Opinions on Garmin Edge 305

Any opinions on the Garmin Edge 305 would be appreciated. Have their been
software updates that have improved it? I ride some remote country roads
and would like to be able to use GPS for orientation, navigation and finding
my way back, but I would also like the training features. I have read that
you don't really see where you are on a map etc. but can you use it to
navigate etc.?

Thanks in advance,

Kendall

"Kendall" wrote in
:
Any opinions on the Garmin Edge 305 would be appreciated. Have their
been software updates that have improved it? I ride some remote country
roads and would like to be able to use GPS for orientation, navigation
and finding my way back

Garmin Edge does not display your location in real-time, so it is not a good
choice for navigation.

"Ken" wrote in message
...
"Kendall" wrote in
:
Any opinions on the Garmin Edge 305 would be appreciated. Have their
been software updates that have improved it? I ride some remote country
roads and would like to be able to use GPS for orientation, navigation
and finding my way back

Garmin Edge does not display your location in real-time, so it is not a
good
choice for navigation.

Well that depends on how good you are at navigating! I bet you can get
lat/lon or local grid coordinates out.

Taking a few seconds to look in the manual online... It doesn't have
internal maps. You can program routes. You can probably 'track-back' to
where to started too. I never really rely on anything electronic for
navigation. I take paper maps and compass too. I even try and remember how
to use them once in a while.

GPS is very handy and the the 305 looks like a great little box (saw one at
the weekend). Like most 'outdoor' GPS units it isn't about built in route
planning or pretty picture maps. It's about positioning and recording. It
uses a SirfStar 3 chipset which is as good as it gets. I'd be tempted by
the HR recording. Lots of lovely data to play with.

The main drawback with it seems to be the internal battery. It's flat...
you're lost... no easy way to turn it back on again. Ever used an iPod?!

Skippy
E&OE

Skippy wrote:
"Ken" wrote in message
...
"Kendall" wrote in
:
Any opinions on the Garmin Edge 305 would be appreciated. Have their
been software updates that have improved it? I ride some remote country
roads and would like to be able to use GPS for orientation, navigation
and finding my way back

Garmin Edge does not display your location in real-time, so it is not a
good
choice for navigation.

Well that depends on how good you are at navigating! I bet you can get
lat/lon or local grid coordinates out.

Not clear to me that it displays either of those. I think it will show
you graphically which way you went and guide you back out the same way,
but it won't help you find a shortcut back.

GPS is very handy and the the 305 looks like a great little box (saw one at
the weekend). Like most 'outdoor' GPS units it isn't about built in route
planning or pretty picture maps.

These days most of the outdoor GPS units do support mapping. There are
still a few basic models that don't like the yellow eTrex and the Geko
models, but higher models like the 60C/S/x and LegendC/x or VistaC/x
can display detailed maps and let you see alternate paths.

It's about positioning and recording. It
uses a SirfStar 3 chipset which is as good as it gets. I'd be tempted by
the HR recording. Lots of lovely data to play with.

But the tracklog data is available with the other models that also
support mapping as well - just without the HRM. The hiking-oriented
models seem much more versatile than the 305.

The main drawback with it seems to be the internal battery. It's flat...
you're lost... no easy way to turn it back on again.

Pretty easy solution - get one of the little holders that take 4 AA
cells and use that to recharge when needed.

Peter wrote:

Pretty easy solution - get one of the little holders that take 4 AA
cells and use that to recharge when needed.

That's doable? One can just replace the built in batt. w/ a 4 AA
adapter
that fits inside the 305? Does this render the rechargeable batt
useless?

Great news if it doesn't make the built-in batt. useless, John

Kendall wrote:
Any opinions on the Garmin Edge 305 would be appreciated. Have their been
software updates that have improved it? I ride some remote country roads
and would like to be able to use GPS for orientation, navigation and finding
my way back, but I would also like the training features. I have read that
you don't really see where you are on a map etc. but can you use it to
navigate etc.?

The Edge does not support much in the way of navigation at all. The
only way to see your current latitude/longitude, for example is to
create a waypoint. The map only shows waypoints you've entered plus
the current track.

It is great fun for training, though.

You can see some of my thoughts on the Edge he
http://www.bollar.org/edge305.htm

john wrote:
Peter wrote:

Pretty easy solution - get one of the little holders that take 4 AA
cells and use that to recharge when needed.

That's doable? One can just replace the built in batt. w/ a 4 AA
adapter
that fits inside the 305? Does this render the rechargeable batt
useless?

Great news if it doesn't make the built-in batt. useless, John

No, you can't replace the internal batter with 4 AA batteries -- the
case is way too small.

I believe the other person was referring to a USB charger, which can
power a USB device with 4 AA batteries.

john wrote:
Peter wrote:

Pretty easy solution - get one of the little holders that take 4 AA
cells and use that to recharge when needed.

That's doable? One can just replace the built in batt. w/ a 4 AA
adapter
that fits inside the 305?

No, as I wrote above, you use the 4 AA cell holder to recharge the 305
when needed. One of those little Bento Box things that sit on the top
tube would be a good place to hold the AA holder and you could connect
it to the 305 when the internal battery starts to run down.
Most electronic devices can be operated while attached to the charger
and I'd expect that would be true of the 305 as well.

"Richard Bollar" wrote in message
oups.com...

Kendall wrote:
Any opinions on the Garmin Edge 305 would be appreciated. Have their
been
software updates that have improved it? I ride some remote country roads
and would like to be able to use GPS for orientation, navigation and
finding
my way back, but I would also like the training features. I have read
that
you don't really see where you are on a map etc. but can you use it to
navigate etc.?

The Edge does not support much in the way of navigation at all. The
only way to see your current latitude/longitude, for example is to
create a waypoint. The map only shows waypoints you've entered plus
the current track.

It is great fun for training, though.

You can see some of my thoughts on the Edge he
http://www.bollar.org/edge305.htm


Thanks for the info. Nice overview on the web site. It sounds like a very
cool bike computer overall. I wonder if they will eventually come out with
a version that has more mapping and nav capabilities. Something like the
GPSMAP series with SiRF and the bike functions. For now, can one download a
route from another source to the 305.

Thanks,

Ken

Thanks for the info. Nice overview on the web site. It sounds like a very
cool bike computer overall. I wonder if they will eventually come out with
a version that has more mapping and nav capabilities. Something like the
GPSMAP series with SiRF and the bike functions. For now, can one download a
route from another source to the 305.

They do. It's called the Foretrex. I have a Foretrex 201 and
Forerunner
201 and have found the Foretrex more useful so far. No HRM though. I
use GPStrans under Linux to download from the foretrex and then I plot
the
tracklog on my site:
http://www.topolabs.com/dkl/blog/11-07-2004/
http://www.topolabs.com/dkl/blog/11-01-2004/

Doug