GPS for off-road

[marki]

This is probably a FAQ, so if someone could redirect me, it'd be appreciated.
Recent enquiries for a GPS revealed that almost all of them will only display streets - they will not actually tell you what your coordinates are. Obviously marine ones will do this, but they won't display streets.

How many units are there that will do both? The only one I've found so far is the Tomtom 910. Any others?

Also, are topographical maps generic? That is, would I be able to load these maps into any GPS unit? TIA

[jimbo jones]

Im looking for one 2
jimbo

[prado4x4]

I would have thought it was the other way around.

Nearly all GPS units (eg: Magellan and Garmin units) will tell you your location (ie: Lat / Long), but only a few have the ability to show all town streets or do turn-by-turn directions.

I guess you'll need to be a bit more specific on what your needs are for a GPS before advice/info could be given on some suitable units for you to check out.

Do you want street level mapping; does it have to provide turn-by-turn directions; do you want color or b&W; do you need mapping at all, or do you just want a basic 'where am I' type GPS and so on ?

[Muckinhell]

I have a garmin gps v, it has basic roads and towns as a base map but you can also download city navigator cd onto it and it will tell you turn by turn etc just like your tomtom,s to a street address as well....

[sox121]

Hi, I think you need a PDA type GPS that would run Tom Tom and /or Oziexplorer. The TomTom would give you the street by street type maps and Ozi would run the Topo maps for when you went offroad. Look in Ebay under PDA's for GPS's and you will find some differnt one that will do this.
Cheers Paul

[hillbilly123]

Try Johnny Appleseeds web page or OLBIS or look in the back sections of this forums monthly magazine there is usually ads for what you want then look at prices on Ebay but beware of overseas stuff and the map bases as the maps can be dearer than the GPS

[dags79]

what you need is a pda unit i bought a mio c310 from hardly normal for $400 which wasnt to bad on ebay there about 350 i think plus p/h i intend to by a sd card for it load oziexplorer software onto it and then buy my digital maps it should work i think i guess i will know in a few days but this unit has all street maps on it give you directions the whole bit but cheaper than others

[john d]

Try the Garmin Quest as well. I have one and it does turn by turn stuff for in the city, but you can also use it offroad without it trying to put you on the nearest street.

It will display lat/long, direction, etc for you as well. Just depends on how you set it up. You also have a track back facility which is great for finding the campsite after fishing till well after dark.

Cheers,
John.

[saab463]

garmin map60csx with city navigator7

[sp0radic]

The Magellan GPS units are my choice, but the Garmin units are also great. The Magellan explorist range can support streets and topographical maps.

Check out the sites in this thread:
http://www.4wdmonthly.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=27437

[zauronus]

i was reccomended by the guys at gps oz to get a garmin zumo, will do both, and is touch screen and waterproof.

[simonsurf]

I have a Mio PDA with built in GPS. It comes standard with Mio Map street software which I've found to be very good. I also run OziexplorerCE and got all my maps (NSW) free from gpsaustralia.net.
Apart from mapping and navigation, you can use a PDA for lot's of other things such as e-mail, internet (wireless) word etc.......There are also models out there with inbuilt phones and cameras.

[Big Woody]

Garmin GPS Map60CSx with Oztopo from GPS OZ and City Navigator 7 installed.

Robust waterproof unit with a great colour screen, the best receiver chip available, and mulitpurpose for the vehicle or handheld for the bush.

It will show detailed roads with names as well as co-ordinates at the same time if you want.

While you are at it install City Navigator 7, Metroguide, Tracks 4 Australia, and Bluecharts and you will have it all covered.

If you are only after a a dash mounted unit for your vehicle go for the Garmin GPS Map276Cx ( i think that is the model number) for a bigger screen.

Cheers,
Brett

[jackxr6]

Big woody,

How much was it for your set up.

I am thinking about getting the Magellan Explorist XL traveller pack but my mind could be changed.

