Posted by CentralNY on 12/29/12 11:51am
Msg #448071

GPS, I did do a search but help

i did not see a lot with the search. i do not have a smart phone, but a regular lg verizon for a phone and texting. i do have apps on it but i can't go there and the screen is small. so, who has a gps that they either plug in the lighter? or another outlet? or is convenient in the car. i am sick for trying to see in the dark in bad weather and getting out of cars to see house numbers. thanks

Reply by bagger on 12/29/12 12:28pm
Msg #448076

Are you talking about a Garmin?

I have had one for about 6 years now, and just love it.
It is a little quirky in that When I am returning and I hit "Go Home", it sometimes takes me a different route.
It is about 99.95% accurate.

Reply by Karla/OR on 12/29/12 12:35pm
Msg #448081

Re: Are you talking about a Garmin?

I second what bagger has posted. I have had mine a year and LOVE IT!!! I don't know how I got along without it before this. In a years time it has only steered me wrong ONCE up a street that was blocked off and didn't go through all the way.

I love that it tells you ahead of time what street to turn on, if that street is on the left or right, how many feet to the actual house once you are on the right street, and then if the house is on the left or right.

You just enter the city or zip, house number, and then city, and up pops the directions.

Reply by Shan/CA on 12/29/12 12:56pm
Msg #448085

Re: Are you talking about a Garmin?

I totally agree with you Bagger, mine will sometimes send me the scenic route! Other than that, I will not be without mine, especially since I am "geographically" challenged! LOL

Reply by Erwin/CA on 12/29/12 12:31pm
Msg #448077

I had a Tom-Tom and now have a Magellan Roadmate. Both worked well. The Roadmate pronounces streets better. Try to get a relatively big screen if you can.
Happy New Year.
Erwin

Reply by John Tennant on 12/29/12 1:12pm
Msg #448089

I have the larger screen Magellan and have used it for cross country travel (SD to Conn and back) as well as work. I got it to replace a Garmin. The 7" screen is great, especially at night.

Reply by sueharke on 12/29/12 12:34pm
Msg #448079

I use both my cell phone (Android) and a regular GPS. I have been in areas where there was no cell phone coverage, but my Garmin GPS worked in that respective area. Also, the Garmin will not work in certain area too (if it cannot see the sky). Either way, I use my Garmin, over the cell phone because I am able to see it.

My philosophy is 'never say never" as to using lower technology tools is a good idea.

Reply by CentralNY on 12/29/12 1:04pm
Msg #448087

Thanks all, garmin it is, don't know how i used

print outs of mapquest all these years, just can't do it anymore and hubby is not that techie.

Reply by Doris_CO on 12/29/12 1:07pm
Msg #448088

I've had a Garmin for about three years and I love it. I do check the location of the meeting on google maps and print out the map before I leave the house because I've had a few times that Ms. Garmin has given the wrong directions (i.e., turn left instead of right, or taken me to the wrong house or wrong block). But, this time of year, when it's usually dark when we arrive, my Garmin has been invaluable.

Reply by Yoli/CA on 12/29/12 1:19pm
Msg #448091

I've got a built-in navigation system in the car. The downside to that is that it needs to be updated, at a cost of approx. $250, ~every 3 years. Rather than update this year, I've decided to get the Garmin 5" with lifetime maps and traffic updates (don't forget the mount and carrying case). I just started looking, but here's the Amazon link:

http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-1450LMT-Portable-Navigator-Lifetime/dp/B003ZX8B2S/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1356808502&sr=8-5&keywords=garmin

Reply by GOLDGIRL/CA on 12/29/12 1:16pm
Msg #448090

Yikes!

Are you saying you don't have a GPS?!?!

I need mine to get out of my driveway .... let alone get to a borrower's house.

