GPS screws me again

[adamdegraff]

Anybody here sick and tired of their GPS? Or is it just me? I have a late model Garmin GPS 680. Software is up to date. Lately, I have been using it in my car around my home area and I have found that MOST of the time, it takes me the wrong way. By wrong, I mean that it takes me down small, obscure side streets, always taking longer, often increasing the complexity of the drive. It regularly takes me on roads that I could not get my bus down. It frequently takes me to abandoned buildings... such as the time we were near Memphis and it took me to what it thought was a Target Store.... ended up at some unrelated office building. Never was there a Target at that location.

When I am in a place that I don't know, I go where it tells me to go. Through experimentation in my home area, I realize that this little gizmo has no f***en idea what the heck it is doing. The other day I wanted to go to a Starbucks. It took me off the highway, down 3 different busy side streets and dropped me right at the starbucks front door... which, coincidental, was right off the next highway exit with easy access in all directions. What's the deal.

Anybody have a model or brand of GPS that they are happy with? Or should I just get a really good paper map and use my wireless internet to figure out where I want to go. I have "The Next Exit" and am in the market for a good paper map of the US.

Thanks for any advice.

~Adam

[Jerry Winchester]

Adam,

Yep you are right, GPS can hose you faster than a map on many occasions. But I rarely rely on it solely to get around and I hardly ever use the database directions to "Locations of Interest". Most generally, the problem is that I assumed an incorrect address or misspelled something.

I have also had two GPSs tell me to go in two different directions. Both ended up being right, it was just a judgement call and they didn't agree. And yes, they were from the same manufacturer.

I tell folks from out of town (mostly people from out of the country) to not get the "Never Lost" function when they rent a car because they rely on it and never learn their way around town. And they always do it and then try to find my house with it and end up making a 20 minute drive in about an hour. It never fails.

But there are great uses for a GPS if properly rigged up. I really don't know my way around downtown Houston. I only go there when something bad is happening (trip to the lawyer's office or an a$$ eating from a customer), so I mostly block it all out. But I use the GPS to sort out getting out of downtown all the time because there are lots of one way streets and only a few ramps to the interstate. It works real well and because the map is good and the screen is large, I can always use it as a map, so I just default back to dead reckoning.

[phorner]

I agree. I also have a late model Garmin with up dated software and 2008 maps (the 2009 maps have recently become available) and I've found that there can be the occasional hiccup.

Mine has done the job roughly 95% of the time, and it's a tool I've generally learned to trust.

Just make sure that you have the parameters programmed that you want to use ie: truck or bus, avoidance of minor streets, faster time instead of shorter distance, etc.

I have found recently that the satellite signal drops out every so often, so a map is always handy. I just have to make sure the bus is headed due north if Janice is reading it

[Ray Davis]

I have a Garmin Street Pilot 2720 which has served me very well for several years.

I have actually found the internal database to be quite good, and use it quite a lot.

Is it perfect, no. In fact I've found when some areas it is worse than others. In the Southern CA area, it does pretty good, but we have a lot of freeways, and most places will take you freeway, and minimum turns beyond that.

In areas where there aren't as many, they I've found it to be a little less accurate.

GPS directions should always be tempered, if possible, by looking at a map. I don't know if any of the units successfully have a way of routing specfically for a bus or RV.

I've been happy with my Garmin, while my friends Magellen sucked (main user interface issues). As you might guess, routing decisions are not trivial. What's obvious to a human is not at all obvious to a program looking at hundreds of streets possible in getting someone from point a to point b. I don't know for sure, but I would assume that the primary information available within the routing software is just the street name, and perhaps posted speed limit, and whether a road is major or minor. My unit seems to know that much. But, it probably doesn't know much between varying grades of major and minor, nor does it probably have any info about how "skinny" a road might be. Some units I believe have access to underpass information, and might route depending upon height restrictions.

Programming-wise it's an incredible task, and the units do "pretty well" considering.

Ray

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Here's an about face from the Neanderthall POG member.

Yes the GPS screws up, with or without a current database. It fails to know the best route sometimes, it fails to recognize common sense routing sometimes and there are occasions that mine, despite being set up for a large vehicle, will try to send me in places I would never take the bus.

The strength is that it is right more often than not. I have mine set up so I know the distance to my destination which helps me gauge how long I want to drive or how hard to push. It shows my speed which I think on the whole is more accurate than the Pro Driver or the speedometer. I like seeing the weather ahead, and when there are many lanes of traffic and exits from the interstate going both left and right it gives me a heads up.

But if you really want to be prepared, sign up for AAA and go get every city map they have. It will fill a large drawer, but those maps are so detailed they are a great supplement to any GPS.

[wrongagain]

I have just the thing for you,...
If you dont mind setting a laptop on the dash the "copilot truck" series of gps software is the best.
It is based on "pc miler" truck routing software.
It has all the nifty features my car gps has, garmin nuvi 770.
This copilot software all but grabs you by the throat if you try to anything remotely stupid.
They have an RV version but I wanted the hardcore truck version.
When I set it up I chose to make it think I am a rig pulling a 53 ft trailer.
Never even came close to putting me anywhere that the bus wont fit.
Try it you'll like it.
Cheap money at $299.00

[adamdegraff]

Ed, thanks for the suggestion. I might just look into that.
Adam

[Gary & Peggy Stevens]

Ed, thanks for the suggestion. I might just look into that.
Adam

Adam, Peg and I have been using Copilot ( Auto Version Not Big Rig Truck ) for the last 4 years on our laptop, and it has worked fairly well, but the Auto version has it's bad moments too. http://www.alk.com

I think everyone would agree here, "You better have a pretty good idea of where your going, and Do Not BLIND Trust any GPS System. It might get you into a world of hurt, in a big rig."

I now have an Alpine Blackbird PMD-B200 Navigation system http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/prod...model=PMD-B200
that installs in both my Hummer and is portable to take to the Bus. Works good, SO FAR. Another Option

Gary S.

[BUSTER]

Adam,

I am certain you configured the GPS for bus and most freeways rather than shorter distance...and car or motorcycle...I have a Garmin like Ray's and it has been helpful in the bus....good luck

[dalej]

Adam,

I use a Garmin 276c. When I hit menu twice that will take me into Setup, from there I move to Road routing, then select Calculate routes for, then choose Bus, it's default setting is Car/motorcycle

It also has a custom road prefs. which I can choose to change my prefs. by moving the sliders toward the major road and medium roads but avoid minor roads.

Try looking around a little in the setup menu, there is a lot in there.

Good luck!