jollybgood

Because I pefer to use Mapsource for waypoint management. Also to update maps when the time comes. Somethign you can't do in OSX without VPC. Not to mention Garmin's automatic updater for the Streetpilot is really sweet. Just plug in your GPS and it finds everything that needs updated. Voice, firmware, map updates, etc.

I had great luck using my 60Cs with VPC. THe trick is you have to use a pda adapter (usb to serial). Not the fastest set up but it works well enough.

Well if the trend continues, I've been upgrading my GPSr about every 18 to 24 months. So by the time everything is up and running I'd probably be in the market for a new GPSr anyway.

I haven't frequented the boards recently so maybe I missed it.... When did USB and Macs/VPC suddenly start working? I bought a Streetpilot 2720 last week. Came with a USB cable. I assumed it wouldn't work on my Mac so I borrowed my daughter's PC to update the firmware and so forth. Today I was bored and decided to hook it up to my power book via USB and turn on Virtual PC just to see what would happen. To my amazement Mapsource instantly recoginzed a 2720 was connected. I swapped waypoints back and forth, did some routes and downloaded them. Worked like a charm. Then I used Garmins' WebUpdater and via VPC and that worked too. Not sure if the fix was caused by the latest Tigers OSX upgrade or if it was on Garmin's end. Does anyone know if this new connecitivity with Macs is true with the other USB GPSs from Garmin? I'm hoping the new 60CSx will work the same way as my 2720. One can hope anyway. After years of using serial cables and USB/PDA adapters to get my GPSV and GPS 60C to talk with my Mac I'm rather stunned that I can finally do it with a simple USB cable and no fuss. Wonder of wonders.

Don't know if anyone's ever pointed this site out... http://www.outdooreyes.com/gpsindex.php3 I'm going to the Grand Canyon in the spring. This will be very useful.

Thanks for the feedback. I got my 2720 from Tiger GPS a few days ago and I LOVE it. Everything I imagined it would be and more. Touch screen is one sweet feature. Eventually I'll get a handheld again. I figure I won't be doing much caching til spring. By the I'm hoping the 60CSx is out or maybe even something newer and better. Who knows. But the Streetpilot 2720 is the "cherry on top" for my new conversion van. I'm so glad I didn't go the in-dash route.

I just posted it on eBay. SHould be a few hours before it's noticed. Just in case you want a headstart and grab it for the buy it price. Includes City Select 7, Carrying puch, external MCX attenane, dashboard mount, original box, manual, lanyard, two ciggarette power cables, Serial Cable, USB cable, Ciggarette/Serial cable combo, PDA Serial to USB adapter, belt clip. I think that's it but I could be forgetting something. Check the listing for complete details. I took very loving care of it. Bought it last summer. I'm buying a Streetpilot for myself for christmas and would like to see this get a good home. THe item number is on ebay is 5839398148 Good luck.

Anyone here have one of these? The price has dropped dramatically in recent months. I've been looking them over on Froogle and I'm very tempted to buy one. I just bought a conversion van and would like a larger screen/navigator on my dash than my 60CS. Something I can just leave set up and that's easy for the wife to use. I've considered the TomTom to Go 700 but I hear the map detail isn't as nice as City Select. Any opinions? I can get either one for just about $740.00 One thing I don't like about hte 2720 is the external speaker on the power line. Is this as annoying as it sounds? I'd prefer a built in speaker but then again I've read a lot of reviews and the speaker hasn't come up that much. I was also at Best Buy today drooling over Pioneer's in-dash GPS (the D1). I have a four inch din and could throw one in the van. 6.5 inch screen is awesome. But from the demo that was running the street detail didn't look all that hot. I want complete nation wide coverage -- both rural and metro. The salesman I spoke to didn't seem to know to much about the unit. NOt that it mattered. With options it would cost almost two grand.

I've heard of several people successfully geocaching with their TomTom 700. Having an internal battery apparently allows you to use it as a hand held -- although it's not really desiigned to be held in the hand. Should do well enough for you to check out geocachign and see if it's something you'd like to pursue further.

I kept V6 installed after upgrading to 7 because 7 stripped away a lot of minor street detail in my area in order to add more POI data. For example the roads in the huge Cemeteries near me are missing in 7 as well as the roads in most of the state forests. THe trend seems to be to add more POI information and sacrifice map detail as needed. Which is understandable I suppose. Anyway I like the option of comparing the different maps sets in Mapsource.

BTW I do have one question/concern. On teh back of the Gilsson there's a plastic sticker that says "Peel to remove magnet" AM I to understand the ONLY thing holdy the magnet to the atennae is this thin sticker? That concerns me. What if I'm driving down the road in the rain. Is there s chance the magnet will separate from teh case?

THanks all. I got a good deal on ebay for a Gilsson. Love it. Man the quality is far better than the norstar and I paid just about 6 bucks more for it. No comparisson. THe cable on the Norstar was thin and brittle. I like the look/feel of the Gilsson much better. Even the plug/adapter is of better quality. I'm a happy camper. I went to Radio Shack adn found a plug for the Norstar and installed it with no problems. It only has a three foot cable now. I'll toss it in my backpack. Might come in handy when I'm deep in the woods to help get a lock.

