Has anyone mounted a portable GPS unit to the inside front wind shield? I'm looking at the Garmin C320, C330 or C340 and they use a suction cup that sticks the unit to the front window. Looks like it may block the view. I didn't buy a nav unit with MINI purchase, just seemed like too much money and I didn't like the way it took up so much room on the dash. Is the Garmin a good unit? Any other makes recommended for MINI motoring in North America? Also heard that CA has a law that prohibits sticking anything to the inside of your windshield.

 

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d12/vc26708.htm

 

First off I don't think he/she lives in CA.

I use a little larger unit, the Garmin 2610 stuck to my windshield. The friend who gave me the unit uses I believe a Garmin 60C, a smaller hand held unit the same way I do. Neither of us has problems using them. Being an old f@rt I have a harder time seeing the small screen so need a larger unit, but work great stuck to the left lower side windshield. It does not block vision and easy to read without taking your eyes off the road as you would if it was mounted lower.

 

I have a Magellan Roadmate 760 which sticks on the lower left corner of the windshield. Since it sits low near the dash, it doesn't block your view.

I purchased the 760 because the display was better in bright conditions and also larger than most others on the market. I recently used it on a trip from Colorado to California and it worked great. I also use an external antenna because the MINI windshield is very upright and I was not able to consistantly keep the 'WAAS' signal locked. With the external antenna, I always have a great signal.

Hope that helps.

 

The problem with that is if you stop really FAST, and it unsticks, its going to become a very fast moving missle headed somewhere to your body'

With a 760 you can mount it properly with a panavise mount

 

sndwave, I will be driving through California. I suppose we may be left alone since we are just visiting. Do you use an external antenna?

indiman, Did you have to fix the external antenna permanently to your MINI? Was the unit totally unuseable without the external antenna?

Do both your units not block your view because their installed position ends up in front of the windshield side frame more than the windshield?
I'm heading to a NAV dealer tomorrow and will check these units. Thanks for the feedback.

 

Here is a pic of a mounted Magallen



and here is a pic of an external gps antenna

 

They could ask you to remove it but because you are not a resident, I find it hardly unlikely they would do anymore than that. My Garmin has the built in antenna and works fantastic.

My unit does not block my road vision what so ever, but is easy to scan to because it sits lower than eye level, but because it’s on the windshield you do not have to take your eyes off of actual road functions to see it as you would if it was below the dash area.

Focus is a major cause of driving problems. If you have to look below the dash to view a GPS, you then have to refocus on the road when you look up. My eyes never leave the driving view of the windshield. My unit also has an audio function that says when and what direction to turn which I use so I don’t have to keep looking at the unit.

 

MINIclo uses the same type but different model as I do and lives in CA. She has neve had a problem with having her unit mounted on the windshield. She also has a Digi cam and maybe could post a picture of how we mount ours because I don't have one.

 

My external antenna is not permanant, looks very similar to chows4us. The signal was good with the internal antenna but better with the external.

 

We have been very pleased with the c330 - initially, it took a while to get the unit firmly fixed to the wind screen - however, a quick wipe with a damp sponge on the back of the suction cup easily solves the adhesion problem - we have been moving the unit between cars with no difficulty. It does not become detached from the windscreen.

There has been no problem at all with visibility of the unit itself , or of visibility thru the windscreen.

Highly recommended.

 

I'll second the vote for the C330. We got one on a recent trip to Virginia (drove to Pennsylvania, then around PA, then back and around VA).

I loved it. Simply put, it is my new favorite thing in the world. It will be standard equipment now for any trip that I take. No problems on the suction cup thingy. Can't really say for the visibility issue though, since it was on the passenger side. The passenger was in charge of utilizing it while the driver listened to directions.

-- Jay

 

Take a look at the Clarion Nice unit. It does nav, its an mp3 player and it does sirius. Also it has a 7" screen making it one of the bigest.

http://www.clarion.com/usa/innovation/

Part tour guide, part personal entertainer, Clarion's N.I.C.E. system is a transportable 20GB HDD-based GPS navigation solution that provides users with a host of entertainment options. Just select your destination via the seven-inch monitor's touch-screen control and N.I.C.E. will guide you via turn-by-turn voice prompts and three mapping displays. For entertainment, choose from Sirius Satellite Radio or MP3 Music Playback, which plays wirelessly through an existing sound system. The system can also be utilized to review personal photos from a digital camera, or for rear-view camera viewing, watching movies or playing video games. It's everything in one... It's N.I.C.E.

