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GPS for European motoring



 
 
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  #1  
Old May 31st, 2004, 08:09 PM
Jeremy Henderson
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Default GPS for European motoring

Following a suggestion on this group, I have been looking int the idea of
an in-car GPS to help me navigate beyond my driveway withut getting lost -
a rare occurrence when I venture out armed only with a map, and completely
unkown when my wife volunteers to navigate.

The units I've seen advertisd are the Garmin GPS V Deluxe, the
Garmin Streetpilot III deluxe, and the Streetpilot 2610. see eg
http://navcity.co.uk/catalog/index.php+c_path+7

Does anyone have any experience of driving in Europe with such a gadget,
these models in particular, other recommendations?

cheers,

J;


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http://cerbermail.com/?nKYh3qN4YG

  #2  
Old June 1st, 2004, 01:38 AM
Neil Gillis
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Default GPS for European motoring


"Jeremy Henderson" wrote in message
news
Following a suggestion on this group, I have been looking int the idea of
an in-car GPS to help me navigate beyond my driveway withut getting lost -
a rare occurrence when I venture out armed only with a map, and completely
unkown when my wife volunteers to navigate.

The units I've seen advertisd are the Garmin GPS V Deluxe, the
Garmin Streetpilot III deluxe, and the Streetpilot 2610. see eg
http://navcity.co.uk/catalog/index.php+c_path+7

Does anyone have any experience of driving in Europe with such a gadget,
these models in particular, other recommendations?

cheers,

J;


--
Encrypted e-mail address. Click to mail me:
http://cerbermail.com/?nKYh3qN4YG


Have used the 2610 in the US and found it very accurate and easy to work
with. I would expect that it would work equally well in Europe. I'm not
familiar with the other two products, but they are earlier models.

Neil


  #3  
Old June 1st, 2004, 02:38 AM
Go Fig
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Default GPS for European motoring

In article , Jeremy
Henderson wrote:

Following a suggestion on this group, I have been looking int the idea of
an in-car GPS to help me navigate beyond my driveway withut getting lost -
a rare occurrence when I venture out armed only with a map, and completely
unkown when my wife volunteers to navigate.

The units I've seen advertisd are the Garmin GPS V Deluxe, the
Garmin Streetpilot III deluxe, and the Streetpilot 2610. see eg
http://navcity.co.uk/catalog/index.php+c_path+7

Does anyone have any experience of driving in Europe with such a gadget,
these models in particular, other recommendations?


You need to look at the proprietary maps for each manufacturer to see
which one gives you the best street-level detail for the area you
desire. The maps are costly and most units you need to buy these as an
extra item.

Garmin is good stuff and their web site has a map viewer

http://www.garmin.com/cartography/

As for the models, the 'touch screen' can be very, very helpful in the
2610 and 2620. Color display is very helpful.

The 76C, has the big advantage of being personally portable, you can
take it with you on the train or load a Topo for camping.

Navman also makes some nice handhelds, I just added a Navman Marine
mapping GPS to my boat. I have a Garmin already. I got the new Navman
because of the maps but mainly for the integrated duel fuel flow
metering. Which now provides ETA, average/instantaneous consumption
which is connected to the database for, for example, nearest fuel
location and then it plots the course to the fuel location. When I
have my Penta's fully open, I'm burning upwards of 40/gph.. so fuel
data is real important.

http://www.navman.com/land/index.html

GPS, is a $30 bil gift from the U.S. taxpayers to the world, it has
saved countless lives.



jay
Mon May 31, 2004




cheers,

J;

  #4  
Old June 1st, 2004, 05:07 AM
Mxsmanic
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Posts: n/a
Default GPS for European motoring

Jeremy Henderson writes:

Does anyone have any experience of driving in Europe with such a gadget,
these models in particular, other recommendations?


I've driven with GPS. Very reliable and useful outside of town, a bit
less so in town, depending on urban clutter (large buildings can
interfere with reception and accuracy). In the countryside it works
like clockwork.

