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If any of you are looking for a dashboard GPS (and I wasn't but my wife was bugging me for one) West Marine has a Garmin Nuvi 200 on sale on line for $119. I finally surrendered and ordered one and it arrived today. I am floored! The damned thing has every local street in my rural area, gives audio directions, recalculates immediately if you go a different way, tells you the nearest gas station, hospital, police station, etc., etc., and comes with it's own cigarette lighter connection, built in battery, and dash/windshield connector from which it pops out so you can put it in your pocket. I am amazed how much is packed into this little thing. If you were thinking of getting one, this is a bargain. If you look at the on line ad, DON'T order the cigarette lighter accessory or dash holder (I did) as the basic unit has them in the box it comes in! I'm returning mine. The internal chip is for the entire United States! Walter

Walter, no more excuses. You can't get lost anymore...

I got one a few months ago, love it.

they work better then the ones that come as original equipment in cars

thanks....carens christmas present.....and she is always lost

I just checked the Worst Marine site and they're touting a $159.99 price now... Still good price, but not the bargain Walter got.

I'll never forget this... I was on a commercial flight… and as usual I pulled out my handheld Garmin to entertain myself watching our position, altitude, and speed. I'm the first person outside of the flight crew to know when we get put in a holding pattern for landing, and I get a kick out of that. I always ask a flight attendant how long she thinks we’ll be in the holding pattern, and enjoy the shocked and confused looks I always get back just because I even knew that information.

Anyway, the gomer in the seat next to me sees me fiddling with my GPS, gets all excited about the idea, and pulls his "tom-tom" out of his luggage. This is another one of those GPS street navigator-type gadgets.

Because of this I ended up giving him my window seat out of politeness, because no GPS works on a plane unless they’re near a window. So already my very short flight-friendship with this guy is going badly for me.

At first his poor little gadget was going nuts, trying to plot its point-of-view position along city streets that we were actually high over. It was going nuts because we were going ~650 mph and his gadget could barely figure out which street we were on (over) before it had to switch to a new one.

I tell him to switch it to a map view so he can actually see something. He does that, and then watches the screen intently for a good while. It is somewhere during this time I realize that being polite sucks, because I’m clearly not getting my window seat back.

After studying his tom-tom quietly for a while, he suddenly starts explaining how amazing and smart his new little gadget is, because “it can find all of the airplanes around us !!”

"Um… I don't think it can do that," I say. "It doesn't have radar."

"Well it sure does do that. LOOK !! It must have some kind of new satellite radar ."

He proceeds to explain to me that every time he sees a little airplane on the gadget's map, he looks out the window and can see the plane that the gadget is showing on its screen.

Sure enough, just then and on queue, his tom-tom shows a little airplane. The guy looks around out the window, and voilà - he triumphantly points out another plane zipping by.

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He was so thrilled with his amazing little toy that could locate and map local air traffic... and so I just didn't have the heart to explain to him that the little airplane on the map of course meant airport, hence the inevitable air traffic.

It's the little things in life that make you smile.

It also made me realize how very little the general non-boating and non-pilot public really knows about navigation, like squat.

I always get a good laugh when I see folks in the Keys with 'em....

Ummm, guys there is only one real road here... either your heading toward Miami or Key West.

But, then again... I've seen quite a few Biminites equipt with 'em as well... In their defense they do have both the Kings & Queens Hwys. Two main drags can be confusing as hell... right? Funny.

Walter

I just picked up a refurbished Garmin 750 from the GPS store. $269. Great little machine. Costco is selling the 750 new for $199. Now that is a great deal.

ill have to look into that, just bought a new truck and it didnt come with a navigation system

I picked up one just before thanksgiving, it worked great.

As for pricing, I got the 200W (4.3 screen) and it was $159, the 200 (3.5 screen) was $119. Being use to a bigger display on my boat I didn't want a smaller screen.

It even has a blue truck icon that looks like my truck....

JohnD wrote:It even has a blue truck icon that looks like my truck....

See - those things are amazing! I'm gonna get one and run it around town when I see rainbows, and look for the leprechaun's pot o' gold icon to appear

Oh man.......

I hadn't thought of that!!

I'm going on the Tom Tom site right now to download the Pot 'o Gold locations.....

Garmin Nuvi 770 at Costco.com for $199.00

Dad has been making my rounds as I have been tied to the shop, he can't run the computerized machines.
So after a many cell phone calls from him asking me where he is cause he's lost and he can't read those stupid Little Book Page Maps...he's got a point there, go five blocks then flip several pages, go a few blocks and flip another couple pages..ridiculous. Those big maps at least gave you a sence of direction, these little books just suck. Oh , back to the story I couldn't help tell him where to go without knowing where he was so I just decided to get a Garmin for him even though he thought it was a complete waste.

It comes in and he wants nothing to do with it, but I enter the days waypoints and show him how to go from one place to the next by just hitting favorites and touching the name. I then set it up in his truck and he hates it.. it's in his way, it's this it's that, but tell him to use it anyway if he don't like it I will return it. Few hours later he comes back and he can't tell me how great the unit is and how glad he is that he finally decided to get one.

Few hours later he comes back and he can't tell me how great the unit is and how glad he is that he finally decided to get one.

Sounds like a typlcal DAD... Good on him!

I've had four Garmin GPS's and have not been pleased with any of them.

I just bought my wife a Magellan RoadMate 4212 @ Sears @ $199.
The 4200 is a great deal @ $169.

They both have 4.3" screens, a nice mounting bracket and are nice looking units.
The only difference is the 4212 names the streets as it gives you audio directions.

Just recently picked up a Garmin Nuvi 255W. Got it for free with credit card rewards points. Everyone I know asked me why the hell did I need a GPS in the car. Gee, they all seem to call me whenever they need directions, even when they have their own GPS. Heck, I'm a truck driver. I shouldn't be getting lost. Well the truth is, my sense of direction is excellent, however, this unit has traffic info, (should I get the subscription), and can route me around traffic. But I do get a kick when I purposely go off course and listen to the voice say "Recalculating"!! I have a nickname for my car GPS, ....................with the female voice, I call her my "Road Bitch"!

Couple years ago...I purchased a Garmin for my son,online.....Two of them came to my house.. They charged me for two,SOOO I kept one , I use it quite frequently.. we both love em .. Since then Ive bought two more one for my other son & Daughter n law..
They call it the wayne wayne.
They all call out the street names .../

you can even pick who you want to speak!

a man or a woman computer!

JohnD wrote: It even has a blue truck icon that looks like my truck....

I switched my icon from the car to the blue 4 x 4, since that was the closest they had to the land yacht. My friends and I get a kick out of watching it when we hit curves on the road. That's because the icon drifts. I guess I'm easily amused.

Now the question is, Why are these with the road maps of the entire United States so cheap, and the ones for marine use so expensive? Ours need specific (more expensive) chips, don't speak to us and handhelds have smaller non-touchscreen screens. Could it be the magic word "Marine"?

they probably sell 10000 or even 100,000 auto units to one marine unit- someone has to pay the R&D

If you don't want to mount it to the widshield and you use it in different cars, look for the dashboard friction mount to go onsale. I have one and I can attest, it does not move, even when the car is sliding sideways. Don't ask.