GPS Mapping Software : Garmin MapSource TOPO! US 24k West Topographic

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I used this with my Garmin Vista HCx and it works well. If you are deciding between the DVD or the micro SD card that loads into the device, get the DVD. It was well worth it! The DVD lets you look at all of the maps on your computer (Mac for me). You can make routes, tracks, and waypoints and load them into the GPS. Awesome! You do need to buy a blank micro SD card for the GPS though. I got the 2 Gig card for about $7 and loaded topo maps for all of WA, OR, and some of northern CA and I left about 60 Megs open! (This took a few hours!) It is also easier to type in route names on the computer than on my GPS. Another cool feature is the fact that you can right-click your mouse on the map and it will grab the 3-D map and move it around like you are looking at it in your hand. From what I can tell, it does just fine including trails. I did notice one trail so far where half of it was missing. Not sure how many errors there are, but I think there are more things correct than there are incorrect. I am also able to use my GPS to navigate on roads and highways and it will give me turn by turn directions. I mostly use my GPS for hiking and these maps are stellar and are at USGS quality. You can print maps, but I don't think their quality is spectacular. Overall, great product! The only problem I have with Garmin products, in general, is that they have TERRIBLE directions. For example: they don't tell you why you would want to make a route instead of tracks, they just tell you how to make each one. Just use it to figure it out, I guess.

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Vehicle GPS : Garmin nüvi 260W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

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I bought the GARMIN n?vi 260W to help with work and family travels. After extensive research with Magellan, Mio and Tom-Tom, I bought the Garmin for three reasons. 1) Ease of use. 2) Screen clarity. 3) Amazing accuracy. And no, despite where I live, I have no affiliation with Garmin. I don't even know anyone that works for them. I am in the architectural business.

I have tried several GPSs while traveling with business associates, friends or in rental cars. As such, I have seen them in real world action. All of the devices saved me time and most found the place I needed to be. I could used any of them and been somewhat satisfied.The problem: I am a perfectionist. As such, I want the unit to be the best. So, after using a text-to-speech Garmin GPS unit earlier this year, I knew that was one feature I could not live without when I pulled the trigger on a purchase. Text-to-speech is a must have on GPS. A MUST. If you have never used a GPS, trust me, you have to have text-to-speech. It eliminates the frustration of urban driving and having the non text-to-speech units tell you to turn right in 200 feet, only to find two roads that are 200 feet away and have to pick one and hope it is right.

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Sports and Fitness GPS : GARMIN 010-10644-00 Speed/Cadence Sensor

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The handlebar mount and cadence and speed sensors went on quickly and worked flawlessly. However, when I first received the package in the mail, I was concerned I had ordered the wrong item. I have a Forerunner 305 wrist-mounted GPS, and all of the packaging for this product references the Edge GPS sensor, so I didn't know whether or not this would even work with the Forerunner. There are very slight differences in navigating the menus to set up the cadence sensor between the Forerunner and the Edge, but the cadence sensor does indeed work very well with the Forerunner, so Forerunner owners order without fear!

Mobile and PC GPS PDA : GiSTEQ GPS USB Dongle

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Purchased on June 20, received today. I got the black version of this item. Plugged in and installed the drivers that came on the included CD without any problems. I bought this item to use with Microsoft Streets & Trips 2009. S&T requires GPS receivers to operate on NMEA 2.0 standard and at 4800 baud rate. The 4800 baud rate is a must if you are going to use this with S&T. That's where my problems started.

Marine GPS Units and Chartplotters : Garmin Premium - Heart rate monitor

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This heart rate monitor has a soft fabric strap and is more comfortable than ever before. Plus, it's optimized for use in congested areas like gym classes and starting lines.

Handheld GPS and Navigation : Garmin GPS 60CSx Handheld GPS Navigator

Garmin GPS 60CSx Handheld GPS Navigator

The first reviewer didn't really do his research before he purchased this or else he would know that it only comes with basemaps. The other fact he would know is that that's how all GPS vendors work. They want you to buy their maps separately and only their maps will work on their hardware.

