Ken in Regina

It's pretty simple. It means that if you wanted to run navigation software on a laptop or netbook you could use your handheld as an external GPS receiver for the laptop or netbook by connecting it. If you don't want to run navigation software on your laptop or netbook, it's of no interest to you. ...ken...

If you use your GPS for visual navigation you aren't driving safely anyway, regardless how large the screen is. The Legend HCx, and similar devices, pop up a big turn indication graphic when it beeps at you. If the GPS is positioned properly it's just as easy to see this with a quick glance as it is on the bigger screens. I'm not recommending it as a dedicated car nav device. But the original poster asked if it could be used for temporary navigation. It has all the necessary features and the limitations have been mentioned so they can make an informed decision. In the Bryce Canyon and Zion Parks areas the handheld will be great just to keep track of where you are. In the cities it will work fine with a copilot to help with the navigation. Would a larger Nuvi-style unit be nice? Absolutely. Is it necessary for the planned use? Not really. ...ken...

Paul is very responsive and helpful and the prices are competitive. http://www.paulsfinest.com/ ...ken...

Is Topo USA routable? It didn't used to be. The latest version of Topo Canada (v4) now contains routing data but previous versions did not. You need to check the specs on the various Nuvi models to be sure they have the capabilities you need. Routes transfer properly from Mapsource to my 765T. Some Nuvis don't store routes. They only work with your active route, which you can't save, so you can't transfer routes to them either. Some Nuvis cannot have Vias inserted in routes. You can only enter a destination. You can't do any Avoids and you cannot insert Vias to force a route to go where you want it rather than where the route calculation thinks it should go. So even if it supports saved routes, it may not accept transfered routes if they contain Vias. ...ken...

I have an eTrex Legend HCx and it works pretty well for road nav. The others have described it well. If you are okay with the beeps rather than voice guidance you'll be fine. The popup turn display is large enough that you can see it quite well even on the Legend/Vista small screen. It's especially useful if you have someone riding with you who can help navigate. The screen is relatively small so you either need to mount it perfectly for driver view or, better, have your navigator hold it so they can provide some voice guidance. Other than the screen size and lack of voice guidance, if you add City Navigator maps it has all the features of a regular car nav device. ...ken...

Thanks Chrysalides, That tip was perfect for my situation. It will help me prepare for the next time my wife says, "Honey, we've got three days before I have to babysit the twins again. I need an Ikea fix." The nearest Ikea is a little over 500 miles away. When she says something like that we're usually packed and out of the house in a whole lot less time than it takes to charge batteries. ...ken...

ao318, Check this, please. http://www.laptopgpsworld.com/garmin-mobil....html#post24385 You might also wish to scroll back and take a quick look at the whole thread. Three people who posted in that thread purchased Mobile PC bundles containing Garmin factory refurbished GPS units. While there were some technical issues getting things working, none of them got anything but solid support from Garmin with their eBay-purchased units. ...ken...

Just to clarify, Garmin won't warranty any USED equipment purchased from eBay. If you buy a factory-refurbished unit from an eBay dealer Garmin will honour the warranty on the refurbished unit. ...ken...

Quite true, it all depends on usage. In your case. I'd forget about the hybrids, set the MH-C9000 to rapid charging, and charge the 2500 mAH in 1 to 2 hours right before they are needed. Ah yes ... wouldn't it be wonderful if I knew 1 to 2 hours in advance of when I need them? My wife never says "Dear, I will need the camera in 1 to 2 hours to take a picture when I'm expecting our dear sweet twin grandchildren to do something incredibly cute!" Thoughtless and ill-prepared woman that she is, it's always "Oh look what the twins are doing ... bring the camera quick!!". My mouse is equally inconsiderate. There's no 1 to 2 hour battery warning light. It just quits without warning. My bicycle riding buddy does occasionally give me a half hour warning (when he doesn't just drop by for a ride). But I usually need to scramble to get ready to go and charging batteries isn't top-of-mind when I grab for the eTrex. So, in anticipation of one or more of the above events, or similar, I end up just recharging them on a regular basis. Usually just so they can sit and discharge again. Just as the ones in the devices in question are discharging as the devices sit there doing nothing most of the time. The world is a thoughtless and disorderly place.... ...ken...

