Gulp! Just bought a GPS!

[Waihou Thumper]

Yep, I thought it was worth it! :2thumbsup

The South beckons and it will be worth it.
I got the Garmin 60cx, bought the RAM mounts and now my nights will be spent looking at routes in the South Island to follow for my March walkabout....:lol:

[buggsubique]

Nothing like exploring by waypoint! I didn't know the Dusty Butt route very well at all but CooneyR's GPS routes let me go pretty much by GPS alone...that and asking a couple of other riders :innocent:. For the most part though, I love all the "approaching turn", "dist remaining", "total distance" stuff.

[Cloggy]

Good on ya :niceone:

You know where to get the free NZ auto-routing maps right?

[.chris]

bad idea, now you have absolutely no excuse for getting lost.
What good is a adventure bike with a big tank if you never get lost to find out just how far you can get on it.

:msn-wink:

[Waihou Thumper]

bad idea, now you have absolutely no excuse for getting lost.
What good is a adventure bike with a big tank if you never get lost to find out just how far you can get on it.

:msn-wink:

Surprisingly NZ is big..:2thumbsup
I haven't run out of fuel yet, but have been close...
How far I can get on it?
Even riding the 42nd Traverse and Fishers hard, riding home etc...Can't get under 21Km/litre, not bad.....:2thumbsup

[Padmei]

What did ya pay for it? I've been tossing the idea around for a while &, well I do get lost once in a while. Everyone says get the 60HCX -let us know if the sensitivity is good when you get into the bush.

If you're in Nelson that weekend checkout the laidback trailride in the Nelson thread

[Woodman]

Been looking as well.

I quite like getting lost too so what i want to know is, can you just leave it on, maybe in your pack and just look at where you went when you get home?
or is it not that simple??

[Waihou Thumper]

Been looking as well.

I quite like getting lost too so what i want to know is, can you just leave it on, maybe in your pack and just look at where you went when you get home?
or is it not that simple??


was too small for GPS. I know this has been done to death as well.....
I like the idea of looking for a route, uploading it the night before and then exploring.
Getting home, I can download it, send it to my mate and he can ride it as well or get jealous by looking at my trip..

I am going to have a bit of fun loading trips and routes for the holiday down South, better than a map. I have been playing around with the Mapsource and it is awesome.

[rhino_343]

I have the same gps and I love it! It will change your riding for the better to a huge degree... Opens up all kinds of possibilities for linking tracks together, remembering how you got from place to place and not going around in circles. Make sure you get a big SD card for it and the RAM mounts are great, work very well. Make sure you fit the lanyard to it and when you put it in the RAM cradle, make sure you loop the lanyard around the bars first just in case it comes off. The GPS may stop you from becoming lost, but that is the best way to stop you losing the gps!:2thumbsup

[Waihou Thumper]

I have the same gps and I love it! It will change your riding for the better to a huge degree... Opens up all kinds of possibilities for linking tracks together, remembering how you got from place to place and not going around in circles. Make sure you get a big SD card for it and the RAM mounts are great, work very well. Make sure you fit the lanyard to it and when you put it in the RAM cradle, make sure you loop the lanyard around the bars first just in case it comes off. The GPS may stop you from becoming lost, but that is the best way to stop you losing the gps!:2thumbsup

I will make sure it won't go astray, but I might....

[Transalper]

Been looking as well.

I quite like getting lost too so what i want to know is, can you just leave it on, maybe in your pack and just look at where you went when you get home?
or is it not that simple??Yes with the mentioned Garmin 60HCx it is that simple... assuming that you have turned on the record tracks setting.

[CrazyFrog]

My etrex Legend and 60Csx both had no problem recording tracks no worries, even when the GPS was buried deep inside my jacket or backpack. Gotta love that high sensitivity reciever....and the waterproof-ness when out on the handlebar mounts.

[Gremlin]

I've had a couple of .... err... unplanned excursions (aka lowsides :baby:) and my zumo in its ram mount has stayed right where it was. Perhaps a little shifting in the mount itself from the forces being exerted, but we're talking millimetres

[Waihou Thumper]

What did ya pay for it? I've been tossing the idea around for a while &, well I do get lost once in a while. Everyone says get the 60HCX -let us know if the sensitivity is good when you get into the bush.

If you're in Nelson that weekend checkout the laidback trailride in the Nelson thread

I got the 60cx, just as good and has all the features minus altimeter, but I got that on my watch, but who really needs it.
I paid $650, with maps etc.
Just bought the 12v adaptor and the bare wires for a hard wire for the bike.
Might go the 12v way as I can multi use it.

[Waihou Thumper]

Good on ya :niceone:

You know where to get the free NZ auto-routing maps right?

Got them the other day, and they look great!

[Waihou Thumper]

Been looking as well.

I quite like getting lost too so what i want to know is, can you just leave it on, maybe in your pack and just look at where you went when you get home?
or is it not that simple??

Just on the way to work. Left it in my bag and went to work.
It has a track feature and as soon as it activates it leaves breadcrumbs as the trail.
I got home, uploaded it to Mapsource and there was my route! Easy as that!

[Woodman]

What did ya pay for it? I've been tossing the idea around for a while &, well I do get lost once in a while. Everyone says get the 60HCX -let us know if the sensitivity is good when you get into the bush.

If you're in Nelson that weekend checkout the laidback trailride in the Nelson thread

I saw them in Mapworld in chch today. $575, fyi.

[Padmei]

shit thats cheap. They are about $800 on tardme & Ebay aus they are about $650.

