GPS?

ateday

ateday

Forum Member
Joined
May 2, 2014
Messages
972
Location
Happy Valley, not the loony bin, Adelaide.
Car Year
2002
Car Model
MY03 Forester
Transmission
5 sp manual, 1.59 LR
Who has, and uses, a dedicated after market, stand alone GPS in their Subaru?
Any comments re usefulness, ease of operation, accuracy, features and what brand, of course, greatly appreciated.
I am looking to replace my Samsung `phone Garmin which has its definite drawbacks.
Thanks in anticipation.........
 
seen the hema in action and it is awesome. That said I use a 10" tablet running ozi explorer for 4wd stuff, and an old uniden gps for turn by turn.
 
Hema is fantastic particularly offroad but it doesn't provide navigation. Unless things have changed since I used it you can't enter an address and get driving directions to it.

I have factory satnav with maps from 2007 which are ridiculously expensive and difficult to update. SO I have found the free Google maps app on the smartphone to be very easy to use and perfectly up-to-date.
 
Liberty Valance said:
Hema is fantastic particularly offroad but it doesn't provide navigation. Unless things have changed since I used it you can't enter an address and get driving directions to it.
Click to expand...

Absolutely you can enter an address, campsite, caravan park, rest stops, servo, POI, even dump points etc and get directions in "Street" mode.
 
On big trips I use three devices...

1. Garmin Etrex Vista HCx (full topographic maps using ShonkyMaps). Displays elevation & contours and doubles as a hiking/cycling GPS. When I get out of the car it's comes with me.
2. Microsoft smartphone (navigation functions - ie: time to dest, turn-by-turn etc).
3. 8" Android tablet running HEMA 4x4 maps. Great for locating attractions, campsites, water and other kinds of land features.

Each device has it's own useful information.....some may consider it overkill but I find that it's great having so much info at a glance without scrolling or pressing buttons.
 
Kevin said:
Absolutely you can enter an address, campsite, caravan park, rest stops, servo, POI, even dump points etc and get directions in "Street" mode.
Click to expand...

Only with the actual $700 Hema Navigator, not with the $30 Hema Explorer or $100 Hema 4x4 Maps on a smartphone.

If you already own a phone it is arguably more economical to buy one of the hema apps for offroading and use the free Google maps on your phone for turn by turn navigation on the road.
 
Correct - I was referring of course to the Hema7 as per my original response as the OP was questioning "stand-alone" GPS. Often in the outback there is no phone reception so if using a phone you would need something like Sygic - it's not costly and uses satellites.
 
Until you find the desired stand alone one, you may want to consider downloading "Here Maps" from Play Store to replace the "Garmin".

You can download maps for free and use it with no mobile signal.
 
I'm a tight-arse and don't like paying for things - Oruxmaps is a very good android app.

You can download and use offline maps, plus access all the online WMS map services (eg: NSW DPI topos, satellite images, etc) you desire.

Online maps can be downloaded and stored for areas you choose, thus enabling use of 'online' maps when you're out of coverage range.

It is very powerful (and thus has a bit of a learning curve), for example you can composite multiple map sources into a single view using transparency.
 
Got the VMS GPS on Friday and tested it at MT Buller on the weekend. Seemed to work okay. Just got to learn all the functions. It was certainly pinpointing my location accurately. Hoping to head bush this weekend before the winter track closures and give it another try out :)
 
Back
Top