garmin 18 vs 16

studmonk3y · 02-25-2004, 12:53 AM

Which one is better the garmin 18 or the soon to be released 16?

Thanks.

cproaudio · 02-25-2004, 04:24 AM

I think you mean 18 b/c 16 has been out for almost 2 years. If I had to do it all over again, I would get the GPS16A as it updates its position 5 times a second opose to once a second like the 16 or the 18.

Marsupial · 02-25-2004, 12:54 PM

Do we really mind having 5 updates per seconds for our car??

Ricky327 · 02-25-2004, 09:30 PM

Do we really mind having 5 updates per seconds for our car??

Yes Ill go for GPS16A...at the moment I have GPS16 and the update is 1 per sec.

Heres a scenario why I want GPS16A :

In UK we have many roundabouts, big one and many small ones. You can easily miss the turning if you are not paying attention to your car PC. Yes I know it tell you which exit to take but once you missed it the software then recalculate...this cause alot of confusion on the software and you. The software doeasnt tell you which exit to take anymore as it lost count from where you are...you are also confused. Now trying to work out which exit to take, keeping your eye on the screen and at the same time driving in a busy roundabout can be dangerous. As you kept missing the exit the software then keep recalculating the route. In the end you keep going around in the circle until you felt it is the right exit. I tell you, most of the time its the wrong exit Ill take

... not funny when you enter a motorway

So a real time display is very helpful with this roundabout thing with smooth map scrolling.

Im not too sure what software support many times per sec update. I know the autoroute/mappoint can only display 1 per sec.

Anyone one know that may support GPS16A?

Harry5150 · 02-25-2004, 10:44 PM

I was going to order the 18 till they updated their site and it says that it will only work with Garmin's Mapsource software.

http://www.gpscity.com/gps/brados/15.../oem18usb.html

studmonk3y · 02-26-2004, 01:01 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Harry5150

I was going to order the 18 till they updated their site and it says that it will only work with Garmin's Mapsource software.

http://www.gpscity.com/gps/brados/15.../oem18usb.html

the garmin 18 usb version outputs to garmin proprietary format, but the bare wire version and the pc (serial) output to NMEA 0183 data format, but may also be user programmed to output data in the GARMIN proprietary format.

http://www.garmin.com/products/gps18/

Can someone decipher the technical specs between the 16 and 18. I don't really care for the 5 updates a sec. 1 update a second is plenty enough for me. But the 16 costs ~$200 and the 18 is gonna cost ~$85 so I wanted to know why the big price difference, obviously I don't the 18 if it's gonna be a POS.

cproaudio · 02-26-2004, 01:54 AM

Studmon3y: You obviously never used or had a GPS setup before. 1 second update seems fast enough but in reality, it's not. Most factory navs update at least twice a second. Granted the software must also support fast update but once you got the hardware, you can always update the software later. When I built my system I spared no expense and got the best at the time. Unfortunately I was limited to choose a GPS receiver with 1 second update rate. If I had to do it over again, I would get the GPS16A. You posted here asking for advice from someone who has experience in GPS. I am here telling you what to look for in a GPS. If cost is the main concern, then get the GPS18. Garmin makes good GPS receivers. You cant go wrong with Garmin.