A new Garmin for me

Okay, I’ll admit it…I’m a GPS geek.  I am absolutely amazed by the technology.  And what a sales pitch to married men everywhere…..  “You’ll never have to stop and ask for directions again!”

I couldn’t resist!  Years ago I bought my first Garmin, an etrex Vista.  At the time this was a fairly “Gucci” setup…barometric altimeter, electronic compass, the works.  Not bad for a little gray-scale handheld.  My wife loves telling the story of me spending a “few hours” (more like 15 minutes) in the backyard trying to figure out my new “toy” and get a good lock on the satellites overhead, perhaps even with a bit of a puzzled look on my face.  She was on the phone talking to her dad and the conversation went something like this:

Wife:  “He’s at it again…”

Dad:  “What did he do this time?”

Wife:  “He bought a GPS thingy…”

Dad:  “Oh, I’ve been thinking about getting one of those myself.”

Wife:  “He’s been walking around the the backyard all afternoon with the darn thing…”

Dad:  “Look on the bright side, at least he’s not out running around in bars…”

Wife:  “Hang on Dad…”

[At which point she hollers to me out the back door]

Wife: “Honey, you’re by the pool!!!”

[Much laughter at my expense on the other end of the phone]

That GPS served me well for 4 or 5 years of Geocaching, car use, roaming around the backyard, etc.  I even took it flying a few times and found the altimeter to be very accurate.  I upgraded the 1st generation etrex Vista with an etrex Legend HCx last year.  This model has a color screen, which I have found to be a must-have necessity.  This hand-held is great for wandering trips in unfamiliar areas and even does well in the woods, provided the tree canopy isn’t too thick.

Before moving to Germany we bought a Garmin Nuvi 260 with preloaded North American and European maps for my wife’s car.   It’s portable with an advertised 5 hour battery life and we’ve found that it works pretty well over here on the European Continent, although it can be a bit touchy at times with some of the directions.  For example, after making an exit it doesn’t always warn you in advance of the need to make an immediate turn in a timely manner.  In these situations the recalulation feature can get a bit of a workout but it manages to get us where we’re going.

Garmin Nuvi 750

SD Card port on the side

This brings us to my most recent GPS acquisition.  A couple weeks ago I picked up a Garmin Nuvi 750 GPS unit on eBay to use in my car.  The technology has taken another few steps forward.  I’m very impressed with the 4.3″ widescreen display and the clear voice prompts in different languages.   I’ve heard that some of the earlier Nuvi models have a bit of a tinny sound through the speaker.  Not the case with either the Nuvi 260 or 750.

One of the best features that this unit offers is the ability to build and save 10 different routes…a feature that my older Nuvi 260 is missing.  The Nuvi 750 comes loaded with North American map data but is easily upgraded with additional maps with Garmin’s pre-loaded SD Cards.  I have a 2008 European Map card that covers most of the continent.  These cards are “swapable” with other compatible Garmin units like my E-trex Legend hand-held GPS.

Like the Nuvi 260, this unit is portable and has settings for walking, bicycling, and driving.  As you can see from the photos above, it’s small enough to fit in a sport jacket pocket, backpack, fannypack, or something similar.

The good folks at eBay sent me a 10% off coupon on any purchase…with the discount I got a sweet deal on this NIB unit.  So far, it’s working like a champ.  I’ll edit with some additional info once I give this new GPS a good workout…