Garmin Montana

[dms1]

I might be ordering one tomorrow. I put some questions up on GPS Citys web site and if they get answered the way I hope they do, I will order the Montana 650, one of the docks and the external antenna. This unit actually costs less that the 276c when I bought it a few years backs and it will be great to be able to use it as an Auto GPS and a mobile GPS.

 

[Corey]

Looks like a nice unit, here is one of the models on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Montan...NCPC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311237974&sr=8-1

Only two reviews on this model there so far.
One negative, one fairly good.

As for the geotagging of the pictures, does this mean you can also have the long/latt printed on the picture besides being able to navigate back to that spot by bringing up the picture?

 

[Schattenjager]

I might be ordering one tomorrow. I put some questions up on GPS Citys web site and if they get answered the way I hope they do, I will order the Montana 650, one of the docks and the external antenna. This unit actually costs less that the 276c when I bought it a few years backs and it will be great to be able to use it as an Auto GPS and a mobile GPS.

Did you ever place an order? If so, what are your impressions? I'm very curios about this uber spendy toy - hoping it might actually be a useful tool.

 

[evldave]

It is almost perfect, but like others before I through down that kind of money, it needs a larger screen/version. Something with a 7" diagonal screen would be great.

Jack

I guess it depends on what you use it for...I wouldn't take a 7" screen GPS hiking with me, even 4" is almost too big. What would be ideal would be something like the Archos line...a 4", 5", and 7" model that all uses the same software and hardware, just slightly different screen sizes.

 

[Schattenjager]

Any updates?

 

[dms1]

Montana 650 - 3 week review

I purchased the Montana 650 a few weeks ago to replace my GPSMAP 276c, At first I thought I may have made a mistake but the more I use and learn the Montana 650, the more I like it.

The feature that is missing the most for me is the "Page Button" which allows you to cycle thru a few screens you have the option to activate or deactivate. The Second Feature I miss is some of those actual screens, the 276c had a "Position Data Page", "Trip Computer Page" and the "Current Route Page". The Montana 650 has a watered down "Current Route Page" and has combined the "Position Data Page" and "Trip Computer Page" with less options. To access these pages I have customized the 650 so I only need to exit the map screen to the main menu and then select the page I want to view, by default changing to these other views is cumbersome at best. I have sent an email to Garmin to see if there is an equivalent "Page Button" and suggested adding 276c type pages.


The Birdseye Satellite and Topo subscriptions look promising but they are also flawed according to the Garmin forums so I am holding out on subscribing to them, also I have recently discovered you can create your own Birdseye Satellite images so I may go that route since it is free.

The Birdseye Topo maps are the same as the free USGS maps you can download, which is nice if you print out those maps and carry them with you - you would be able to see exactly where you are on those maps. However I have discovered that Basecamp cant turn off either the Satellite or Topo maps once downloaded, so you have to create folders and move the files there to hide them in, otherwise you cant see your maps, according to the Garmin help desk they are working on an on\off button for these images.

Garmin announced last week that Mapsource has been discontinued and that only Basecamp will be supported in the future. Unfortunately Basecamp in my opinion is still a beta product but it does have promise. I have found I can still use Mapsource to create waypoints and tracks and send them to the GPS or save to a file and import into Basecamp, but you cant download data from the Montana into Mapsource. The biggest problem I see with Basecamp so far is the way it stores your data (Tracks, Waypoints and routes). Some may like it, but many on the Garmin forums don't and have asked for this to be changed.


Hardware wise the unit seems solid but big, but that does not bother me. The screen is readable in daylight and the touchscreen works good for me.

I bought one of their new mounts and screwed it to the 276c mount, I also bought the external antenna but it doesn't look I will need it with this GPS, it gets excellent reception where the 276c needed an external antenna.

That's all I got for now, remember I am still learning the GPS and Garmin is releasing firmware weekly for this unit so some things may change or be inaccurate.

If you have any specific questions please let me know.

 

[Ray_G]

Just ordered one for my Disco so will report back over the fall as I learn it too.
r-
Ray

 

[schmugboy]

dms1, Have you tried it with street navigation yet, interested to know if it has text to speech. Not a huge deal, but with two young tots, making all kinds of noise in the back, I certainly could use that feature. Otherwise looks Ok, I am playing with basemap now, but it does not seem very user friendly, or I am GPS challenged.

 

[dms1]

dms1, Have you tried it with street navigation yet, interested to know if it has text to speech. Not a huge deal, but with two young tots, making all kinds of noise in the back, I certainly could use that feature. Otherwise looks Ok, I am playing with basemap now, but it does not seem very user friendly, or I am GPS challenged.

I have used the GPS with Street navigation and it works good, as far as the text to speech goes, I have read online that this GPS has it, but I don't know for sure because I have not hooked it up to a speaker and probably wont.

I can add to my review above that if you use the Nuvi Dashboard you can quickly access the "Current Route Page" and the "Trip Computer Page" with one button press, so it is working out for me now.

 

[dms1]

Garmin Montana 5 Week Report

Garmin Montana 5 week report

It took awhile, but I am now fully on board with the Garmin Montana and have it setup to my liking (for now) and will be selling my 276c soon.

The major obstacle with this GPS is that it very customizable, so much so that sometimes you get lost in all the menu settings, but I have pretty much got it setup so that it meets my needs and have it do everything my 276c can and more. It is still missing the page button that I used all the time with the 276c, but I have figured out how to pull up the screens I use from the "Map Page"

Here are some screenshots of how I have the Garmin Montana setup now.

Main Screen:

All of the Icons on the main screen are configurable as well as the "Status" dashboard which has the battery strength, signal strength, time, date,and location. There are 10 dashboards available, Altimeter, Automotive, Compass, Recreational, Stopwatch, Small Data Feilds, Status, Favorites, Geocache and None.

The Icons I have put on my 'Main Screen" are (left to right) Map, Trip Computer, Active Route, Where To, Compass, Mark Waypoint (which I'm going to change out), Waypoint Manager, Routing, Hunt and Fish, Sun and Moon, Camera, Alarm, Search for nearest Gas Stations, Search for Nearest Lodging, All POIs and Setup. The Arrow that is on the right side of the screen pops out the "Drawer" which has even more custom Icons.

Drawer:

Map Page:

This is the Nuvi map page. I chose this because you can pull up the "Trip Computer" page by pressing on the "Speed" and bring up the "Current Route" page by pressing on the bar at the top. To create a way point you can press anywhere on the map.

Trip Computer

The "Dashboard" on the right can be changed to any of the dashboards listed above.

Current Route

Detailed Map Page (using the 24K Topo maps)

Search for nearest Gas Stations

Camera Mode

Stop Watch

Compass

Profile

 

[Honu]

saw one at REI very nice large screen looks like a cool device

 

[Harald Hansen]

I've already put it in my Christmas wish list!

 

[Beowulf]

It's been over a month since the last post. Any more feedback?

dms1,
Are you still happy? Anything still missing?



Anyone think that Garmin might come out with a larger version that would be considered more of a Marine Chart Plotter? Not that I need anything bigger, especially to take hiking, just more out of curiosity.

 

[peekay]

I remember my first Streetpilot 2610. Got it for $599, and that was only bc it was a refurb. New units were going for $799!

 

[Beowulf]

Can the Montana in city navigator be used in non-3D view? I like the old flat map look with my little arrow moving. I don't want to have to use it while looking at a 45 degree angle to the map. Plus, I like North up instead of direction up.