How many years have you had a GPSr?

I got my for 6 months.

about 13 months ago. I needed something better than printing out Mapquest directions when I travel for work and this sure beats reading a map in the dark.

I got my first garmin about 18 months ago an I 3 then C320 then a nuvi 650

I just got my first GPS unit during the Thanksgiving break in Nov 07. It's a Nuvi 660.

Nuvi 750...since December.

I've been using one of Garmin units for about 4 or 5 years now. I almost wonder what its like NOT to have it...

I bought a Nuvi 260 for a trip from MD to KY. Not sure why I didn't buy one earlier, guess I was addicted to the paper map (having grown up on paper and a compass). Now my wife wants one for herself and another for her mom.

Streetpilot I (about spring 2000)
2 color (black on green) display
special "garmin" 128k memory card (cost as much as the unit)

Bought mine spring of 2007. I initially thought of it as a fairly silly toy but it has quickly become an essential part of going most anywhere outside of my familiar surroundings.

have said it better myself! I thought it "spooky" at first, how bloody accurate the thing was, and why did I fool around with those "Thomas Brothers" Maps for all those years?.

I still hear people ask why I paid all I did for "My Toy?" And how many maps could I buy for $400.00? Those very same people are Garmin owners today!

I had a hand held one back in 2002 and have had one ever year from than on. Love having one. On my third one now and man have they improved.

Trimble had the handheld Ensign in 1993 or 1994, and I bought one of the first ones. It was a very basic GPS, no external interface, four hour battery life on four double A batteries, and cost $795. I think I got a deal for around $595... It displayed speed, course, DOP, Position and Time. I still have the unit, though it hasn't been fired up in many years.

Things have changed alot since the Trimble. Average battery life is more like 15 hours on two AA Batteries, the cost is under $500 for most the good feature-rich units, and they are COLOR! (That was the coolest thing ever... color nautical charts in your pocket! A sailor's dream come true)

Since then I have had...
Magellan, can't remember the model, it was crap
Garmin GPS III+ (nice little unit, not enough ram though)
Garmin Etrex Vista (sold to a friend)
Garmin GPSMAP 76S (Sold on Ebay)
Garmin Quest (Sold to a friend to buy the NUVI)
Garmin RINO 530 (Juat sold on Ebay)
Garmin NUVI 360 (Still have it, running NT2009 maps)
Garmin Colorado 300 (just purchased for a trip to the BVIs next month)
Garmin Forerunner 50 (not technically a GPSr, but it works with the same sensors as the Colorado, neat stuff!)
Nokia N95 with Mobile XT and Trimble Geocache Navigator
HTC X7501 with Mobile XT

Dear AF,

I obtained my Garmin nuvi 650 last December. I bought it as I saw how useful my brother Peter's Tom Tom was for him.

david

Purchased my Nuvi June, 2007 for about $725. Prices sure have come down just like other electronic devices. MSN Direct has been helpful but, I don't usually get off the freeways as directed when I am familiar with the area. Will have to think about renewing subscription.

Henry

Bought my first Garmin GPS 12 in 1999 for about $150... just because it was cool to have one. Ended up using it to save important genealogical waypoints on a trip to Norway. I started using it for Geocaching in ~2003. Ended up buying a second GPS 12 in 2006 for $50 on eBay. Bought a Garmin 200W... just because it was cool to have one. Ended up going in halfsies with my brother on one for my mother so she doesn't have to be afraid to drive in the big city!

And I am not overly impressed with GPS experiance

I am going on 19 months and have had a 360 and now a 660 from Garmin. I enjoy mine.

I don't remember when - 2000 maybe. My son got me interested. I've had two Magellans (Map330 and Meridian Gold, I think - its still in the car), and three Garmins (MAPV, I think) C330 and the Nuvi 780 I bought this week. Do the G1000's in the airplanes I rent count?

Glenn

in 1997, a Garmin GPS II Plus, right after the new 12 channel GPS's were coming out. Then I picked up the Garmin GPSMAP 196 to use as my backup while flying aircraft. It has a land and water mode, however the basic maps are no comparison to the Garmin Nuvi 670 I purchased last November.
One of the aircraft I fly,the Diamondstar DA40 has a Garmin G1000 Glass cockpit thats just phenomenal.
The new upgrade this year is Synthetic Vision which puts the moving map in 3D... How cool is that?

