been thinking bout getting a garmin nuvi200 fer a week or 2… got 1 today & really like the thing… easy to use & very accurate… 10 minutes i had it set up & ready to use and put some maps of my favorite fisshin holes in it too… ya aint gota use it in just your vehickle…
Bugman, couldn’t find that gps on the sight. Are you sure it isn’t the Oregan 200?
HERES IT IS… https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=134&pID=9160
Here is the link to the nuvi series https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=134
You gotta love GPS. I have used a portable unit for 8 years now and love it.
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=134&pID=9160
It’s an automotive GPS unit. I love mine! Looking on a map while travelling is a thing of the past.
Guess I type slower than these other guys…:oops:
GPS is definitely the “cat’s MEOW”. Realistically they are kind of “toyish” since we mostly know where we’re going anyway but use GPS just because we paid the price. As a $2000 + new car option, they are ,for the most part,a waste of money.
The other "cat’s MEOW are Blue-tooth cell phone devices. Beat all heck out of dialing/talking while driving especially if your car is so equipped. I talk into my rear view mirror on my 2008 Jeep Liberty. Cool!.
Mark
I’ve got a nuvi200 as well. I like it, but I’ve had some issues with it. In general, it will get you where you’re going, but not always by the best route. It also has some issues when outside of the city. One of my routes to work took me on a number of two lane roads. At one point, the nuvi instructed me to turn down a dirt road through a farmers field. It consistently did this each day. I later found out that 20 years earlier, this had been the route for the road. I don’t think they update the maps out in the country as much as they do the city. I’ve also had issues with using the “Go To” function. I wanted to go to an Office Max in San Antonio and had it find the nearest one. I drove there it there was no Office Max to be found - only a store that looked like it might have been an Max 10 years ago.
So my comment is Trust but verify. I always check my routes on the computer if I can to make sure the unit is taking me the right way. And if you plug in an address, it will get your there - eventually - but maybe not the best way.
TxEngr
When I think gps I usually think back country roads, wilderness, crosscountry trails, Etc.
I have seen several of these for “every’” where but I guess I’m still a little old fashion. I’m thrilled with the compass on the mirrior in my truck!
I do carry at least one compass with me when I’m Out There.
My watch has one, one in the pouch that holds my minimag light and leatherman tool, you get the idea.
Tx is right; there is a trust factor and a learning curve with a GPS. Like will someone PLEASE explain to me why my GPS will sometimes takes me one way out and a different way back?
If you can get a GPS with PC software where you can create your own routes that is a better option although most navigation GPS units don’t. For that reason I bought a handheld GPS that also does the off route thing so I can use it in the field as well. While it doesn’t do the turn by turn thing with as many bells & whistles as the car only units; it does get me there AND I can use it on the trail as well. No more worries about getting lost in the woods on my favorite remote streams at dark!
A GPS has opened up LOTS of new fishing opportunities for me!
yeser. ya gota git the usb cord fer the 200 model then update the gps to up to date maps… ya can also upload your own map routs into it instead of using what is on the gps itself…
All . . I just bought the nuvi260. I got a refurb unit from amazon.com. Full factory warranty, new 2009 maps, at a very nice price. Check it out if your looking to get one! The one I bought is here. The price went up a bit, but still a good deal.
-wayne
Bugman - you’re right about the map updates. My unit tried to carry me down a number of goat tracks until I did the update! Even with the 2009 update, it still tried to carry me down a farmers field.
I didn’t know I could download routes into the nuvi200. I’ll have to do some more reading on that one.
TxEngr
Wayne - Check this one out:
http://www.thedigitaloasis.com/Items/45500
I’ve used this Garmin in the past, but just bought a TomTom. It’s more “user friendly”, and much more customizeable. You can plan an entire trip itinerary on your PC using TomTomHome software(free with every unit), and then download it to your GPS. The TomTom also has the capability to display a lot more info on the screen. You can add each item seperately, as adding everything makes the screen a little “busy looking”. Once used to it though, the Garmin seems almost primitive. I also don’t miss that thing saying “REcalculating” in that seemingly increasingly sarcastic voice.
I just used my GPS to take a trip to Erie for some steelhead fishing. The PFBC has an Erie steelhead fishing page that has access points and parking areas listed including latitude longitude coordinates. It was a HUGE timesaver!
I think my son is getting me a GPS/SPOT for X-mass…
We were hunting last week near a great river and I said I would like to fish here , we looked around and found four different sets of bear tracks… BIG ONES…
So if he gets the SPOT then at least if I activate it they can find the bear and get my gear back…:eek:
Have used the Navi200 in a rented vehicle good but map was out of date?
you can change that in your settings since ya got the update… click the wrench then settings… go down to navigation & click that then avoidances… the way i have mine set is, i have a checkmark in the following boxes… u-turns, carpool lanes and unpaved roads… that way it routs me through main roads, county roads or farm to marcket roads… you can use google maps or mapquest to send locations to your gps… i like the google maps better myself… mapquest seems to take you on the longer routs for some reason… heres an example:::: from my house to mountain home, arkansas on mapquest it routs me a 8hr drive… from & to the same place using google maps, it routs me a 4.50hr drive which is a big difference on gas as well as time…
Bug:
I don’t know for sure about Mapquest but most routing programs have an option for routing using the fastest time or shortest distance. I assume your GPS has the ability to toggle between these two options either as a pre-set or on the fly.
Based on your example I would guess Mapquest is doing the shortest distance thing while your GPS is doing the fastest time. I don’t know if you can set up Mapquest to do either/or but in any case it’s always good to compare routes because as you will find out…
…GPS’s can say the darndest things!
My unit doesn’t say “recalculating route”, instead it says " If you won’t follow MY directions, pull over and ask SOMEONE ELSE how to get there". Or " perhaps if I talk LOUDER?“. Or,” Maybe you should have hired a CAB?". Or, “your OTHER RIGHT”. All that along with a few expletives that are not suitable for publishing here.
Definitely has a sense of humor.
Mark