Why Older Folks Need a GPS:

[RonBoyd]

Okay, I stand corrected. I was curious about all the complaints of taking considerable time to "update" the Garmin units. So I decided to time just exactly how long it takes.

I update the maps 4 or 5 times a year (they promise 4) and it has, for the past several years, taken maybe a half hour total for all three devices -- a Nüvi 680, a Nüvi 785, and a Nüvi 3590LMT. However, tonight there was, apparently, a software update included (or the map update was larger than usual) because the 3590 took right at three hours, the 785 took an hour, and the 680 took 24 minutes.

Yeah, that seems a little excessive even though I really wasn't doing anything else on that computer and wasn't driving anywhere. <grin> The point is I was wrong and I apologize.

 

[explanade]

The processors on these units are poor. I know Garmin tried to use more competitive components a couple of years ago but the unit was around $400, which is about what a good smart phone is these days.

As for car integrated GPS, yes it's a huge racket but unfortunately, they package them up with some things you want like bluetooth or HID. And for some luxury imports, the only inventory a lot of dealers have all come with these tech packages which cost several thousand.

The luxury marques are the ones also pushing out self-driving features, like laser cruise control, auto parking, etc. Again, you get stuck with these big packages.

But if there was a market that ever deserved to be disrupted, it would be stuff like this, where the car maker force overpriced electronics and dealers get in on the action, with $300 map updates and other malarkey.

Just get a good mount for your phone or iPad and don't pay for OEM electronics in cars if you can avoid it.

 

[hnzw_rui]

That is because the phone is so tiny... and. in any event, the vents are in a position where you have to squint at the phone AND watch the road. One may as well be Texting.

Not much of an issue of late (assuming you're okay with big phones). Most new smartphones are at least 4" diagonal, and more and more 5+" models are being released. There are also tablets with satellite GPS if you want even bigger.

Really just a matter of personal preference at this point.

 

[steelyman]

I imagine there are Jehovah's Witness people who would be happy to free others from the pain of having a GPS.

It'd be cool, sort of like donating a puffy shirt for a new Dick Tracy Apple Watch.

 

[MRG]

Okay, I stand corrected. I was curious about all the complaints of taking considerable time to "update" the Garmin units. So I decided to time just exactly how long it takes.

I update the maps 4 or 5 times a year (they promise 4) and it has, for the past several years, taken maybe a half hour total for all three devices -- a Nüvi 680, a Nüvi 785, and a Nüvi 3590LMT. However, tonight there was, apparently, a software update included (or the map update was larger than usual) because the 3590 took right at three hours, the 785 took an hour, and the 680 took 24 minutes.

Yeah, that seems a little excessive even though I really wasn't doing anything else on that computer and wasn't driving anywhere. <grin> The point is I was wrong and I apologize.

One little gem I got from Garmin tech support, after an update corrupted mine.

The update is a 2 asnyrounous processes. One basically does an FTP like process, transfer the data across the link as fast as it can, your speed is limited by network and hard drive. The second is taking whatever data that's now on your local drive and writing to the Garmin. The UI shows as update complete when the transfer is complete to the pc. Your device may not be fully updated! If you watch the Garmin drive though windows you have to wait till all I/O is
quisced on the Garmin drive or your maps are corrupt. He didn't tell me is that was considered a defect or feature. This was last year, the end of October. I recall the date as I still had tears in my eyes at the end of game 7.

On our speedy 2Mbs DSL it's a multi hour process updating a nuvi 1450.

 

[explanade]

There are all kinds of mobile mapping apps, many free, which allow you to download maps for offline use.

These all seem to be faster than Garmin's process.

 

[ERD50]

....

I update the maps 4 or 5 times a year .... However, tonight there was, apparently, a software update included ...

Careful with that, I got an update for my Tom-Tom that changed the UI and moved features that I use off the main screen. I was really PO'd. Took me a lot of work to get back the older firmware. IIRC, there might be a catch-22 now, you need the newer FW to update a map. I scratched Tom-Tom from my list for that reason.

There are all kinds of mobile mapping apps, many free, which allow you to download maps for offline use.

These all seem to be faster than Garmin's process.