It would be easier for someone in Canada but I'll bookmark this for reference. ...ken...

Well, everyone has an opinion. Mine appears to go against the mainstream in this thread so I'll toss it in for variety and thought. I have been a user of rechargables for years, first NiCads and NiMH for the past few years. I did it because it's supposed to be the green thing to do and it's supposed to be cheaper, too. At least if you believe all the hype out there. I didn't really question it much. I just started doing it and kept on. With the NiMH I have researched batteries and chargers. My present setup is a Powerex Maha MH-C9000 charger, a set of four Sanyo Eneloops and a couple sets of Sanyo 2500mAh. They're free to anyone who wants them. I'm done with rechargables. They make no sense for the way I use them. I go for short, intense periods of use in my cameras and handheld GPS .. typically vacation time .. and then they sit for long periods with only occasional casual use. The conventional NiMH are never charged when I need them. Or I charge them multiple times between uses in order to have them ready when needed. Even the Eneloops generally discharge more than I like between uses. Yes, the self-discharge rate is slower but they start with considerably lower energy to begin with (1900mAh vs. 2500mAh), so it's almost a wash. In either case, if I want fully-charged batteries any time I need them, they get recharged multiple times between uses. That just makes no sense. I'm wasting energy. When I'm not using them, I'm going through rechargable batteries at about the same rate as if I was actually using them. The price I paid for the gear and batteries I have right now would keep me in conventional alkalines for four or five years. The money I've spent on chargers and batteries in the past four or five years would keep me in conventional alkalines for the rest of my life. So I've retired my Maha charger and spent 13 bucks for a 48 pack of alkalines from Costco. That will keep my camera and eTrex Legend HCx going for many many months at a whole lot less impact, overall, on the environment and a bunch less money out of my pocket. One man's opinion. Think about your personal usage patterns, then do the math regarding the monetary costs and think about which will have the larger impact on the environment: the number of alkalines you will consume in a given period versus the resources to build and operate your charger and rechargable batteries and the price you will pay for them. The answer might not be as obvious as you assume. Or are pressured to believe. It turns out that the answer depends entirely on your usage patterns. ...ken...

Thanks for the tip. Before the update all I could see was Topo Canada v4. Now I can see all the maps on my PC, including the older ones and third-party trail overlays. Thanks a bunch. ...ken...

I'm not sure I understand. Do you mean your system is a dual-boot system? That is, you have to boot it into either 32-bit Win 7 or 64-bit Win7? ...ken...

That's a question that's impossible to answer without knowing what you want to use them for and what kinds of things matter to you. Functionally there are many many similarities between the two. They look a lot different and the user interface is different but when it comes to the basics of trip planning or realtime navigation they both pretty much do it all. If you're in Canada, the road map in Streets&Trips is more up to date than Street Atlas. Feedback from Americans is that in the continental USA they are each about the same quality ... not much to choose. As mentioned above, you can read detailed reviews and get lots of feedback of both over at %5bcolor=#000099%5dwww.laptopgpsworld.com%5b/color%5d[/u]"]www.laptopgpsworld.com. ...ken...

To answer the one question that hasn't been answered yet, Streets&Trips does allow two activations for your laptop and your desktop. At least that's true of 2010 version. ...ken...

Wait for 3.1. Those who have downloaded 3.0 found some issues fairly quickly. Ibycus is working on them and will release the next version when he gets them licked. ...ken...

The Nuvis have a standard mini-USB plug on them, don't they? If so, just buy a battery pack with a mini-USB connector on it and you're good to go. ...ken...

Which version of Windows 7 do you have? 32-bit or 64-bit? There are numerous reports of problems with Mapsource and Win 7, many more for the 64-bit version than the 32-bit. The zoom-out-and-crash thing is a commonly reported problem under Win 7. ...ken...

