What potable gps to order tonight

[eDUBz]

Going to order a portable gps tonight on Amazon which one should I order. Price don't matter looking for something nice with All the bells and whistles in a portable .

[RedRocket204]

Yep, what's been proven here is that some like boxers and some like briefs. Then there are the commando types but no need to go down that road.

[fj12ryder]

I've tried a truck/RV routing GPS with the Nuvi 465 and hated it. I couldn't use the truck/RV settings because it wouldn't allow me to keep a route that I worked out on Basecamp, a total PIA. It would take a perfectly good route and mess it up because at some point there was a "No Trucks" street or area.

I just bought the Nuvi 2539 which looks like it will work very well. I can store 100 routes and the spoken navigation is pretty cool. It no longer just says "Turn left on Main street", now it will say "Turn left on Main street at the end of this street". It also is much quicker to alert you to turns and gives you more warning. I like it so far. I got the 5 inch because I feel the 7 inch takes up too much space and blocks too much of the windshield.

I don't have a smart phone so can't comment on any of the apps available for them. But I do feel that sometimes a stand alone device works best: "Jack of all trades, master of none."

[SCVJeff]

OLYLEN wrote:
No as I have about 32 years GPS experience and you are good at quotes but it appears know little of what you talk about. Until retiring I was a geodetic Eng. And had as part of my staff the NGS advisor. Also installed the super mirror ground control WITH GPS a one mile by one mile right angle to a tolerance of 5mm. You a partially correct on the WAAS system as I installed a couple of the sights control. It is actually a time correction transmitted from a ground sight with know coordinates. I can go on and on with projects but that is irrelevant. And how did you grade you accuracy tests? Over a know point so you could get real RMS values? OR yup middle of a street from a digitized map that had an original accuracy in many feet?
OK I quit!

LEN

i understand WAAS and how it works and know plenty of what I talk about. Obviously you have more experience with the hardware (sounds fun). The point is, and without boring others that WAAS comes off of commercial satellites and there needs to be a reasonable path or it ain't gonna work, and you should know that as well. That makes WAAS questionable in any dash mounted receiver.

I don't need your kind of accuracy and for the purposes of this thread a vehicle GPS doesn't need anywhere near the resolution either of us do. When I do an FCC ASR, it first goes to the FAA who checks the work by hand against their maps and I've never had one come back at me. Im locating towers, you're locating each leg. I don't need that kind of resolution nor can I make it. These days GE is as good as my 7.5 min maps for what I do.

Either way, none of this has to do with consumer GPS and I still say Apples to Apples there is no difference in performance between a standalone and "smartphone" regardless of WAAS, GLONASS, or anything else coming up.

[eDUBz]

Ended up with a Garmin dive smart 60, I switching out to a Pioneer head unit Navigation when I get back home.

[Us_out_West]

My goodness people!!

[OLYLEN]

No as I have about 32 years GPS experience and you are good at quotes but it appears know little of what you talk about. Until retiring I was a geodetic Eng. And had as part of my staff the NGS advisor. Also installed the super mirror ground control WITH GPS a one mile by one mile right angle to a tolerance of 5mm. You a partially correct on the WAAS system as I installed a couple of the sights control. It is actually a time correction transmitted from a ground sight with know coordinates. I can go on and on with projects but that is irrelevant. And how did you grade you accuracy tests? Over a know point so you could get real RMS values? OR yup middle of a street from a digitized map that had an original accuracy in many feet?
OK I quit!

LEN

[SCVJeff]

Bumpyroad wrote:

SCVJeff wrote:


So what's the difference?

OLYLEN answered your question.
bumpy

Because you couldn't?

So now we are talking about a literal difference in feet while driving at 60MPH so you can grasp at a few straws?

One more time.... It is EXACTLY the same database, lane assist, and display. They are the SAME company doing the same thing, I suggest both of you do a little homework.