Cheers, Jack

[Big Woody]

Big woody,

How much was it for your set up.

I am thinking about getting the Magellan Explorist XL traveller pack but my mind could be changed.

Cheers, Jack

Hi Jack,

You can't really compare my prices as my brother owns a communications business so I think I only paid about $800 for the GPS and all of the Mapsource products. The Oztopo mapset from memory was about $150 but I am not sure.

From what I have found in the past though the 2 places I would go are to GPS OZ and Whitworths. There are also some pretty good Australian sellers on ebay which I have purchased a bit of gear from in the past. They might be selling units with a US basemap but who cares when you load another mapset over the top. I have never seen the basemap since the day I got the unit.

My unit these days has been getting more use on my yacht with the Bluecharts than aything else. But as we just purchased nearly 3000 acres of untouched bushland yesterday I can see the topo maps being used extensively for a few days next week when I try to hike the boundary.

Cheers,
Brett

[bearemy_GU]

I'm in the same boat here,

I'm evaluating between Magellan explorist XL and GPS Map60CSx anyone have suggestion ?
And another question why people using/adding laptop in their GPS setup ? what this handheld GPS unit can't do that laptop setup can ? and do you need that laptop setup, or just this handheld is enough ?

Thanks

[Reddo]

I'm looking into this too, and it seems the lap top provides a better screen, and with the GPS mouse units, the cost of the overall set up could be cheaper, particularly if you already have the lap top.

I doubt that buying a lap top as well as the software and mouse required for GPS configuration will be as cheap as purchasing a ready-to-go hand held or dash mounted/portable GPS unit though. Some do use the lap top and GPS mouse as a 'portable' unit too - it's just a bit bigger to carry around.

For readability the lap top is much better 'cause of the screen size, and of course menory capacity and processing speeds may also be much better than hand-held, depending on the units concerned.

I'm still undecided though!!! There's way too much money and too many choices involved to make a quick decision on this one.

[sp0radic]

A laptop is too big to always have open.

[jackxr6]

Well Anaconda made my mind up for me today.
I got the Magellan Explorist XL Traveller Pack for $1000, down from $1265:D

Cheers, Jack

[Reddo]

who's Anaconda?

[sp0radic]

Well Anaconda made my mind up for me today.
I got the Magellan Explorist XL Traveller Pack for $1000, down from $1265:D

Cheers, Jack

$1000!!! You bastard! :) That's cheap. I paid more than that and had to haggle at BCF for them to match an internet price.

I like the XL. I've only had it a short time and haven't given it a good work out yet, but it will get a super workout on our trip around oz.

[sp0radic]

who's Anaconda?

A big camping shop:

http://www.anaconda.com.au/

[Peter @ Aawen4x4]

Haven't read the whole thread, but noted a lot of people refering to Lat/Long. If you are using your GPS as a Land based unit, you will be way better off using UTM/UPS and the co-ordinate numbers printed around the sides of the maps. All decimal based, no need to convert minutes and seconds etc, plus you can work the co-ords right down to the square metre right in front of you! Try them, you'll never go back to Lat/Long

[jackxr6]

$1000!!! You bastard! :) That's cheap. I paid more than that and had to haggle at BCF for them to match an internet price.
I got a hot tip today that Anaconda was having a 20% off sale from 9am to 9pm today only.
Sale was on everything, even items already discounted.
Anaconda in Townsville didn't have any XL pack's left by the time I got there but luckily my wife is in Brisbane today and she was able to get one:)
I was not happy when I heard about the sale because I bought my 80L waeco from them a week ago so I could have saved a few hundred on that today too:rolleyes:

Sorry I didn't pass the info about the sale on to you guys but I wasn't able to get to the net until after the sale finished.
I guess I should have got the wife to buy all the XL packs they had:D

Cheers, Jack

[sp0radic]

I got a hot tip today that Anaconda was having a 20% off sale from 9am to 9pm today only.
Sale was on everything, even items already discounted.

