Article: 85810 of sci.geo.satellite-nav From: Matthew Exley Newsgroups: sci.geo.satellite-nav Subject: Re: Driving with Garmin 176(c) Organization: You'll be lucky Message-ID: References: X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 1.8/32.548 X-No-Archive: yes MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Lines: 49 Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 17:34:39 +0100 NNTP-Posting-Host: 80.3.187.8 X-Complaints-To: abuse@ntlworld.com X-Trace: newsfep4-winn.server.ntli.net 1061225898 80.3.187.8 (Mon, 18 Aug 2003 17:58:18 BST) NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 17:58:18 BST Path: news.meer.net!sea-read.news.verio.net!dfw-artgen!sjc-peer.news.verio.net!news.verio.net!hammer.uoregon.edu!newsfeed.online.be!newsfeed01.sul.t-online.de!t-online.de!newspeer1-gui.server.ntli.net!ntli.net!newsfep4-winn.server.ntli.net.POSTED!53ab2750!not-for-mail Xref: archive.mv.meer.net sci.geo.satellite-nav:85810 On Fri, 15 Aug 2003 07:54:20 +1000, Burnie M wrote: >I also have a GPS V and am thinking of getting a GPSmap 176. > >Currently I am running Metroguide Australia which does not do >auto-routing (selected because of its much better rural coverage). >I find the straight line goto still very useful in the city. > >I am looking at the GPSmap 176 because; > it has a bigger screen area > it redraws much faster > it has data cards (wish it had standard format tho) > >I am thinking about the monochrome version. >Any comments on the colour screen washout in bright sunlight ? >I will be mainly using it in my 4WD but also occassionally on my >(road) motorcycle. > >Burnie M [snip] I know the received wisdom is that the monochrome version performs better in "ambient" light vs. the colour one, however since the 176c uses a "transflective" screen, it's nowhere near as bad as a Laptop in direct sunlight. In a car, you rarely if ever get direct sunlight on the screen anyway (...ok, maybe in a convertible), however I've found that there are virtually no situations in which the screen is unreadable. There are a few situation in which the light levels "overpower" (for want of a better word) the backlight on the 176c, but that doesn't really affect the readability of the screen as such. I can see there being a problem if you were looking at the sun reflected in the screen, but that applies to a whole host of devices I'd have thought. Sorry this isn't a direct answer, but understand I've never used a monochome 176 to compare against! For me, I find the screen more than good enough. I even use the 176 as a hand-held GPS on occasion, without the backlight, and the brighter the day the better for this! -- Matthew Exley henley@guided-naafi.org Marriages are made in Heaven. So are Thunder and Lightning Article: 85808 of sci.geo.satellite-nav From: Matthew Exley Newsgroups: sci.geo.satellite-nav Subject: Re: Driving with Garmin 176(c) Organization: You'll be lucky Message-ID: References: <1lW_a.20525$vo2.18214@newsread1.news.atl.earthlink.net> X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 1.8/32.548 X-No-Archive: yes MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Lines: 109 Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 17:53:04 +0100 NNTP-Posting-Host: 80.3.187.8 X-Complaints-To: abuse@ntlworld.com X-Trace: newsfep4-winn.server.ntli.net 1061225898 80.3.187.8 (Mon, 18 Aug 2003 17:58:18 BST) NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 17:58:18 BST Path: news.meer.net!sea-read.news.verio.net!dfw-artgen!sjc-peer.news.verio.net!news.verio.net!HSNX.atgi.net!newsfeed.media.kyoto-u.ac.jp!in.100proofnews.com!in.100proofnews.com!zen.net.uk!newspeer.lavaseals.co.uk!diablo.theplanet.net!newspeer1-gui.server.ntli.net!ntli.net!newsfep4-winn.server.ntli.net.POSTED!53ab2750!not-for-mail Xref: archive.mv.meer.net sci.geo.satellite-nav:85808 On Fri, 15 Aug 2003 01:05:01 GMT, Scott Byrd wrote: >Matt, > >Thanks for the input Matt. I am impressed that it locks onto roads and >gives you a decent ETA, both things that are not readily apparent in the >instruction manual. > Well, as I've said the ETA is variable depending on the type of route you're following. However, it's *consistently* variable which means if your driving conditions are steady, the ETA will be usable. Here in the UK with our busy roads (and to be fair the fact that I live in a town surrounded mostly by B-roads to get anywhere interesting), the