GPS Blog

Garmap have just announced the latest release of the South African Mapset for Garmin units.

The DVD which retails at R99, allows you to update your current mapset and includes the following options:

• Southern Africa Streetmaps Version 1.1
• Southern Africa Streetmaps, DEM Version 1.1
• Southern Africa Streetmaps, Topo & Rec Version 1.1
• Nigeria Streetmaps, Topo & Rec Version 2
• East Africa Street Maps Version 1
• Indian Ocean Islands Streetmaps Version 1: Mauritius

Keep your eyes on GPSBlog.co.za, to see the latest reviews & updates as soon as we update our mapset.

I recently decided to join what seems to be a worldwide growing phenomenon of GPS car navigators. I finally set my heart on the Garmin Nuvi 200. This model is Garmins entry level model, basic, but with all the functionality you need in a GPS System.

Features include:

• Voice Prompts (eg Turn right in 500m)
• 3D Map View
• Auto Re-Route
• Route Avoidance (eg Avoid Tolls etc)
• Ability load own Points of Interest

It also allows you keep track of your current speed, average speed and total time travelled. The Garmin Nuvi 200 can also be connected to your PC, and allows you to update the firmware, as well as upload custom points of interest, such as Speed Cameras. The internal battery can be charged via your car’s DC outlet, and generally lasts quite a while while being used.

The size of the nuvi is perfect, and is small enough to carry in your pocket, when you leave your car. The screen size is also great, and is not to small, and glare reflection is not a problem when used in a sunny environment.

Likes

• Size
• Ability to upload new custom POI’s
• Ability to change vehicle icons, to make my car look like a 4×4

Dislikes

• Battery life without car charger
• The fuel price

Overall this GPS is a fantastic entry level GPS model, and is perfect for round town driving. I would highly recommend this if you are looking for a starter GPS. The recommended retail price for the Garmin Nuvi 200 is R2399.00, but shop around and you can pick it for as cheap as R1899.00 on some specials at the moment.

The Garmin eTrex Yellow (Garmin SA Product page) is a great little handheld GPS that can store up to 500 waypoints. It is an fantastic starter GPS if you are just getting into GeoCaching. The only downfall is that it doesn’t come with a Cable to connect to your PC to upload and download waypoints, tracks & routes.

Jens Seiler shows us a quick tutorial on how to make your own cable using an old Serial mouse and a piece of plastic. It is really simple and it took me about 20 miniutes to make.The site is -> http://www.jens-seiler.de/etrex/datacable.html

The Garmin Nuvi is designed to be an automotive GPS, that allows you to route a specific destination. The functionality is really quite limited, but it can be used as a GPS for BASIC geocaching.

Firstly you will need to enter the co-ordinates of the Geocache, that will get you to the general area, or at least to a parking spot nearby.

Once you have parked, you will need to chance the GPS mode to pedestrian. To do this go to Settings->System -> Usage Mode and Choose “Pedestrian”

Go back to your map Screen, and walk towards the cache site. The GPS may update a bit slower.

To check your current coordinates, touch the vehicle icon on the screen. When asked if you would like to save this location as a favorite, say NO. Keep doing this until you get to the required Geocache location.

As mentioned before using the Garmin Nuvi as a Off Road GPS is not idea, and I would suggest getting yourself a basic hand held unit, like the Garmin eTrex H, to get you to your final cache destination.

A lot of people buy the Garmin Nuvi, and never update the firmware. This is an essential part of maintaining your GPS, and needs to be done, to ensure that your GPS is always up to date and has the latest software on. To do this, you will need to follow the below steps:

1. Get a USB to mini USB cable. These cables are quite common and if you have digital camera, you can use this cable. You do NOT need to buy a seperate cable to update your Garmin Nuvi. The cable you would need would look something like this:

   

2. Download & install Garmin Webupdater. This software will check the Garmin Website to see if there are any outstanding updates needed for your Nuvi. To download the Webupdater software, click here
3. Plug the USB cable into your PC and the other end of the cable into the Garmin Nuvi.
4. Allow your PC to install the drivers needed for the Garmin Nuvi.
5. Open Garmin Webupdater, and follow the onscreen istructions.
6. The garmin will be updated to the latest version, and you will need to reboot it before you will see the full benefits of the updated software.

