Show me your GPS installs

ianc · 08-07-2007, 08:01 PM

Hi folks,

I've been thinking about adding a GPS lately. My reasons for this are twofold:

1) I cannot find my way out of a paper bag

2) My GF always wants to take her 330i because it has GPS. Porsche discrimination!

I know some people use a laptop:

GPS for our car

but I was thinking more along the lines of some small unit semi-permanently installed and hardwired into the car. It would have to be easily hidden to avoid the scrutiny of the casual car thief, but also easily visible while driving, and no hacking up the dash or any interior pieces to install it. Nice features would be the ability to connect it to the existing stereo for voice directions, and a decent-sized LCD screen.

Anyone got any satisfactory solutions to show me? I keep getting the damned email ads from Compusa who always seem to be advertising cheap GPS units and my resistance is wavering..

ianc

87coupe · 87coupe's Garage

Here's what I use:

Navman ICN 510 - turn by turn voice guidance, touchscreen, 3D map, rechargeable bat - comes w/ CLI & wall charger, customizable POI's (can be used to alert when approaching POI of type - radar location/photo radar location

). Overall not a bad unit, I've had it for a couple years now. Some of the newer units are even nicer.

BTW, I bought an 1700mAh battery on fleabay for $20 - fully charged I can go for a week without plugging it in.

RNajarian · RNajarian's Garage

I was able to put a Blaupunkt RNS 150 GPS unit in my 1983 SC with no trouble. I needed to Identify the Speed Signal Wire from the Speedo and run the antenna to the rear lid. (see photo of black antenna above the grill) Other than that it was a typical head unit install. Fairly easy.

The appearance is very stock. This particular unit does not have a scrolling map. Just Left/Right/Straight/U Turn Arrows and a voice prompts.

Good Luck

Joeaksa · 08-07-2007, 11:11 PM

I use a small Garmin or Mio unit, the ones with the touchpad system. Sticks on the windshield and works very well. The Blaupunkt unit is nice but the screen to small for my old eyes. The two above have a screen about 4x5 inches and easy to work with.

Could not live without it...

mthomas58 · 08-08-2007, 03:53 AM

Here's a pic of my Alpine Blackbird GPS. Trunk mounted docking station houses the unit which feeds to the 7" LCD touch screen and voice commands come through the car speakers. My first GPS system - love it!

Bench-Racing · 08-08-2007, 06:22 AM

There is a highly recommended product called Vcommand. I have installed many of these units through my accounts with local new car dealers. Use to sell them to dealers for $1200, they would mark them up to $2K. Total voice commands so no need for a screen therefore no alteration or cluttering of the interior. I have seen these units now on ebay for less then $300, fell off a truck? My personal choice when the vehicles interior does not lend itself to mounting of a screen in or on the dash. Coast to coast mapping with something like 2 million points of interest. You spell out the address and city and you get step by step turns and directions. Very slick and very smart.
Regards,
Charles

mthomas58 · 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bench-Racing

There is a highly recommended product called Vcommand. I have installed many of these units through my accounts with local new car dealers. Use to sell them to dealers for $1200, they would mark them up to $2K. Total voice commands so no need for a screen therefore no alteration or cluttering of the interior. I have seen these units now on ebay for less then $300, fell off a truck? My personal choice when the vehicles interior does not lend itself to mounting of a screen in or on the dash. Coast to coast mapping with something like 2 million points of interest. You spell out the address and city and you get step by step turns and directions. Very slick and very smart.
Regards,
Charles

Personally, I find the map screen showing street names particularly helpful when in unfamiliar territory and would not like a voice only system.

In my decision process:

(1) I did not want to mess with a suction mounted unit that I would constantly
have to stow
(2) I did not want to have to mess with power cords and wanted a clean
looking install
(3) I wanted something that would show as little as possible as to not attract
break-ins (screen is removable with one plug but I usually just loosen the
mounting ball screw and tilt the screen down so that the bottom rests on
the console - the top edge and back of the screen is black and is not at all
noticable through tinted windows)
(4) I wanted something that would integrate with my Alpine and Bluetooth
components (Blackbird has internal MP3 player with SD card slot and the
Bluetooth LCD screen links to my phone so I can use the touch screen to
place calls & the screen also has a back-up camera input)
(5) I wanted a large screen that would be easy to see and therefore safer from
a distraction standpoint.

ianc · 08-08-2007, 10:56 AM

Thanks for all the posts guys.

Mthomas, that looks like a beautiful unit, but I'm guessing it's pricey. I was thinking of something small in the $300-400 range.

I was also thinking of something with a screen, perhaps to be mounted in the glove compartment to make it invisible when closed? I don't want something stuck to the windshield... The vcommand does sound interesting though; any further info on price, size, mounting etc?

Do these units integrate with the existing car stereo? Will they mute music to deliver their commands?

Don Plumley · Don Plumley's Garage

Garmin Nuvi 350. Plus you can take it anywhere when you travel.