I purchased a Norstar external antenna last year on Ebay for 20 bucks. Worked great but the other day I pinched the cable in the car door and apparently broke the wire inside the insulation. I'm not sure I can do an adequate splice/repair job so I'm looking to buy another antenna. Before I buy another Norstar on Ebay I thought I'd check to see if anyone else has found a better one. Hard to beat twenty bucks but I thought I'd ask. The cable is sort of flimsy on these things. BTW is it possbile to buy an MX plug adapter somewhere so I can just cut the cable where it split and put on a new plug? Thanks for any help in advance.

Anyone been watching LOST? You know the sequence of numbers Hurly has been freaking out over? Looks like the ultimate Geocache. http://www.flickr.com/photos/sh/47743274/

Another vote for the Iogear. It's a great adapter and very small compared to other's I've seen.

I stumbled across an article about LBGs (Location Based Games) in Popular Science today. Anyone played one of these? They use GPS enabled cell phones to that put you IN the game. Apparently your movement, direction and the speed you walk affects your characer in the game. RayGun is an example. http://www.glofun.com/raygun/raygun.html I'm wondering if someday Geocachign could be combined with software like this. Try to find a cache while ghosts pursue you or attempt to block your route. You have to do virtual battle with them before you can get to the cache and log your find. Just a thought. I couldn't help but think of geocaching when reading about these new games.

Okay, I admit it. I'm an idiot. But I thought I'd admit my stupidity incase there are others llke me out there. About six months ago I was hooking up my 60CS to its cigarette adapter when I put the plug in at an odd angle and bent one of the prongs in the back of the GPS. I straightened out but the cable just wouldn't provide power. I figured I fried it or somethingn so I ordered a new one. A few days ago I plugged in the new adapter and no power. I was about to toss it and order a new one when I noticed the little sticker on the cable that says "Fuse 1.5 amps). Fuse? I guess I never paid much attention. I unscrewed the little chrome nut on the end of the plug and sure enough a fuse dropped out and it was blown. That got me thinking so I dug out the old cable (I never throw anything away). Same thing -- blown fuse. I bought new fuses and both work perfectly now. I really need to pay more attention. Anyway I mention it just incase there are others out there like me. Live and learn. ;D

I bought 6 on the cheap on Ebay and was able to upgrade for free to 7 (ordered the upgrade CD from Garmin). So I hae no complaints. Since I now have both 6 and 7 (along with Metroguide 4) installed I can quckily switch map sets to compare detail. It annoys me tha Metroguide 4 is STILL the most detailed of the three. Shows water features (rivers/streams etc) as well as rail road tracks that City Select doesent in my area. Some smaller roads such as those in the local cemeteries and shopping centers are shown in City Select 6 but gone in 7. Looks like the sacrificed some detail to make room for more POI.

I've been using VPC with a USB adapter with no problems. Here's a few suggestions; 1. Install the windows drivers via VPC for the adapter you have. 2. launch VPC FIRST then plug in your adapter/GPS. This will help prevent OSX from siezing control of the port before VPC sees it. 3. Plug the adapter directly into your laptop or computer rather than into a USB hub. 4. Lettig VPC launch and run for at least two minutes will help tremendously. It can take that long for VPC to get up and running completely. 5. Go into prefernces on VPC and make sure the USB radio box is toggled and that your adapter shows up on the list of USB devices and is selected. If you're having problems getting Mapsource or whatever to see your adapter/GPS try relaunching VPC. Turning off your GPS and turning it on again etc. But I find the above works 90% of time.

I'll throw my two cents in. I use the Iogear adapter. The trick (for me at least) as far as Virtual PC was to NOT install the Mac drivers. Rather I just installed the PC drivers in VPC. I launch VPC first. Plug in my Iogear adapter and GPS and Windows immediately recognizes it. I found if I install the Mac drivers OSX siezes control of the port and VPC can't recongize it as a USB device. Not sure if this is the case with other brands but thought it worth mentioning.

Stumbled on his photo while googling. I wonder what the difficulty rating is? http://halibut.ims.uaf.edu/scicex/Photos/N...5.%20%20GPS.jpg And what's with the guy on the coning tower with a rifle in photo 8.c? http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/imag...28,336&ei=UTF-8

Well I installed Tiger today and fired up VPC7. Got an initial blip on MapSource saying it had identified the unit. I danced a jig. THen I tried connecting and got an error. Haven't been able to get VPC to see the unit since via USB. Anyone else having any luck? I don't think Tiger is the fix some hoped it would be for Garmin's USB issues.

So this new mini spy plane the military has is reported to use GPS to autopilot itself to coordinates that are punched in and send back video feed. http://www.livescience.com/technology/050406_wasp_robot.html This is great. Someday we'll be able to geoache from the comfort of our living rooms.

I've had my 60CS for seven months now. Have yet to use the electronic compass. It's just been easier to carry a real one. But that's just me. I rarely get in a situation locally where I lose a signal and need to use a compass anyway.

I believe that's the direction Sony is heading. I read an article the other day saying Sony believes the PSP would be eventually take on the ipod.