Now, I previously owned a 60CS which I loved after trading in my Vista. With the newly upgraded 60CSx you get a couple of additional functions that make it much better than the 60CS. First, there's the SiRF III chipset. It is by far the best chipset out there right now. It's super sensitive and super fast. You can lock onto satellites even in your house in many cases! No longer will you loose reception in tricky situations. Most of the time you can even keep the 60CSx in your backpack and it will still track your movements.

The other highly requested function for many years is the expansion memory, now in the form of a microSD. Now you can load almost half of the U.S. into 512mb of microSD. Later, larger capacity microSD cards will be released that will allow you to loan the entire US! That's awesome!

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GPS Trackers : Magellan RoadMate 1700 7-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS

Magellan RoadMate 1700 7-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator Price: $242.00

Perfect for SUVs, trucks and RVs, the Magellan RoadMate 1700 boasts a generous, ultra-thin 7-inch touch screen ideal for large vehicles and easy viewing on the road. Premium features include: OneTouch favorites menu, AAA TourBook and Member Roadside Assistance, QuickSpell with SmartCity search, highway exit POI, spoken street name guidance, plus so many more!

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GPS System Accessories : Garmin A/C Power Cable for n?vi Portable GPS

Garmin A/C Power Cable for nüvi Portable GPS Navigators (010-10723-00)

The Garmin Nuvi AC charger comes with adapters for various voltages. It works as you would expect. I think it should have been included with the unit as standard.

I bought this for my wife who travels every month. She often has to stay in hotels, so this lets her to charge her GPS in her room

I was happy with this product, the shipping time was quick and the price was great! When I searched for this product in several different stores, it was never available and if I wanted any of the stores to order it in for me, the price was much higher than what I paid for it on Amazon.

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GPS Mapping Software : Magellan 2009 One-Time U.S. Map Update for

Magellan 2009 One-Time U.S. Map Update for Magellan GPS Navigators (SD Card)

Easy update by inserting SD card into Maestro 3250 SD slot and resetting unit. It now takes about 20 seconds longer to reboot the unit. Once the SD card is read, GPS asks to sleect your region (Lower 48 SD), etc. If you check your User Options/Map info, it will display Map version 7.0.

NOTE: you must backup using another SD card. I tried backing up the addresses and the Update SD will not let me. You cannot copy the update to a larger 4gb SD card from the original 2gb card.

Update your software to v. 3.12 first from Magellan website. Remove old sd card,install new card,hit reset button.That's it.

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Vehicle GPS : Garmin nüvi 255W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

Garmin nüvi 255W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

I received this GPS system about a week ago, and I haven't found one thing to complain about yet. The features are great, and all entirely user friendly. No need to read the manual, just plug it in and go! The Garmin Nuvi 255W connects to satellites extremely fast--So when I get in my car and turn it on, we're pretty much ready to go immediately. The new display posts speed limit signs of major roads flush left on the screen, which is a new feature that is also really helpful, if you're driving in an unfamiliar area. The widescreen display makes it possible to view the names of roads that you are passing on the screen--which makes it much easier to differentiate between which road to turn on when there are two streets on your right (not clearly labeled) that are only one house apart...which has happened to me twice... Also, the fact that the Garmin Nuvi 255W speaks street names is also helpful in times like these. In addition, another feature I find to be immensely helpful is how fast the Nuvi 255W recalculates your position if you do miss a turn. I love the detour feature, it saved me a ton of time when I heard there was an accident on the highway and took back roads that I would have never known existed! I would recommend the Garmin Nuvi 255W to anyone looking for a fast, reliable, and easy to use GPS system.

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Sports and Fitness GPS : Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Receiver With Heart

Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Receiver With Heart Rate Monitor

I like this thing quite a lot. I've had it for about three weeks, and have used it on 12 workouts so far. I use it primarily for running, with biking a secondary usage. The main reason I wanted it was for the instantaneous readout of distance, running pace and heart rate, the latter needed for the speed work I want to do this running season.

