Hey All just got my first GPS unit a C330 from Garmin

The POI factory is probably the best place to find POIs (at least the best place I have found).

Register your unit with Garmin, and you can update the voices through their website. You can also access voice editors through POI Factory. Same voice, but can change phrases and speeds of the voice. You can get other voices on the internet, but I have never done that.

Map updates can be bought at a number of places. General consensus seems that if you are going to update your maps more than once, go for the lifetime updates which are 4 times a year. Amazon currently has them for around $95 with free shipping. You can check around for a better price if you want.

Jimmy,
Thanks for the response and the tips. If I find anything out of the ordinary I'll be sure to come back and post it here for everyone.

C

You probably want to check with Garmin on the map updates. The c330 is not big enough to handle the latest maps, so I wouldn't think the buying the latest updates will be worth it. You will probably need to look at an sd card. I will look for some of the old posts on it.

dk

Find this ancient, I mean, classic GPS? Did you buy it used or new?

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/22796

dk

Got it used. My coworker has the 340 and has been going on & on about the benefits of a GPS so I decided to check one out. I usually ride a motorcycle and view these things as a complete deterrent to an enjoyable ride but I have to admit using it in the cage has it's benefits. Like not having to slow down to look for the upcoming turn it notifies you in time to slow down to make the turn. Gonna try it on the bike this weekend

C

And I found it to be more of a distraction than anything else. Problems included
1) Not being able to see the screen when the sun is at certain positions.
2) I ride a Harley so I can't hear the directions unless I'm already at a stop.
3) when looking for the left hand mirror the unit is a distraction at best and a safety hazard at worst.

Needless to say I won't be riding with it unless I'm in serious need of doing so.

I updated the maps on my C330 a few months ago. It is true that all of the North America maps will not fit on the internal memory.

I bought a 2GB SD card (I think for less than ten dollars) and then the MapSource installed from the map update DVD can install the rest of the maps onto the SD card.

Note: the Mapsource software could not see the SD card if it was in my C330 plugged into the USB port. I had to remove the SD card and put it into the card reader on my laptop. Then Mapsource let me choose the SD card as a device to install the map onto.

If I had it to do over again, I would not have the update utility overwrite the internal map that includes (the old version) of the entire US and Canada with part of the updated maps. I would have only put the updated maps on the SD card and then turned off the old maps/selected the new maps in the menus on the C330. (That way if the SD card were to accidentally out when I'm on a long trip possibly away from my laptop, I would not be lost if that state was not on the internal memory.)

The 330 was my first unit as well....
David