GPS advice needed

[guest7]

I'm finally having to throw in the towel and buy myself a small GPS device, if only for work. I get fed up trying to track down customers' houses and the like. It also struck me on the weekend as I belted over to Chippenham to deliver the GB that sometimes it would be nice to find somewhere without having to balance hand-written notes on the steering wheel.

Can any of you recommend a budget GPS that can be used in the van and on a bike?

GC

[Mark]

Ask Simon Morgan aka Inspector Gadget, he bought a good one for £93.

[guest7]

Hmmmm... £93... you could buy a lot of maps for that  

I think Simon went for a good GPS because of his geo-caching hobby, I just need a cheapie device to navigate the British road system. Or is £93 cheap for a GPS? I have no idea  

GC

[Mart]

£ 93 is very cheap for something suitable for use on the bike [needs to be waterproof]. tomtom or garmin both good but will cost @£4to500. I have tomtom in my van, easy to use, and garmin zumo for the bike less user friendly but very good when you get the hang of it. Both bought from Pentagon GPS in via ebay. If you just want one for the van it will be a lot cheaper. I did have a cheaper one originally but it was very fragile.[cant remember the make]. Unless it is very cheap you are better off getting one off the established names.

[SteveC#222]

The main problem with using any car GPS on a bike is going to be waterproofing and vibration - thats why bike specific GPS is so expensive-  a small decent tank bag with some padding would probably solve most of that if you use a car unit. Bike specific ones usually have 'glove friendly' buttons too!  Garmin seems to be one of the most popular decent makes - the cheap ones that sometimes come up at the Aldi/Lidl et al usually seem to have problems from what I read when I was looking into one.

You won't get much below £100. The BMW GS option GPS was over £1500 some time ago!!

Have a word with Steve D - he's been using GPS on his bike for years and seems to be a font of knowledge

[Steve H]

If its just for occasional use around town then I would look at some of the solutions you can get on mobile Phones. I recently bought an Samsung Galaxy Europa for my son (£90), its uses the Google Android OS and has all the toys including a GPS receiver.
I use a Nokia phone (with GPS receiver) and pay £5/year for the SatNav software.

Steve

[johnr]

ive a garmin nuvi i bought new for unde 60 quid from ebay. not bike specific, but i have used it on the bike, i just shut it inside a clear topped tupperware box on my tankbag.

[guest868]

Bought the g/f a Garmin nuvi 1340 for chrimble, it was under a ton. Easy to use and if you want to use it on the bike, thre are pleny of waterproof cases you can buy.

[beamer]

i got a navigon gps from halfords at xmas for £79 which covers europe,about £25 cheaper for a uk only one. then i got a waterproof bicycle/motorcycle case that fits on your handlebars from amazon for £13.I cant say how good it is yet(havnt been far enough to need it) I think the expensive bike models use bluetooth but is that worth £300 more? 

[guest7]

All good advice fellas, keep it coming 

I'm more than happy to use a waterproof case or tankbag, etc. to keep a car model dry, it strikes me that I'd have to do a LOT of riding using the GPS to justify a bike model.

GC

[beamer]

forgot to say,the navigon sat nav only came with a car charger so you would have to buy a home charger or fit a fag lighter to your bike

[steveD]

Yep, you need a Garmin Nuvi, they can be picked up quite cheap and indispensible for me as I'm always going to odd places when looking for customers houses. I would say that it has at least paid for itself by me not getting lost or when I went down to Reading to do a kitchen, just put in all of the suppliers addresses and hey presto, get where you need to be.

You certainly don't need a Zumo like my bike one, quite expensive and you wouldn't want to just press a button on your helmet to bluetooth link it and then listen to the MP3 as you ride along just following instructions and not getting lost!

(I still love my maps tho')

Look for a Nuvi, you won't be dissappointed.  PS I have got a cigarrette lighter power supply for mine and with the suction cup mopunt onto the rev counter glass ahve used it on the Yam very effectively and as Tom says you can easily get a waterproof bag to put it in.

[themoudie]

Aye GC,

Use these all the time at work to record soil pits, navigate about strange bits of hill, woodland, forest etc. Get covered in mud, used in rain, dropped bounced, squashed, etc.