I started using OSMand with the OpenStreetMaps. It's klunky in many ways, but fantastic in other ways, and I can use it on my tablet without a data connection.

https://www.openstreetmap.org
OsmAnd - OpenStreetMap Wiki

-ERD50

 

[martyp]

I stopped using the dashboard GPS a couple of years ago. I use the Waze app on my iPhone. It's a crowd sourced app that give pretty accurate traffic conditions. It will reroute me to avoid traffic jams. The voice directions are great. I hardly have to look at the screen.

 

[RonBoyd]

The update is a 2 asnyrounous processes. One basically does an FTP like process, transfer the data across the link as fast as it can, your speed is limited by network and hard drive. The second is taking whatever data that's now on your local drive and writing to the Garmin.

During the upgrade process one is given the choice of uploading to the device AND your PC or to the device only. I long ago started selecting "device only" because it shortened the time but I also never found a need to keep a local copy.

 

[RonBoyd]

I stopped using the dashboard GPS a couple of years ago. I use the Waze app on my iPhone. It's a crowd sourced app that give pretty accurate traffic conditions. It will reroute me to avoid traffic jams. The voice directions are great. I hardly have to look at the screen.

Does your iPhone do all this? (And how useful is it while in stressful unfamiliar conditions... like in big city traffic at 70 MPH and exits going off in six directions during (semi?) rush hour traffic?)

 

[aja8888]

Does your iPhone do all this? (And how useful is it while in stressful unfamiliar conditions... like in big city traffic at 70 MPH and exits going off in six directions during (semi?) rush hour traffic?)

Very, very cool...........my DW needs this! Now if it only had a built in radar detector...

I use my Garmin a lot since I drive 25K+ miles per year. I've considered a dash camera but have not pulled the trigger yet. I don't like using the phone as I can pre-program addresses in the Garmin (saved to Favorites) and I love the lane views in city traffic and on freeways.

 

[NW-Bound]

Back on how old people need a GPS, it appears that posters here are doing quite OK discussing how they use one. The "other" old people who do not need or can use a GPS may be needing some other things a lot more. And we are all getting there.

So, go out and use your GPS while you still can.

 

[RonBoyd]

I use my Garmin a lot since I drive 25K+ miles per year. ... I can pre-program addresses in the Garmin (saved to Favorites) and I love the lane views in city traffic and on freeways.

I, too, drive that many miles each year. Fresh in my mind is spending a couple weeks driving in southern California -- one can for traffic purposes consider it all one city from north of Los Angeles (say Van Nuys) to San Diego. And although there is an actual "rush hour" it is difficult to tell it from off-hour traffic. I can tell you that at freeway speeds, driving an RV (of any size), taking your eyes of the road for even a fraction of a second is life-threatening. Having the screen with all the relevant information available without taking your eyes off the road is... well, a life-saver for many reasons.

Of course, if I was driving in Denver or on state roads in central Wyoming, I could easily use a tiny screen cell phone mounted somewhere on the dash. Why I would even to be willing to bet that I could do it without either device. In fact, I have driven around Denver for 40 years without getting too lost without such a crutch. But get me navigating around in the center of Dallas (or Chicago... which is another city that covers more miles than indicated on a map along I-90) and I would be paralyzed without a dash mounted GPS unit.

 

[aja8888]

Back on how old people need a GPS, it appears that posters here are doing quite OK discussing how they use one. The "other" old people who do not need or can use a GPS may be needing some other things a lot more. And we are all getting there.

So, go out and use your GPS while you still can.

A few of my retired friends (mid 60's age wise) can't successfully use a Garmin (let alone a small screen cell phone) for aiding in their travels. We have had discussions about this at our ROMEO meetings. One guy, who is obviously slipping into dementia, but denies it, asked me if I could give him a lesson in using his Garmin. Sad, but it happens, and one lesson may not be remembered.

 

[dand76]

Call me old school but I still prefer a printed map and plan my route ahead of time. When the mega solar flare takes out the satellites, everyone will be driving around in circles and my system will still be working . Besides that, I have a wife who is more than happy to tell me where to go. I'm sure I'll join the gps club when we retire and travel more.

 

[drb391]

TX statute on windshield mounted GPS:

Sec. 547.613. RESTRICTIONS ON WINDOWS. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a person commits an offense that is a misdemeanor:
(1) if the person operates a motor vehicle that has an object or material that is placed on or attached to the windshield or side or rear window and that obstructs or reduces the operator's clear view;

I place my Garmin mount below the registration and inspection stickers in the lower left area of the windshied (those DPS issued stickers already obstruct my view). The Garmin is then directly between me and the stickers. Works fine and it's there all the time.

