Garmin GPS - For Darrel at TVNAV

Author

For Darrel at TVNAV

nomail@spam.com

2008-02-24, 10:33 am

Hello Darrel, I've been reading a lot of your posts and have checked
out the website. I'd love to support helpful folks and buy from them
(i.e., you) instead of big time stores, what kind of prices can you
get for the 760?

I've read all the Garmin reviews and I think I want the 760. I know
the 880 will have more, but I learned an expensive lesson when I
bought my 60CS and then the 60CSx came out the next week, I really
feel swindled by Garmin, they don't even show this model as part of
the 60-series anymore on their website, you have to dig around to find
manuals and stuff.

So, now that the 880 is coming, (and sirfIII starts being replaced in
2008) I feel safe that there will not be a 760x model that blows the
760 out of the water...let the 8xx do that. And of course it will
have the same good and bad points that every other new technology has,
I can handle that...I go through it ever time I get great deals at
NewEgg or buy laptops at Circuit City (shhh). The 8xx series will go
through the same yeas and nays as all the other new state-of-the-art
units have done. Unless the 8xx series really blow away the 6xx and
7xx, it will have to wait a few more years before I think I need a 4th
GPS. (A bottle opener for those bottle tops that don't twist off would
be nice.) And I hope the 760 internal antenna pinpoints me in the
deep woods of Wyoming as well as Liberty Square in Philadelphia. (Or
maybe plot my blanket location and the route to the outhouse at the
next Knebworth concert!)

A lot of reviews either hammer or praise the 760 (most people tend to
post complaints than praise), perhaps the 6xx series is far better? I
don't necessarily view newer as better...my Garmin 12XL seems to lock
faster on sats than does my 60CS, but it doesn't have the same
accuracy. For $100, maybe all I really need is the 6xx series?

What are my requirements?

Okay, I spend an awful amount of time in the woods, and driving to get
there. So I need a good GPS for both the back roads and deep trails.
Am I ignorant to assume one GPS can do both very VERY well? I want to
use map software on my PC and download trail routes and back rods into
a GPS, and vice versa. I also am starting a business to track various
locations of "things" such as boy scouts on orienteering courses using
tracking, so I can see where every team is and know if they are off
track and getting too far away...also with an emergency button so the
HQ knows we need to go get them ASAP in case of an emergency.

What ~$500 navigation unit will help me fit my needs (and do you sell
them)?

Thanks, George

X-rated Vermonter

2008-02-24, 10:33 am

George, Darrel has a web site where you can find prices for all the
Garmin units. www.tvnav.com

I buy all my GPS needs from him.

Tim Strickland

2008-02-24, 10:33 pm

George,

Of course, there's no device out there that meets all requirements (but I
keep wishing). You mention a GPS that'll be used on the Back Roads & Deep
Woods. Assume you're still talking a GPS built primarily for a vehicle
(since you mostly discussed the nuvi 760). When you mention some of your
other requirements, you seem to be leaning to a Rino (we use a Rino to
coordinate search team actions/locations).

Coincidently, I just bought a nuvi 760 from Darrel on Monday for many of the
same reasons you mention. This isn't the first time I purchased from TVNAV
instead of the discounted sites, and it won't be the last. I originally
missed that the 760 was a better deal than the 750 with the optional FM
Traffic. I appreciate the opportunity Darrel offers his customers to
discuss what our needs/expectations are. Not for the first time, he saved
me from making a costly mistake.

For Back-Road & Deep Woods:
Once the 760 came in, I loaded about 100MB of Garmin Topo maps onto an SD
Card (via Mapsource). I've had the Topo map software for my other Garmin
GPSes (some long retired). The 760 allows you to select which map dataset
you want to use; although it takes an excrutiating number of screens to get
to where you can select which map data you want and then work your way back
to the map (hint to Garmin). This comes in real handy for back roads &
off-road, even if it's just for a vehicle.

For me the 760 came just in time (Wed). I was called very
early Friday morning about a missing aircraft in the western
Maryland & West Virginia mountains. Our team left from
the eastern part of the state while it was still dark, with snow
& freezing rain. Since there were a number of accidents in
the pre-dawn rush-hour, the 760's City Navigator and FM
traffic (it shows known accidents & road closures) helped
us avoid delays and probably the risk of being part of
another accident. Once we got to the command post
and then near our assigned search area, having the topo
maps on the GPS helped as we navigated off-road to
quickly cover the high-probability sites and then get as
close as possible to our assigned on-foot search areas.