If that's so, you simply must get one. They talk to you (in any number of languages; you get to choose. Actually I learned "turn left" and "turn right" in Russian. My last Russian signers were very impressed. Not really, but they were very polite as I showed off).
The GPSs have bright, colored screens with large arrows that point you in the right direction (99% of the time). I guess they all plug into the cig lighter. Sometimes they go hinky, mostly in really remote areas, in new housing/industrial developments or where new roads just opened or where roads were recently closed .. but that's very rare. Eventually they get you on the right track

Also, I carry binocs to see those pesky house numbers in the dark with no porch light and vines growing all over them. Or try to read what's left of them painted on the curb. My husband says I look like a terrorist spying on the neighborhood, but, hey, not my fault!

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 12/29/12 1:22pm
Msg #448092

I don't have one either - I still rely on MapQuest,

GoogleMaps and borrower/signer directions and landmarks to get me there...has worked for me for 6.5 years.

Although I must admit for the first time the other night I wished I had a GPS (think I have one on my phone but not sure) - home down by the river, twisty turny roads - turn right then left then right and left again, rinse and repeat. I was so lost getting out - finally found the main road by sheer accident. One good thing about my area...you drive long enough eventually you end up on SOME main road.

Reply by CentralNY on 12/29/12 1:34pm
Msg #448096

I know, I know, I wouldn't say I am cheap

but the cost has come way down. I have been doing this off and on since 2003 and i go to 6 counties and in that time i have become very familiar with a lot, but the other night the weather was awful and a very heavy suburban area, had to turn left and could barely read the signs, you know. so i am finally going for it. they are certainly reasonable enough. again, thanks all, such valuable resources.

Reply by HSH/WA on 12/29/12 4:49pm
Msg #448110

Re:I have a spot light to read the numbers or signs at night

I'm sure people wonder what's up when I shine it on their home. It's so rainny and dark up here I can not see without the light. Thinking of charging a $25 bad eye sight fee for signings after 5pm.

Reply by CopperheadVA on 12/29/12 6:21pm
Msg #448122

Re: I know, I know, I wouldn't say I am cheap

I got a Garmin several years ago after getting hopelessly lost on my way to a signing. In my area, street signs can get turned or are just simply missing. Also, one side of the intersection the street will be named one thing, and the other side of the intersection the street has a new name. Streets are just not labeled well or consistently here.

I also recommend buying a friction mount: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002OL2MU4/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00

See Msg #333207 for why I needed it.

One of my cars has a built in GPS and I update that every four years or so - costs around $150 for the update disc. Love it.

Reply by RonnieB/NC on 12/29/12 1:45pm
Msg #448098

Re: I don't have one either - I still rely on MapQuest,

I had to go off the road, and through the woods on this winding stoney path around the trees. I felt like"Little Red Riding Hood" on her way to Grandma's house. In fact, the borrower came and got me to follow him up to the house. This was fifty miles from my house at 9:00pm.

I always sing a song and praise worship when I'm in those dense woods at night. The devil lurks in the darkness.

Reply by Shan/CA on 12/29/12 6:18pm
Msg #448120

Re: I don't have one either - I still rely on MapQuest,

Linda, I swear mapquest almost sent me off cliff! It had me any the middle of bum fub nowhere, and I said never again! Glad it works for you.

Reply by MikeC/TX on 12/29/12 7:24pm
Msg #448126

Re: I don't have one either - I still rely on MapQuest,

This kind of stuff can happen with a GPS as well - I've had a couple of instances where the GPS sent me to somewhere it was not possible to go. In one case there was a barrier blocking the road I was supposed to follow.

A GPS is only as good as how updated the maps are. Same problem holds true for Google Maps and MapQuest. In some areas it's not a problem, because the roads don't change that often and there's not a lot of new development. Here in this part of TX there is so much roadwork going on that the roads and traffic patterns change from day to day - even with lifetime updates on a Garmin, it's impossible to keep up.

Reply by RonnieB/NC on 12/29/12 1:30pm
Msg #448095

Re: Yikes!

LOL! Terrorist, binoculars.

Reply by HisHughness on 12/29/12 5:58pm
Msg #448114

GG, I am heels over head in love with you. Will you be my...