One of the problems I have come across with my Garmin Nuvi 200, is that you cannot see the co-ordinates of your saved favorite locations.

I have found a way around this, albeit a bit of a long winded way, you can still see the co-ordinates.

1. Turn your GPS onto GPS simulator mode. The simulator mode allows you to view a route or location, even if you are not at that specific location, or if you cannot pick up GPS satellites. To turn your GPS into GPS simulator mode:
   Settings -> System -> GPS Simulator -> ON

   

2. Go back to the main Screen and click Where To -> Favorites

   

3. Choose your location that you require the GPS co-ordinates for.

   

   (I have chosen a restaurant called Ciao)

4. Click on SHOW MAP

   

5. Zoom in as far as you can using the PLUS button in the top right , and click on “Set Loc”. (Set Location) and then click GO

   

6. When the screen comes up with “Do you want to simulate driving this route?”, click NO

   

7. Once this screen disappears you will see your vehicle icon, placed on your favorite location. Click on the vehicle icon and it will show you the coordinates of your saved favorite location.

   

8. You can now share your locations, with other people, by giving the exact coordinatesThis post has been cross posted on http://www.gpsblog.co.za

After having the Garmin Nuvi 200 for just over a week, I have come across a really handy feature. The feature allows you track your routes on your Garmin Nuvi 200. This is a hidden feature, so it is still relatively unknown.

YOU NEED TO ENSURE YOU HAVE FIRMWARE VERSION 3.40 OTHERWISE THIS WON’T WORK

UPDATE (20/11/07): Garmin have released a new firmware version which disables the hidden tracking feature. To check what version you have, go to: Menu->Settings->System->About. Here it will show you the version number. If the version number is not 3.40 it will not work. If you would like to roll back to version 3.40 to enable track logs, download the firmware HERE

To get to the track feature on the Garmin Nuvi 200, do the following:

1. Select a destination you want to drive to.
2. On your view map screen, press the Arrival time button in the bottom left corner
   
3. This will bring you to the Speedometer Screen. Once in this scree, press and hold the screen for 8-10 seconds over the speedometer.
   
4. This will bring you into the Garmin Diagnostic Menu. DO NOT change anything here. Click the Next button at the bottom.
5. At the next screen, you will see the “Logging Control” screen. Press “START RECORDING” to start recording your track
   
6. Once you have completed the trip, press the STOP button on the main map screen.
7. Connect your Garmin Nuvi 200 up to your computer via a USB cable.
8. Go to the Garmin Nuvi 200 drive, and browse to the X:\Garmin\Logs (Where X:\ is the disk drive of the Garmin)
9. Go into the latest created folder, and download the gps.bin file.
10. Download Nutrak from this site. Extract the contents of the zip file to a folder on your Computer
11. Go to the command prompt (Start-> Run-> “cmd”) and go to the folder where you extraced Nutrak.
12. In the command prompt type “nutrak.exe gps.bin”. This will create a .gpx file.
13. Open Google Earth
14. In Google Earth, click File, Open and browse to the .gpx file that was created.
15. You will now be able to see where you have driven in the track you have created.
    
    This is an example of a track I created.

If you would like anymore info go to this GpsPasSionForums post, and there is some more info on this great feature

Welcome to GPSBlog.co.za. The aim of this blog is to keep you in the loop as to what is going on in the new & exciting world of GPS’s in South Africa.

Recentley South African’s have caught onto the worldwide phenomone which is GPS. We will cover everything from new models in South Africa, as well as upcoming models. We will also look at the software integration, as well as firmware updates for current models. We will also be bringing you specials from the manufactures, as well as on hand reviews. Of course, there will also be some interesting giveaways, as we progress.

If you would like to be notified as soon as a new post is made, subscribe to our newsletter, or add us as a RSS feed.

Be sure back to check out the site soon, when we will be starting with this exciting new project.