Hopefully Garmin plans to one day produce a new GPS that has some of the
standard features of earlier models. I've been using the GPSMAP 276C since
it came out (I loaned it to another SAR team). It's incredibly versatile &
idealy suited for on-the-road & off-road use (it's sold as a marine GPS).
The undocumented Mode function (holding down the Page button) makes shifting
between maps (City Navigator & Topo) quick & easy. Some of the features
left out of the nuvi line (and other recent Garmin vehicle-type GPSes):
- Other Coordinate Systems: the 8 other Garmin GPSes I have support UTMs -
also the basis for the National Grid System
- Data Fields: many have fields you can enable to show Time, Distance to
Destination, Time to Via point, Speed, etc
- User-Configurable (Data Fields): I REALLY missed being able to see how far
away I was from my destination
- NMEA-0183 Interface: download routes/points to GPS; upload tracks/points
to PC; interface with mapping apps

Overall, I like the 760. But I'm still waiting on Garmin to come out with
an update to the 276C/378/478 product line with a more compact design, SD
Memory, hi-sensitivity receiver, and a reliable power cable (I have 3 that
fell apart) with both Weather & Traffic. And please, Garmin, PLEASE...
don't take anything away.

Regards,
Tim

TVNAV.com

2008-02-25, 10:33 am

<nomail@spam.com> wrote in message
news:vgt2s39sku283ps
cuvao7hgdngvupfhtc6@
4ax.com...
> Hello Darrel, I've been reading a lot of your posts and have checked
> out the website. I'd love to support helpful folks and buy from them
> (i.e., you) instead of big time stores, what kind of prices can you
> get for the 760?

Sorry but GARMIN won't allow us to post publicly our price on the nuvi
760 (as well as most of the units). Please email me privately or click on
the "Buy" button on our website for the price.

> I've read all the Garmin reviews and I think I want the 760. I know
> the 880 will have more, but I learned an expensive lesson when I
> bought my 60CS and then the 60CSx came out the next week, I really
> feel swindled by Garmin, they don't even show this model as part of
> the 60-series anymore on their website, you have to dig around to find
> manuals and stuff.

The discontinued units are listed by themselves on the GARMIN website.

> And I hope the 760 internal antenna pinpoints me in the
> deep woods of Wyoming as well as Liberty Square in Philadelphia.

I don't think you would have a problem with that.

> A lot of reviews either hammer or praise the 760 (most people tend to
> post complaints than praise), perhaps the 6xx series is far better?

The 6xx series do have a little bette reception but other than that I
can't think of anything better about the 6xx series.

> What are my requirements?
>
> Okay, I spend an awful amount of time in the woods, and driving to get
> there. So I need a good GPS for both the back roads and deep trails.
> Am I ignorant to assume one GPS can do both very VERY well?

I wouldn't say ignorant but you should not assume that you can use one
GPS for every use and it be the best for each of those uses. The nuvi is not
as rugged as a 60CSx and the nuvi is not water resistant. Also it doesn't
have a compass that would be very useful for off road use.

I want to
> use map software on my PC and download trail routes and back rods into
> a GPS, and vice versa.

You can do that but make sure you get the MapSource software with the
nuvi if you already don't have it. If you order from us and you ask us we'll
include the software with the nuvi at no charge. Also be aware that you have
no track log options on the nuvi. It records a track log but you cannot set
the resolution of the recording.

I also am starting a business to track various
> locations of "things" such as boy scouts on orienteering courses using
> tracking, so I can see where every team is and know if they are off
> track and getting too far away...also with an emergency button so the
> HQ knows we need to go get them ASAP in case of an emergency.

