GPS - Montana Owners Club

DHenry · 07-07-2004, 05:13 AM

I have just got to say that our GPS has been great. I have traveled from California to Coeur D' Alene Idaho so far and just plug in the address of the RV Park we are stayin in and it guides us right to it. While in the towns that we visit it gets us around like we know where we are going. I can't begin to tell you all of the functions this gadget has but they are a great help to us travelers.

sreigle · 07-07-2004, 06:59 AM

Amen to that. I've come to rely heavily on our Earthmate when traveling. Somewhere around here I have a Garmin I guess I should post for sale.

DrivesBGM · 07-07-2004, 08:30 AM

I'd have to confess that the GPS has actually caused me to miss some turns that I would not have missed had I been paying attention to the highway signs rather than the computer! On the other hand, the GPS has proven invaluable when traveling in an unfamiliar town or city. Nothing like knowing the street layout so you don't find yourself at a dead end with a 5er in tow!

Craig

sreigle · 07-07-2004, 08:47 AM

Craig, that's why I went back to my Earthmate and Street Atlas (on laptop)! It updates my position once per second, seriously reducing the chance I'll miss a turn. Plus, it talks to me to tell me a turn is coming up. Then it tells me again to "turn now", although it might be a few seconds before I actually am to turn. Street Atlas uses two window panes when the gps is active. One is a higher level overview and the other is a closeup that I can "zoom" to whatever level I want. I keep that one at 14 (out of 16) so I see precisely where to turn. I could ask it questions but this laptop has no builtin microphone so I don't use that feature.

DrivesBGM · 07-07-2004, 11:17 AM

Steve, I have the same setup and find that it works well most of the time. But it does occasionally (though very seldom) route me over Interstate Exits that don't exist and roads that are not through roads. It also refuses to accept that some roads ARE connected.

I wish that Microsoft's Street's & Trips provided the same GPS information that DeLorme's Street Atlas provides because I like it's mapping and display better. But Street Atlas currently wins the GPS tracking hands down. (But it isn't perfect!)

Craig

sreigle · 07-07-2004, 11:46 AM

Same reason I ended up staying with SA and same sentiments about S&T not having the same info. The maps are from govt entities and are as inaccurate or accurate as those maps. Our former home area was all messed up in the official city paper map and identically in SA.

On the streets not connected, yes, I've found some of those, too. If I know about it in advance I can connect them with the road draw function but it won't let you connect to interstates. In those cases I either put a mapnote to tell me what to really do there or draw a new road on top of the other one, where I can and where that will help. By far most of the time this is not a problem but occasionally it is, I agree. I'd bet all the mapping software companies use the same maps, though.

kdeiss · 07-07-2004, 02:10 PM

I love my Garmin 2610 I use it every day would not be without.Their is a learning curve and you still need to read the signs and watch the screen

alanzuck · 07-07-2004, 03:08 PM

Steve:

Could you tell me more about the Earthmate GPS system? I use a Macintosh. Will it work with a Mac? I will be making a big trip from New York to Mexico in a few months, and something like that could be very helpful.

sreigle · 07-07-2004, 04:02 PM

Alanzuck, I don't know if it works with a Mac or not. I just looked around a bit on the delorme site but still don't know. I'll look some more, now I'm curious. It works with serial ports, usb ports, bluetooth. The delorme site is http://www.delorme.com . The 'contact us' site has a link for emailing questions. That url is
http://www.delorme.com/support/policy.asp . Maybe someone out there is using it with a Mac.

The new version of the Earthmate is NMEA v2 compliant, meaning it will work with most gps mapping software available. My older version is not nmea compliant. I use the gps in conjunction with Street Atlas USA 2004, which is bundled with the GPS (one of the options). The GPS and software can be purchased separately.

I plot a route using SAU2004 before we head out, usually. Sometimes I take the route the software suggests, other times I modify it. SA does require some experimenting to learn how to use it's many options but is pretty powerful once you learn those. It can be frustrating while you're learning but in my opinion it's still the best available. I know others will feel something else is better and they might be right.

Sometimes when we're out exploring I just have the gps and software going without having plotted a planned route. That lets me see what the name of that lake over there is, what railroad is there. Where does this next road, and if I get lost I can tell it to get me home (plot a route from this point to there).

I also like that it shows me how many miles to my next planned stop and to the end of the day's trip, how far to the next turn, etc.

I also downloaded files that show up on the map, like where the camping worlds are located, where the walmarts and walmart supercenters are located, etc. Unfortunately those (they're done by private individuals) were set up for an earlier version of the maps but it's still close enough for my needs.

Another use, for example, Vicki wanted to go to a Hobby Lobby. We don't have a phone book handy for this area and who the heck knows what is where. So a quick search in SA pinpointed the nearest Hobby Lobby and I was able to give Vicki driving directions. She doesn't use the GPS when she goes out alone.

I plotted low clearance areas into one of these files, from the motor carriers atlas. I don't have all of them but have all of them below 13'3" that's listed in that atlas. A few of them I had to guess because the description wasn't real clear but those are noted as "approx here". Anyhow, this is a small file I can email to anyone who wants it. Just email me. No guarantees on its accuracy!

