Need new GPS

TourNut · Apr 16, 2017

I am looking for a new GPS brand / model recommendation that has a 2.5 mm output headphone jack . You look at new ones on-line & they rarely mention if they have the 2.5 or any phone jack in their specs.

I had a Garmin NUVI 295W that my wife bought me ( re-manufactured ) that lasted 2 trips & would never turn on again , 2 bikes are wired up for that model .

Thanks for future replies.

SMSW · Apr 16, 2017

I'm in the same boat - my Nuvi runs for a couple of hours and then cuts out - and I guess I'm ready for something more durable. So, I'm looking forward to replies to this thread. Zumo recommendations?

Uncle Phil · Apr 16, 2017

You might look at the 5" Chinavasion model that I use - waterproof, glove friendly has both Bluetooth and the mini-audio jack.

https://www.chinavasion.com/china/wholesale/GPS-Sat_Nav_Devices/Portable_GPS/5-Inch-Motorcycle-GPS/

It does not come with software, but you can get it from a gentleman at

yehob25 at gmail dot com

It is pretty much a plug and play. The same unit is in EBAY, but the software 'load' can be 'iffy' from what others have found.

I've got several of these units and have been very happy with them - especially since you can install the software on as many units as you have.
They are not Garmins but the GPS software is what is issued on most European automotive GPS systems from I can tell.
It comes with all the power supplies and cradle. The mounting holes on the back are compatible with the Ram system if you mount the Ram ball on the cradle (the bolt pattern is the same).

Catmandu2 · Apr 16, 2017

I bought a Magellan Roadmate 9600 7" last week,,, when it went on sale at CTC for $149.cdn,, or about $112.us. I have never been a Magellan fan,,, but for the size and price I thought I would give it a shot. It is a pretty dumbed down gps,,, but the basic 3D functions are there. No Bluetooth. And, I expect to use the 12v charger on all but the shorter local rides. But thas has always been necessary with previous phones and gps. A Ram X-grip phablet mount will be used to hold onto it. Cat'

oh,, and yes,, it does have a 3.5mm audio jack.

SmashVol · Apr 17, 2017

I will double up on UP review as the unit have been a good one and good price. We got ours on the Chinavasion site and they are hard to beat for the price.
I splurged on a Garmin recently and it has a cord with an audio jack to it. Wanted something new to play with but not sure it can do anymore as far as routes etc. than the cheaper one.

Uncle Phil · Apr 18, 2017

SmashVol said:
We got ours on the Chinavasion site and they are hard to beat for the price.

When Alain and I went to Alaska, I had the Chinavasion and he had the Garmin for the Goldwing. That gave us a great opportunity to compare the routes selected and how each machine functioned. One day the Garmin said go one way and the Chinavasion said go a different way. So we stopped, whipped out the maps to see what was up. As it turned out, the Chinavasion had actually picked a better route. ;-) The units do not have all the Garmin bells and whistles, but as far as pure GPS function, they are very comparable (I have used a ZUMO 550 before). In fact, the Motorcycle Rental Shop I used in New Zealand uses them as their rental GPS units.

ReSTored · Apr 18, 2017

TourNut said:
............ I had a Garmin NUVI 295W that my wife bought me ( re-manufactured ) that lasted 2 trips & would never turn on again .

Surprised to hear this as the 2 refurb Garmin units I purchased for about $100 each have been very reliable. Would still be using the first one if I hadn't dropped it on the basement floor and cracked the case.

richpeabody · Apr 18, 2017

My displeasure with Garmin and their Zumo 550 is evidenced on my report about the cradle.....plus, their air-breather support sucks.

T_C · Apr 19, 2017

Catmandu2 said:
it does have a 2.5mm audio jack.

Not to nitpick, but if you are googling for them....
You'll have a better chance of finding 3.5 mm jacks, just FYI.
Carry on!

TourNut · Apr 19, 2017

T_C said:
Not to nitpick, but if you are googling for them....
You'll have a better chance of finding 3.5 mm jacks, just FYI.
Carry on!

Well the old 295W Nuvi was 2.5 , but I will probably have to re-adapt to whatever I get next anyway , it never fails , & I have 2 MCs to adapt to again besides . ,( the little Aero doesn't rate one )

TourNut · Apr 20, 2017

I went to Best Buys , guy there was bringing up Zumo 400, 500, 550 on his computer for MC GPS units , I says " really, those are really old models "
ha ha .. geez !

ST Gui · Apr 20, 2017

jfheath said:
I often find that reviews and sales spec do not mention the stuff that you really need to know, and are sometimes incomplete or inaccurate summaries.

Amen! My biggest peeve is sites that have 'comparison' charts or boxes and buttons of products of widely differing prices but show little or no differences in the comparisons! My most recent experience was with some item on the Sena site but a lot of others have the same problem.

TourNut · Apr 23, 2017

Garmin trying to sell the current models Zumo 495LM 5" screen for $900 !
395LM w/ piddly 4.3" screen for $600 !
Why are they 5 to 8 TIMES the price of the car ones ? just waterproofing ? - ( maybe they are waterproofed , maybe not )

No sign of phone jacks on the NUVI or the new Drive 51/61 models
I hope Magellans are more reliable than my ( only ) 2 trip Garmin !

Uncle Phil · Apr 24, 2017

TourNut said:
Garmin trying to sell the current models Zumo 495LM 5" screen for $900 !