The nuvi does not offer this. The only units that GARMIN has that will
transmit the location is the Rino's.
--

Darrel Goheen
GPS@tvnav.com
http://www.tvnav.com

dold@69.usenet.us.com

2008-02-25, 10:33 am

TVNAV.com <GPS@tvnav.com> wrote:
> <nomail@spam.com> wrote in message

My wife bought a 60cs for me for Christmas. It was probably discontinued
at the time that she bought it, but of course, buying online from REI,
there was no one to advise her to buy somethign different. I almost
returned it to REI, just so I could buy it from tvnav instead, but that
really didn't seem right to me. In retrospect, Darrel might have guided
me toward a different unit if I had asked. Or, maybe, if I had just
ordered it online, I would have received what I ordered.

Swindled certainly seems like the wrong word to use regarding Garmin,
though. You bought a unit at the end of its lifespan. Units do get
replaced.

It is still fully supported on the web site, other than not being on the
main page, obviously because it's not a current product. It would be
annoying to have discontinued items on the main page. It's bad enough to
have many differnt generation of similar product, some that are about to be
discontinued, with no clue as to which ones are newest. In the table to
the left, there is a listing for "discontinued", which includes all three
of my GPS units. The last firmware update came out over a year after it
went to the discontinued list.
[color=darkred]
> The 6xx series do have a little better reception but other than that
> I can't think of anything better about the 6xx series.

Some people just love the removable memory card, with the almost limitless
track logs. some of those same people say my 60cs is awful by comparison
to the 60csx in reception, which must make my eTrex a paper map, since the
60cs seems so much better than the eTrex.

--
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5

nomail@spam.com

2008-02-25, 10:33 pm

All good points, thanks everyone. I take back my use of the word
"swindled," but the 60CS to 60CSx "upgrade" does make me a bit angry
with Mr G. They should have done a recall or something, c'mon. Okay,
moving onward....

I've been eyeballing the reviews on the 880 against the 760. I can
live without speaking to my GPS, but I did just find out that the 880
appears to be the first nuvi that offers replaceable batteries...now
THAT is worth a re look (as long as they are AA and not some special
part number...my old Triumph 750cc Trident had special part tools
which drove me up the wall!)

As I am about to make my order, I am now faced with the warranty
options (I just spent $400 extra on a Circuit City extended 4-year
plan on my daughters new $750 laptop...grrrr!) Experience shows that
electronic gadgets are like Chevrolet's, they are built to last the
length of the warranty. I know, I have had Chevy's all my life ('69
Z-28 with rally sport package in 70s-era high school, then a Z-71
K1500 when my kids were young, and now a Cavalier (V4) now that my
kids spend my money...oops, off topic)....what extended warranty
should I consider for the screen?

The latest map software comes with it, but I really would like 1:24k
topo maps for Pennsylvania...National Parks just isn't good enough. I
really liked the Natl Geo TOPO! maps, but they don't transfer :-( And
Garmin's 1:100k topo maps are worthless looking for my favorite spring
Turkey spot on the PA/NY border...turkey and trout season around the
corner. So I'll take my 12XL (leaving my 60CS in the Cavalier,
neither do well off road...lol) into the woods, and see what my 760
can do. I like that fact that the 760 is time tested and you folks
have worked out all the bugs and fixes.

So the 760 will not tell me how far away I am from my destination?
Good to know. Will it divide the road and tell me to stay right when
I am hitting Baltimore and don't want to take the beltway? (A big
plus, apparently, of the Navigon line.)

Finally, I need MGRS at AP Hill, Dix, and Indiantown Gap...no way with
the nuvis, eh?

Okay folks, I'm poised over the "BUY" button...any last minute
comments? (I'll email Darrel.)

George

dold@69.usenet.us.com

2008-02-25, 10:33 pm

nomail@spam.com wrote:
> All good points, thanks everyone. I take back my use of the word
> "swindled," but the 60CS to 60CSx "upgrade" does make me a bit angry
> with Mr G. They should have done a recall or something, c'mon. Okay,
> moving onward....

Recall? Thanks, no. The 60cs works fine. It wouldn't be subject to a
recall. Some companies provide rebates on products near the end of life.
That is a warning that the end is near, but filing for a rebate, sending in
the UPC code, means you can't return the unit for a refund.

> Okay folks, I'm poised over the "BUY" button...any last minute
> comments? (I'll email Darrel.)

Hold that pose (poise?) until you talk to Darrel.
He answers the phone, too.

--
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5

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