The core functionality (distance and heart rate monitoring) works perfectly. There's none of the signal drops I've had with other heart monitors. Once the satellites are initially acquired, I've only had one dropout when I was outside. The initial acquisition of the satellites can be quirky and can take some time. The accuracy (according to the readout) is +/- 25ft, depending on how many satellites can be found. I've compared the distance measurement on the GPS with a known, measured distance on one of the trails I run on (the Chicago lakefront path). The GPS always increments a mile when I'm within 5 or 10 feet of the mile marker sign on the path. Well, I guess that's the least I should expect from a $350 GPS unit! Of course it's bigger than a normal running stopwatch, but that hasn't bothered me at all. The heart rate strap is also very comfortable and well-designed.

The display is crisp and has one outstanding feature: The information presented on the various pages can be completely user-customized. The default screen layout is rather poor, but in just a few steps I could replace it with the information I wanted to see while I run. There are almost 40 different data fields you can choose from for display. Examples: current pace, average lap pace, average run pace, heartrate, distance.

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PDA, Mobile and PC GPS : GiSTEQ GPS USB Dongle

GiSTEQ GPS USB Dongle

Purchased on June 20, received today. I got the black version of this item. Plugged in and installed the drivers that came on the included CD without any problems. I bought this item to use with Microsoft Streets & Trips 2009. S&T requires GPS receivers to operate on NMEA 2.0 standard and at 4800 baud rate. The 4800 baud rate is a must if you are going to use this with S&T. That's where my problems started.

Although this item is NMEA 2.0 compliant, the default baud rate was set to 38400. S&T 2009 kept saying that either the data being sent/received by GPS receiver was not NMEA 2.0 compatible or the baud rate was incorrect. After a lot of browsing through different GPS forums did not help, I visited the GiSTEQ website. To my surprise, the Forums on the GiSTEQ website have no discussion area for the GPS USB dongle - even though there are (at the time of this review) discussion areas for other GiSTEQ products.

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Marine GPS Units and Chartplotters : Garmin GPSMap 76 Handheld GPS

Garmin GPSMap 76 Handheld GPS Navigator

Before my GPS purchase, I considered a number of Magellan units in addition to some in the Garmin E Trex series. I finally decided on the Garmin Map76.

In addition to being relatively easy to use, I preferred the slightly larger screen of the Map76 over the other units. Since I was purchasing the unit to use while sea kayaking, I found the screen on the Map76 was much easier to read in the sunlight than the smaller screens on the E-Trex models. In addition, you can upload map data into this unit. (Although the unit includes a basemap, Garmin also manufactures a number of optional mapping products which cover roads, waterways and topographical features in more detail). For kayaking, I use the optional BlueCharts which is essentially like having Nautical maps at your fingertips. (These are sold by regions and tend to be a bit expensive however).

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Handheld GPS and Navigation : Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Receiver With

Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Receiver With Heart Rate Monitor

I like this thing quite a lot. I've had it for about three weeks, and have used it on 12 workouts so far. I use it primarily for running, with biking a secondary usage. The main reason I wanted it was for the instantaneous readout of distance, running pace and heart rate, the latter needed for the speed work I want to do this running season.

The core functionality (distance and heart rate monitoring) works perfectly. There's none of the signal drops I've had with other heart monitors. Once the satellites are initially acquired, I've only had one dropout when I was outside. The initial acquisition of the satellites can be quirky and can take some time. The accuracy (according to the readout) is +/- 25ft, depending on how many satellites can be found. I've compared the distance measurement on the GPS with a known, measured distance on one of the trails I run on (the Chicago lakefront path). The GPS always increments a mile when I'm within 5 or 10 feet of the mile marker sign on the path. Well, I guess that's the least I should expect from a $350 GPS unit! Of course it's bigger than a normal running stopwatch, but that hasn't bothered me at all. The heart rate strap is also very comfortable and well-designed.

