BajaNomad

New SirfStar III Garmin GPS's Rumored

Neal Johns - 11-28-2005 at 12:04 AM

Rumor from
http://gpstracklog.typepad.com/gps_tracklog/2005/11/new_garm...
about Garmin's with new hi-sensitivity SirfStar III chipset.

"New Garmin Receivers with Expandable Memory and SiRF Chipset

On Thanksgiving afternoon, reports started showing up on the Yahoo 60CS and Groundspeak GPS message boards, about a new line of Garmin receivers. Initial reports referenced pages on Basspro.com for the following models:

* GPSMap 60 Cx
* GPSMap 60 CSx
* GPSMap 76 Cx
* GPSMap 76 CSx
* Legend Cx
* Vista Cx

The 60 and 76 series models list (according to Bass Pro Shops) that they use the SiRF chipset, presumably the SiRFstarIII. All the units include a TransFlash data card of anywhere from 32 to 128 MB."

bajalou - 11-28-2005 at 09:30 AM

Can't find any reference to any "x" models on the Garmin website.

:?:

Neal Johns - 11-28-2005 at 11:39 AM

Just a rumor, supposed to be out in December, not now.

Neil,

Hook - 11-28-2005 at 12:03 PM

What would this mean to those of us considering buying a GPS unit? What advantages would this chipset allow?

Taco de Baja - 11-28-2005 at 03:46 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Hook
What would this mean to those of us considering buying a GPS unit? What advantages would this chipset allow?


I think it provides better satellite reception in ?problem areas? such as canyons, forests, and vehicles, and probably city areas with many skyscrapers.

Neal Johns - 11-28-2005 at 05:06 PM

Taco is right, my old 176C Garmin gets 1 sat in my living room, a Holus with SirfStar III gets seven! Good for large city or outback "canyons" or hiking under trees. Or in my case, the dashboard of my pop-top camper with an overhanging cabover metal roof. For you techies, about 15 db. more sensitive.

Bruce R Leech - 11-28-2005 at 06:49 PM

Garmin? GPSMAP? 76CSx




SiRF high-sensitivity GPS receiver
WAAS-enabled
Meets rigid IPX-7 submersible standards, and floats
Brilliant color TFT display
Built-in basemap with auto routing
Electronic compass
Barometric altimeter
Expandable memory
128 MB TransFlash memory card included for optional downloaded maps
Runs for 30 hours on 2 AA batteries (not included)
2.7"W x 6.2"H x 1.2"D

$549.99

http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=736...

Garmin Chooses SiRF as Supplier on Selected New Garmin Devices

Bruce R Leech - 11-28-2005 at 06:52 PM

OLATHE, Kan., Aug. 30, 2005 -- Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. , a leading provider of navigation, communication and information devices, and SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc. , a leading provider of GPS-enabled location technology, today announced they have entered into an agreement to incorporate SiRF architecture into a range of Garmin devices. Under the terms of the agreement, Garmin will integrate SiRF's SiRFstarIII architecture on selected Garmin units.

"As the market for new GPS-enabled devices grows, we continue to introduce feature-rich products designed to improve people's everyday lives," said Gary Kelley, Garmin's vice president of marketing. "SiRF's high sensitivity architecture is well-suited for some of our soon-to-be-announced products, and will help us achieve our mission of enhancing the GPS experience. We look forward to working with SiRF on these devices."

The SiRFstarIII is SiRF's flagship architecture. With its 200,000 correlators, the SiRFstarIII GPS technology will continue to provide Garmin users with the industry-leading GPS performance they have come to rely upon when purchasing a Garmin device.

"As an early pioneer in GPS-enabled consumer devices, Garmin has developed a well-deserved reputation for market leadership and customer satisfaction," according to Kanwar Chadha, founder and vice president of marketing for SiRF. "Garmin's endorsement of SiRF's GPS architecture is a clear validation of our strategy of becoming the GPS architecture supplier of choice. We look forward to working with Garmin in driving our shared vision of bringing the benefits of GPS to mainstream consumers."

About Garmin

Garmin International Inc. is a member of the Garmin Ltd. group of companies, which designs and manufactures navigation, communication and information devices -- most of which are enabled by GPS technology. Garmin is a leader in the general aviation and consumer GPS markets and its products serve aviation, marine, outdoor recreation, automotive, wireless and OEM applications. Garmin Ltd. is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and its principal subsidiaries are located in the United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit Garmin's virtual pressroom at http://www.garmin.com/pressroom or contact the Media Relations department at 913-397-8200. Garmin is a registered trademark, of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries. Anticipated product availability dates are based on management's current expectations and are not guaranteed.

About SiRF

SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc. is a leading supplier of GPS enabled location technology for high-volume mobile consumer devices and commercial applications. SiRF's technology has been integrated into mobile consumer devices, such as automobile navigation systems, mobile phones, PDAs, GPS-based peripherals and handheld GPS navigation devices, and into commercial applications, such as asset tracking devices and fleet management systems. SiRF markets and sells its products in four target platforms: automotive, consumer electronics, mobile computing and wireless devices. Founded in 1995, SiRF is headquartered in San Jose, California, and has sales offices, design centers and research facilities around the world. The company trades on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange under the symbol SIRF. Additional information about SiRF and its location technology solutions can be found at http://www.sirf.com/ .