Garmin GPS12, solid, 'old' tech, 'brick' of an instrument, but good enough to use once you've arrived at a town/village, to haul out switch on and 'GOTO'. Plenty of re-furb, 2nd hand units + accesories on Fleabay ( your favourite shopping experience!).

No longer any 'new' updates from Garmin site, but cheap and rugged. Don't 'see' the satelites to well from under trees or in buildings.

'Garmin12 link'

Another model which is cheap and good but still has the viewing satelites weakness is the Garmin 60 GPS.

'Garmin GPS60 link'

If you have more dosh (HMRC!) then the Garmin 60Csx is the preferred and obligatory instrument if you want to win contracts. All the bits and pieces and the ability, because of it's aerial design, to get sub 10m accuracy beneath tree canopy. Use this always these days in the job. Updates to software from Garmin still available.

'Garmin GPS 60 CSx'

Manufacturers website: 'GARMIN' This will drive you 'potty'!! Simon's 'porn' site!!!!!!!!

My regards, Bill.

[guest7]

Cheers for that, I've put a bid on one of 'em.

GC

[Simon#83]

Aye GC,

Use these all the time at work to record soil pits, navigate about strange bits of hill, woodland, forest etc. Get covered in mud, used in rain, dropped bounced, squashed, etc.

Garmin GPS12, solid, 'old' tech, 'brick' of an instrument, but good enough to use once you've arrived at a town/village, to haul out switch on and 'GOTO'. Plenty of re-furb, 2nd hand units + accesories on Fleabay ( your favourite shopping experience!).

No longer any 'new' updates from Garmin site, but cheap and rugged. Don't 'see' the satelites to well from under trees or in buildings.

'Garmin12 link'

Another model which is cheap and good but still has the viewing satelites weakness is the Garmin 60 GPS.

'Garmin GPS60 link'

If you have more dosh (HMRC!) then the Garmin 60Csx is the preferred and obligatory instrument if you want to win contracts. All the bits and pieces and the ability, because of it's aerial design, to get sub 10m accuracy beneath tree canopy. Use this always these days in the job. Updates to software from Garmin still available.

'Garmin GPS 60 CSx'

Manufacturers website: 'GARMIN' This will drive you 'potty'!! Simon's 'porn' site!!!!!!!!

My regards, Bill.

Bill, Do these Garmin's have road mapped navigation capability? I think these would be fine for geocaching or off the beaten track where you need accurate waypoints, but I think what Graham's after is an automatove sat nav with features such as postcode search, turn-by-turn navigation, POIs, etc.

I've used a cheap £50 Navigo sat nav from Ebuyer for the last few years and hacked it to replace the Turbodog software with TomTom and igo8. I protect it from the elements with an Otterbox (2nd hand from Ebay) connected to the handlebars with a RAM mount. This gets around the problems mentioned by others with moisture and vibration, but the cold can also be a killer and the unit hasn't been as reliable the last couple of Eleffant/TTs.

The dedicated motorcycle units from the well known brands out there are IMHO overpriced and from what I've seen don't always deliver seeing as they're supposed to be bike specific. I'm thinking here of the failed power connectors on the TomTom Riders. Jethro's brand new Garmin unit also had power issues on our recent trip. It seems to me you don't seem to get a decent biking satnav even if you're paying for it.

Saying that, I know SteveD swears by his Garmin Zumo (550?), but this is quite a pricey unit. Personally, I think I'll be sticking with a cheap car based unit in an Otterbox, but I did recently come across the following bike specific one that looks interesting:

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/6879598/art/mappy/mini-330-gps-for-motorbik.html

Mobile phones, especially with built-in GPS receivers are an other option. I have used a mobile a number of times when my dedicated satnav has been playing up, but the small screen size can be an issue when on a motorcycle. Also, unless it has a nice big touch screen, it can be awkward to use with gloved hands.

The other thing to bear in mind is that the majority of the satnavs and mobile phones have a very short battery life so a power supply from the bike's battery is a necessity unless you're doing very short journeys or you're disciplined enough to put the device into standby (if you can do so easily with gloves) for long sections of road, such as on motorways or major A roads, where you know there isn't going to be a turning for a long while.

HTH,
Simon