Garmin Vs Magellan

[sloshed]

Is there any reason to favour one of these GPS manufacturers over the other ?

I'm tempted by the SporTrak Pro Marine handheld GPS but am aware of the strong reputation of the Garmin 72s & 76s.

Any thoughts welcome.

Thanks.

<hr width=100% size=1>Champagne aspirations - Beer money.

www.SL-Mercedes.Com

 

[pete]

I have an old Garmin 65 fixed set and a Garmin 76 hand held and am very pleased with them both, the back up is second to none and if I were to buy another one it would certainly be a Garmin.

Pete

<hr width=100% size=1>Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity

 

[tritonofnor]

Re: Garmin every time

but never owned Magellan. Got a Garmin 12 and a 238GPSMapSounder.
When my old 235 MapSounder went u/s after 3 years Garmin checked it out and it was unrepairable, so they sold me a 238 as a service exchange for £167 as opposed to the near £1100 list price. Excellent communications, website, service. Would recommend any time.

<hr width=100% size=1>Marina skips - the greatest free resource centre!

 

[bendyone]

Go for a Garmin their service is VERY good which is what you need if it goes wrong on holiday. I have a Garmin 48 about 6 years old and still going strong.

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[Talbot]

My magellan Meridien XL is 11 years old and working as well as ever! You wont go far wrong with either of these makes so look at what you get for the money and choose what YOU want!

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[MrFish]

I have a Magellan 315 GPS, about 3 years old. It has gone wrong twice, had it fixed the first time, for about NZ$120 ( very expensive, I thought.) The repair technitian implied that the fault was fairly common - would not recognise the satelites. A few months later, it went wrong again.
I have a Navman Tracker 500 now - very good (fixed model)
Ian

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[Johnboy2004]

garmin gps are great, i have had a few now and never any problems,
whats is great is that they provide software updates on a regular basis,,,,

the service and support from garmin is good, and their technical knowledge is good too....



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[Lost]

Just to add a word of caution, I had two back up hand held garmin units...they were put into action when the fixed unit had problems (damaged aerial someone grabbed it!) Both of th ehandheld back up units stopped working after about 12 hours, due to moisture getting in. They were't under water just lots of spray when they weren't in my pocket or trying to get a fix. Garmin said tough buy a new one! or words to that effect, they sugeested I buy a new model, as once moisture had got in they weren't repairable.
So the moto is nothing is water proof, and nothing electronic can be relied on! I was a bit upset as we had been at sea for 5 days and were off the Spanish coast in a storm when they stopped working....but we got back in the end.

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[dickh]

I have had two Magellans, the big portable very old unit NAV6000 still works fine & is fixed on the boat, I had Magellan 3000XL but that got nicked last year and I replaced it with a Garmin MAP76, which I have not used in anger yet - Either are good with very good reports on the Garmin backup.

<hr width=100% size=1>dickh
I'd rather be sailing... /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

 

[isha]

I bought a Garmin 72 last year the reason being that the very old Garmin 50 died on me. Used the 72 on a cruise to the Orkney Islands and cannot fault it. I have it wired into the boats power and it is housed on the instrument panel under the spray hood. I unplug it and store it down below when in harbour. No experience of the other types mentioned in this post
Dave


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[Guest]

Had both G + M

No arguments - good service, good manner when telephoned ....
Haven't any real preference having had no real problems with either. Only reason I changed from Garmin to Magellan and then back again ..... first Garmin 50 sold with my boat in excellent order after 4 years TF service, Magellan cam with next boat - no trouble till screen died after too many years in the sunlight !! - still works though and its an old Meridien 8ch, so I bought an eTrex - fantastic little bit of kit for its size etc. Only niggle is the lack of external antennae connection.

So I wouldn't worry too much about the differences - concentrate more on features and what YOU like and appreciate - everyone has slightly different needs. Garmin or Magellan etc. isnt really the issue - its what you get and want for your money.


<hr width=100% size=1>Nigel ... and of course Yahoo groups :
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gps-navigator/

 

[Miquel_Culzean]

I have a Meridian Marine (black & white) that I bought after looking also at both Garmin & Magellan. My decission was based in the price of the marine charts: as I sail both in North Sea & Mediterranean, with mGarmin I had to buy at least 2 sets of charts, and rthat was much more expensive than the unique set of Magellan for Europe.

But I think both are the same level of quality.

Fair winds,

Miquel
Culzean

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