All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

Notice on forward-looking statements:

This release includes forward-looking statements regarding Garmin Ltd. and its business. All statements regarding the company's future product introductions and expected product availability dates are forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on management's current expectations. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur and actual results could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting Garmin, including, but not limited to, the risk factors listed in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 25, 2004 filed by Garmin with the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission file number 0-31983). A copy of Garmin's Form 10-K can be downloaded at http://www.garmin.com/aboutGarmin/invRelations/finReports.ht... . No forward- looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Garmin undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise

Should I have waited for SiRF Chip?

Al G - 12-10-2005 at 09:08 AM

Need nomad advice. I was trying to find a cheap all in one solution to GPS and came up with this.

http://www.gpsonsale.com/MarineGPS/Marine-Products/Chartplot...
I may have buyer remorse, but I am not sure what I bought.
Seems like there are some other things, maps, sonar, antennas, memory etc.
My use is in my MH, jeep, and 14' tin boat.
I'm sure I need the new Baja map Neil Johns bought but I am confused as to what else???
What is the relationship this unit has with sea communications, also sonar? I thought thie had sonar(fish finder), but now think I need to buy something, what?
What upgrades are a must have for fishing Baja?
Don't have much time, leaving for Mulege' Dec 20th
Thanks
Al G

Taco de Baja - 12-10-2005 at 09:30 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Neal Johns
Rumor from
http://gpstracklog.typepad.com/gps_tracklog/2005/11/new_garm...
about Garmin's with new hi-sensitivity SirfStar III chipset.

"New Garmin Receivers with Expandable Memory and SiRF Chipset

On Thanksgiving afternoon, reports started showing up on the Yahoo 60CS and Groundspeak GPS message boards, about a new line of Garmin receivers. Initial reports referenced pages on Basspro.com for the following models:

* GPSMap 60 Cx
* GPSMap 60 CSx
* GPSMap 76 Cx
* GPSMap 76 CSx
* Legend Cx
* Vista Cx



I just found out from a contact at Garmin that the new chip will only be in the 60 and 76 models, not the Legend or Vista, and they expect to begin shipping in mid to late January.

The "C" stands for color screen
The "S" stands for the SirfStar III chipset
The "X" stands for the TransFlash? data card memory

[Edited on 12-10-2005 by Taco de Baja]

LarryB - 12-10-2005 at 09:39 AM

Al
You purchased a fine GPS for what you need, and at a great price. Use it and Enjoy it.

The new tech chips will be nice no doubt. My limited understanding is they help in low visibility areas like indoors or under tree cover. I don't do much of that in Baja so probably won't hop on the bandwagon quite yet. I have found that with a cheap external antenna my gps' work fine in marginal signal conditions anyway. This is what I do in the RV because of the windshield overhang.

I think you may be thinking of the NMEA ports that allow communication with some other devices.

I can't help you with fishing recommendations.

Larry

Al G - 12-10-2005 at 10:39 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by LarryB
Al
You purchased a fine GPS for what you need, and at a great price. Use it and Enjoy it.

The new tech chips will be nice no doubt. My limited understanding is they help in low visibility areas like indoors or under tree cover. I don't do much of that in Baja so probably won't hop on the bandwagon quite yet. I have found that with a cheap external antenna my gps' work fine in marginal signal conditions anyway. This is what I do in the RV because of the windshield overhang.

I think you may be thinking of the NMEA ports that allow communication with some other devices.

I can't help you with fishing recommendations.

Larry

OK I'll order a external antenna. I'll mount it on top above driver seat and pass through roof. They poked holes for satellite wires, so one more won't hurt.
"NMEA ports that allow communication"
Hate to sound dumb, but what do these devices do when they do their communication thingy.:lol:
Al G

Neal Johns - 12-10-2005 at 02:58 PM

You can also buy a 6' cable with BNC connectors and a Female-Female BNC adapter from Radio Shack and mount the existing removeable antenna on the hood. I do.

NMEA is just a communications protocol that most GPS's use to sent their data to Chartplotters or Fish Finders that accept data in and display it. The 276C does not accept data in to display it. It is just a good GPS.

bajalou - 12-10-2005 at 05:50 PM

In looking at the Garmin site at the 76S the say the following
"If you?re a devoted mariner or serious outdoor enthusiast, our new GPSMAP 76S is the GPS/mapping unit for you. The "S" in the product name stands for "sensors", because the GPSMAP 76S incorporates a GPS receiver, barometric altimeter, and an electronic compass that deliver precise location, elevation, and bearing information to take adventurers as high or as far as they want to go."
These sensors givea much more accurate altitude and compas directionwhen not moving than the unit does from the satellite data.
Some computer programs don't recognise the proprietary data output so data trnsfer has to use the really universal one NMEA. Besides requiring the NMEA data ouput ability, they (whoever they are) also have required the output to be "Serial" to standardize the compatability of devices. I have to use a Serial-to-USB adaptor to download to my computer.

edited to try to correct spelling

[Edited on 12-11-2005 by bajalou]