Motorcycle Tours Asia - Motorcycle Tours Asia

GPS devices

By Administrator, on 17-05-2008 10:29

Favoured : 49

"I dont need one cause I know where I'm going"

Remember 10 years or so ago when talking about computers in the pub there was always someone said " I'm keeping with the pen and paper thank you very much" while nursing a guiness and a packet of Walkers! Take a look at the same guy today and you can fairly sure his home office is sporting the latest all singing and dancing Apple mac laptop with 4 million GB drive, built in camera and able to make a coffee for him at 2 hour intervals and, all this despite he still thinks Hotmail is a dirty dating site!

Now, lets not forget that there are a handful of people in the biking community that actually are nerd's, you know one! He will sit with you all night sporting a flat cap and telling you how many litres to the milliliter his BMW 650 is getting and exactly how heavy his bike is when his Givi box is at it's capacity filled with more tools than a nymphomaniacs top drawer!

This will be the same guy that will tell you a "GPS navigation system is for people with too much money in their pocket and unable to read a map properly"! Let me tell you something...I was that guy! Ok, I dont ride a BMW, I don't wear a flat cap (my whippet ate it) and neither am I a nymphomaniac (my wife put paid to that) but, after years of refusing even to look at a GPS for actual fear of purchasing one I sucumbed and bought one last year, and let me tell you the search for just the right one and within my budget was indeed a harrowing experience.

Did I need one with a colour screen? Would a GPS enabled wrist watch do the job? How about if I bought a mobile phone with one incorporated? should I buy the one that doubles is a walky talky aswell? should I buy one with the added option of attaching an aerial to my whippets arse? yes, you can even buy one for your dog! Anyway to cut a long story short it took me weeks to decide what to buy and another month to decide who to buy it from.

After I had written down a check list of what I needed and what I definately didn't need, I decided to

go for the Garmin 60 CSX. I have now used this device which neatly attaches to the bars on my bike for almost a year though the first 2 weeks of use was on a tour with a pal of mine in Thailand and Cambodia. 14 days of touring and when I returned home and took a look at the map all It could produce was an exact route of almost every seedy joint and dance bar in Bangkok the night before we flew home! This prompted me to do something I am sure we are all guilty of and actually read the instruction manual before we attempt to use it! I did have an inclination something was not quite right when considering Bangkok is almost below sea level the readings on the altimeter would have suggested we could be in for heavy blizzards!

Anyway, after reading the manual I am able to use the gadget with the precision of Edmund Hilary and after each trip I can hold my head up high in the pub and tell Mr BMW 650 the exact altutude differences between the 'Wagon and horses' and the 'Old bull and bush' and exactly where my whippet is at any given time! Suffice to say he is now sporting the latest Garmin model!

The 60CSX has many functions and proabably many you would never need but, it's basic functions of faultlessly leading you to a position on the globe is amazing. You can even pump in some info such as you are riding a motorbike, do not want to ride main highways, and want to stay only to rural roads. Doing this you actually end up doing a rather interesting mystery tour but, still arriving at your stated destination and at the time it stated you will arrrive. And, it makes perfect maps, which I now download to my laptop, save them to a little disk and sell it onto Mr BMW in the pub. It's paying for itself already!

Buying one

At the current rate of exchange (£2 to $1 US) you'd be silly to buy it from the UK. Get online and buy one from the US! The one downfall of buying from the US is the map incoporporated into the system! Maps for the system are the important thing and if you buy it from US but do not live there unless you ask them to do a deal and have say the European or Asia pacific map included you may need to search online for maps for your region.

My recomendations

This is a personal recommendation. I was not given this device to write a review (the above is more a rambling than a review) but, I searched everywhere on the net until I came to TigerGPS.com . Their website offers simple navigation and it was easy to compare one device to another. There is a delivery charge outside the US however, including the delivery I still saved myself a packet on buying online through TigerGPS rather than from the UK! From the moment of purchase online I could track the package from from New York to UK and it arrived on my doorstep within 4 days! Remember to buy the handlebar attachment!

Specifications

GPSMAP 60CSx Features:

New high-sensitivity WAAS-capable GPS receiver by SiRF
Built-in quad-helix receiving antenna with remote antenna capability
Unit dimensions: 2.4" W x 6.1" H x 1.3" D
Display: 1.5" W x 2.2" H, 2.6"-diagonal, 256-color, transflective TFT (160 x 240 pixels)
Weight: 7.5 ounces with batteries (not included)
Sensors:
- Electronic compass displays accurate heading while standing still
- Barometric altimeter with automatic pressure trend recording
microSD card slot allows for storage of optional MapSource detail (64 MB microSD included) Editor:This is a must!
LED backlit display and keypad
Battery life: 20 hours (typical use) using two AA alkaline batteries
Includes a built-in Americas autoroute basemap with automatic routing capabilities, including highways, exits, and tide data (USA only) Editor: see if they can change this?
Internal memory is preloaded with a marine point database
1,000 user waypoints with name and graphic symbol; 50 reversible routes
Position formats include Lat/Lon, UTM, Loran TDs, Maidenhead, MGRS, user grid, and more
Audible alarms for anchor drag, arrival, off-course, proximity waypoint, and clock
Large-numbers option for easy viewing; dual-position display mode
Trip computer provides odometer, stopped time, moving average, overall average, total time, max speed, and more
10,000-point automatic track log; 20 saved tracks (500 points each) let you retrace your path in both directions
Elevation computer provides current elevation, ascent/descent rate, minimum/ maximum elevation, total ascent and descent, average and maximum ascent and descent rate
Navigation instructions can be shared with repeaters, plotters, and autopilots using NMEA protocols through the dedicated serial port.
Built-in celestial tables for sun and moon calculations and the best times to fish and hunt
Compatible with most MapSource products including BlueChart, City Navigator, U.S. TOPO 24K, U.S. TOPO, and Recreational Lakes with Fishing Hot Spots
Water resistant: IEC 60529 IPX7 standards