Got my 1st one only 2 month ago. I don't travel often and wanted to wait for prices drop. It was helpful on my last trip to Disney world, except 2 times it directed me to the service entrances, not the visitor entrance I wanted.

I bough a Magellan 350 (I think) and then a Magellan 760 a couple of years ago. Now, I've got the Garmin Nuvi 660 and I'm very happy with it. I would like the QWERTY keyboard and audible letter/number responses like the Magellan had. Oh well ... Garmin's customer service is superior to Magellan.

We bought our first GPSr, a Magellan Sportrak in 2003 to use for Geocaching. We still have that unit as well as a Lowrance iFinder Pro and now we have a Garmin Streetpilot C550 for road trips and to assist driving to cache sites.

One year with a nuvi.

Had a hand held for 3 years before that.

was a GPS V from Garmin back around 2001. I used it until earlier this year when I bought my C550. I decided it was time for an upgrade and not to mention when I rented a car last year with a C550 in it I realized how out of date my GPS V was. I still use the GPS V when I do my bike riding and it still works great.

I bought my first one when both my odometer and fuel gauge died at the same time. I had been learning how to use LORAN-C on a friend's boat for a few years then we switched to Differential GPS. I figured the $150 unit was cheaper than fixing the car and a good way to learn Lat/Lon navigation.

About 1 month and a half ago I received my Nuvi 350. 1 month and a half was also the time I signed up to poi-factory.

My first GPS device was a Garmin eMap. I have taken that unit with me all over the U.S.

I've taken hiking, camping, boating, etc.
It's still working like a charm. I just got my Nuvi 750, however, I will still use my eMap on my bike.

Gotta love Garmin.

Stu

The Garmin nuvi 760 was on half-price sale and I grabbed one!! I haven't really used it to its fullest potential yet since I know my city very well. But it saved me some time and gas when I out on the road looking for a fishing supply shop. It's like having the Yellow Pages and a road map all in one neat package.

Have played it with a little but I am a little frustrated that it directs me to make left turns from side streets onto major roads, when an easier alternative would be to make a right turn on the main road perpendicular to the major road I want to head into, then make a left turn at the traffic light.

First GPS I "used" was installed in my ship. A AN/WRN-5 if I recall correctly. That was back in the early 90's.

Personal GPS was a Magellan SporTrac Pro I purchased in 1999/2000 kind of fuzzy exactly when I got this unit, remember I did buy it from Costco. Had a great time using it in my Jeep to explore the mountains and deserts of Southern California. Eventually gave it to my son as he headed out to Iraq. He used it for the year he was in country.

Next was a Magellan RoadMate 500. Purchased this unit just before moving from California to Maryland in Dec 2005. This unit worked great right up to the weekend before I had to go on travel for my job. Mrs. SeniorChief had never been in Maryland as was in a panic to be without a GPS (we arrived in Maryland in Feb 06 and it failed about three week later). Ran out to Bext Buy and purchased a Nuvi 350 so she would not be "lost". Ended up liking it much better than the Magellan. After the Magellan was repaired, I ended up giving it to my Mom back in Califorina.

I purchased my first GPS a little over a year ago. It has been a great experience. I still carry a map atlas but have not had to open it since getting the GPS.

Been a user for 1 1/2 years - wish I started earlier.

I have had 3 GPSs. First Garmin 150 I bought about 8 years ago for hiking purpose. Then a 201 for running about 3 years ago and then the NUVI 760 about 4 months ago. I have liked all three and each has different uses.
JRO

Received my first at Christmas last year (SP c330), bought my new one 2 weeks ago (Nuvi 350).

for test driving a Cadillac, it was a Magellan handheld unit (had to be 10 years or so, long since sent to the trash heap). Essentially an electronic compass. I got interested again when they started offering them in rental cars, now I cannot go aday without using my Nuvi!

I am a newbie to GPS and still fumbling my way around. Just got my Garmin 760 about 10 days ago and frankly I expected more from a high end unit like that.

Anyone ever thought of a GPS/Radar Detector/Easy Pass Transponder unit all in one package?

X

I got my first GPS (Garmin III Plus) back in 1999. Since then I have had:

Garmin StreetPilot 2620
Garmin Nuvi 350
Garmin Nuvi 360 x 2 (the first was stolen)

This is my first one and I love it. But I've only had it about .3 years.

