GPS recommendation

[challey]

My Garmin Quest went south recently and now refuses to acquire satellites. Not sure what the cost to repair would be but doubt that it’s worth it since the cost of new units has dropped so much.

So assuming that replacing the Quest is the better option, what would be the recommendation for a new GPS?

Charlie

[Daryl_stamp]

Hey Challey; you're the one that does the movie impressions right? We might have met @ the Central Park PA bash.

Maybe your Quest is just suffering from a cracked / broken lead between the flip-up antenna & the case.
Quest II's, refurbished, are $139 from http://edgegps.com/eCart/viewItem.html?idProduct=275
I bought mine from them a couple of years ago; VERY satisfied w/ service.
The other waterproof/resistant versions sure look nice; but until my Quest completely dies I'll stick with it.

What are you going to do with your 'dead' Quest?

DLS

[challey]

Thanks Daryl.

I believe we did meet at the PA Bash. Did I tell you that you don't understand -- I coulda had class, I coulda a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum -- which is what I am?

But I digress.

I can't see anything obviously wrong with my Quest. It powers on normally and gives the normal "Acquiring Satellites" message, followed by a message that it can't get a satellite and do I want to use it indoors. All the on-line repair sites charge about $50 for a diagnosis and estimate to repair and I'd guess that even the simplest fix will be another $50. Hadn't thought about a Quest II but it is actually a good choice - I can use the same cradle and mount. And $139 isn't too bad either.

Maybe see you at the next bash?

Charlie

[snowprick]

Zumo 550. It comes with a mount for your bike and an extra one for your car. It bluetooths to your phone and copies the address book and recent call history at startup. Make and receive calls with ease.

The car cradle has built in speaker and mike so is truly hands free.

Very easy unit to use particularly with gloves.

Switch from car to bike with the flick of one lever.

[TicTac50]

I always wanted to have a GPS.
I have looked at many, many of them. I think that the best one in the Industry is still a GARMIN.
I have spent hours and hours reading reviews and PROS and CONS and I have to say: "very entertaining"!
ZUMO 550 and new one 600, both are very good for the bike. I just could never justify the cost.
I ride with guys that have TomTom, ZUMO 550, and couple of Garmins, and one BMW GPS.
Somehow, I always end up using my Verizon Wireless GPS service on my LG phone to do the local search.
I get the most updated maps, traffic, weather, news. It cost me $9.99 per month or $2.99 if I need it only for one day.
At least on the couple of trips, my LG Verizon GPS saved the day.
When I am camping and I need to see a football game, $15.00 will turn my phone into a TV with 5 or 6 stations for a month or 3.99 for one day.
Best Buy just made an attempt to make their own brand GPS and I think unsuccessfully.
When I will find the GPS that will do all of the above for less than I am spending now, I will splurge.
But for now, I am happy with my LG Dare phone.

[R4R&R]

I always end up using my Verizon Wireless GPS service on my LG phone to do the local search.
I get the most updated maps, traffic, weather, news. It cost me $9.99 per month or $2.99 if I need it only for one day.
At least on the couple of trips, my LG Verizon GPS saved the day.
When I am camping and I need to see a football game, $15.00 will turn my phone into a TV with 5 or 6 stations for a month or 3.99 for one day.
Best Buy just made an attempt to make their own brand GPS and I think unsuccessfully.
When I will find the GPS that will do all of the above for less than I am spending now, I will splurge.
But for now, I am happy with my LG Dare phone.

How does that work when you don't have a cell signal? I'm not sure how the coverage is in the mountains of western NC/eastern TN/northwestern GA, but I know the excellent roads of West VA are lacking coverage. Oh, Hungry Mother state park (in southwestern VA) doesn't get a signal either.

[NoRRmad]

Does that $2.99/day include airtime? Seems that leaving your phone on for an eight-hour ride would use 480 minutes, which is more than my plan's monthly allowance.