Yeah, I looked at their web site after I saw your post and noticed they had a one day sale. I bought a shirt of them on the weekend and could have saved 20%.

I have just signed up to their "Adventure Club" on their web site so can get their emails and find out about the sales before they happen.

[Reddo]

Comment has been made here annd elsewhere about purchasing US GPS units.

I made an enquiry to purchase a Mag XL unit from the US (at The GPS Store Sales Team - Info [info@thegpsstore.com], and sure they are much cheaper then local - up to 200 bucks in some cases, but get this, they quoted me over 100 bucks ($Au, I hope) for mail to Tassie!!

At that postal rate, they cost almost the same as local units.

So much for the 20 dollars postage cost cited by Myilux in this thread
http://www.4wdmonthly.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=27437

[marki]

Haven't read the whole thread, but noted a lot of people refering to Lat/Long. If you are using your GPS as a Land based unit, you will be way better off using UTM/UPS and the co-ordinate numbers printed around the sides of the maps. All decimal based, no need to convert minutes and seconds etc, plus you can work the co-ords right down to the square metre right in front of you! Try them, you'll never go back to Lat/Long

What are UTM/UPS? I've only ever seen instructions in 4x4 guides in lat/long. Are you saying that topo maps come in UTM/UPS?

[rat_catcher]

IMHO it all comes down to screen size. I have a Magellan eXplorist XL and love it. I would however still like a slightly larger screen, so would be careful when looking at some of the units with tiny little screens.

[Richard]

who's Anaconda?

A camping and fishing store.
Have a look here:-
http://www.anaconda.com.au/

Oh.
I use a PDA and with GPS Gate can run both Ozi and Tomtom at the same time. It also allows me to play MP3's through an FM transmitter to the car radio as well.

[Reddo]

This may assist others:

Well after much agonising, I bought the Magellan XL Traveller's Pack from Explore Oz, not as cheap as Anaconda (not in Tas anyway), but not far off it. Reasons for purchasing this unit are:-
1. biggest hand-held screen - need this for poor eyesight
2. best maps - advised by a mapping guru here that they are 2xbetter than Garmin topo - and this is why they are 2x as expensive
3. free soft ware for computer uploads
4. rugged design and positive feedback from users

Gave up on US import and pirate software because:
1. no cheaper in the long run unless multiple units are purchased thereby reducing transport cost below 100 dollars each mail unit
2. no risk of import taxes and charges being levied on arrival
3. no risk of 'lost in space' mail outcomes
4. local back up and 3 year warranty provided by purchasing here
5. and Aus unit has all local maps, not US basemap to get in the way

Gave up on lap top as principle GPS (ie with GPS mouse) cause:-
1. have no lap top, therefore significant initial cost to buy one over 1K new
2. would not be portable in the same way as hand-held is
3. I am not very computer literate to be able to play with software wars
4. can plug the Mag XL into computer later anyway, when one falls off the back of a truck

Did not go PDA route becuase many say they are unreliable - the boss has had three PDA's in the last year or so (Blackberry, iPAC etc) and last one cost over 1K and self-destructed in 2 months. The guru here said they just have too much software packed in them in them to be as reliable as a hand-held GPS....hum....and oh, they are not water-proof

Hope this assists others:)

[chuckybear]

I'm running a car pc for my navigation stuff in the crusier 7" touchscreen fits in the double din space and computer is mounted behind the back seat.

I recently bought teh wife a MIO sat nva system. Great little system, turn by turn guidance with teh ability to load a map off SD card and plot on that map. Plots tracks you go on and everything. Very cool little system and you can bring up the LAT/Long and just about anything else you need very quickly. Not back for $250.

