Garmin Quest - still relevant?

JMark · Occasional Visitor Joined: Mar 14, 2006 Posts: 9

Cheap on ebay, but is this unit now obsolete given more recent models, Rider, Zumo etc. All I need is reliability, spoken instructions and PC route planning. But is the Quest still supported, software updates etc. In short - does it still cut it? Thanks!

bumpkin · Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 7:55 pm Post subject:

Not exactly cutting edge but still a perfectly capable GPS unit that's ideal for bike use. Got mine off eBay for £130 a year ago. The only real limitation is that the memory is fixed. European versions have 256MB of memory (243MB of which you can use to load maps into), beware the US model only has 128MB. The whole of the UK fits onto the unit but if doing European touring, and you have the current mapping or previous (City Nav. V9 and V8 respectively), you might have trouble fitting the whole route on if you're doing big miles. This can be resolved, in virtually all cases, by using MetroGuide Europe (about £50-60 on eBay for v8 ) and MetroWizzz.

Check that the sale includes the mapping DVD and unlock code/s. If it's on V6 or V7 then you might want to bring it up to date with an upgrade to V9 for just over £50 from Garmin.

Budget for a mount/cradle (if not included) and an audio solution to suit your needs.

Not sure what price it's being offered at on eBay but GPSW are doing them new for £180.
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Chas
Garmin i3, Quest & StreetPilot 2720 with GTM10

Skippy · Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 9:31 pm Post subject:

The Quest is showing it's age now - it's slow, lacks memory for really big road trips, can't do speed camera warnings and the reception isn't as good as the new SiRF units.

That said, I love my little Quest, good build quality and loads of geeky features that the new "dumbed down" units don't have.

Go ahead and buy a Quest if you can't stretch to a TT Rider or Garmin Zumo, but remember that you are buying a unit which is a few years old which in electronic terms is quite old...
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Gone fishing!

JMark · Occasional Visitor Joined: Mar 14, 2006 Posts: 9

Bumpkin, Skippy, many thanks for your very useful replies. I was hoping that the Zumo price might come down, but I'm fed up of waiting. All I need GPS for is a Sunday blast (presume you know about this site and it's route downloads: www.bestbikingroads.com), so a Quest should do the job - it would go with my brick sized mobile phone and betamax video player...

bumpkin · Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 2:29 pm Post subject:

Of those routes I've looked at on bestbikingroads.co.uk they only seem to provide start and end points in GPX format rather than a full route. You'll need to open these in MapSource and, going by the description on the site, define the route between these points.

The Zumo would be a better GPS (faster, expandable memory, proximity alerts, pseudo 3D display etc...) but at twice the price of the full Quest bundle not really a goer unless you have the cash to burn. I would of course love one myself but family budget dictates otherwise Sad

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Chas
Garmin i3, Quest & StreetPilot 2720 with GTM10

ST4S · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 03, 2005 Posts: 29

I haven't tried a newer unit, but the Q1 still works for me. It's never let me down yet. I haven't been all over Europe, but I do various bits of France 2 or 3 times a year with no prob's. If you know roughly where you are going you just need the map tiles from around your route. The whole of France takes about 500 megs of space in CN V9 on my PC, so there's no way it will all fit in the Quest. However, given that Quest is old technology, if I ever have a problem fitting a route in (hasn't happened yet) I'll just buy a 2nd hand unit for fifty quid off e-bay or something and split my journey between units.

At some point the new Euro satellite system will be up (they've started launching them). I'll probably wait 'til that's working before I buy a totally new unit, in case existing ones won't work with it (I'm not 'techie' enough to know).

One thing though, I have noticed that since I started using CN V9 that recalc times seem to take a lot longer ....

FXRStuarty · Regular Visitor Joined: Dec 23, 2005 Posts: 91

Looking to replace my Navman510 (not waterproof) with something like a Quest 1 which is. I am a bit concerend about the lack of expansion slots in the Quest 1. A HDD is not an option either as I run a Harley and a HDD unit may not like the "environment" :D

Last year a few of my friends and I went to Barcelona and the Calafell Rally. Took the ferry to Ijmuiden in Holland and travelled from there. Would it be possible to fit all the necessary maps for such a journey to a Quest 1?

Which units should I look at? The budget is tight at around 300 quid max

Grateful for any advice. Smile

ST4S · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 03, 2005 Posts: 29

I took a flyer on the Calafell bit as I don't know the exact location of the rally, but taking in Barcelona too, from Ijmuiden to Barcelona/Calafell, selecting 'maps around the route' in CN V9 is 26 maps and 110 megs of disk space, easily transferrable into a Quest1.

You also have at least that much memory again left over in the Quest, if you wanted to add in some diversions.

According to (my) Mapsource the route is 1,026 miles and 14 Hrs 55 minutes travel time, 1 way.

Skippy · Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 11:38 pm Post subject:

bumpkin · Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 12:13 am Post subject:

For the sake of comparison in City Nav v8 it takes 17 map tiles and 163MB which will fit comfortably on the Quest, however, any extras added would push you near the limit. It's interesting to see the effect of CN v9 on this, I might get around to using my update disk one of these days.

In MetroGuide Europe v8 it takes 63 map tiles and 54MB including the index file built by MetroWizzz.
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Chas
Garmin i3, Quest & StreetPilot 2720 with GTM10

Skippy · Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 8:39 am Post subject:

locksmith · Lifetime Member Joined: Aug 16, 2005 Posts: 221

My quest is getting a bit long in the tooth now and I have to use an external antenna now as well so thinking about changing. With the Zumo can you still make routes in mapsource and download to the zumo?
The whole unit looks a bit big and is presumably hard wired to the bike.
Thats what I really love about the quest it's dimentions and long battery.

Skippy · Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 1:11 pm Post subject:

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