dzavetsky Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 Thanks for your patience folks...I know I am asking a lot of newbie questions.... <grin> bear with me, this is a long post...and I thank you in advance for responding.... Anyways, I loaded a local map from Metroguide last night onto my Legend and I must say that it made a HUGE difference as far as map accuracy...I am no longer being shown driving in the river!! Very cool stuff! But, a few new questions popped up.... First, with the new map loaded, I find that the "zoom" frequently jumps from the 200/300 ft range that I like to the 800 ft range while riding thru the maps.......Is this normal?? Seems to happen when sattelite signal changes or when map sections change....this is really irritating and distracting.... Second, is the Garmin V any better in the way of reception? Once I get into downtown Pittsburgh, my reception goes very bad....when I leave town, I hafta get almost 3 miles away tehn for the satellites to .lock in again..... I am waffling between trading my Legend for either a Vista or a V..... The benfits of the V seem to be that it has that cool autorouting stuff and directional messages.... Cons of it seem to be that it is larger (maybe not as great for walking/hiking/motorcycling) and $100 more (after considering getting mounts and cig adapters)..... Does the V have a larger screen?? Seems to be almost identical going by the specs....and the BIGGEST con to me is that it has 5 mb LESS storage than the Vista for Metroguide maps.... I need to make a decision and be happy with it....but everytime I think I am close, I read something here that makes me reconsider....<grin> Quote Link to comment
+Rubberhead Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 There is an Autozoom setting in the map set-up. Turn this "off" to solve your zoom problem. To get there: Go to the map page -> select the options button -> select "Setup Map" -> scroll left or right to the grid symbol. You should have five options the second one down will be "Auto Zoom" set this to off. Ducks - Flying, great tasting, geocaches of meat Quote Link to comment
+wickedsprint Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 If you do enough driving to run through 19mbs of map space on a daily basis, just hook it to a laptop LOL, but as far as motorcycling goes, the V's case is a ton stronger than the Vista, I know, I own both. Both are waterprooof, but the way that the motorcycle mount is designed for the V is very robust. Quote Link to comment
dzavetsky Posted August 15, 2003 Author Share Posted August 15, 2003 I found this text from a user review on amazon.com in regardsto the V.... "The 4 street maps I downloaded from the CD disappeared when I changed batteries. Warning! Make sure your unit runs out of juice while you're in your car (while running) and the unit still plugged into the lighter. This is the only way to avoid re-downloading maps." Is this at all true??? DZ Quote Link to comment
+wickedsprint Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 No, just get the V hoss, sure the 19mb can be a *****, but here is another choice to screw up your stuff, the cityselect can only be had with the V, BUT, the Vista will actually hold about twice as much since you can turn the autorouting off to save like 40 percent of the space. The Vista can do adress search as well for the record. Quote Link to comment
+wickedsprint Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 Heres a good motorcycle setup, also talks about how he lost it on a trip from a wreck..and found it a LONG time later...still worked!! FYI this is the SAME case they put the V in. http://www.garmin.com/whatsNew/adventures/story12.html Quote Link to comment
dzavetsky Posted August 15, 2003 Author Share Posted August 15, 2003 Oh GREAT!! I wanst confused enough!!! <grin> Let me dig some more on the memory thing.....WHen I was using Metroguide, there was a running total of MBs used in the maps I picked.....is that WITH or WITHOUT the autorouting info you are talking about?? Like I said, the route I would need would JUST FIT for my trip on the V ASSUMING that the 19.8 mb that was listed was EVERYTHING...... And, is City select better than Metroguide or the same??? Can I load both at once??? DZ quote:Originally posted by wickedsprint:No, just get the V hoss, sure the 19mb can be a *****, but here is another choice to screw up your stuff, the cityselect can only be had with the V, BUT, the Vista will actually hold about twice as much since you can turn the autorouting off to save like 40 percent of the space. The Vista can do adress search as well for the record. Quote Link to comment
+wickedsprint Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 There is a way in metroguide to manually turn off the the autorouting, so likely your route memory included it, but you only need the memory for the destination, as I am guessing you probably know how to keep your car on the interstate Quote Link to comment
