fritz_t_coyote's Full Review: Garmin Quest Handheld GPS Receiver
The Garmin Quest is a compact, easy to use and helpful multi-purpose GPS. It can be mounted in your car, where it has a friendly voice, or hand-held for your on-foot adventures.
What's In The Box
The Quest comes with an AC-charger and USB cable (for when you hook it up to your computer, more about this later), a car mount (suction cup for windshield mounting and a power cord with a speaker on the 'lighter' plug), a manual, PC software and map CDs.
The device itself is compact, with a small but legible color screen, a flip-up antenna, and control buttons. On the back are contacts for the power connections, a mini-usb jack and an antenna jack for connecting an external antenna (not included, and not necessary in most cars).
The PC Setup
First, you need to have a PC running WIN 98 or better (please, before you buy this get a modern PC).
Plug in the AC Adapter and mount the GPS in the charging bracket, but DO NOT connect the USB cable until you have finished installing the PC MapSource Software and Maps. Note that if you register the product online you may be eligible to order a free update of the maps CD. If so, the new Mapsource CDs take about a week to arrive.
Then you can connect the usb cable between your PC and Quest , and power on the Quest.
After your PC connects to the GPS you should be good to go.
The limited memory (115mb) of the Quest requires you to actively manage the map-set that it contains. You do this by selecting the map sections you want to use, and downloading the map sections to the device. You can save sets of maps on the PC, so if you have different areas you travel to, you can save multiple map sets for easy reloading.
Also, after you use the unit in your car you may want to upload waypoints to your pc and save them with the map set.
This makes it easy to build up a map set with lots of personal waypoints included, like my sister's house, or the location of our 'Wilmington' office.
How much can you download? 115 MB is enough for me to keep my 'regular set that runs from Buffalo NY to Cape Cod to Wilmington DE, which is my 'usual' range. But if I am going further I can swap out map sets.
For longer trips you will easily fit a day's drive onto the GPS, but may need to swap map sets using a laptop PC.
OK, you have your maps loaded, and are ready to go.
Start by playing with the device indoors (where you won't get any GPS signals) or outside in the fresh air, explore the menus and options on foot. Or on lawn chair.
In the Car
Mount the handy suction cup to the windshield and adjust the bracket... the GPS snaps in after the antenna is raised.
You may need to experiment to get a location that is easy to reach and see without blocking your view of the road.
Then plug in the combination power and speaker cord.
As soon as the car 12volt power comes on the unit it will turn on, and the lawyer screen starts up.
Warning: When Using This Device Don't Crash
When the device has found enough satellites, it will be ready to navigate. You might have to adjust the antenna angle or the unit position to get a clean view of the sky. Or if you are in a canyon (urban or natural) or in a tunnel or under a bridge or in a parking garage, wait for the car to be in the open.
(Some cars have a metallic-based windshield tinting that blocks GPS signals, for these you will need an and optional external antenna. Visit the Garmin website for more information.)
And while navigating a helpful, friendly voice (that my kids call 'Beeping Betty') will tell you where to go. The volume control is on the side of the speaker, and you can press the 'speaker' button on the GPS to have her repeat the last message.
You can select a destination from the built in menus. Along with lots of pre-defined locations such as shops, airports, etc. you can enter a street address and the Quest will figure out how to get there.
Before setting out, make sure your Common Sense is functional because a GPS might tell you to drive across a bridge that isn't there anymore, or turn left when the sign says 'No Left Turn'. You are still responsible for not crashing your car, driving off a cliff, etc. A good general guideline is to avoid doing anything that Wile E. Coyote would do.
Nifty Features
One of the nifty features is route planning. If you have multiple stops to make, you can enter all of the waypoints then the Quest will figure out the shortest route between them. Handy for saving gas when you have a bunch of shopping to do.
It allows you to set your custom waypoints up and upload them to your PC to be saved with the map set. Handy for areas you plan to return to.
My Experience
After more than a year, the Quest is great.
Advantages:
Price: A lot of navigating ability on a budget.
Portability: Not mounted permanently in a car inviting theft, you take it with you and can program your day's travels into the GPS while sipping coffee and reading the 'Garage sales' listings. Or take it with you and mount it in a rental car. Or use it hand-held for traveling on-foot.
No Touch Screen: That means the screen stays clean and legible.
Limitations:
The internal rechargeable battery cannot be replaced, but is good for hours of hand-held use and should last the life of this unit.
When not in use it needs a protective pouch to avoid scratching the screen. I found a cell-phone pouch to store it in.
The limited memory means you have to manage map sets using your PC.
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