Garmin Ique 3600, Newby To Gps, Need Help

[SlickXQ]

Hi, I've seached everywhere and asked around but I can't find the answers I'm looking for. I've even emailed garmin but haven't gotten a response and I'm looking to get one in the next 2 weeks. I'm about to purchase my first GPS unit and I'm most likely going to get the Garmin IQue 3600(found cheap units on ebay, 300ish).

Lots of questions, any help would be awesome.

 

I wanted to know how mapping software works. It says it comes with city select ver7. What exactly do I load on the unit? Whats the difference between basemaps and city select or is it all the same? About how much memory on SD cards would I need to load say half of the USA or entire USA? Can I load a really basic map of the whole world on a card so If I'm lost in the middle of the ocean or desert I can see where I am(expecting too much?)?

 

How well do the maps work for driving? If you get off track does it find a new route, is this was autorouting means?

 

I've heard that if the battery runs out or if you some how static shock the unit, it loses all the memory on the pda. Does that include addresses and saved routes? Maps as well? More important, can I save addresses to friends and stuff and routes/basemaps onto an sd card so if I do lose internal memory I can just get'm off a card instead of synching off the home computer?

 

I have a mac and am told the Ique doesn't really work well on that. How does registering map software work? If I take the discs, load'm on my friends computer to get'm onto the pda then like a year later I lose it all or want to reload maps, can I use a different PC or will the maps be registered to his specific pc?

 

Lots of questions, sorry. I'm sure I had more but I can't remember. If you know anything to add, please do. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

-Nik

[peter]

Whats the difference between basemaps and city select or is it all the same?

Basemaps cover a large area but not in detail..They show about as much as a typical state highway map, i.e. highways and main roads, etc. City Select gets you down to residential street and small country lane level.

About how much memory on SD cards would I need to load say half of the USA or entire USA?

All of the US and Canada takes about 1.6 GB.

Can I load a really basic map of the whole world on a card so If I'm lost in the middle of the ocean or desert I can see where I am(expecting too much?)?

Yes, the basemaps have a very rough map of the world that just shows country borders outside their normal area and you can also get Garmin's WorldMap that has basemap-type detail but for the whole world.

 

How well do the maps work for driving? If you get off track does it find a new route, is this was autorouting means?

Yes, with autorouting you enter an address or other type of destination and it gives you turn-by-turn directions to get there. If you get off course the unit automatically recalculates and finds a new route from wherever you now are. The maps aren't perfect but they are very good and a big help when traveling in an unfamiliar area. Also great for finding a restaurant, store, coffee shop, etc. when away from home.

I've heard that if the battery runs out or if you some how static shock the unit, it loses all the memory on the pda. Does that include addresses and saved routes? Maps as well? More important, can I save addresses to friends and stuff and routes/basemaps onto an sd card so if I do lose internal memory I can just get'm off a card instead of synching off the home computer?

Early units had some problems with resets due to static discharges. I believe those have been resolved. Yes, data saved on the SD card should be ok in any event.

I have a mac and am told the Ique doesn't really work well on that. How does registering map software work? If I take the discs, load'm on my friends computer to get'm onto the pda then like a year later I lose it all or want to reload maps, can I use a different PC or will the maps be registered to his specific pc?

No problem loading the map software on multiple PCs - many people load them on their home PC, a laptop, and a work PC. The only restriction is that they will only work with a maximum of two GPS receivers so you can use them with the 3600 and one other Garmin GPS but no more.

[SlickXQ]

That is so great, thank you.

 

Is it still considered a good gps unit or would I be better waiting a long enough for the m5 to come down in price?

Edited December 2, 2005 by SlickXQ

[+wildlifewriter]

Is it still considered a good gps unit or would I be better waiting a long enough for the m5 to come down in price?

The iQue 3600 is an excellent unit - I've had one for 18 months and wouldn't be without it. As far as geocaching is concerned...

 

* The weaknes of the 3600 is that it's a PDA. It has to be handled with care when outdoors, and can't be dropped or thrown in the water as if it were an eTrex.

 

* The best thing about the 3600 is the excellent range of third-party software which enthusiasts have developed for it. Apps like "Cachemate", "Fastfinger" and "Birdwatch" together make the 3600 a killer nav and caching system.

 

As long as you don't drop it...

 

-Wlw.

[+Red90]

This is the forum to go to for the 3600

 

I have one also. The answers above cover everything nicely. As to 3rd party apps, don't forget BrightiQue.

 

I've never seen the memory get lost even after lockups or battery rundown. A reset always brings it back to life with no loss of data.

 

One point. The world base map needs to install onto the SD card as it is too large to fit in internal memory. Also you MUST use Cachemate for cache location. The built in routing is not accurate enough to find caches.

[+Hynr]

The biggest weakness with the iQue 3600 for geocaching is the battery life. The most polite way I can say it is "it sucks". I get less than an hour of on-time if the gps antenna is extended. In fact, I suspect it is more like 30 minutes at this point (it seems to keep getting shorter and shorter). I use mine with an adapter in the car; without that the unit is pretty useless.

 

The fact that the unit is fragile is also a problem. Dropping it from about 4 ft or higher results in the need for repair/replacement 80% of the time. Each instance s too darn expensive (I've had several). I now try to keep mine mostly in the car and do the actual searching with an Etrex Legend.

 

Why do I keep on getting it replaced?: The iQue in the car with autonavigating talking to me is pretty nice. Having all my cache descriptions with me with Cachemate is ideal. Having detailed maps on the SD card is fabulous. And it is portable from one car to the next and in rental cars, etc.

 

One other weakness I have noted: when you have the unit show more than 300 waypoints on the map, the cpu really starts to slow down. When I have more than 400 waypoints, there is some sort of timing glitch when it tries to simultaneously get a lock on a GPS signal while displaying the map (this happens when you turn it on by hitting the "Que button"; under such circumstances the unit hangs requiring a hard reset.

 

On the whole I like the unit a lot. I just wish I could do something about the battery life.

[+Red90]

You need a new battery. You should get around 3 hours if used constantly with the GPS on. Good enough for city caching. Upload "rundown" and do the standard test.

 

I dispay 1000 waypoints and see no difference in speed. It is not until I get to around 2000 that speed is affected. You can use "Wayque" to quickly turn on and off the display of waypoints.