At that price of $900 I could buy six 5" Chinavasion GPS systems and software and I know they are waterproof (happen to be IPX4 IIRC).

TourNut · Apr 24, 2017

My response from Garmin :

" I will be happy to assist you.

Unfortunately, no, the Nuvi 2639LMT does not have a jack of any size or of any type. There are also no accessories to support this feature for this device. The current models with the headphone jack/audio out socket are the motorcycle units which are the zumo series and accomodates 3.5mm size jack plug.
Please respond to this email if you need further assistance.

Thank you for choosing Garmin,
Bouachanh
Product Support - Automotive Team
Garmin International "

My reply ; I told them I and most people were not going to pay 5 - 8 TIMES the price of a car unit for a .75 Ã³ audio jack / ZUMO unit : ($600 - $900 with now piddly little 4.3 & 5" screens besides ) & I am NOT 'choosing garmin' !

( checking out chinavision next )

Uncle Phil · Apr 24, 2017

TourNut said:
( checking out chinavision next )

Just let me know if I can be of any help since I have quite a bit of experience with these units.

TourNut · Apr 24, 2017

U.P. what GPS software did you load into your chinavision and does that software source eventually dry up for updates for the chinavision ?
Thanks for the replies .

( I read that it has 3.5 audio jack , 5 " screen & waterproof for ~ $110 instead of $900 ! -ZUMO )

Uncle Phil · Apr 24, 2017

I am running Primo 2.5 with the MC 1.9 update (which has some really nice features). IGO8 (which is the release before PRIMO) works well also. Getting the MC 1.9 update applied to Primo 2.5 is a bit of a technical whizzbang. You can buy these devices (the same 5 inch unit) on EBAY with the software (IGO8) but as some have found out, the 'software' is a bad distro and usually doesn't work. I recommend most folks to get IGO8 from yehob25 at gmail dot com. He says quote "Primo requires powerful new devices with at least 256MB of RAM or it will run slowly and/or crash. Otherwise you should use the iGO8 card." He periodically sends emails to his customers when new map sets come out and they're about $35-$40. To upgrade the maps, you simply copy the MAP folder (which has .FBL files) from the new card to the old card and copy the POI folder. Since all you are doing is replacing the map folder, there is no 'drying up' since the base software is the same. Routes have to be in the KML format - Google Maps. There are tons of custom 'skins' out there for custom looks if you prowl around GPS websites. The backlighting is not as good as I would like it, but it's no worse in bright sunlight than the ST1300 dash ... ;-) Everything 'lives' on the microsd card, so if the unit cratered, you could just pull the card, stick in another unit and proceed. They have a 1 year warranty which they do honor (I had a USB port go bad) but it does take a while. Normally, if you order one, they require someone to sign for it, so just be aware of that. If they have them in stock, they can usually get one to you from China in a matter of days. Another nice feature is you can copy the software to your PC for backup so you can recreate the microsd if need be.

I also have the European maps and the unit got me out of London and found HardKnott Pass (look it up - it's way out in the boonies) with no trouble at all. And I used them in New Zealand and it worked fine.

TourNut · Apr 24, 2017

Uncle Phil said:
I am running Primo 2.5 with the MC 1.9 update (which has some really nice features). IGO8 (which is the release before PRIMO) works well also. Getting the MC 1.9 update applied to Primo 2.5 is a bit of a technical whizzbang. You can buy these devices (the same 5 inch unit) on EBAY with the software (IGO8) but as some have found out, the 'software' is a bad distro and usually doesn't work. I recommend most folks to get IGO8 from yehob25 at gmail dot com. He says quote "Primo requires powerful new devices with at least 256MB of RAM or it will run slowly and/or crash. Otherwise you should use the iGO8 card." He periodically sends emails to his customers when new map sets come out and they're about $35-$40. To upgrade the maps, you simply copy the MAP folder (which has .FBL files) from the new card to the old card and copy the POI folder. Since all you are doing is replacing the map folder, there is no 'drying up' since the base software is the same. Routes have to be in the KML format - Google Maps. There are tons of custom 'skins' out there for custom looks if you prowl around GPS websites. The backlighting is not as good as I would like it, but it's no worse in bright sunlight than the ST1300 dash ... ;-) Everything 'lives' on the microsd card, so if the unit cratered, you could just pull the card, stick in another unit and proceed. They have a 1 year warranty which they do honor (I had a USB port go bad) but it does take a while. Normally, if you order one, they require someone to sign for it, so just be aware of that. If they have them in stock, they can usually get one to you from China in a matter of days. Another nice feature is you can copy the software to your PC for backup so you can recreate the microsd if need be.

I also have the European maps and the unit got me out of London and found HardKnott Pass (look it up - it's way out in the boonies) with no trouble at all. And I used them in New Zealand and it worked fine.

Thanks U.P. I'll be buying something next , probably the 5".

TourNut · Jul 2, 2017

I'm giving up on the Garmin completely now , I've tried to use it , like only turn it on 4 times , at home , it locked up 3 out of 4 times , had to remove battery to un-lock it , soft reset didn't work , I no longer trust it whatsoever to go on either bike . Next is the Chinavision because I sure won't try Garmin again since I only got 2 piddly uses out of it since I got it . Especially for ~$900 or whatever for a new Zumo .

Need new GPS

240Robert