As far as trusting GLONASS... Really? You don't think the Russians can't point missles as accurate as we can? I have seen A-B comparisons of an iPhone with and without GLONASS enabled in and around city streets in San Francisco and the error correction is amazing. That same test also used a Garmin NUVI as the benchmark and it was no better than the iPhone sans GLONASS, and since Garmin no longer allows you to switch WASS Off, it was obviously On. WHY?... Do either of you even realize that the WASS system is only 3 additional satellites flying around? All 3 are geo-sync, meaning you need a view of the southern belt, exactly as one does with DSS. And you expect 100% accuracy on your GPS dash mounted in the car with a completely occluded view of the sky straight up, and now let's add city buildings and trees? Good luck. For those who don't know WASS, that system was designed for and commissioned by the FAA to assist aircraft that fly with external antennas in open sky, not someone in a car shadowed by the car itself at best.

Do I work for Apple? That snipe isn't worth the response, but one of my work hats is precision location of TV and Microwave towers for licensing and registration purposes to the FCC AND FAA all over the country, and for that I often use the iPhone and my NUVI because, in the OPEN sky they are never more than 1/10 sec off, as good as my old professional Trimble that I don't even bother with anymore. Wanna put this to bed now?

[jpmihalk]

Interesting posts... I have had a Garmin, a Magellan, a TomTom and also use an iPhone and iPad. I ditched the single purpose GPS systems (Garmin, TomTom and Magellan) since they had a tendency to "stick" and have to be restarted (especially the Magellan, it was rather bad.) They also require either a memory stick or a PC connection to update maps. Although Garmin may use WAAS the only place I would notice any difference is when I didn't follow directions - the Garmin is quicker to tell you that you are not "on track" than the iOS devices. That may also be due to the fact that any phone is also doing other processing in the background. I find the iPhone GPS "good enough" in its accuracy.

In any case, it is always best to get something that you are comfortable with and don't depend entirely on any one device. I plan my routes out ahead of time so I don't depend entirely on my GPS. If I have to reroute for some reason, that is just an excuse to stop and stretch and grab another drink. I will also check the road just to make sure the GPS (CoPilot RV, in my case) isn't trying to send me down a dirt road somewhere over the horizon. I also have the TomTom and Garmin HUD apps just in case I want to use them for spot checks or for dashboard data.

And I love my iPad Pro's 12.9" screen... you can see VERY well!

So... to each their own!

[Bumpyroad]

SCVJeff wrote:


So what's the difference?

OLYLEN answered your question.
bumpy

[OLYLEN]

Side by side the GPS receiver in the Garmin is much more accurate than that in the Iphone. Also the Garmin uses Waas(Wide Area Augmentation System) the Iphone does not. All that said in todays world about any GPS receiver will put you within 5-6 meters and unless you go to differential GPS you won't get much better. And as far as Gonass The Russian system go for it if you trust it. Also the 760 660 systems give speed limits, lane assist curve and danger warning. I have about 4 access points for GPS while in the MH, I use the RV760(love the big screen) and the Google maps on the Android when in areas that I might need to deviate from a route because of an incident.
Wonder if Jeff works for Apple?

LEN

[jjjandrbaker]

SCVJeff wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:
best Garmin you can afford, or want to pay for. you want a GPS, get a GPS not an adapted toy.
bumpy

I'll put my "adapted toy" up against your "real" GPS any day. Do you even know what that means? They are both computers, smartphones being WAY faster, and both use the exact same database.

So what's the difference?

X2

[Bumpyroad]

Fizz wrote:

how large is the screen on your toy? my GPS is 7 inches.
bumpy

My toy can hook up to a 55" HDTV.
What's your point?

55" makes a fairly large GPS all right. hope you can see out the windshield.
my point is that if you are using a "smart" phone as a GPS your screen sucks as far as size goes unless your smart phone is tablet sized. I have gone from 4 1/2, to 5 to 7 inches for GPS screens and the increase greatly helped read the unit.
bumpy

[Fizz]

how large is the screen on your toy? my GPS is 7 inches.
bumpy

My toy can hook up to a 55" HDTV.
What's your point?

[2chiefsRus]

760 vs 660 features