have a nice old handheld (50csx) which works perfectly and I once even found a road somebody with a R7k GPS could not find, probably because I had a different map loaded, but I like to believe it is because it is such a good GPS.
Only problem with the old csx is the screen is small which makes it difficult to follow the map when you are out of town. It also takes you ages to type an address.

I also have one of those cheapies for the city which does not know what a gravel road looks like and on which you cannot load other maps. It is perfect for the city trips.

What I need is something for the longer trips and the offroad trips.
It must be able to load maps like T4A and it must have the bread crumb recording thingy.
It do not have to have bluetooth, mp3 player, tea making abilities and whatever other gadgets they put in it, I need a GPS not an entertainment centre.

It don't have to be portable that is why I have my trusty old handheld which lasts 24hours on a set of penlights.

So what model should fit above profile?

Re: What GPS must I get?

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 2:33 pm
by Hangover
Wou se wat van die GPS map 276C maar dink nie hy word meer gemaak nie en hys maar vrek duur... Die ouens praat ook baie goed van hom...

Re: What GPS must I get?

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 6:36 pm
by Family_Dog
276C was King of GPS receivers, now the Garmin Mantana 600 is as capable and about half the price of the old 276C and certainly a lot more user-friendly!


-F_D

Re: What GPS must I get?

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 7:54 pm
by Thunder02
Family_Dog wrote:276C was King of GPS receivers, now the Garmin Mantana 600 is as capable and about half the price of the old 276C and certainly a lot more user-friendly!


-F_D
276C still the best. Sad it's been off the market for a few years now. :thumbdown:

Re: What GPS must I get?

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 8:48 pm
by pietpetoors
Eric I see you get a Montana 650 in the USA, is it available in SA?

What makes the Montana more special than smaller models?

The problem I have is that when you go to Garmin's web site and select GPS for CAR then you get some 80 odd different devices which should all do the same job.

The info on the pages does not give you all the right info, it focuses on all the city features like warning you before the time which lane to take and that you can add POi and that it can ask you if you like sugar in your tea.

But it does not tell you whether you can add more maps, yes it tells you it has lifelong free map updates but you still do not know if you can chop and change your maps and they do not tell you whether it has the bread crumb feature.

It is crazy, why would you have 80 models of things that does the same job; tell you where to go. :shock:

Re: What GPS must I get?

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 8:53 pm
by Family_Dog
Thunder02 wrote:
Family_Dog wrote:276C was King of GPS receivers, now the Garmin Mantana 600 is as capable and about half the price of the old 276C and certainly a lot more user-friendly!

-F_D
276C still the best. Sad it's been off the market for a few years now. :thumbdown:
Problem is it used a proprietary memory card that cost the earth. As standard, it was supplied with a 128mMB memory card, you could buy larger cards (256 & 512MB) but they were expensive. While an excellent GPS, it was not really user-friendly.


-F_D

Re: What GPS must I get?

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 9:04 pm
by Family_Dog
Pieter, the Nuvi range largely are slow and cumbersome, built and designed at low cost more for town driving than off-road use. Most of the Nuvis had free maps tied to the lifetime of the unit, which was only while the battery lasted. Once the battery was kaput, the GPS had to be replaced as no user-swappable batteries are available from Garmin. There are exceptions to the rule, the Nuvi 500 was one of those.

We used to sell Garmin GPS units but we tossed it a few years back as I could buy the same GPS from the chain stores cheaper than we were able to get from Garmin at dealer prices. Subsequently, the chain stores have dropped the Garmin range as well in Klerksdorp, as have the local 4x4 stores, so they have shot themselves a bit in the foot.

The Montana 650 certainly is available in SA, but at the time we were selling them, there was a price difference of R1k between it and the 600, the only difference being that the 650 features a built-in camera while the 600 does not. For R1k difference - not worth it.

But if you purchase the Montana, you need to get the car kit as an extra, it is/was not supplied as standard together with the unit.

The other thing you need to look out for is processing power. The cheaper Nuvis are slow in plotting a route whereas the better units are lightning fast.

The Montana is highly recommended, you will not regret it.


-F_D

Re: What GPS must I get?