dzavetsky Posted August 15, 2003 Author Share Posted August 15, 2003 <grin> Yeah, I can do that....I was hoping though to have extra maps loaded "just in case"...for instance, on our way back we start out late and stop "somewhere" on the way back.....having all the maps along the way loaded would be a saviour to find stuff versus the terrible basemaps (as judged by my Legend's basemaps).... Is City Select better or the same when comapared to Metroguide?? Did I waste money getting it if I get the V? Can I use both at the same time on the V (metro for one area and CS for the other?) ? quote:Originally posted by wickedsprint:There is a way in metroguide to manually turn off the the autorouting, so likely your route memory included it, but you only need the memory for the destination, as I am guessing you probably know how to keep your car on the interstate Quote Link to comment
dzavetsky Posted August 15, 2003 Author Share Posted August 15, 2003 "There is a way in metroguide to manually turn off the the autorouting, so likely your route memory included it," To followup more <grin>.....I guess the question is what exactly is the readout in Metroguide...I had "autorouting" turned off.....does that setting change the MB reading or is the MB reading EVERYTHING? I know..lame question. Quote Link to comment
+wickedsprint Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 If you turned off the autorouting, then you already have the memory saved, and if you get the V, metroguide is a waste, might be able to trade it in for topo, and a Garmin V can hold like entire states with topo..haha The cityselect is pretty nice, but Topo is my fav, and if you have topo loaded, it will autoroute over the basemap and still show the side streets, but not be taking up an asston of memory, kind of a redneck way. Quote Link to comment
dzavetsky Posted August 15, 2003 Author Share Posted August 15, 2003 Are you saying that metroguide doesnt work with the V or that CitySelect is basically the same thing??? Does TOPO have stuff like gas staions etc?? quote:Originally posted by wickedsprint:If you turned off the autorouting, then you already have the memory saved, and if you get the V, metroguide is a waste, might be able to trade it in for topo, and a Garmin V can hold like entire states with topo..haha The cityselect is pretty nice, but Topo is my fav, and if you have topo loaded, it will autoroute over the basemap and still show the side streets, but not be taking up an asston of memory, kind of a redneck way. Quote Link to comment
+wickedsprint Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 Garmins webpage has a link about the cartogrophy specs, but cutyselect is basically the same thing. Got to www.gpsinformation.net for a ton of garmin reviews as well as mapsource product reviews. Quote Link to comment
+Tail of Two Cachers Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 Cons of it seem to be that it is larger (maybe not as great for walking/hiking/motorcycling) and $100 more (after considering getting mounts and cig adapters)..... Does the V have a larger screen?? Seems to be almost identical going by the specs....and the BIGGEST con to me is that it has 5 mb LESS storage than the Vista for Metroguide maps.... I'm new to this too, but never had all those questions..LOL. Here's what you gotta decide. (key question here..get ready). What do you want a GPS for?? What do you want to do with it? Geocaching? Riding on a motorcycle? I assume that's what you want to do. It's obvious that you're not happy with the Legend. And if you're not happy with that, I really doubt you will be any happier with the Vista which basically has more memory. In regard to your list of cons, a 5 MB difference is not that big of a deal. 2. There is no big difference between Metroguide and City Select (which comes fully unlocked with the GPS V). City Select was made for the GPS V and allows the V to autoroute. 3. the V comes with a cig adaptor and a dash mount..not sure if the vista does In doing research before buying the V, I did notice people talking about the Etrex line not locking on too well and I'm sure there are people who love it and would wonder what the heck i'm talking about. But if you're losing signals with the Legend, you'll have the same probs with the Vista. I haven't had any of those problems with the V. I think once you get a V mounted on your bike, experience autorouting, and take it a few times hiking, you'll be a happy camper. BTW..you can get the V on walmart.com for $399.99...and if you don't like it, take it back to a walmart store for a refund. Check out stores policies on price matching too..Best Buy had it on sale last week for like 429.00 or so...since I had spent more at a sporting goods store(499.00..don't yell..I like the store..LOL), they matched it plus 10%. Quote Link to comment
dzavetsky Posted August 15, 2003 Author Share Posted August 15, 2003 GREAT INFO! I am leaning mroe and mroe to the V...all the points you made are excellent....ALl I would be getting with the Vista is basically more memory....I am feeling like the buttons are tougher to use when riding etc too..... Ok, so lets assume a second that I buy the V..... Did you say that a Best Buy store will price match to an internet price?? I WANT to do this, but I called and tehy said they couldnt pricematch to online companies....How did you swing that?? Bestbuy.com has a price of $474 (ouch).....walmart.com is $399 like you said.. Oh yeah...also, can I still autoroute with Metroguide just like City select?? That wasnt clear based on what you said.... quote:Originally posted by Tail of Two Cachers:_Cons of it seem to be that it is larger (maybe not as great for walking/hiking/motorcycling) and $100 more (after considering getting mounts and cig adapters)....._ _Does the V have a larger screen?? Seems