Land Rover Friendly GPS's??

[tuko]

I've finally decided to buy my first GPS to use in both the Land Rovers (Series 3 Hybrid & Disco). The numbers of units that are out there today is mind boggling, thats not including all the add on's that they have with FM receivers, 3D, Mp3 players, Nordic or Europa map, topo maps, traffic report updates, etc....

Now with that to sort through, a friend has a Garmin Quest 2 in his Defender 90 that he says that will not work without an external antenna. Therefore he's told me to not to buy a GPS that doesn't offer a jack for antenna's. He claims that the nearly vertical windscreen hinders the receiver. But aren't the new modern up to date units that you buy today better with satellite searching and receiving?

I'm not out after a top of the line unit that has all the bells and whistles, but one that can tell me where the hotels/gas stations are located, giving me choices of what routes to take to get to the final destination and being able to plot using Lat./Long.

So with that all said, I've been looking at a Garmin Nüvi 500 which is water tight and can be used outside the vehicle, but I would like to hear from those who have GPS's and can suggest what works best. Which offers the best for value and best map coverage? Are all the bells and whistles really necessary?

Todd.

[BogMonster]

Anything waterproof would be good

I use my basic yellow eTrex on a Halfords mobile phone holder that suckers onto the inside of the Defender windscreen and have never found satellite reception to be a problem in any way. Not sure about under trees, that's not really a problem here!

Obviously the eTrex is no use for what you want but "never buy one without an external aerial" is certainly not right.

[NegevLandRover]

I have and use two

One is a bomb proof Magellan - rubber coated, waterproof, works on two AA batteries, will take maps (none available here for the model). This is my SAR/survival GPS with pre-marked exit or safe points that I may need to get to in an emergency. Together with the toppgraphic maps that I have and use this can always tell me where I am and is part of the basic kit I keep in my LR 24/7.

The other is a PDA with integral GPS and two sets of maps on it - one urban and the other wilderness. This is the one I use to see where my gas stations etc are and for route ploting. It works on the LR battery as well as it's own re-chargeable battery. I also use it to save cross referencing to maps when I am in a hurry as it plots one's position on the 1:50,000 topographic maps it has.

I have never had a reciever related problem with either - they work on the dash and the Defender windscreen does not seem to be an issue. In fact sometimes I have the Magellan straped to my thigh while I am driving and it works there too. Also on SAR missions people have worked with both units in the front passenger seat and again no problems.

Adam

[geoflse]

Hi Tuko,

I use a cheap and cheerful Tom Tom that I got from Halford's. Only has street mapping, though, but sticks on the 110 windscreen and works perfectly with no external ariel. Touch screen operation and a bird called Jane tells you directions, although you can have a choice of several different voices.

The one I have has GB and Ireland maps, but you can also get Europe mapping too.

geoff

[q-rover]

I have and use a Garmin Streetpilot III.

Works very well even with a heated windscreen. This model is no longer available (=old)

but there are similar ones available, feks Garmin 620.

[Dave K]

I've just used a Navman pin570 with IGO8 for our summer Europe trip.

I've got an external antenna on the snorkel.(I've a large roofrack so thought the internal antenna would struggle)

I also use it on Rallies in this country.

A full range of maps were also taken, before the usual comments.

I've also used a Garmin Nuvi 760 through Europe/Russia.

[Godlykepower]

I used to have the Nuvi 500 like what your after, but sold it on, as it was not quite up to what I was after. It is not waterproof per se, it is water resistant up to a point.

You certainly dont need an external antenna on any modern vehicle specific GPS.

Personally, I use, and would heartily recommend a Garmin Zumo 550. They are actually designed for motorbikists, so have a big screen with big chunky rubber buttons down the side that you can adjust map scale with whilst wearing gloves.

They are not the cheapest units on the market, but worth every penny nonetheless. They come pre-loaded with full European street level mapping, but you have the ability to load in extra maps via SD cards. I currently have installed full Euro, Morocco Topographical map, and full Africa "Tracks 4 Africa" mapping.

I found the 12v fag lighter attachment on the Nuvi to be a bit of a loose fit, and i kept losing the connection when going round corners or when off-road. My Zumo is solid as a rock and has never lost signal.

HTH

Martin

[gazelle]

The old Road Angel Navigator struggled with getting a signal in the 90 (with heated windscreen). I ran an external antenna to the alpine window and it worked fine.

My new Tomtom 540 Live works well without requiring an antenna, but does not cover off-road. It does however tell you about speed cameras and other blackspots and about traffic situations.

I worried about the lack of an antenna jack on the new one, but it has been absolutely fine. It even can find where it is indoors!

Cheers

Martin

[disco_al]

I just bought a basic one from Ebuyer for £50 delivered. The supplied software was hopeless, but with a bit of surfing i found the latest version of tomtom and installed that on there.

With a bit of fiddling in the software, it can be modded to run memory map too (they all run a version of windows ce)

[Aragorn]

I think it must depend on the quality of the internal antenna. I've used a GPS dongle thing on my laptop before and it simply wont work without GOOD line of sight to the sky. In the A4 it needs to be pushed right against the forward edge of the dashboard, or wedged between the sunroof and the blind to get a GPS lock. In the cabin or placed anywhere else on the dashboard it just didnt work.

I would imagine if i was to use that dongle in a 90 with its windscreen shape it'd probably get no signal at all.

The GPS ~ built into my phone (SE C905) is the same, it will work with the phone held against the furthest forward point of the windscreen, but not anywhere else in the cabin.

[tacr2man]

Hi . I use Garmin in my 110 mounted where the ashtray was on top of dash , first was street pilot 111 , then 2620, and now 7200, all worked ok but performance at speed is enhanced by having external aerial, esp in treed areas, in built up areas and deep valleys .

[mpb]

Garmin have introduced a "H" series of units. The "H" is for high sensitivity gps. We brought an e-trex "H" the other day & it works very well under thick tree cover.

[tuko]

Thanks to the reassuring posts I decided to order the Garmin Nuvi 500. It has the new sat. technology and is weather tight. Theres no roofrack on either landy so reception should be ok.

With some luck maybe I'll have it by the weekend.

Todd.

[GBMUD]

A bit late now, I have an Asus PDA with built in GPS. The reception is so good that it works in the MSS steel cubby box which is underneath the ali roof which is beneath the roofrack on which is sited the roof tent. Pretty good these modern GPS units, I would not worry about reception!

Chris