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GPS System Accessories : Garmin A/C Power Cable for n?vi Portable GPS

Garmin A/C Power Cable for nüvi Portable GPS Navigators (010-10723-00)

Every Garmin product is designed to meet the most demanding standard: customers' satisfaction. That's why Garmin equipment is manufactured to give you reliable service for years to come, with intuitive features you can grow into over time - all at a price you can afford.This product is an AC charger w/UK & Euro adapters.

The Garmin Nuvi AC charger comes with adapters for various voltages. It works as you would expect. I think it should have been included with the unit as standard.

I bought this for my wife who travels every month. She often has to stay in hotels, so this lets her to charge her GPS in her room

Works fine, not a thing wrong with it. But if this is your first GPS purchase and your box doesn't include an A/C cable, don't jump to buy one. You don't really need it!

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GPS Trackers : GARMIN 010-00596-01 Astro Bundle 220 Dog Tracking GPS

GARMIN 010-00596-01 Astro Bundle 220 Dog Tracking GPS

Garmin ASTRO BUNDLE DC 30 Collar Plus Astro 220. Tired of searching for your hunting dog in tall grass or dense cover? Now you can leave the hunting entirely to him. Introducing Astro, the first high sensitivity GPS enabled dog tracking system for hunters and sportsmen. This unique system pinpoints your dogs position and shows you exactly where he is, even when you cant see or hear him. The Astro system includes a bright color screen handheld GPS device and the rugged, all weather DC 30 collar. The collar has an integrated GPS transmitter and is specially weighted so the antenna will always point to the sky for optimum signal. To get started, just take Astro outdoors and turn on the handheld and transmitter to acquire GPS satellite signals. Then attach the DC 30 to your dog. Now you are ready to turn him loose / no other setup required. As often as every five seconds, your dogs DC 30 transmits his position to your handheld, and you can see his current location and a trail of where he is been on the Map page of your handheld. Switch over to the Dog Tracker page to view a compass pointing to your dogs location as well as his current status: whether he is running, sitting, on point or treeing quarry. Astro can also sound an alarm to let you know instantly when your dog goes on point. Astro boasts a high sensitivity GPS receiver that can track your dogs position even in the densest cover. You can track up to ten dogs at one time with Astro, at a distance of up to seven miles away /depending on terrain/. The system transmits information by line of sight, so it reaches farthest in flat, open territory.

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GPS Mapping Software : Garmin n?Maps Lifetime North America Map Updates

Garmin nüMaps Lifetime North America Map Updates for detailed maps of the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico

With a single purchase, customers will have access to multiple map updates each year for the life of their Garmin GPS. Each map update includes new information about streets, highways, addresses and points of interests.

Know where to go when streets change or new restaurants and other businesses open. With n?Maps Lifetime, you'll get the most up-to-date maps available--for the life of your Garmin GPS. This one-time, single purchase gives you access to the newest map information on streets, highways and points of interest as soon as new content is available. Then, you can download the new data to your device, retrieving up to four updates per year, for the lifetime of your Garmin GPS. It's the most comprehensive update plan you can buy.

We have a 3 year old Garmin 350. We find the unit itself is very easy to use. Our problem is we used our fee update 18 months ago and it did not include much of the new road construction around us. We also found that the changing face of our city had many new, moved and closed businesses and our Points of Interest were also out of date. An update was imminent and it was going to cost us this time. I saw on the lifetime map updates on the Garmin site and thought I might find a bit better deal and that brought me here where one of the vendors had a great deal.

If you are unsure whether an update has the new features you are looking for you can preview the detailed US map on the Garmin shopping site. Be careful there are lists of "supported Nuvi units" on some of the vendors sites that are woefully incomplete. For instance our 350 was not on the vendor list, but after a search I was able to find a list on the Garmin shopping site that seems to list all the Nuvi and other units. The product page has a ton of information but you may have to dig around a bit to find it.

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