... next wife?

I'm a birdwatcher, or at least I was before my health got so bad. I have half a dozen pairs of 'nocs around, but I never thought of carrying a pair to read house numbers. Pretty dumb, I know, but it took me a decade or so to realize what that little notch on the side of resealable bags was for; I kept using scissors to open them.

If you're not available for marriage, could we talk about adoption?

Reply by GOLDGIRL/CA on 12/29/12 7:20pm
Msg #448125

Re: GG, I am heels over head in love with you. Will you be my...

Yikes! This is the first marriage proposal I've ever received, come to think of it. My head is swimming over the very idea! I MADE my (one and only) husband marry me, and 30 years later we're still at it, so to speak.

So, I guess marriage is out. But adoption is possible. Who's adopting who, tho? And all this over a pair of binocs? Who coulda guessed?

Reply by Shan/CA on 12/29/12 6:20pm
Msg #448121

Re: Yikes!

Goldgirl, good to know that I am not the only one who is "challenged." LOL

Reply by JENNY/TX on 12/29/12 1:49pm
Msg #448099

Love my Garmin. You will need a mount and case, like stated above. Get the biggest screen you can afford. Also save money and get the life time map updates. It seems a little expensive at first but it is worth it. After you decide which model you want, if you decide on a Garmin, go to amazon.com and search garmin gps windshield mounts, I prefer the windshield mounts because my dash board is not ideal for a mount that sits on it, and then search for Garmin cases. These will be made specifically for the Garmin. I did all my research on the Garmin site to help me decide which model to buy but then went to Beachcamera.com for the best price, at that time.

Jenny

Reply by CentralNY on 12/29/12 1:55pm
Msg #448100

Great info Jenny, now I can't wait n/m

Reply by GOLDGIRL/CA on 12/29/12 2:37pm
Msg #448104

In my neck o' the woods, you have a visible GPS mount, your car in instantly broken into.

When I'm not using my GPS, it goes in the trunk.

Reply by Yoli/CA on 12/29/12 3:20pm
Msg #448107

Yep. About 2006, my youngest daughter bought a brand new SUV and got a Garmin to go with it. She had that dashboard mount that almost looks like a bean bag - and loved the whole getup! She went to San Francisco with some friends one Saturday night. When they came out to her car ... oh yeah! It had been broken into. She had put the Garmin in either the glove compartment or console (I forget now). However, she had left the mount on the dashboard. Well, someone figured it out. Garmin, mount and all her CD's were gone ... along with her passenger side window. They had ransacked the trunk (according to cops, probably where they started looking). An expensive night out and a lesson to beware.

She eventually replaced everything. But, now she takes the Garmin with her and puts the mount under the seat.

Morale of the story: Anything having to do with your GPS, put away out of sight. Don't invite intruders.

Reply by HisHughness on 12/29/12 6:01pm
Msg #448115

Lots of people, myself included, would recommend against...

... mounting a GPS. The mount is a tipoff to thieves. I decided they were a bad idea after the second time my car was burgled.

Reply by BrendaTx on 12/29/12 6:08pm
Msg #448116

I use Google Navigation & Telenav on my Galaxy S2.

The Galaxy S2 is a smartphone.

Telenav got confused once in downtown Houston, but Google Navigation put me back on the right track. I know this is about GPS systems and not smartphone apps, but I like not having another piece of hardware to hide/insure/protect/update/charge, etc. My life is already burgeoning with devices.

Reply by GOLDGIRL/CA on 12/29/12 8:23pm
Msg #448127

Telenav got confused once in downtown Houston....

I myself was confused once in downtown Houston. Actually, the entire state of Texas confuses me. Aren't you guys seceding? (I know, JP).

Reply by MikeC/TX on 12/29/12 11:20pm
Msg #448136

Re: Telenav got confused once in downtown Houston....

The entire state of Texas confuses me also, but I just got here about a year ago...

