GPS

[challey]

WalMart has a Garmin Quest GPS on their website for $366 including shipping.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product. ... id=3279299

Is this the same unit as the Garmin Quest2 GPS - it looks identical in the picture - or a previous iteration? Anyone familiar with this model? It look like you can't go wrong for that price.

[challey]

I poked around on the site and found a link to "upgrading to the Garmin Quest2". The price is still pretty good though - about $575 incl shipping.
Looks like the Quest2 has quite a few more bells & whistles, including mounts for the car.
Still wonder if the basic Quest unit would be sufficient for most trips and if anyone has experience with this model?

[neevee]

The difference between the two models is that the Quest 2 has the fully detailed maps of certainly the US, maybe Canada also. The Quest has 115MB of storage holding only details of the main highways in it. You download the fully detailed info from your PC (The CD Rom is included) as needed.

I have the Quest and it holds the fully detailed maps of NJ with a sizeable pice of PA, CT and NY. I have used it for a year now and wouldn't really travel without it.

IMHO The Quest is very usable this way and worth saving the $200

[challey]

Thanks neevee, appreciate the info. I tend to agree with you about saving the $.
BTW, I take it from your post that you're a Brit, living in NJ?
I spent 3 years in England (Sunningdale, Berks) - loved it but I had a subsidized existance. I grew up in NJ (Wayne) and lived for about 10 years in Oak Ridge.
Charlie

[TonyT607]

I concur with neevee - I picked up the Quest (not Quest 2) from Costco.com about a month ago for $299. It came with the mounts, North America map CD, power supplies, etc. The 115 MB memory has not been an issue. I use it in the car and on the bike with no problems. I did install the Garmin M/C kit which allows you to hardwire power and also enables the audio function. I have it piped into my Etymotic ER6i's via a MMP-02sk Passive Mixer from Accessory Workshop. This little black box mixes any mono audio output (like from my Quest or Valentine 1) with Stereo from my XM or iPod. Works like a charm.

PS guys I also lived in the UK for a couple of years (1998 - 2000) on an assigment with Big Blue. We lived in southern Buckinghamhire in a little village called Chalfont St Peter (next to Gerards Cross). We loved it and still miss it.

[R4R&R]

I got my Quest from Ebay, mostly new, no problems whatsoever. I paid $285 for it and have been happy since. I've heard others with motorcycles that have the Quest2 say avoid it and get the Quest. Something with loading routes on it, you can't from the computer- only on the screen.

[neevee]

The only problem I ever had with the Quest was with a downloaded route from the PC. This route covered 1800 miles and had approximately 120 waypoints selected by me. The turn by turn data required to follow the waypoints I had programed caused the unit to freeze up and require long conversations with Garmin customer service and a system re-boot. This happened on 2 units so I suspect it was not a faulty unit.

This was not a showstopper, as I just broke the route into more manageable chunks. The problem never reappeared.

The bottom line is I would replace it if anything happened (Until the Tom Tom Rider comes down in price)

I also think the Quest includes the car mount- although I replaced the suction mount for the windscreen with the heavy "friction" mount after a short period of time.

BTW I am a Brit living in NJ as you guessed. But I believe I am officially a mongrel- Born in England, brought up in the Republic of Ireland before moving to Scotland and living there for 23 years before coming to the US 6 years ago.

[TonyT607]

Neevee, where in NJ are you ? I'm in Cranford.

[meistre]

I've only had one problem with my Quest. It's about a year old and I just got it back from Garmin after a free repair (the antenna started shorting out).

Be forwarned, the software and the interface is ridiculously designed. It will take many hours of hair pulling to learn how to use it efficiently. I've emailed Garmin with several bug alerts and design suggestions (my field) and they don't seem to care.

The next GPS I buy will probably not be a Garmin.

BTW - the Quest DOES ship with an auto mount (windshield suction-cup type).

[NoRRmad]

What GPS would you buy? I'm on the verge of getting one, and Garmin always seemed to be the one to get...

[neevee]

I would get the Quest again as far as performance vs value is concerned. If value is not an option, it would be the TomTom Rider.

[cc]

Still wonder if the basic Quest unit would be sufficient for most trips and if anyone has experience with this model?

It depends on what "most trips" is for you. If you stay in one area 115 Mb of memory is OK, but if you plan to cross the country occasionally you need to have the whole country in the unit or carry a laptop.

In October I flew to CT to pick up my new to me R1150R. I had a route planned for return and maps loaded into my Garmin 60C. The weather changed and I dropped south a few hundred miles to stay warmer. I was now off my preloaded maps and using just the basemap. It's a little less flexible without the whole country loaded.

[sweatmark]

nORRmad's question prompts me to ask:

What do you folks use your GPS for?

Route selection - prior to trip via PC mapping software?
Route selection - while riding?
Paper map avoidance?
Turn-by-turn prompting to find a new location?
Companioniship via that sweet seductive GPS voice?
Finding services while en route?
Satisfying your gizmo mojo?

Actually, I'm seriously asking re: GPS benefits. I've got a Garmin Rino (combo primitive GPS with 2-way FRS/GMRS radio) that's used primarily for:

(1) bike-to-bike comms with my wife (via his & hers Garmin + Autocomm setups);
(2) route "confirmation" via glances at that tiny GPS screen while riding;
(3) route selection while stopped & lost (this really helped on one occasion last year!)
(4) pure gizmo gratification

So tell me your "GPS saved my bacon" stories!!

Mark
Oregon
2002 R1150R - 2001 - R1100R - 2003 Buell XB tractor

[cc]

Whayou folks use your GPS for?t do

Route selection - prior to trip via PC mapping software?
Route selection - while riding?
Paper map avoidance?
Turn-by-turn prompting to find a new location?
Companioniship via that sweet seductive GPS voice?
Finding services while en route?
Satisfying your gizmo mojo?

These are valid questions. The last probably is pretty important as they are a fun toy.

For street riding they provide a quick way to see where you are, both physically and in terms of trip data such as average speed, trip time, stopped time etc. I use a Garmin GPSmap 60C and it is pretty much useless for trip planning. Data entry is just too cumbersome. The routing feature is valuable in unfamiliar territory or city traffic. If you have the right maps loaded they will also show you roads that are not on paper maps. IMO if you do a lot of cross country touring you need a unit that will hold detail maps of the entire country.

For adventure touring, particularly where paper maps may not be as helpful, a GPS can be a really valuable tool. Sometimes the tracking feature is useful to compare your track to the shape of a road on a paper map to confirm your location. If you have pre-established waypoints the GPS is an instant reference to your position in relation to those points.

The tracking feature lets you record where you've been so that you can share your route with others. I save my routes from the GPS to a Palm which retains better detail than saving them in the GPS memory. To see some saved routes that you can look at on Google Earth, go to
http://gpsexchange.dyndns.org/phpBB2/index.php
I have a set of tracks listed there under"Mexico", "Copper Canyon file" that will load right into GE. If you have not used Google Earth this way you need to give it a try.

Tracks such as these can be loaded into your GPS and will serve as an accurate maps in areas where paper or GPS maps are inaccurate or non-existent. If you have them in a PDA you can load them into your buddies GPS so they can have the same guidance that you do.

For street riding if you are good with maps it's pretty much the gizmo/data gathering factor. In remote areas on unpaved roads the GPS provides valuable guidance on virtually every trip.

I would not count on the "services" listings in remote areas.