If you are talking about North America the answer is easy: City Navigator. One reason: It's way more up to date. Garmin has not been producing City Select North America for years. City Navigator is the direct replacement product. ...ken...

It's not available for free. There is a big cost in time in the learning curve for how to do it. And there is an additional big cost in time for doing it. Most average GPS users who will have ideas how they can use the imagery will not want, or be able to, invest that kind of time. Give them a simple and inexpensive download process and it opens up the possibilities to the majority of elegible users rather than just a minority of determined folks who have the necessary skills and who value the challenge more than their time. I have the necessary skills and I'm retired so time isn't a really big issue for me. But I would still have to turn the question around and right back at you.... .... At thirty bucks a year for all you can eat, why on earth would you bother to do it yourself? ...ken...

What Red90 said. I've used GPSGate to use Globalsat BU353, Pharos 500, i.Trek M7 (in both Bluetooth and USB modes) and Navation 168 GPS receivers with nRoute. ...ken...

I have some questions about the Pre... 1. Does the GPS continue to work when you are outside cellular coverage, e.g. will you still get a lock and navigation even if you can't use the phone? 2. Does the GPS continue to work when you are roaming on another service provider's network? 3. Did you need to get your cellular service provider to unlock the GPS for you or is it functional right out of the box without getting any special plan for it? 4. Does anyone -- TomTom, Garmin, etc. -- make navigation software and maps so you can use it for full autorouting navigation? 5. How much hassle is it to migrate data from your Palm OS device (say, a Palm T|X)? -- Addressbook? Including categories? -- Calendar? -- Memopad? Including categories? 6. Are there PDA type apps for the Pre equivalent to the Palm OS standard apps? -- Addressbook? -- Calendar? -- Memopad? 7. Can you sync the data with equivalent apps on the PC? 8. How is the outdoor viewability? Would the screen be at least as easy to read in sunlight as, say, a Palm T|X? Thanks for any info you can provide. ...ken...

I didn't find it that difficult. When I got annoyed at the 6.15.x versions I uninstalled the one I was using at the time. Then I installed 6.13.7. I grabbed Mapsource.exe and renamed it, as Red90 said, and stuck it in a temporary folder. Then I reinstalled the 6.15.x version. When the update was done, I just dragged the renamed Mapsource6137.exe file back into the C:\GARMIN folder and now I can run either one. Yep, just that simple. ...ken...

Apparently the Nuvi 5xx models are quite geocaching friendly. At least that's the claim on Garmin's web site (the only Nuvi models Garmin rate as caching-friendly, I think). A couple of folks on here confirm that they work pretty well for paperless caching without messing about with a lot of "helper" programs. Battery life is "up to 8 hours". They are not widescreen. As for the car nav, well, it's a Nuvi. It does what Nuvi's do. That's what I know. ...ken...

For those who are recommending cache management programs as an alternative, just FYI Mobile XT is a GPS navigation program. It's kinda like stuffing a Nuvi into your Palm or PPC. Apples and oranges. Joe, I have Mobile XT on my Palm T|X and a Garmin GPS10x Bluetooth receiver. The combination works pretty well. The disadvantage is that I need an external GPS receiver, so there are two devices involved. My go-to nav device is my Garmin iQue 3600 which uses the Palm OS and has an internal GPS receiver. So it's one device with excellent integration of the GPS and PDA functions. I bought a used T|X and put Mobile XT on it to see if it would be a suitable replacement for my iQue 3600. It's not. At least not as long as I have a choice. However, it's second best so if I ever run out of iQues (I have three) I'll use the T|X with Mobile XT as the final fallback. Mobile XT integrates reasonably well with the addressbook on the Palm. It works properly with the screen in either portrait or landscape mode. Functionally and user interface, it's virtually identical to the Garmin Nuvi nav devices. As with all Garmin handhelds, if you have Mapsource or something with similar capability you can load a variety of the free maps you find referenced here. I'm not sure if that's what you want to hear. If you have specific questions don't hesitate to ask. Anybody with a Nuvi will be able to answer anything about the features and functions. ...ken...