[TicTac50]

I do remember loosing the signal couple of times. Yes it did happen. But-------------------------
I always have maps with me and a nice $12.99 compass "WayFinder" that glows in the dark.
When I pay $9.99 - the air time is FREE. I ran with the GPS/LG from Miami to Gillette "ON" with no charge for airtime.
Traffic update is FREE, Weather is FREE and local searches will give you the phone number to dial.
My riding buddies are always teasing me that my GPS does not show the speed.
It also does not show where is my wife shopping while I am traveling.
TV reception is great but not in ALL areas. I used it only couple of times.
But for the GPS service I pay only when I need it and cancel it at the end of the month.
Go to http://www.vznavigator.com You can plan your trip on the web and synchronize with your phone.
No matter where you are, just select the destination and it will take you there.
Some people have 600-700-1400 dollars worth of GPS, but use it only 2-3 times a year.
I did look at Quest II for $134.00 Great price. Add the mounting brackets the wires and connections. Map updates.Traffic signal subscription.
It is a refurbished GPS, somebody's disappointment, discontinued model and to me, just a nice toy on the handle bar.
Now days, some many companies are getting into GPS business, better products will be on the market very soon.
Hang on to your money guys. America is FOR SALE and the prices are dropping every day.

[OU812]

Magellan. Cheap and user friendly but not for off road with out the updates.
$100. Can't beat it and comes with a decent suction mount.

[Just-Beeming]

If you are looking for new,
I just picked up a Zumo 450 from Costco online. Nice price at 350.

Not a whizzy as the 550 but I did not need all the bells and whistles. The mount looks fantastic. I love that it is specificly motorcycle designed. Left hand control, touch screen and mp3 with jack for my custom ear plugs.

Cant beat it for the price.

[ASQTec]

challey,

Not sure if it's too late, but.....my Quest stopped working about 2 years ago. I went on their website, filled out a return form, then sent it in. A couple of weeks later I received a replacement (looked brand new, but probably a refurb) free of charge. Mine was waaaay out of warranty.

So...if you MUST have a new GPS, so be it. You can still try to have your Quest repaired / replaced.

[OU812]

I use a Magellan. Waterproof Good for "on road" and for $100 I am happy. But it is no Zumo or Garmin. I love when we have GPS wars. One says turn left the other says turn right and the last says you are there.

[AdrianS]

How is the Magellon mounted?

Is there a dedicated handlebar mount or is it just stuck to the tank with a suction cup?

It is not a common Sat Nav in the UK but is appealing as it appears to be very cheap!

[Sunbeemer]

Charley, I've got a Navigon 5100 that has some nice features built-in, and some not so nice.
Pros: It is glove friendly and comes with subscription-free traffic info and rerouting capability (based on traffic jams, construction, events, etc), spoken streetname turn-by-turn directions (using an earphone) and what they call,"Reality View", which is a pretty realistic picture of what you see approaching major interchanges, complete with overhead signs, and it shows you which lane(s) you should be in to follow your pre-programmed route.
Cons: Initially the routing software algorithm was flawed, but an update appears to have fixed that, and it is devilishly hard to read the map on the small display. When I want to peruse a map to find something to eat, I use the Tom Tom on my Palm.

I think Garmin probably has the best products, overall. But I like the Navigon, and it has saved me sitting in traffic jams in Wash. DC a couple times...it's worth it for that!

[OU812]

How is the Magellon mounted?

Is there a dedicated handlebar mount or is it just stuck to the tank with a suction cup?

It is not a common Sat Nav in the UK but is appealing as it appears to be very cheap!

It comes with a sticky plate that goes on top of the tank and then suction cups down. Works great and very adjustable.

[challey]

Thanks to all for the advice.

Though Anthony's suggestion about trying a "warranty" return to Garmin came too late (I ordered a refurbed Quest 2 per Darryl's suggestion - about $150 with shipping, so not too painful), I plan to try it anyway. If it works, great - if not, c'est la vie.

Again my thanks to everyone.

Charlie

[Daryl_stamp]

My Garmin Quest went south recently and now refuses to acquire satellites. Not sure what the cost to repair would be but doubt that it’s worth it since the cost of new units has dropped so much.

So assuming that replacing the Quest is the better option, what would be the recommendation for a new GPS?

Charlie

Mine died on my enroute to CT last week; had to go from Greene NY to North Haven The Paper Way; mostly in the dark & rain. Missed the I84 exit; ended up going over the Tappanzee Br.; every so often I'd stop at a rest area & check The Paper and fire up the phone's GPS. Made it OK, no problems.