 

I use a Garmin eTrex Vista, suctioned to my windshield with a nifty gooseneck holder. I live in California, but have never been approached by law enforcement while the GPS was windshield attached.
I do not have a vision-loss problem. The unit sits low enough to not obscure my view of the road.
The windshield area is the only place the GPS will get a signal. It has no external antenna jack.

 

I have the TOM TOM Go 300 and think it is terrific. It is a better deal than most and is getting rave reviews. See Cnet. Another bonus is that the maps for North America and Canada are on one SD card so it is useful across the country without needing to purchase additional maps or SD cards.

Bob

 

I use a Garmin E-Trex Legend C along with their suction cup mount. Once its stuck, it stays in place. I tried mounting it near the base of the A-pillar to minimize blocking my view, however, the curve in the windshield (oops, windscreen!) prevents the suction cup from sticking. When mounted near the center of the windscreen, the suction cup holds well, but it's hard to reach the buttons on the side of the GPS unit if you want to change views.

 

I have an older model GPS, Garmin eMap, that I have mounted to the left of the speedo on the dash. I have it velcro'd to a radar detector mount that has suction cups. While I don't view the GPS constently, I wanted to be able to work the buttons without having to lean forward. I don't have an external antenna, and find that with the sun roof, I have no problem. The only time I loose a signal is when I'm traveling through the mountains in a valley, that I would probably loose even with the external. This loss is only for a few seconds and then it comes back.

I have been considering the Gamin Quest, just for the price, and portability. I like the idea of driving to a location within a city, parking and using the GPS to get me, by foot, to the location that I want.

 

hey chow4us where did you get that panavise holder for the gps. and where did you get the external ant. i just bought one on ebay, God i love EBAY, and i know it has the suction cup thing but i think the panavise thing would be better.

 

We use the Magellan 700, love it!!! It is a must for trips, moves easily from one vehicle to another, and have had no problems with the suction cups, we usually mount ours as low on the windshield as possible in the center, and don't have any problems with our view, however it does audio also, so you are told which direction to turn and how far from the manuver you are, highly recommend. It sure beats the heck out of getting a massive headache trying to read a map (of course I was the co-pilot when I did that :smile: ). Now if someone is trying to give me directions, I just have them give me the exact address, key it in, and off I go, it's great!!!

 

Panavise part # is 75146-02. Google that and you can find a vendor. I got mine at Autotoys.com but I think Katrina destoyed their comps! I'm sure other ppl sell them or if not, order directly from panavise.

External antenna is stock Magellan part. Just go to their website and look up accesories for roadmate series!

 

You can also move the Magellan from car to car with the panavise mount. It just pops up, then I stick it onto a RAM mount for the other car. Works great

 

chow4us funny thing happened when i googled the part number, i was sent to the nam marketplace forum for your panavise funny hun. and thanks

 

here you go http://www.cartoys.com/Default.cfm/p...ket_75146_102/

note the comment on 05 cars

and here http://75146-102.mounting-brackets.1...-interest.com/

and here cheaper http://www.canyonriver.com/online/or...gory_Code=Mini

note that is really a cell phone bracket

 

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I bought a Magellan 700 tonight. Liked both the Garmin and the Magellan but the Magellan had the European map already installed and my wife and I are planning a 3 week driving holiday in europe this spring. Saved a few dollars with the Magellan because I just had to go online to pay for an access code to activate the European maps. Drove around all night with it stuck to the windshield. Good visibility, good reception and very easy to use. Plan to buy another mounting bracket for my wifes car.

 

Instead of buying a stand-alone proprietary GPS unit, I bought a GPS card for my Dell Axim pocket pda and Iguidance software. It's a great system. Although I have not used the stand alone systems, I believe it comparable in features to the stand-alone systems. It cost $200 for the software and gps card. I bought a cheap ($35) window suction mount, which works ok but was designed with the power connector on the bottom, so it doesn't sit as flat on the top of the dashboard as it would if the power connector attached somewhere else. There are better powered mounds in the $50 range. I already had the Axim, which is useful for lots of other things. I think you could buy a PDA with compactflash and sd card slots, the GPS, the software and the mount for what you're paying for a stand-alone. That way you're not stuck with proprietary mapping software and can use the PDA for lots of other things (websurfing, email, outlook syncing, controlling your stereo, listing to mp3s, playing videos, etc). Certainly an alternative that should be considered by anyone looking for an aftermarket gps.