Wil Ferch · 08-08-2007, 11:52 AM

Not to hijack but....is the Garmin Nuvi 370 still the portable unit to have for us international travellers...Europe, say?

mthomas58 · 08-08-2007, 12:41 PM

Yep kinda pricey....found the Blackbird at OneCall factory refurb at $249 (great deal) dock on ebay for $125 and LCD screen about $299 on ebay.

My system will auto-mute for voice commands.

rusnak · 08-08-2007, 06:53 PM

Hi Ian:

I agree with you - gps on the windshield is too far away unless you mount it high, but then you can't use the sunvisors.

Here's what I did: Magellan Roadmate 2000 from Costco for less than $350.00. You can hardwire the unit to your car, but you don't have to since the unit has a self contained battery. I did hardwire a second ciggy lighter socket into the bottom of the center console, which is a clean way to power your sat radio, nav system, or cell phone. I have a third alternate power source under the steering column for future accessories.

Basically you use a file to knock the chrome off of your lighter adapter (the thing that goes into the socket), and then solder some wire to the clean brass spots on the adaptor. The wire gets crimped to some spade or bullet connectors, and then the whole thing is wrapped tightly with electrical tape. Bingo, you are set to hardwire your unit into your 12v system with the proper voltage and milliamp drop to protect your unit and in particular, the lighting in your unit.

Magellan also sells some handy plastic discs that you can glue to the bottom of your dash, radio, or ash tray (as I did), and then use the suction cup mount to hold your gps onto the bottom of the dash. I prefer this way so that I can quickly remove the gps and stash it safely away when I leave the car to go to dinner, sightseeing, etc. This is the optimal mounting position for a small sat radio or a gps in our 911s. You can still shift, and the unit is within easy reach and clearly visible.

ianc · 08-08-2007, 07:06 PM

Looks nice Russ!

I wonder if there's some way to get this into the center console without too much effort. I would really rather have the thing hidden in some easy way than have to pull it every time I leave the car in a shaky neighborhood. I've already go the radar detector and CD face plate to pull...

ianc

rusnak · 08-08-2007, 08:22 PM

Thanks Ian!

I'm sure there is a way to get it into the center console. I've noticed that most small electric accessories use a universal mounting system that utilizes 4 screws that are spaced apart in a standard pattern. That way, you can choose from a wide array of mounts (floor, dash, vent, windshield, etc etc). The proprietary part of the mount is a plastic clip that screws onto the mounting arm of your choice. It has a quick release, so you can do the standard pull, or leave it where it is when you park. I leave the suction cup attached to the underside of the dash and do a quick release with one finger. The gps nav is released in about 2 seconds, and re-installed in about the same amount of time.

wilstan · 09-10-2007, 09:06 AM

Hi Mark.....love your install. Question I have is: I bought the same Alpine LCD touchscreen, but my mounting brackets are not what I see in your photo. Where can I get an identical swingable mount to mount my Alpine TME-M740BT like what you did? Also how did you connect your audio commands from the GPS Blackbird to your Alpine audio CD system?
Great system!

Thanks.......................................Wil-

kees · 09-10-2007, 12:47 PM

This is what I did:

Combined my cell phone (Nokia N73) with TomTom navigation software and a GPS receiver.

Pro's:

- no suction mounted unit
- no power cords
- low cost
- clean looking install (no drilling)
- TomTom radar/ photo radar location alert
- only one holder
- easy to remove and take with you

Contra:

- small LCD screen (but very readable)
- no integration with Becker radio (personally no contra)

Kees.

toman · toman's Garage

Am I the only person in the world who thinks this is a terrible idea? I mean, think about it. We have people driving around lost, confused and without a clue what they're doing, and now they have their eyes glued to an LCD screen trying to figure it out? That doesn't sound safe! The people I see driving and talking on the phone can't even pull it off, I can't imagine how unsafe it for drivers to be staring at a GPS unit!

ianc · 09-10-2007, 01:55 PM

Quote:

I can't imagine how unsafe it for drivers to be staring at a GPS unit!

That's why I want one that will deliver voice commands over the stereo...

ianc

Paul K · Paul K's Garage

Great thread! Wife & I just bought a Garmin Nuvi 350, and I was wondering how/where to mount it. I really don't want to make anything permanent (no holes)- so I'll probably use the suction thingy and mount it on the windshield. I'll post pics when it's on there. As for security, the 350 has an access code, but that only prevents the thief from using it, not stealing it...

Cheers,

Paul.

rusnak · 05:17 PM

my Blaupunkt Seattle MP74 has a GPS/ phone jack that interrupts the music for incoming calls and/or GPS nav commands. You plug the jack into the earphone output on the GPS.

It's not likely that you won't look at the GPS screen, but if you have a scrolling map that allows a 3D view with heading up, then you only need a quick glance down at the screen to see what you need to see on the GPS screen. It also works well in the heavy fog that we have around here in the winter.

Paul, I used the smooth disc that came with my Magellan stuck to the underside of the ashtray. This allowed me to use the suction cup to mount the GPS in a convenient location.