I went on a trip last July to the Grand Canyon with my parents, and my dad brought his Garmin 360 with him. I am someone who can usually find his way around without maps (once I know an area) but found the situational awareness of the GPS very comforting. I didn't always agree with where it wanted me to go, but I loved how I always knew where I was.

I asked Santa for one for Christmas, and he (she) was very good to me. He got me a Garmin 660 and I love it. We will be really testing it this summer as we go on a three week cross country drive from Denver to visit family back East. We are making a few excursions, so this will not be a one way out and back trip. Looking forward to it and finding interesting places along the way.

I know I am not going to win any contest, but felt I had to share my experiences with it so far.

Alan

I first purchased a 4 channel (or was it 3) unit ages ago. I remember moving to 12 channels (Garmin 12 I beleive).

I've had:
- an eTrex Vista
- a GPSMAP 60C
- an iQue3600
- an iQue M5
-and Finally a Nuvi 200W.

So I'm guessing more than 10 years.

My kids bought me a GPS for Father's Day, yesterday. I hope to contribute to the site soon.

welcome to the group, it is nice to have all the new members that joined yesterday and today.

Miss POI

My first unit was a Raytheon (not Raymarine) RC420D, which had the differential GPS receiver. This was before the days of WAAS and while selective availability was in force (October 2000).

Since then, for land-based use I've had (or still have) a Garmin GPS V, a StreetPilot III, a StreetPilot 2720, a Nuvi 660 and a Nuvi 680.

On the water, I've had (in addition to the 420D above) a Raymarine C80, and currently use the Raymarine E120 & E80.

I bought my first gpsr 4 years ago and now I don't think I can find my way around the block without it..lol. Maybe this is a bad thing....

Starting in 1999:
Magellan GPS-315
Magellan Meridian Platinum
Garmin NAVCOM GNX 250XL (aviation)
Garmin GPSMAP 295 (aviation)
Garmin GPSMAP 396 (aviation)
Garmin Nuvi 260W

My wife surprised me with my first GPS as a Christmas present in 1999, a Magellan GPS-315 that I still have. I was able to upload an aviation database and nautical database to it for use in boat or airplane. Because it doesn't have a map, it will hold 20,000 POI's and has a very sharp screen. Great little GPS.

Next I bought a Magellan Meridian Platinum along with street routing to give me turn-by-turn directions when this was still pretty expensive. Another great little GPS for hiking, geocahing, or boating. It has a real compass which means you can display the map page and it will show - while standing still - your real heading which is valuable for geocahing and comes in handy on the water. It also shows barometric pressure and temperature, both pretty worthless features.

After that, I bought an airplane which has a Garmin GNX 250XL, GPS NAV/COM in the panel. I then bought a portable Garmin aviation GPSMAP 295. I recently bought a newer portable aviation GPS GPSMAP 396 that has a XM satellite antenna to receive weather and radio. I have the Master Mariner package from XM radio that gives all the aviation weather and marine data. My latest toy is a present from my daughter, a Nuvi 260W that I love for what it is, a great auto navigator. Adding the red-light camera databases makes this a very valuable receiver.

I have also bought Magellan Meridian Gold's for my daughter and younger son a few years ago. They have both since graduated to TomTom's. And I bought a Garmin Forerunner for my older son, who is a marathon runner. This is a GPS you wear on your wrist to track your running.

If I recall correctly, I got my first GPSr in 1996 or 1997. It is a Garmin 12XL.

nuvi 350 - June/2005
Etrex Vista - for my bike - Feb/2007
nuvi 760 - 3 mos

Love it love it love it! My wife who is anti gadget and really did'nt want anything to do with will often not let me have it back.

Well..I've owned a gps for only about 8 months.
Started with a 350..
Bought the GF a 360..the same day I bought myself a 660. Because..afterall, the GF can NOT have a better unit than me!

Again.. only 8 months and I've enjoyed have em.
I also have geepeeex for editing my custom POIs.
I'm now considering getting a 7xx series..
(Sheesh..over a grand of GPRrs and I can only use one at a time! What a shame! Heheheh)

I bought my Magellan RM 700 back in 2003, and I am still using it. The darn thing cost $1100 back then!

My first GPS was the Street Pilot...the monochrome one!