variation in driving speeds does reduce the accuracy of the ETA somewhat: it's not predicting ETA based on future driving conditions, it's basing it on recent past driving conditions is my basic point here. And lock-to-road is dependent on you enabling it, and on the quality of the maps you use. The Atlantic basemap is pretty poor for some of the main roads around here (e.g. the M25 section nearest me is a good 1/2 mile out), and driving on the basemap can be a bit hit-or-miss whether you'd be better turning roadlock on or off! (Mapsource data is a lot better, thankfully). >I currently own a GPS V and can only complain about the lack of >expandable memory and small screen. I recently bought an SPIII and love >the screen but prefer to have more basic navigation features that could >be used in a boat or aircraft. The SPIII was too limited as only a car >navigator. > Yeah. I have a basic-model (Yellow) eTrex as well, which has the great advantage of running "forever" off 2 AA batteries. But it's hard to give up the 176c's mapping when I'm walking... And the routing, and huge trackpoint memory, and configurability and...and...and... >I am a little reluctant to lose my search features of the V. > Hmm. I'm not 100% sure on what search capabilities the V has, but the 176c searches on everything my old StreetPilot (original) could. All POIs, Addresses, Intersections and Waypoints are searchable for example... >Am I understanding you correctly that the 176 will route you after >searching for an address or POI? Or is it that you can make routes and >the 176 snaps to roads? > The 176 is "blind" to any map features with regards routing. It does NOT snap routes to roads. And it is NOT autorouting. My experience is that this results in a bad cosmetic experience for those of us that like to drive with the map screen active, but intelligent route creation (on your part; it's not auto-routing) means this doesn't actually affect the quality of the navigation assistance provided: ETA is driven by VMG so largely unaffected by twists in the road, and "turn left/turn right" indication at critical points is preserved by intelligent choice of route points and "cues" (e.g. place a turn *at* the route point - e.g. roundabout / junction, and then if necessary create "initial points" to that turn shortly before and after to confirm direction. This turns out to be overkill 90% of the time). Note that route creation IS aided by the ability to place route points based on POI and/or address searches. My preferred method is to create a route by defining start points and endpoints, then using the route edit capability on the map to set intermediate waypoints based on critical turns I'll need to make on the way (i.e. pretty much the same way you'd create a paper route if you were looking at a road atlas). If I'd wanted autorouting, I'd have discounted the 176c(*) >Also, opinion, gray or color screen? I'd say either was good. I'm not sure I'd pay again for colour, although it is nice to have (at least it lets me quickly identify whether that crossing line is a river or other road, and where boundaries are). I've written my opinions of the screen upthread somewhere but short summary: the colour screen is good enough to be used in pretty much every condition, although I'd imagine the contrast of the monochrome version would make it easier to use in *direct* sunlight (although I've never seen a monochrome one to compare). [snip] (*) = Long story but basically I didn't purchase the 176c but started with a base model StreetPilot which didn't do autorouting but did lock *some* route points to roads. After a failure in the unit I traded up to the 176 and got a "c" version. Route-lock-to-roads was something I missed a great deal initially, but found that it wasn't affecting the usability of the unit at all, just throwing off my perception of the quality of data I was getting from it. After all, if you're driving you're pretty much stuck on the road regardless of where your course line wanders to, so as long as the next waypoint is where you need to pay attention for a turn, it's OK if that courseline is offset some. And it gives you a decent visualisation of just how much the roads around here add to your travel time vs. "as the crow flies" :-) Regards, Matthew Exley -- Matthew Exley henley@guided-naafi.org Marriages are made in Heaven. So are Thunder and Lightning