cervezamatte

Any help would be so very appreciated! I recently bought a new Lowrance 7200c. It is the prefered GPS unit of for off-road racing, even though I have never been too impressed with the Lowrance units. I think it is because the group that builds the course maps gets free gear from them. I need to connect the unit to my laptop so that I can save the courses and build chase maps, something I was able to do with the older Lowrance units and all my Garmin inits. The problem is that it didn't come with any cables and the user guide is completely unhelpful. Does anyone have one of these units who can answer some questions for me, beginning with whether I can even find cables? Matt

Well, after visiting the ink to the "do more than it was designed to do" stuff, I am sure that crap is over my head. That said, should I buy City Navigator and will this program autoroute correctly for me? Thanks everyone for your assistance, Matt

Is city navigator a garmin program? You'd thing the garmin software would work, no? Matt

Okay, I was able to turn on the "follow road" option. But, the route shown now is totally wacky. I made a route about a mile long with 3 to 4 turns in my neighborhood. The route, as it shows on the GPSr, heads the oposite direction for a few miles, then button hooks back to the destination. Looks like I am zeroing in on making this work, but need advice from here. Matt

I'm using the MetroGuide North America V8. Yes, I uploaded the maps to the GPSr, at least the San Diego area that I am experimenting with. Follow Road option? I have been through the owner's manual for the GPSr and well as the help guide for the software, and I cannot find this anywhere. Nor can I find a page on the GPSr that says "Turn Preview Page". I see something that talks about "Vias", but I can't imagine one would have to add a bunch of intermediate points just to make the turn by turn thing work. That would kinda defeat the handiness of the feature. Matt

I recently bought the 60CSx and the Mapsource V8 disc. I loaded it into the computer and everythign seems to work fine... I can click 2 points and it will autoroute to the destination. However, when I send the route to the GPS, it onlt shows a straight line route. I have fiddled with this thing for hours trying to make it show the route as it follows the road (as shown on the computer) with no luck. I also tried to search for help on the forum, but there are so many threads and posts that I couldn't find anything. This mapping software is all new to me. Anyone able to help? Thanks, Matt

This is exactly my question too. I just bought a new 60CSx to replace my old GPSIII+. So far I like the unit, though it has a lot of new stuff to learn, but I am also dissapointed with the base maps. What software is the best choice for both city and topo, primarily city? Thanks for any help. Matt

I considered the 76CSx, but the screen size turned me off. I use my GPS when driving my Polaris Ranger off road and I need a big enough display to read while bouncing around. Plus, it looks to be set up exactly like the GPS III+ that I have, which will reduce the learning curve big time. For the rare few times I take it near water, I can always hook it to something that floats.

I picked one up at Staples for like $15. Most any place that carries cables has them. My Belkin works just fine.

FYI - I stopped by Ham Radio Outlet here in San Diego to pick up a new mic for an iCom radio I use. I got to talking with the owner who was super cool and very knowledgable about all the different brands of GPS units, as they sell a lot of aviation communications and navigation equipment as well. He said they used to carry several brands of GPS, but cancelled their distributorship with Magellan due to, and I quote, "HORRIFIC service". He said that every aspect of that company was hard to deal with. That as a dealer, he was able to contact folks that the layman couldn't call, and that it didn't matter because everyone there was difficult. Even as a dealer, he could not return a faulty unit for replacement, but that it would have to be repaired and returned. For his customers, he would swap a new unit out of inventory, but eventually had so many units he had to sell as refurbished, people quit buying them. He absolutely nothing good to say about them. He also then told me that of all the units he has used personally, the 60CSx is the shining star of the bunch for the money. I was ready to pre-purchase a Triton 2000. I am going to order a 60CSx today. Anyone know who has the best price as of today? Matt

I guess you're right... that an all-in-one tool that had one portion go bad would be inconvenient and expensive to deal with, but I was calling for the dream machine, which would also be indestructable and fail safe. hahaha. I just can't believe someone would continue to return expensive electronics because of this little or that little issue. At some point, you either need to do better research up front, or live with your choice. Though it would be nice to return a wife in the same manner that gadget boy dealt with is unfortunate purchases. I have an old GPS III + which still works awesome and has been truely tested beyond what 99% of folks would consider normal use. To tell it right, my GPS III + has bounced around the floor of our 5-1600 race car for over 5 hours when it was dropped during a race. It is scratched and dinged and still works like a champ. But as I look for a new unit (strongly considering the 60CSx) I keep reading posts about all the crap people expect the unit to do. So there's a certain amount of sarcasm in my first post. But still, my passenger seat is a messy spread of battery powered things with cords and cables that ring and beep and flash. It would be ideal to have one unit that did everything. And I would buy it at 5 times the price.

Sounds like you are just a little too critical. When did people completely abandon the idea of being responsible for where they are going and what they are doing behind the wheel of a car? Sure, having a voice tell you to turn is a neat novelty, but jeez... try taking a moment to look at the map beforehand and then reading the street signs as you approach them. So dadgum lazy! As for units with all the gadgets... I look forward to total convergence. When one unit is my cell phone, mp3 player, GPS, FM radio and tranceiver, PDA, digital camera, calculator, toothpick and tape dispenser. Seriously! We each have all these gadgets and we've paid in the thousands of dollars for them collectively. Why not have one unit, even if it is a little bulky that, for $1200, does every dadgum thing we have a gadget for?

Thanks for the help! We currently use iCom radios for communication, and they work really good. But I was hoping that the radio features of the Rino would be strrong enough that we wouldn't have to carry multiple devices. Too bad the frequency range is up in the 400+ Mhz... it would be nice to use them with our current iComs. Matt

Question: Do all the Rino radio models communicate to each other? I would like to buy a 530 HCx for myself, and a handful of Rino 110s for friends to use when we are all trail riding together, or for the kids to use around the neighborhood. I know they have different Tx powers, but do the frequencies match for use with each other. Also, does the "pinpoint your friends" feature work well between models? Thanks for your help. Matt

Hi everyone, Thanks in advance for your patience. I tried to use the search feature to answer my own questions before bothering you. I have a GPS III plus and have used it for 10 years now. Great unit that I am very familiar with. I enjoy casual geocaching, but use the unit for a wide variety of things such as: 1. Marking or logging race maps and access roads for SCORE and CODE races in Mexico. Then I plug into my PC and lay the tracks down onto topo maps I've scaned using Fugawi. 2. Time and speed testing of various off road vehicles where an onboard speedo and odo cannot be trusted due to terrain and wheel spin. 3. General use. I was hoping someone could give me some insight as to the quality and strength of the radio built into the Rino units. This is a feature that I think would be very handy. Also, can all Rino models communicate with each other? I.e. can a Rino 520 talk to a Rino110, even though the distances may vary due to transmit power? Is the Hcx sensativity that much of a reason to spend an extra $200, as that seems to be the main difference between the two? If I were to forget about the radio part of the unit, would the Vista or GPS 60 models be a better choice. If anyone has a moment to give me their opinion, I am in my office this morning and would certainly appreciate the help. My toll free line is 877-652-3337. Thanks again, Matt

This is also my first post, so forgive my intrusion on this exhisting thread. I have been using my GPS III plus for over 10 years now. It's been great, but I am sure there is so much more that can be done with the newer models. I am a great fan of Garmin and find them the easiest to use, but am willing to change brands based on your expertise. Knowing that price is no object (and that I think I am interested in the radio versions like the rino) what GPS unit would be your dream unit? The one you may not be able to afford, but would be the most awesome handheld you could buy. Any brand. Must be handheld. Thanks again, Matt