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 9:21 pm
by george
Daar is nie so baie nie
Kyk na die nüvi 2589LMT
Contains Garmin's TracBack technology
which records a user's track log and allows them
to follow the same track they used to get
to a destination
http://www.garmin.co.za/in_car_advanced_series.php

Re: What GPS must I get?

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 9:22 pm
by pietpetoors
Ja but at that price I can buy another laptop for the business.

Re: What GPS must I get?

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 10:24 pm
by JohanW
Golden Rule of any gps: Its only as good as the maps on it.

Ek rol met 'n colorado 300 (https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/on-the- ... 11019.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). Ek is mal oor die ding. Die wieletjie bo aan maak dat jy adresse baie vinnig kan insleutel ens. Hy is ook lekker rugged en het 'n billike antenna op. Ek hou nie regtig van 'n raak skerm gps nie. suiwer omdat dit moeilik is om te mik my jou vinger terwyl jy ry. Selfs op goeie paaie. Met die colorado gryp ek hom vas en druk die knoppies. T4a stel êrens die jaar 'n android app vry vir 'n tablet. Ek is van plan om 'n 2nd handse nexus 7 te koop en aan my bluetooth gps unit wat ek reeds het (http://gps.dualav.com/explore-by-product/xgps160/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) te koppel. Tesame met die colorado is dit 'n ongelooflike kombinasie. Vir minder as 'n nuvi of montana.

Ek kan daardie gps unit vir enige iemand aan beveel. Is super akkuraat en kan tot 5 toestelle koppel. Die pilots is glo lief vir die unit.

Jou selfoon of tablet is kragtiger as enige gps daar buite. Sit vir hom 'n goeie gps antenna by en laai die regte kaarte. Plus jy kan google maps gebruik in die stad.

Re: What GPS must I get?

Posted: Wed May 27, 2015 8:12 am
by pietpetoors
Ek gebruik soms my blackberry met google maps in die stad as die gps nie weet waarna ek soek nie.

Sal kyk na daai GPS dongle ding, ons het hoeka 'n android tablet wat onder benut word.
'n Tablet pas net nie so lekker op die dashbord nie, maar my vrou sit gewoonlik met die kaart op haar skoot as ons ry, dan kan sy maar met die tablet op haar skoot ook sit.

Re: What GPS must I get?

Posted: Wed May 27, 2015 11:39 am
by Stuart Baak
I use the Montana 600. Suits all my needs. Just was expensive

Re: What GPS must I get?

Posted: Wed May 27, 2015 11:40 am
by Stuart Baak
Loaded with T4A and I also have garmin Street maps for city navigation.

Re: What GPS must I get?

Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2015 9:22 am
by pietpetoors
Received an email this morning from T4A that they launched their android app.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... nng.africa" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Dear Fellow Traveller,

We are pleased to announce that the Tracks4Africa navigation app for smartphones and tablets is now available on Google Play for Android users.

The app is called Tracks4Africa Navigator and as the name suggests it allows you to navigate with turn instructions to a selected destination.

The app has the following features:

Tracks4Africa maps for the entire Africa is installed with the app
Navigation does not require an internet connection, i.e. offline navigation
Search for places, set a route and get voice instructions on how to reach your destination
Download, installation and updates are handled via Google Play
Updates are free


For people who have previously bought the Android app direct from the Tracks4Africa website, we offer a migration to the new app which can only be purchased on Google Play. To do this, please proceed to purchase the app from Google Play and then contact us with your receipt and we will refund the original transaction. Please note that if you have never bought the Android app before you can simply go ahead and buy it direct from Google Play. The app will not be available from the Tracks4Africa website.

The Tracks4Africa Navigator is based on the iGO navigation software and does not form part of the Garmin ecosystem which means that you cannot send and receive routes/waypoints/tracks from the app to your computer and vice versa. This is a stand-alone navigation app.

For more information, kindly contact us on sales@tracks4africa.co.za.

Travel Greetings
Johann Groenewald
Tracks4Africa

Re: What GPS must I get?

Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2015 10:48 am
by b4runner
I use my Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 8" as a GPS. I download the maps for offline use for when I get outside of 4G coverage, having the screen size is great and so many topo apps available