With all the sales going on, I decided to pick up a navigation unit. I didn't want to spend a lot because it will be in my van, which is not always locked when on job sites. People tend to steal what they believe to be worth something, so I went with a Magellan Roadmate 300R. Everything I read stated it was useable out of the box. Unfortunately, that is not true. It does not have any detailed maps out of the box. So you can only map a route using main roads, like major highways. You cannot enter in a street address and have it take you to that address. It will take you to the center of town or a somewhat nearby main road. In order to get that feature, you have two options. I can either purchase a SD card that has the detailed map on it, which start at $70. Or I can download the map info onto a SD card that I already have. The only problem is that the unit did not come with software or a USB cable. So they expect you to still pay another 50 bucks to do that. The unit itself is a nice looking unit with a bright screen and a clear, loud voice, but I am upset that I have to purchase more, even though it is not that expensive, when the box and even their site led me to believe I could just open it, and plug it in, and just start using it. Anyone else have a Magellan, or even better, the same unit that can let me know if they like it? I want to know whether to keep it, or just return it and just use the moeny I would spend towards upgrading this on a little better unit.

 

return it and get a garmin!

 

I didn't want to go into that price range. At least not for the unit I will be keeping in my van. The good news is I messed around with it a little, and realized it was having a problem locking on to the satellite. I unplugged it and then went into the menu to search for the satellite and let it sit for a few minutes. After it locked on, I went to the Humane Society to look at a dog and I let it guide me rather then just going my normal route. Then coming home, I let it map out the route and I went a different way to let it recalculate and it actually did a good job. So the inital problems I thought it had are not so bad afterall. I'll give it a few days. This unit only cost me $200 after a $50 rebate, so even at $250 before the rebate it's pretty cheap.

 

I paid 459 IIRC(it is now 359 on Amazon) for a Roadmate 760 on amazon, and another 100 for external antenna, mounting cradle, power supply. The traffic add on came free, and though it is connected, I do not use it. It works very well, albeit not nearly to the level that the TLs system does.

Mike

 

if you live in cali, it is illegal to put it on top of the dash

 

Garmin i5 should be in your price range. All maps come pre-loaded also!

 

Why is it illegal? Would it be considered a distraction to the driver?

 

I believe it is illegal to have anything mounted on your windshield, other then your rear view mirror in cali. I live 3000 miles away though, so I could be wrong