Diddled w/ the GPS forever, couldn't get it to acquire. Found a place on Ebay selling OEM accessory antennas, works like a charm now. By current standards the quest is probably a little lame, but having been without it for a few hundred miles & having spent $25 to 'get it back' I'm in love with it all over again (as a matter of utility & economy).

DLS

[Dr. Strangelove]

NOT ZUMO

I have test ridden mine for well over 50k miles and there are some things about it that make it USER HOSTILE and infuriating. I recently posted a review on amazon that was lucky to get two stars. This is the only gps I have ever used (not counting the one zumo that just died--they all do that, almost--and the one I had to send back for a cracked screen, my fault I think).

I find it ludicrous to accept that this unit was "designed by bikers for bikers," (no flame intended, J-B) and if true they must've never left their garage.

Don't have time now to list the faults, but they relate to the lack of detail in the maps and the user interfaces. I would search long and hard for one with specific differences. In fact I wish Microsoft would make one (and I am a Mac person).

And it is very expensive. Right now I view it as a sometimes necessary evil.

Hell, this is too important...here is my amazon review

>>>Let me preface this by saying that I have used this unit--my third, one died and was replaced and the second fell and I had to have it repaired--they sent a refurbished unit-- I have had this unit for three years and ridden with it for 45k miles. Suffice it to say I have driven it around the block. I am very tempted to give it one star.

What it does do is tell you where you are. The screens are nice and as long as you are just watching the screen change with you, it is fine.
But get into a situation where you must interact with this unit and forget about using it while riding.
Examples:
No QWERTY keyboard. Instead they have some very hard to use scroll in one screen and in another there is an ABCDEF screen. BOTH of these screens could have just as easily been QWERTY. You cannot imagine how hard it is to use while riding, and it ain't no piece of cake when stopped. It is a real pita to use.
Also, the menu items are so user hostile. If you are riding and you want to find fuel these are the steps
Menu...food/lodging...fuel...all types--4 steps to find a damn gas station. Finding a motel is even worse:
Menu...food/lodging...arrow down...lodging...hotel/motel--5 steps to get there. They have the "options" in alphabetic order so you have to bypass ATM and ENTERTAINMENT to get to lodging and then you have to choose MOtel
And once you do get there-gas food motel--then you have to understand the shorthand, look to see where the arrow points. And the arrows do not just point up the road or behind you, no, they point in compass directions so they may point toward 4 oclock or 9 oclock. And that may or may not be on your route. To see if it is on your route you must highlight it, and then press show map and see if it is relevant to your ride.

The menus are totally fixed and cannot be user modified. I asked on the zumoforums about this and many people chimed in to also complain about this unit's user hostility and the mod smugly answered that that's "just the way they are."

I have no experience with any other GPS, but I have to believe that others have a better, much better, human interface. And it's real expensive also for these "features." I would NOT recommend this unit, and I have one that doesn't spontaneously die.
I bought this unit because Garmin tells us it is desgned by bikers for bikers. That is impossible to believe. It is just marketing hype. The more I use this device the more I find fault with it and I am not mentioning how directions can be screwed up, or if you decide to change your route on the fly the unit with continue to route you back to the part of the route you intentionally skipped until you stop it (Menu...stop) and restart your route (Menu...routes...select your route...go...no).
Zumo, get a clue. And the most infuriating part? I'll bet a firmware fix would change all this, but nooooooo <<<

and the map's details are woefully short, Hey, what major body of water is that? Don't ask the zumo.



John

[Daryl_stamp]

Hey Doc; seems like the Zumo is quite the ballbuster. I've lusted after one for a long time but doubt one will be making it my way anytime soon.
The Quest's screen is small,
the buttons are small,
buttons are on the wrong side
the antenna is prone to breaking
the mapsets are a pain to load
etc. etc. etc.;

But I when I was without mine on the last trip I realized how much I like it; mainly due to the combination of function / economy. Once it started working again with the new antenna I felt like the lady that lost her coins & turned her house upside down finding them. So delighted that I bought another one (quest) on ebay for $31.

[OU812]

How is the Magellon mounted?

Is there a dedicated handlebar mount or is it just stuck to the tank with a suction cup?

It is not a common Sat Nav in the UK but is appealing as it appears to be very cheap!

I just moved mine to the front brake reservoir as I now have a tank bag. Not to expensive.
http://www.cyclenutz.com/Motorcycle-Mounts_c_7.html