to be almost identical going by the specs....and the BIGGEST con to me is that it has 5 mb LESS storage than the Vista for Metroguide maps...._ I'm new to this too, but never had all those questions..LOL. Here's what you gotta decide. (key question here..get ready). What do you want a GPS for?? What do you want to do with it? Geocaching? Riding on a motorcycle? I assume that's what you want to do. It's obvious that you're not happy with the Legend. And if you're not happy with that, I really doubt you will be any happier with the Vista which basically has more memory. In regard to your list of cons, a 5 MB difference is not that big of a deal. 2. There is no big difference between Metroguide and City Select (which comes fully unlocked with the GPS V). City Select was made for the GPS V and allows the V to autoroute. 3. the V comes with a cig adaptor and a dash mount..not sure if the vista does In doing research before buying the V, I did notice people talking about the Etrex line not locking on too well and I'm sure there are people who love it and would wonder what the heck i'm talking about. But if you're losing signals with the Legend, you'll have the same probs with the Vista. I haven't had any of those problems with the V. I think once you get a V mounted on your bike, experience autorouting, and take it a few times hiking, you'll be a happy camper. BTW..you can get the V on walmart.com for $399.99...and if you don't like it, take it back to a walmart store for a refund. Check out stores policies on price matching too..Best Buy had it on sale last week for like 429.00 or so...since I had spent more at a sporting goods store(499.00..don't yell..I like the store..LOL), they matched it plus 10%. Quote Link to comment
+Tail of Two Cachers Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 Sorry if I wasn't clear. I just mentioned that I bought my V at a sporting goods store in town for 499.00 (yeah i know..but i know the owner). But Best Buy had a sale last week, so the sporting goods store price matched it. Land stores usually do not price match online stores. (walmart.com is considered an online store..but the good thing is that you can return items at their land stores). Hopefully that's clear now As for the Metroguide question, its really not an issue. You won't need that software. The V comes with City Select 4.01 which is just as good if not superior and is made for the V. Quote Link to comment
+Tail of Two Cachers Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 BTW..I'm not trying to push walmart on anyone. I was just surprised at what they offer online. A lot of stuff they offer online, you won't find in their land stores such as the V. And I hate having to return items by shipping them back (although they require you to ship back on really large items). So I usually check them out when I'm pricing something. Quote Link to comment
dzavetsky Posted August 15, 2003 Author Share Posted August 15, 2003 I was surprised too....I like being able to order it online and picking up free of charge for shipping...at the store....I assume that the price online is what the store would charge...although I called the one near me and they said they didnt even carry them.... DZ Quote Link to comment
dzavetsky Posted August 15, 2003 Author Share Posted August 15, 2003 Well, for those of you following my drama <grin> I just ordered a garmin V thru Amazon.com.... Walmart.com was gonna charge me another $30 for tax.....plus $8 to ship....so like $438.....$412 total at AMazon.co m with two day shipping.... Hopefully this will be it....<grin>.....I figured I wouldnt be happy with teh Vista after finding out what the V can do...and I will just hope that the 5 mb really ISNT an issue..... Thanks all for the help and nudges....I'll post again next week when it arrives....I will be on pins and needles till then I am sure.... DZ Quote Link to comment
billsumrall Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 quote:Originally posted by dzavetsky:Well, for those of you following my drama <grin> I just ordered a garmin V thru Amazon.com.... DZ I'm new at this too. Took my 2nd trip using the V. Returning I told it to use Shortest Route. Well, it had me taking a dirt road (was Shorter though). I kept going the way I usually do and it recomputed the next turn to get on that Short route. I didn't like it either so kept going (on a good road). It recomputed a 2nd time and told me to turn where I normally would have anyway...how do it know? Bill Quote Link to comment
dzavetsky Posted August 15, 2003 Author Share Posted August 15, 2003 So, then, a postive experience so far??? The recompute is one of the several things that sold me.... I really think I will be happier with the V.....This forum ROCKS! Lots of great info and feedback and advice..... Now...is there a forum for how to deal with breaking the news to teh wife that you just spent TWICE what you planned to??? Oh well...the kids will have to re-use diapers for a few weeks......<grin>....... (eeeeeeeeeeeeeeew!) DZ quote:Originally posted by Bill_Sumrall: quote:Originally posted by dzavetsky:Well, for those of you following my drama <grin> I just ordered a garmin V thru Amazon.com.... DZ I'm new at this too. Took my 2nd trip using the V. Returning I told it to use Shortest Route. Well, it had me taking a dirt road (was Shorter though). I kept going the way I usually do and it recomputed the next turn to get on that Short route. I didn't like it either so kept going (on a good road). It recomputed a 2nd time and told me to turn where I normally would have anyway...how do it know? Bill Quote Link to comment