[Woodman]

shit thats cheap. They are about $800 on tardme & Ebay aus they are about $650.

pretty sure I got it right, but that seems like a pretty big descrepancy, maybe you should call them to confirm.

[Padmei]

pretty sure I got it right, but that seems like a pretty big descrepancy, maybe you should call them to confirm.

You're right just checked their website. cheers

[Woodman]

You're right just checked their website. cheers

No worries.

Shit i coulda onsold it and made a tidy profit:doh:

[Padmei]

hows the GPS going? I'm pretty keen on getting one soonish. I'm glad that they ave the 12v attachment as I was worried I might have to replace batteries all the time.

Does the 12v adapter plug straight into the unit so an external socket not needed?

Also if I buy one will it have a map on it already or do I have to but maps or I take it there are shareware websitesyou can download maps from??...


To all those grumpies that are about to type "google is your friend or why don't you search? blah blah blah" well I have but obviously haven't put in the correct keywords cos I can't find a noobs explanation of what to do with them.

Your help would be appreciated

[johannvr]

Got mine (Map 60CX) from Burnsco Marine in Westhaven at the beginning of Feb for $ 449.99 (& it's a legit one with the AsiaPac basemap :shifty:, some of the Tardme ones are parallel import / grey US models with the US basemap) - was listed on their website for $ 599.00, but they had / have a special on them - apparently prices have come down since Garmin Aus now distributes directly here - check if it's not still available at that price ...

Got OEM Garmin Bike mounts from Trig instruments in ChCh -fits the DR handlebar like a glove & works well.

[Padmei]

Got a new garmin map60csx yesterday & spent about 3 hrs today loading maps & geocaching locations.

A big thank you to Cooney R & his great website with exc links:niceone:

I'm taking the kids down to Hamner tomm for easter so will break up the drive with a couple of geocache hunts.

The address function is fantastic - especially for work as I don't have to scratch my head & nod at the same time while they are explaining where their house is.

Will try to contribute something in the way of tracks to Advroutes when I get a bit more savvy -

[Triwi]

Geocaching by moto adds a whole new dimension for rides especially thru areas you think you know well. Watch the vibration if your mount is hard attached to bars. I use a touratech mount which rubber isolates the 60cs. Try resting your hand on the unit at 100k to see what I mean.
cheers
Triwi

[Padmei]

Geocaching by moto adds a whole new dimension for rides especially thru areas you think you know well. Watch the vibration if your mount is hard attached to bars. I use a touratech mount which rubber isolates the 60cs. Try resting your hand on the unit at 100k to see what I mean.
cheers
Triwi

Cheers will do. I was wondering about that. I will have a go at making one first....Maybe a piece of sleeping mat will be in order...

[Transalper]

RAM mounts (http://www.ramsolutions.co.nz/)aren't exactly cheap but they are quite good, very versitle and easy to use.

[cooneyr]

....A big thank you to Cooney R & his great website with exc links:niceone:...

Damn it you lot are all giving the the guilts for not doing more work on my web site. I promise I will do some more work on it in the next month. Especially more NI routes but a few good SI routes to come as well.



Cheers will do. I was wondering about that. I will have a go at making one first....Maybe a piece of sleeping mat will be in order...

I'm not into buying things that I can make myself especially when I can do it much cheaper. Have a look at the picks in the link
here (http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showpost.php?p=1980039&postcount=24). The rubber "balls" are two dome tap washers each - have a look in the tap washer section of mitre10 or similar. Compared to TA's RAM it has performed every bit as well if not better. It damps the vibs more (never ever had a shut down) and has only fallen apart once during at 60kph crash (GPS's are good for finding out how fast you were going when you crash). In really rough situations I have to hold the GPS briefly to steady it enough to read but I do that very infrequently.

Cheers R

[Padmei]

Well I had a great time with the new GPS over Easter. Broke up the trip frrom Nelson to Hanmer with a couple of geocache hunts with the kids - good fun & they got exercise without knowing it:yes:

Looking forward to making a mount for the bike & exploring/ mapping the forest roads.

[YellowDog]

Good purchase.

There is nothing worse than going somewhere new when you are not sure whether you are on track or not.

[Waihou Thumper]

Well I had a great time with the new GPS over Easter. Broke up the trip frrom Nelson to Hanmer with a couple of geocache hunts with the kids - good fun & they got exercise without knowing it:yes:

Looking forward to making a mount for the bike & exploring/ mapping the forest roads.

I used it all Easter weekend and it was fantastic! I took the boys around the back of Port Albert and all over the North. I used the track waypoints and when I got home, converted it to routes....
Only thing is, when I used the route, it took me a different way as the track we went on wasn't navigable to the mapsource people...
So at the end of the day, it is better to fly by wire than to sit at home and prepare a route. It might be better to wing it and then explore, more fun that way....;)

[cooneyr]

.... I used the track waypoints and when I got home, converted it to routes....
Only thing is, when I used the route, it took me a different way as the track we went on wasn't navigable to the mapsource people...

Easy - switch to a different map set that doesnt auto route or no map set. Alternatively turn the auto routing off in the preferances (look under the edit menu).

Third alternative is to download GPSBabel (look on the help page of my website) and use the filter functions. Easiest way once you know how too and you can filter the number of route points down to the max number that your GPS can handle (most modern GPS's can only use routes with no more than 250 points).

Try opening a gpx file with notepad or wordpad. They are text files and not that hard to understand with a bit of playing. Make copies before you start changing things though. If you get into trouble send me the files and I'll see if I can "un-break" them.

Cheers R