Garmin GPS

[Steve]

Have an opportunity to pick up a Garmin Etrex Venture GPS for around $180. It's brand new. Anyone have this model?
http://www.garmin.com/products/etrexVenture/

[Steve]

Bueller?.......Bueller....?

Anyway too late I am gonna buy it! :lol:

[Al]

Sounds like a steal for $180 as they normally retail for around $300.

http://www.prestigecom.net.au/default.asp?category=GPS%3A+Handheld&subcat=Garmin&openmenu=18

I was considering getting either the Venture or the Legend.

[Chopper in Oz]

I have found that the etrex models are not the most user friendly, the small screen and side mounted buttons were a real PITA.

but each to their own!

[Steve]

Chopper,

You are right. I'm buying it from a friend who dropped it and smashed the screen. He got a replacement brand new unit for $180 which he is selling me because he bought another brand with a colour screen. So I was just thinking for only $180 it should serve the purpose that I am going to use it for. Even though it is a bit fiddly! He even said the same about it.

[Agent Orange]

interested to hear what you think of it

[Jeeps]

Did you get it Steve?

[Dave]

I have the basic etrex, its OK.. I only use it as a uplink type thing to my PDA since my dog chewed the gps up.

If its no good as a gps your dogs will love it as a chew toy :)

[Steve]

Did you get it Steve?

As a matter of fact I haven't gotten it yet. I told him to hold off a bit while I look at other options. He's in no real hurry to sell it.

[Jeeps]

Remember i've got that Magellan base model (which i can now get for under $200 :wink: ) and it's awesome except for no pc connectivity or mapping. 8)

[Steve]

Actually think I am going to get a better model now. Thought I might as well get a good one first up. Leading the race is the Garmin 60C with colour screen. Cheapest I have found so far is $734

[Steve]

Gonna look at some US sites for prices too.

[Steve]

OK work out this price difference. After merely 5 minutes of searching I found the Garmin 60C for $339USD which equals $438 Aussie Pesos. So how can they justify a $300 price difference?

[TJ]

there is a gps guy on us ebay, jose.. i can find him if you want. stuff really cheap off and a lot of OL people have bought off him.

[Steve]

Well so much for buying it from the US. Buying it isn't a problem, the base maps are. Garmin will not reprogram it with Australian Basemaps. So I guess I'm stuck buying one here, or getting a non mapping GPS.

[merolius]

this is what i thought when i decided not to buy from the us , as the base map isnt oz , and i know magellan charge about 300 bucks to update it

[Hunter]

Well so much for buying it from the US. Buying it isn't a problem, the base maps are. Garmin will not reprogram it with Australian Basemaps. So I guess I'm stuck buying one here, or getting a non mapping GPS.

Don't worry about the basemap, they r rubbish anyway. Buy a GPS form US, and get the Mapsource City Navigator Australia CD, then you will get most detailed street level maps throughout Australia, and depends on which GPS you buy, it can give you turn by turn instruction to your destination (60C/CS will). It will still cheaper than buy one within AU with much less detailed basemap, even better, we can even share the cost of the Mapsource software. :wink:
In fact what I hate the most is I can not delete the useless basemap to save more internal memory for better ones.