+Tail of Two Cachers Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 (hope my wife doesn't see this). But if you give it to her as a b-day present, tell her about geocaching, etc, I found that this approach works best. She's excited with the geocaching and I get the GPS I want.. Quote Link to comment
+Tahoe Skier5000 Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 You have made a wise decision dzavetsky! You will absolutely love the V. I just got mine two days ago and keep finding all these cool things it can do. By the way, did you get the deluxe package, or just the regular V?? ----------------------------------------------------------- N38 49.027 W120 01.064 Garmin V Quote Link to comment
dzavetsky Posted August 15, 2003 Author Share Posted August 15, 2003 I got the dee-luxx package....That was one selling point...the official garmin mount and 12volt plug versus a cheaper knockpff.... Now, I just hope the car mount works in my explorer.... I still have to buy a motorcycle mount though.... I read somewhere that the V needs to be "hardened" for motorcycle use....anyone know if there is truth to this?? quote:Originally posted by volks_ev71:You have made a wise decision dzavetsky! You will absolutely love the V. I just got mine two days ago and keep finding all these cool things it can do. By the way, did you get the deluxe package, or just the regular V?? ----------------------------------------------------------- N38 49.027 W120 01.064 http://www.garmin.com/products/gps5/ Quote Link to comment
+Tahoe Skier5000 Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 You should have no problem with the dash mount... There are three different adhesive pad types that garmin sends you in the package. One is a "repositionable" pad that is almost like silly puddy. There is also a "permanent" pad that is made to stay on your dash forever. Lastly, there is a velcro strip that attaches to the bottom of your GPS and then to your dash. The "repositionable" pad is what I chose. Its extremely sticky and sticks to even curved dashes well. The only thing I don't like about the mount is the bracket that clips on to the GPS. It's a really tight fit and takes a lot of pressure to get the notches to clip into place. ----------------------------------------------------------- N38 49.027 W120 01.064 Garmin V Quote Link to comment
Nosamk Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 Just as an FYI, I saw someone state that the downloaded maps were deleted when the batteries were changed. I have swapped batteries on my V several times and have yet to lose ANY information. Quote Link to comment
billsumrall Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 quote:Originally posted by dzavetsky:I got the dee-luxx package....That was one selling point...the official garmin mount and 12volt plug versus a cheaper knockpff.... Now, I just hope the car mount works in my explorer.... Ordered a 2nd car mount yesterday - one for each vehicle. Got the one with the Temporary & Permanent adhesive pads. Bill Quote Link to comment
appletree Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 I bought a vista over 2 years ago and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Bought another a year later so I wouldn't be without one when my wife wanted to borrow it for a few days. I bought a GPS V several months ago. I still use and love my vistas, but if one is only going to buy one unit and use it in the car at least occasionally, the V is the way to go. I would challenge anyone to find some report of a V owner who regrets the purchase. Yes, I would add some features, especially memory, but as is, it is remarkably functional, small, light, and cheap, especially when you factor in the software and accessories that are included in the deluxe package. The vista is nicer for hiking or carrying with you to help find where you parked the car. I prefer the vista buttons and stick. But you just have to use the V's autorouting a few times to see why this is the best GPSR anywhere if size, cost, and durability are factors to consider. I am glad I have both units, and I would recommend that option to anyone. By the way, the CitySelect maps that come with the V can be loaded into the vista as well, and you are permitted to do so with any one other unit besides the V at no additional charge. That saves you the cost of buying the MetroGuide which you would otherwise need to get full value from the vista, address look-up etc. Quote Link to comment
Wilderboys Posted August 15, 2003 Share Posted August 15, 2003 I had to just jump in on the tail end of this one. I had a Yellow Etrex, which for what I was using it for did great. Geocaching only. And never had any problems. Now I decided to upgrade and have been going through the same dilemma's. I thought I was sold on the Vista until someone on here told me to wait and save a little more money. We'll at this point I am still saving, but finally decided on the V. Ebay has alot of good deals. But try www.Froogle.com Thanks everyone also for all your help and when I do get mine, I am sure I will be asking alot more. Quote Link to comment
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