Alphawolf

I going on old memory here, so if it doesn't work, sorry. Press in the "enter" button, and hold while doing a power on. If that doesn't work, try the same thing, but with the "mark" button instead. It was several years ago I had my V, so my recollection is poor.

For off road mapping the color is great. Probably too great not to have now. The difference between topo contour lines and small streams isn't much on a greyscale screen and color is a big help in determing the diffeerence sometimes. But....In city navigation, it serves no purpose other than "looking cool". Your GPS will guide you to your point of interest or address the exact same, with or without a color screen. In city navigation, who cares if the park you are driving by is green or not. Who cares if the pond you are driving by is blue or not...See my point? So, you need to decide where you'll be using it the most...On or off road.

Probably one of your best bets would be the Garmin Legend (Not the cx model). It does mapping, with 8mb of memory and comes with a PC interface cord

The only product that will show street mapping and support autorouting for your unit would be Garmin's City Select or City Navigator

In street navigation, I absolutely love speech guidance. I can concentrate on my driving, not the screen. But, off road, can you imagine it??? I would kill it first trip out! Now on the subject of "talking cars"....I think auto makers should take an important cue from the aircraft industry. There should be a voice to call out critical information in your vehicle. Something like "fuel!...fuel!, or "oil pressure!...oil pressure!, or "overheating!..overheating! This information needs to be shoved down your throat...like right now! But noooo...They give us a guage or a light that must be looked at to do one danged bit of good! I would like my own version of "Bitching Betty" like an F-16 has!

Nope...Not too long at all. Remember, this is just one of many, many, many firmaware upgrades they are working on. For one thing, a month of beta use by customers doesn't even start to get the responses back they need to find small glitches. Now if it's a major problem, they will find out fast and fix it fast. But. if it is a problem that only surfaces on a few receivers being used in a very specififc set of circumstances, then they might not hear about it for a while. Be patient. Especially if your beta version is working correctly!

Functionally it is the exact same as a Garmin eTrex with a frs/gmrs radio built in. If you desire the radio (with its extra weight) then it is a great unit! It won't hold any maps. Be very clear about that. It does not have an internal compass (I don't like 'em anyway).

Oh..I have used both plenty! I have no problem with a rechargeble battery in any "daily use" device. Any device where you are near a power source. In fact I like them a lot! I have well over 50 rehargeable AA batteries I use in my cameras, GPS etc. BUT, I have a huge problem with rechargeable batteries in ANY device that is to be used for anything more than a couple of hours away from a power sorce...Like backpacking. I use my GPS on backpacking trips, and if it can't share the same batteries as my headlight and camera, then it won't be going with me. And...On the subject of "never using" a Magellan...I have owned them, and I currently teach GPS lessons to customers with both GArmins & Magellans. I can use them plenty well.

Just because McDonald's sells more dinners than Ruth's Chris doesn't mean they are better dinners. Well, I get your drift, but it isn't exactly the same comparing a $400 Garmin to a $400 Magellan and a $3.95 Big Mac Meal to a $49.99 Ruth Chris(I've never been there, so I'm guessing) steak now is it??? Most customers already know they want a Garmin, they just have to be helped in choosing the model.

Of course asking loaded questions had nothing to do with his being able to answer them, right? From what I can tell of your posts here it is not suprising that you would sell more Garmins than Magellans- it's pretty easy to do if you are predisposed towards one brand rather than the other. By the way...The most common (by far, far) question I get is "Which is better...Garmin or Magellan?" My standard answer is: "If I was parachuting out of a crashing airplane in the middle of nowhere, I would be tickled pink to have either one with me!" I go one to explain that as far as hardware quality, they are sixes. But, when it comes to software, support and available accessories, then...It is a different story totally.

Of course asking loaded questions had nothing to do with his being able to answer them, right? From what I can tell of your posts here it is not suprising that you would sell more Garmins than Magellans- it's pretty easy to do if you are predisposed towards one brand rather than the other. Whoa there...I am one person in a dept. of 6 people. I am part time, accounting for less than 3% of our depts. hours each week. You think my obvious biasness is affecting sales that much? That's flattering! As a matter of record, we get asked about Garmins by a ratio of 10:1. Selling Garmins over Magellans takes no more effort than simply showing up to work...

I just asked some easy questions while he was there... Things like "Which Magellan units use the SiRF chips?" "What Magellan units have a combined GPS receiver and FRS/GMRS radio?" or "Which high end mapping handheld units will let me use AA batteries instead of rechargables?" He didn't have many good answers. We sold probably 10:1 Garmins over Magellans that day (of course we do every day...).

We recently had the regional sales rep. from Magellan come in and give us a "sales" clinic at our store. He then moved behind the counter for the day to "help" customers. All I can say is: Garmin sure doesn't have much to worry about from Magellan!

Which planes are you referring to? I only see some passenger jets and some turboprops...

O.K...Thanks! Now I can find it!

What are you using to see this? USA photomaps doesn't show anything but "x"s. And why do you use decimal degrees? Just wondering.

See?... This is why I keep saying that compasses and altimeters do nothing but aggrivate and waste time! I can't remember the last time I ever had to calibrate my Silva. (Oh wait...I have never had to calibrate it...Silly me)

I own the 101 and I wouldn't own the 201. I have no use for a rechargeable battery, that can't be charged in the field. I do a lot of hiking and backpacking with the 101, and my headlamps also use the AAA batteries. I hate the rechargeable batteries in outdoor equipment with a passion! Cameras, GPS receivers, radios, lights and lanterns, MP3 players...They all must be battery powered or I won't own them.

Well...4 times the detail.

There's probably something else going on that wouldn't need a "repair". Besides, It wouldn't be cost effective to repair a 3+. For it's limited 1.44 mb of memory, you could buy a Legend with 8mb for the cost of a repair.

Your first 2 digits will be the zone. There must be a zone. There are an identical set of coordinates for each and every zone, so that is why you must tell it which zone you need. Then you follow with the easting and northing numbers.

Hi Alphawolf I take it you are not a mountaineer? For me altitude is another vital bit of info when on an almost sheer cliff. 15 feet in any direction could mean death. Sandy Well, ya, I know a bit about it, and there's not a mountaineer I know anywhere that would pack a Garmin 60 up a mountain...I won't even backpack with one! Way too big and heavy. Altimeters are much lighter and don't take batteries. You actually use a GPS for climbing?!?!

spend $14 on a compass that never needs batteries or calibrating and pocket the extra $26!!! Altimeter?...What for? The GPS is accurate enough at reporting altitude for me. I mean, what am I going to do with 15ft. more accuracy in elevation? I am where I am!

Manually, you need to mark a waypoint, edit the waypoint to the new numbers, then save it. That takes a long, long, time if you have many. With th optional cable, you can download them, a whole bunch at a time!

Without a solid WAAS fix, this is entirely within expected accuracy norms for any civilian GPS receiver...