I use a plain GPS, i.e., no built-in map, but that's a matter of
personal preference.

--
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  #5  
Old June 1st, 2004, 05:09 AM
Mxsmanic
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Default GPS for European motoring

Go Fig writes:

GPS, is a $30 bil gift from the U.S. taxpayers to the world, it has
saved countless lives.


It was intended for the U.S. military, not for the world (nor even for
American civilians). But it turns out that it's at least as useful to
civilians as to the military, especially once the DoD turned off its
deliberate paranoid degradation of the signal ("Selective
Availability").

--
Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.
  #6  
Old June 1st, 2004, 10:12 AM
Jeroen Wijnands
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Default GPS for European motoring

Jeremy Henderson wrote:

Following a suggestion on this group, I have been looking int the idea of
an in-car GPS to help me navigate beyond my driveway withut getting lost -
a rare occurrence when I venture out armed only with a map, and completely
unkown when my wife volunteers to navigate.

The units I've seen advertisd are the Garmin GPS V Deluxe, the
Garmin Streetpilot III deluxe, and the Streetpilot 2610. see eg
http://navcity.co.uk/catalog/index.php+c_path+7

Does anyone have any experience of driving in Europe with such a gadget,
these models in particular, other recommendations?

cheers,

J;


Among us Europeans Pocketpcs with Tomtom navigator are wildly popular.

http://www.tomtom.com/

I've heard mixed opinions about the Garmin units. Some people claim the
maps used with them are not as uptodate.


--
Groeten/Regards
Jeroen Wijnands
jeroen at wijnands punt xs4all punt nl

  #7  
Old June 1st, 2004, 02:05 PM
em_CT
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Posts: n/a
Default GPS for European motoring

I travel with an GPS exclusively. I have a laptop in my van for work, one in
my car on a desk, the Street Pilot on my motor cycle. When I travel and have
to rent a car, like for my upcoming trip to Italy next month, I use a Garmin
iQue 3600. It is a PDA with a build in GPS. I just upload the maps needed
for the area I go too, like half of Italy

Regards,
Egmont
em_CT
USA








"Jeremy Henderson" wrote in message
news
Following a suggestion on this group, I have been looking int the idea of
an in-car GPS to help me navigate beyond my driveway withut getting lost -
a rare occurrence when I venture out armed only with a map, and completely
unkown when my wife volunteers to navigate.

The units I've seen advertisd are the Garmin GPS V Deluxe, the
Garmin Streetpilot III deluxe, and the Streetpilot 2610. see eg
http://navcity.co.uk/catalog/index.php+c_path+7

Does anyone have any experience of driving in Europe with such a gadget,
these models in particular, other recommendations?

cheers,

J;


--
Encrypted e-mail address. Click to mail me:
http://cerbermail.com/?nKYh3qN4YG



  #8  
Old June 1st, 2004, 04:09 PM
Frank F. Matthews
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Posts: n/a
Default GPS for European motoring

I would suggest a few issues for you to consider ahead of time. The
first is that you consider just what type of service you desire. At the
low level GPS simply tells you where you are and the direction to a
preset location (your hotel for example). This tends to not be of much
use for me. A second level shows your current location and a map of the
local on a changeable scale. The use of this type depends on the detail
level of the maps and the size of the display. An intermediate variety
let you enter a trip and help you to track your progress on the maps.
Finally the high level systems provide directions from your current
location to an identified address. If you drift off route they will
recompute a path to the destination. They are serious computers with
the associated costs.

Another issue is the cost for the map licenses. This can be significant
for detailed maps and availability can be complicated.

Also consider how much mapping can be loaded without access to a
computer. While systems are coming with more memory and sometimes with
changeable CF or other plug in memory this can be a problem on a
complicated trip.

Good luck. Tell us about the experience when you return.