Reply by MikeC/TX on 12/29/12 7:10pm
Msg #448124

Re: Lots of people, myself included, would recommend against...

The mount itself is not always the problem - even if you remove a windshield mount it tends to leave a residue on the windshield, and that's all the bad guys need to realize there's a GPS in the car.

I have always used the dashboard "bean-bag" type of mounts - sits on the dashboard, heavy enough to not move around while you drive, completely portable. When I park the car, the GPS and the mount either go with me or are easily hidden.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 12/30/12 2:00am
Msg #448139

Re: Lots of people, myself included, would recommend against...

My portable GPS just fits inside a little compartment right above the gear shift, next to one of two power plugs in my car. I can't quite close it with the GPS there, but when I leave the car, if I happen to be in a questionable area, I can put it in the glove box, then close the lid on that compartment, so there's no evidence.

While I still frequently print Google map directions on the back side of my confirmations, I feel much safer driving with directions from the Garmin, then with trying to read from a sheet of paper. When they contradict each other, though, it's always interesting trying to guess which one is the better route. Neither one is always the right choice, but it seems like the Google Maps info is a little more up to date.
Took me a while, though, to get used to the pronunciation from the darn thing, since so many streets here have Spanish names. Sometimes it's just downright funny.

My GPS was a gift, but if I was to buy one for myself (which I may end up doing anyway) I would DEFINITELY get one with free lifetime updates. There are a good number of new communities in the areas I find myself in and it's been a problem on a number of occasions. Plus, some areas have been annexed by some nearby cities, so the city name is different and the GPS just can't find it with the info I have. Also, my Garmin seems to have an aversion to left turns sometimes. One late night returning home from an area I wasn't too familiar with, I later found out that it took me 3 miles out of the way!

My wish list for the perfect GPS would include providing more or less real-time traffic information and suggestions for alternate routes! (And I'm pretty sure that's available.) But even the imperfect one I own has become a must-have for me, flaws and all.

Reply by ReneeK_MI on 12/30/12 4:29am
Msg #448142

Anyone try a gel 'sticky' mat - alternative to dash mounts

http://tinyurl.com/acfm66s

I was reading about these just the other day, probably will get one for my husband for the very reason Hugh cites - to eliminate those tell-tale mount marks on the windshield. That's just begging for a bad day.

Reply by CentralNY on 12/30/12 8:32am
Msg #448152

All valuable info, will heed it, Brenda I would

love to do the smartphone but truth be told i took one back as it was too much. i know, LOSER. prior to this phone contract running out i am going to force myself to learn as there is just so many good things, especially efficiency. and hugh i am glad this thread could facilitate your romantic side.

Reply by sueharke on 12/30/12 12:43pm
Msg #448169

Re: All valuable info, will heed it, Brenda I would

No contract phones now have some great features at a great monthly price. I would look into getting one before signing a contact for a phone with AT&T, Verizon, or any cell phone company. I bought my last and prior replacement phone (after a phone died) on eBay from a seller who had changed phones or cell providers. The price was right, no warranty, but works with T-Mobile without a contract.

Reply by CentralNY on 12/30/12 2:01pm
Msg #448173

I agree, i pay $60 with verizon and i think that is too

much. but hubby has t-mobile and has terrible coverage (he just has for casual use), and with verizon i have great coverage, so 6 half dozen, you know. but when contract is up i am going to look at other options. that walmart plan does look good, but in our biz the quality of coverage is so important.

Reply by MikeC/TX on 12/30/12 6:36pm
Msg #448183

CentralNY, I sent you a PM

Check your mail.

Reply by CentralNY on 12/31/12 7:15am
Msg #448218

I told you I am a loser, I have no idea

how to check a pm

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 12/31/12 8:35am
Msg #448227

Click on "Home" up above, then click on the mailbox

icon on your home page -

And you're NOT a loser..

Reply by CentralNY on 12/31/12 9:46am
Msg #448247

Oh my gosh thanks, I have a lot of PM's who knew! n/m