I didn't like the windshield mount cuz they used to be an oft stolen item (maybe still). even the tell-tale ring left when unmounted let thieves know there was prolly one in the car somewhere. I got one of those beanbag mounts that you set anywhere convenient on the dash when driving and under the front seat when parked

 

[Walt34]

Besides that, I have a wife who is more than happy to tell me where to go.

Is this the location?

 

[dand76]

Is this the location?

Yep, that's one of many.

 

[NW-Bound]

While driving my motorhome, I run Microsoft Streets and Trips program on a netbook, which gets its position feed from a USB GPS dongle. No problem with the netbook resting on the big dashboard of the RV, and it provides a big display for my wife the navigator.

 

[MRG]

During the upgrade process one is given the choice of uploading to the device AND your PC or to the device only. I long ago started selecting "device only" because it shortened the time but I also never found a need to keep a local copy.

From what tech support told me the same day. That flag just controls if the pc copy is transient or permanent. The guy said writing to the Garmin device was the slowest part of the process(probably not if your using a 56kb connection), that's why he claimed it was designed that way.

That said, they didn't give me source code.

 

[ERD50]

Call me old school but I still prefer a printed map and plan my route ahead of time. When the mega solar flare takes out the satellites, everyone will be driving around in circles and my system will still be working . Besides that, I have a wife who is more than happy to tell me where to go. I'm sure I'll join the gps club when we retire and travel more.

I actually like to use both. A GPS can really be handy to get you in and out of a bunch of street changes. But I still like to use google maps ahead of time, and I usually sketch a little map witht he roads before and after changes. You never know if that GPS is going to flake out, or you drop it, or whatever - I like to have an idea how to get there, just in case.

A few years back, DW and I did a little Prairie Street tour (Glessner house, Clarke House) in Chicago, and planned to go to Chinatown for lunch (Dim-Sum, mmmm). I wasn't familiar with the area ('Nort-side' guy), but I had a pretty good idea how to get from the mansions on Prairie street to Chinatown as I reviewed it on google-maps earlier, but I figured I'd just follow the GPS.

Well that GPS had us get on, and off, and on, and off, and on and off the expressway, and then wanted us to get back on and cross 6 lanes to hit the next exit - all for a one mile drive! I finally said the heck with this, and just went the way I knew would get us there. I don't know what the GPS was thinking.

Both. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

-ERD50

 

[RonBoyd]

While driving my motorhome, I run Microsoft Streets and Trips program on a netbook, which gets its position feed from a USB GPS dongle. No problem with the netbook resting on the big dashboard of the RV, and it provides a big display for my wife the navigator.

Our ROADTREK is a Class B RV (Chevrolet Express Van), so there is insufficient room for anything larger than 6"-7". I do, however, keep S&Ts running in the back. I do this to log exactly where I have been.

For example:


BTW, Microsoft stopped supporting S&T two years ago. What are we going to do when we have to upgrade our computers and cannot use the activation code? This will be like losing a part of the family.

 

[Brat]

Our car GPS is awful, our portable Garmin is fantastic. It has proven very reliable, it tells me what lane to be in well in advance of exit or turn. I will never buy a car with GPS again, will always use the portable (Garmin or phone) variety. Easy to buy an aftermarket backup camera.

 

[tulak]

This thread reminds me of the first time we ever used a GPS device in 2006. Not sure who made it, but it was most likely not a Garmin and it was lent to us by my BIL, who lives in Europe, for a trip we were making in Europe. I really appreciated borrowing the device, since it guided us into the center of Munich to our hotel without a hitch. It would have been much harder without the GPS.

Later in that trip we were in Innsbruck, getting ready to drive to Bologna. I told my wife that it should be about a 4 hour drive. We ended up having to reset the GPS at the time and it came back with a 10+ hour route to Bologna. Both of us were puzzled, until I realized that the route was taking all backroads through the Alps into Italy. Apparently my BIL had set the default to avoid all roads with tolls. That put a bit of a scare into us at the time, since we had to get to Bologna that day and the thought of driving 10+ hours with our two kids in the backseat was, uh, less than ideal. The good news is that after we changed the settings on the GPS, we made it in time for a late lunch in Italy.

 

[MRG]

I like the Garmin for driving better, but don't use it much anymore. It's just too easy to Google somewhere I want go and hit map.