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Garmin GPS 2620

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by Canuck, Sep 14, 2004.

  1. Canuck

    Canuck Member

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    Has anyone any experience with the Garmin GPS 2620 which has been up-dated with the version V-6 software? I'm interested to know how well Canada and particularly the West Coast is covered. Since no business on Vancouver Island has any in stock it's impossible to actually see one in operation. :|
     
    #1 Canuck, Sep 14, 2004
  2. DaveG

    DaveG Member

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    I have a 2610 which is essentially the same unit without the maps pre-loaded onto the memory card. I just purchased a 512mb card and loaded everything I needed (western canada and the western US).

    I got NA Citynav 5 with mine and it covers all of the US, and the major canadian cities to full-detail level (street level navigation). For example, it covers all of Vancouver and Victoria fully. I don't anticipate that this will change with version 6 aside from correcting errors and adding new roads.

    Once you get outside major centers, it drops to highway/major street level detail. The solution to that is to pick up Metroguide Canada which has ALL of Canada covered completely to street-level detail. It's about $140 extra I think.

    I bought mine from www.gpscentral.ca who I've purchased from a couple of times with excellent results and speedy shipping.

    If you're ever going to be in the Vancouver area, let me know and you're welcome to have a look at my 2610.

    Dave.
     
    #2 DaveG, Sep 15, 2004
  3. Canuck

    Canuck Member

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    Thanks, Dave, we only get over to Vancouver about once a year but do appreciate the offer to see your Garmin in action. I guess I've researched the GPS thing to death since mid July when we ordered our 2005 "Computer on Wheels". I've been talking to George at gpsCentral quite a few times in the past while and now after reading your post we've decided to order the 2620 today. Your post filled on the gaps needed to make the decision.
    Gary :D
     
    #3 Canuck, Sep 15, 2004
  4. DaveG

    DaveG Member

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    I think you'll be really happy with it. I used mine on a road-trip to California in the Prius this summer and having the 2610 onboard was pure bliss. No angst driving in cali - just punch in an address and away you go.

    I'd never want to drive in an unknown area without it.

    Dave.
     
    #4 DaveG, Sep 15, 2004
  5. rmm20

    rmm20 New Member

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    If I were to do it again, I would get the 2610 and not the 2620.
    Yes, you can remove the 2620 and replace it with a flash card.

    No, the Mapquest software will not let you write map data
    to a flash card in the 2620. If you can get Mapquest.

    The 2620 comes with no PC side software - at all. It is
    designed for those who want GPS without having a PC.

    I am still ticked at Garmin for making their top-of-the line
    unit so PC-unfriendly. Other than that, it is a great unit.

    Robert
     
    #5 rmm20, Sep 16, 2004
  6. rmm20

    rmm20 New Member

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    Make that "remove the 2620 hard drive and replace it with a flash card"

    Robert
     
    #6 rmm20, Sep 16, 2004
  7. Canuck

    Canuck Member

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    Ordered the 2620 from gpscentral.ca in Calgary( highly recommend these guys), Alberta Wed. 15th and it arrived this A.M. 17th ... pretty swift for Canada Post.
    Have only had a chance to run up the basics but it certainly has all the bells and whistles. It locked onto 8 satellites inside the house without an external antenna and gave me 22 ft. accuracy without WAAS. I should have it cased before the Prius arrives. It came with North American City Navigator V 6.0 preprogrammed on the hard drive. This shows my local town of Duncan and our address plus all the local services. Now what is confusing me somewhat is that the 2620 is not PC compatable yet the package came with a USB connector, a driver CD and the reference states that the preprogrammed HD contains approximately 512 MB of available space for additional maps which may be reduced as data updates occur. I'm not too concerned as I didn't expect it to be PC compatable (wife hates computers but makes the Prius an exception) and find the mapping detail on version 6 more than adequate. Since I no longer have my sailing ketch I won't need any H2O charts. :D
     
    #7 Canuck, Sep 17, 2004
  8. tomdeimos

    tomdeimos New Member

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    I also have a 2620, and love it. But as others have found the 2610 would have been a smarter choice. I have pulled out the hard disk and put in a flash, so now it runs reasonably fast redrawing the maps. Yet I still have no computer interface and spent extra money for nothing.

    The 2620 as delivered is very slow when you try to zoom or do a big route with lots of map changes.
     
    #8 tomdeimos, Sep 18, 2004
  9. rmm20

    rmm20 New Member

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    Tom how did you transfer your maps from the HD to flash??

    I want to use flash because I don't trust the durability of hard
    disks in a moving vehicle...

    Robert
     
    #9 rmm20, Sep 18, 2004
  10. DaveG

    DaveG Member

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    You should be able to just copy the files off of the HD to your computer, then copy them back to a flash drive (assuming you have one big enough).

    Dave.
     
    #10 DaveG, Sep 18, 2004
  11. tomdeimos

    tomdeimos New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(rmm20\";p=\"40310)</div>
    I got a USB adapter that I could plug the drive and flash into and just copied the drive onto my laptop, then back to the 2 GB Sandisk flash card.
     
    #11 tomdeimos, Sep 19, 2004
  12. Canuck

    Canuck Member

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    Not related to the flash card but for info I found updates for the 2620 on the Garmin website last night ...software version 3.90 and driver version 2.1. No problem upgrading the driver in the PC and using the supplied PC/USB interface have upgraded the Garmin software.
     
    #12 Canuck, Sep 19, 2004
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