Voice Prompted Directions

[jb_from_texas]

of the X series Garmins or any Magellan handhelds, do any have a voice prompt or just a tone/beep with the directions displayed on screen?

[+geognerd]

The receivers you mentioned only beep.

[+Chuy!]

Well, that depends on what you mean by handheld.

 

The Garmin Quest, for example, is designed as a dashmount but it's actually smaller and lighter than a 60cs. It offers voice command routing and rechargeable lithium battery good for about 20hrs. However, it don't have an arrow to guide you; it's position accuracy is 50 feet, so you'll have to navigate by reading the coords off the satellite screen.

 

The next best but more expensive option is a PDA-GPS like the Garmin iQue M4. It 's position accuracy is 10 feet with WAAS enabled. I don't know if it has an arrow in the navigating screen.

[+Jamie Z]

However, it don't have an arrow to guide you; it's position accuracy is 50 feet, so you'll have to navigate by reading the coords off the satellite screen.

Do you have a Quest? I don't, but my research indicates that it does have a compass screen to guide you to a cache or other waypoint. Also, how do you mean it's accuracy is 50 feet? The Quest is a 12-channel WAAS enabled GPS. It should have the same accuracy as any other similarly equipped GPS.

 

Jamie

[+apersson850]

Yes, the Quest has a compass screen, just like a Vista CX, for example. But it doesn't have any magnetic compass, like the Vista CSX, if that's what's referred to above.

 

Also, the Quest has no built-in loudspeaker, so you have to use an external speaker to hear the voice.

 

Among the iQues, the only one with a compass page I've seen is the 3600a. I haven't checked the M4 myself, but I doubt it has any arrow, since it's mainly an automotive GPS, combined with a PDA.

However, PDA solutions allow the user to add software on his own behalf, and there are independent solutions with pointer arrows.

[appletree]

For in car use, the Quest ships with a mounting cradle that is permanently attached to a power cable which terminates in a 12V car plug. The plug is attached to a speaker with a volume control dial on the side. One can snap the Quest out of the cradle in which case it will beep and display guidance info but not speak. However, normal car use is with the cradle and voice prompts through the included speaker. It works great.

 

I just used my Quest to find several caches in deep woods in western Md. last week. It was dead on for all 3 caches, showing less than 15 ft. at the actual cache sites. You must set the route preference to off road to get the arrow, but that takes seconds. I use it with a short cable external antenna attached to my hat and I never lose signal. It is small, light, easy to read, and easy to use.

 

The Quest is the only voice prompting GPSR that is fully functional for use as a handheld for caching. At its currrent price with the included maps, I do not know why everyone isn't buying one, unless people prefer to spend the extra cash and have separate devices for car and trail.

 

If anyone has used the Quest for caching or for car navigation and found it unsuitable, I would really like to hear about it.

[+Chuy!]

However, it don't have an arrow to guide you; it's position accuracy is 50 feet, so you'll have to navigate by reading the coords off the satellite screen.

Do you have a Quest? I don't, but my research indicates that it does have a compass screen to guide you to a cache or other waypoint. Also, how do you mean it's accuracy is 50 feet? The Quest is a 12-channel WAAS enabled GPS. It should have the same accuracy as any other similarly equipped GPS.

 

Jamie

I don't have a Quest; I got the accuracy info from Garmin's performance section in the spec's page.; the Quest has WAAS capability, but that is not indicated on the accuracy specs - must be a Garmin oversight 'cause on the description page, it does state accuracy with WAAS can be three meters or less.

The compass screen isn't featured on the website, hence, I made the straight, though wrong, assumption it did not have one.

I don't know if the M4 has a compass page; it dosen't say so on the Garmin web page.

[+STurgisSTeele]

I often see accuracy of 9'-10', but mostly in the teens and low twenties when driving/moving around on my bike or in the vehicle. The sensitivity of the antenna must be pretty good. It has been right on with caches and a couple of benchmarks in my area.

 

Appletree,

how do you carry your unit when on foot? I've been trying to come up with a good way. I noticed that it will still work inside a small cell phone holder, as long as the antenna faces away from my body. But in that holder, the antenna is not up. Plugging in an antenna as you have mentioned might just be the ticket. When it's mounted on the handlebar of the bike the antenna is level to the ground and works great. I also thought of trying a fannypack to see if I could carry the unit with the antenna up.