Jeremy Henderson wrote:

Following a suggestion on this group, I have been looking int the idea of
an in-car GPS to help me navigate beyond my driveway withut getting lost -
a rare occurrence when I venture out armed only with a map, and completely
unkown when my wife volunteers to navigate.

The units I've seen advertisd are the Garmin GPS V Deluxe, the
Garmin Streetpilot III deluxe, and the Streetpilot 2610. see eg
http://navcity.co.uk/catalog/index.php+c_path+7

Does anyone have any experience of driving in Europe with such a gadget,
these models in particular, other recommendations?
cheers, J;


  #9  
Old June 1st, 2004, 07:10 PM
Hawth Hill
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Posts: n/a
Default GPS for European motoring

I happen to have a Brit auto that came with a built in GPS navigational
system. I'm sold on 'em. It's saved my bacon many times, not only here in
England, but also while in France and Italy. My particular brand is an
outfit called Navtech, and its headquarters are in Belgium I think. It
needs a different disk for each of the major countries, and each disk runs
around £95.00 GBP. I'm satisfied with its performance all around. I like
that I can set its "voice" to several different languages, and that I can
tell it what gender I want to speak to me; believe me, the "British woman"
that it came with was utterly unintelligible to me; (she had a pronounced
lisp, believe it or not); I had the dealer set it for the "male American"
and it's been fine since.

My sister-in-law happens to be a honcho at another company that makes these
gizmos, Garmin. I've seen her company's system on their yacht, and it's
quite amazing. Impressively detailed. I've not seen their automobile
version however. Anyhow, I understand that their automobile version is
supported by a data disc that covers all of Europe with just one disc,
rather than the numerous ones that NavTech needs. If that's true, then it
would represent a very significant cost difference.

My sister-in-law has offered to lend me a Garmin for our next trip to Europe
by auto, together with the disc. Sorry that I don't have the info as yet to
pass along.

Overall, I'd have to say that my system has increased my enjoyment of
traveling in Europe enormously, as it relieves the stress of driving. Sadly,
my wife is map-challenged. But, my GPs takes the hassle out of, for
example, getting through a large town, with numerous road exchanges. It
tell you, well ahead of time, that a turn off is coming up, and which lane
to get into, etc.

Good luck.

HH



in article , Frank F. Matthews at
wrote on 06/01/2004 4:09 PM:

I would suggest a few issues for you to consider ahead of time. The
first is that you consider just what type of service you desire. At the
low level GPS simply tells you where you are and the direction to a
preset location (your hotel for example). This tends to not be of much
use for me. A second level shows your current location and a map of the
local on a changeable scale. The use of this type depends on the detail
level of the maps and the size of the display. An intermediate variety
let you enter a trip and help you to track your progress on the maps.
Finally the high level systems provide directions from your current
location to an identified address. If you drift off route they will
recompute a path to the destination. They are serious computers with
the associated costs.

Another issue is the cost for the map licenses. This can be significant
for detailed maps and availability can be complicated.

Also consider how much mapping can be loaded without access to a
computer. While systems are coming with more memory and sometimes with
changeable CF or other plug in memory this can be a problem on a
complicated trip.

Good luck. Tell us about the experience when you return.

Jeremy Henderson wrote:

Following a suggestion on this group, I have been looking int the idea of
an in-car GPS to help me navigate beyond my driveway withut getting lost -
a rare occurrence when I venture out armed only with a map, and completely
unkown when my wife volunteers to navigate.

The units I've seen advertisd are the Garmin GPS V Deluxe, the
Garmin Streetpilot III deluxe, and the Streetpilot 2610. see eg
http://navcity.co.uk/catalog/index.php+c_path+7

Does anyone have any experience of driving in Europe with such a gadget,
these models in particular, other recommendations?
cheers, J;



  #10  
Old June 1st, 2004, 07:47 PM
poldy
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Posts: n/a
Default GPS for European motoring

On a related topic, I heard the Europeans were planning to launch their
own system. Forget what it was going to be called but it would be more
accurate than the US allows for consumer GPS applications.
 




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