[Reddo]

bugger, after scratching around for a second-hand XL pack there's 2 coming up on ebay, a relationship split..:(

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Magellan-eXplorist-XL-Traveller-value-pack-as-new_W0QQitemZ180109440952QQihZ008QQcategoryZ94875Q QrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

will be interesting to see what this one goes for.

[bluzook]

I have an Ipaq with a CF GPS and Destinator. Got the GPS from Johnny Appleseed. wasn't the cheapest, but not too bad. Destinator good in city, not so out bush. PDA has good 4" colour touch screen. GPS does lat/long and altitude, turn by turn. Can get other mapping software like Oziexplore etc for topo, just haven't got around to it. Not sure on battery life if I carried it around, and it's not waterproof. I'm thinking of looking for something else to take on the bike as well.

[VinVIn]

Garmin Quest guys

Color screen, On and Offroad, waterproof, voise guidance, totally programmable thru your computer and does marine too .. much cheaper then the zumo too

[Milz]

Evening guys...
Do the eXplorist XL units have voice guidance feature for the street maps??

Cheers

[Reddo]

Na, but you can get maps that utilise a beep when approaching turns etc. ...I fink

[Milz]

Yeah ok, just read somewhere that it gives visual and audio prompts (audio being a beep)

Still the pick of them for me I think!

[sp0radic]

Evening guys...
Do the eXplorist XL units have voice guidance feature for the street maps??

Cheers

No they don't. The topo map GPS units don't have some of those good features that the street style ones do.

[Agent 13]

Hi folks; I'm looking at those in-dash LCD screens or an 8 inch mounted screen to hook up to a laptop which would be tucked away securely somewhere. Anyone had any experience with these? Various ones on ebay, I reckon a touch-screen would be the ultimate, not cheap though. Better option than the old laptop flappin around the cabin!

[OZbaggie]

Marki.. Your original post wanted the GPS Lat/Long on a GPS unit - presumably so you could find you location on a map. I hope this assumption is correct.

If so then any of the hand held GPS devices such as the garmin GPS12 etc will provide these details. You can pick these up very cheaply on eBAY.

Or you can go the whole hog. Use a laptop with a solid state hard drive (avoids disk head crashes on rough terrain), a bluetooth GPS device (no cables) and an in-dash touch screen (the laptop goes under the seat). You can then use the Topo maps with OZIexplorer software and never have to use a paper map again. Or even go down to 1 in 25,000 and see which gate you are going through next on the track

Hope this helps

[OZbaggie]

Agent 13. The ones on ebay come from China - so watch the mounting behind the LCD as some can be a bit weak. Have a look at http://www.vmscarpc.com.au/content/homepage.html

[BigKev57]

I recently bought a Garmin Nuvi 310 and it is a pretty special and easy to use little unit. It has an SD card which has all the main streets and some off road ones, but Jeremy at Opposite Lock at Midlands WA said that you can simply buy another "Off Road" card which slots into where the normal card goes and it gives you every bush track in Australia. He told me it would cost about $200. When I find the little card he wrote the details onto, I will repost with some more specific details. In closing, I am very pleased with the Garmin.

[lloyd]

Hi guys
will the Garmin Quest be able to use topo maps?

[yogi_td80]

Hi all,

do the Magellan XL do UTM/UPS as well as LAT / LONG ??? Also what sort of batteries does it take and how long will it run off of them for ???

Thanks
yogi

[lloyd]

Hi all,

do the Magellan XL do UTM/UPS as well as LAT / LONG ??? Also what sort of batteries does it take and how long will it run off of them for ???

Thanks
yogi

yes & AA batts. says upto 20 hours on the box. have not used one myself

[ripin]

Hey bigkev how'd u go finding that "off road" card?? any luck and was it worth it?

[gpsoz]

try OZtopo (http://www.gpsoz.com.au/oztopo/)

Cheers
brian

[Reddo]

Magellan XL battery life is not 20 hours - it is around 16 at the most. Have proven this 20-30 times now:) A lot depends on your brightness control/screen use.