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Old 07-09-2010, 01:35 PM   #1
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Oregon 550T

Anybody using one of these? Pros/cons?





I'd like a backup GPS with topo maps.
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=145&pID=26876
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Old 07-09-2010, 04:34 PM   #2
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Re: Oregon 550T

I bought one, used it for a month and hated it so much I sold it at a loss on eBay. To each his own, but I didn't like the way the touch screen worked, hard to see in sunlight and moving around to various screens didn't work the way I liked.
Just my thots....
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Old 07-09-2010, 04:45 PM   #3
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Re: Oregon 550T

Quote:
Originally Posted by scatter
I bought one, used it for a month and hated it so much I sold it at a loss on eBay. To each his own, but I didn't like the way the touch screen worked, hard to see in sunlight and moving around to various screens didn't work the way I liked.
Just my thots....
Well that must have been an entertaining eBay ad "...someone buy this crap off me..."

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Old 07-09-2010, 06:22 PM   #4
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Re: Oregon 550T

Be sure to check out this site for free GPS maps.
gpsfiledepot.com
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Old 07-10-2010, 04:36 AM   #5
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Re: Oregon 550T

I just bought the Oregon 450T and I really like it. I think the only difference is that the 550T has a built-in camera. I have had a couple of different Garmin nuvi's in the past, but didn't have any experience with a hand-held GPS. I bit the bullet and laid down another $100 for the City Navigator North America MicroSD card and I am glad that I did. Though it still doesn't handle in-town automobile-based navigating as well as a nuvi, it handles it well enough that I don't have to bring two units on camping trips. It's great for geocaching too. I don't have any problems with the screen brightness. In fact, it seems to be better in sunlight than in shade.

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Old 07-10-2010, 10:19 AM   #6
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Re: Oregon 550T

I'll probably want to see one in action. One thing I need to know is if it will snap into the ball mount of a Nuvi. My Nuvi is hard mounted to the pillar.
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Old 07-10-2010, 10:29 AM   #7
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Re: Oregon 550T

As a "backup" consider an Iphone or Android device.

Load an application called Gaia GPS on it.
http://www.gaiagps.com/

You can install any USGS topo map for free.
I think the application itself is about $3

The Iphone GPS works best if within cell service but still works okay (as a backup) beyond cell service.

I was testing it last October during our meet. The current version works great.
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Old 07-11-2010, 07:41 AM   #8
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Re: Oregon 550T

Quote:
Originally Posted by daveb
One thing I need to know is if it will snap into the ball mount of a Nuvi. My Nuvi is hard mounted to the pillar.
Garmin sells a mount for the 400/450/550 that will attach it to the ball, but the power plug is different than the nuvi.

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Old 07-11-2010, 09:25 AM   #9
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Re: Oregon 550T

Quote:
Originally Posted by daveb
My Nuvi is hard mounted to the pillar.

Dave --

Do you have pix of your Nuvi install? I have a Nuvi 780 and am still trying to figure out good placement in the van.

Thanks.
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Old 07-11-2010, 02:41 PM   #10
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Re: Oregon 550T

Quote:
Originally Posted by GreyDawg
Quote:
Originally Posted by daveb
My Nuvi is hard mounted to the pillar.

Dave --

Do you have pix of your Nuvi install? I have a Nuvi 780 and am still trying to figure out good placement in the van.

Thanks.
In California we can only have them mounted in a couple of spots and one is in the lower driver side of the front windshield. My Nuvi came with a suction cup mount and a flat mount that can be screwed into something. I have a lot of wiring (including the Nuvi power cord) in the pillar and Randy at SMB-W used some kind of glue to stick the mount onto the pillar. Where it's mounted seems to be the best spot for not distracting my driving. The only problem is if the mount fails and they change the ball style or if I want to upgrade to something different but I can figure something out down the road if need be.
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