SA can be frustrating at times but I've tried several packages. Each has something I like better than in SA but overall SA still seems to work best for me. It does take some learning time but I see no reason why we couldn't have those discussions and learn from each other in MOC.

Let me know if you find it will or won't work with the Mac. I'll post if I find something first.

sreigle · 07-07-2004, 04:10 PM

Here's an update. Street Atlas USA 6.0 for Macintosh is available at delorme's site and probably in computer stores. There's note, however:
"Note: Street Atlas USA 6.0 for the Macintosh is not supported on OS 9.2 or higher."
I don't know if that works for you or not.

Still checking to see if the Earthmate will work with the Mac.

Northstar · 07-14-2004, 03:08 PM

GPS looks like I could use one for my cross country travels. Thanks for the info. Happy rving....

Joyce H · 07-14-2004, 04:16 PM

Since we are not as computer litteerate as many of the owners here on the forum we are using the Magellan Roadmate 700. You just turn it on, plug in the address where you want to go and it does the routing for you. We have been very pleased with it. It lists points of interest (restaurants, gas stations, etc. but unfortunately does not list campgrounds. Must say we have found some great restaurants using the Magellan. I got this one for Tom for Christmas when the 700 first came out. I did notice they had them at Costco the last time we were there. You can check this one out at
http://www.magellangps.com

Montana_655 · 07-15-2004, 01:57 AM

I recently purchased a Garmin USB receiver for my laptop http://www.gpsnow.com/gm18.htm this came with the City Select North America v5 SW. The downside of this was that the SW had minimal coverage for Canada which made it useless for a recent trip to PEI. I called Garmin and they informmed me that City Select North America v6 had come out and I was entitled to an automatic upgrade. This version contains the Canadian detail. While working through this gap of coverage I bought Microsoft's Streets & Trips 2004 and was just going to pickup another receiver (Microsoft only supports serial port (Com) not USB) receivers. Anyway have had a chance to compare them both as far as trip routing and features. Although Streets & Trips allows you to download roadwork updates; I haven't found it significantly better than the Garmin City Select North America. I have found that MS Streets & Trips has sent me on more obscure and indirect routes and after comparing the 2 for multiple trips I'd take Garmin's SW over MS' anyday.

Montana_1577 · 07-15-2004, 05:29 AM

We also have the Garmin StreetPilot 2610 and love it. Our real treat was finding it on the internet for $740.00, no tax, shipping included. They wanted $999 at Circuit City and Best Buy + tax.

I think they've come out (Garmin) with a newer version called the 2620. I haven't looked at it yet. The 2610 works great for us.

Montana_593 · 07-17-2004, 09:10 AM

I have the street pilot (which one of my sons has "borrowed") and the Garmin iQue 3600 with the City Select North America v5. Will have to check into that update to v6. Love em and won't leave home without em. I like the smaller size of these units and am concerned about having to deal with a laptop in the front seat with me. Rose doesn't really like me playing with these toys while driving and I know she won't go for playing with the computer while driving.

H. John Kohl · 07-17-2004, 12:29 PM

I use the same system Steve uses and got his file for low clearances. When we lived in Maryland, there are a lot of low clearance areas in Pensylvannia where we camped. Think I was able to add one to Steves list. If you travel out in the boon docks/country in the New England area the other option not mentioned is adding a low weight bridges and crossings file. One bridge did not look too good from a distance but the sign said 10 TON per axle and a large farm truck crossed in front so I followed. It was narrow but a solid concrete bridge.

Go Pokes · 07-17-2004, 01:06 PM

We use the DeLorme with Earthmate. A problem we are having is that the laptop will freeze and we have to restart. Our laptop has more than enough ram (512). Has anyone else had this problem. We agree with the comments of how helpful the GPS is at finding your way in new places especially in the dark when you cannot read a map. Where did you find the locations of Walmarts and Camping World to download? What about locations of Rest Areas?

H. John Kohl · 07-17-2004, 01:27 PM

Go Pokes,
I had problems with 2003 freezing up on my old 333 laptop. And now thinking about it, it did on the new HP also. Think it is a software problem. There is a lot going on. The voice mode left something to be desired.

Steve, you have the 2004 version. Any comments?

I will wait till 2009 to upgrade mine. When we come home for R&R, what a miss nomor, Big Red knows the route up and down the east cost from Rochester, NY to Orlando, FL.

Good luck,

HamRad · 07-17-2004, 01:59 PM

Go Pokes,
We have a Sony Vaio laptop PC and ever since I updated the MS security stuff I get a freeze up! Very annoying. I guess I'm going to have to do a re-install! That just doesn't seem right but I've tried almost everything else. Let me know if you fix the freezing up problem.

H. John Kohl,
Good to see you on from "down under"! Hope all is going well. I think you have already told me but..... are you doing any HFing from there? Sorry if you've already answered this question. Take care.... 73 de KA6TZP

HamRad

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