The GPS that I installed in our SMB in February 2009 (
http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/vie...hp?f=13&t=2616) started having some minor problems so I decided to replace it with a new/larger model. I choose a Garmin nuvi 2798 LMT which has a 7" screen and wireless backup camera (the backup camera I installed back in 2009 was still okay but requires a separate monitor while the Garmin unit uses the same monitor for both units). I also wanted a unit with built-in Bluetooth since I don't have a hands-free smartphone unit in the SMB.
I installed them both a week or two ago and was able to use them on a trip to the Mammoth Lakes area last week. I really like the new GPS...larger screen, speed limit as well as current speed, and the name of the next street that you are approaching (which included forest service roads). (I wasn't able to check if routes could be plotted on the forest service roads or not but they were shown on the maps.) Voice commands are a nice feature as well as previous routes are shown in blue. Our very first GPS has a similar feature called "cookie crumbs" which showed how you got to where you were driving...especially nice as a way to make sure you can get back out when off-roading.
One "field" on the display was selectable between compass direction, elevation, or time of day. I usually chose the latter since the clock on the radio/CD player is hard to see in the daytime but changed it to elevation at times since I like to know the elevation where I'm driving. I was able to check that in a few places (our driveway, which showed the elevation within a couple of feet of the actual elevation) and at Tioga Pass where it was within 30-40 feet of the actual elevation.)
I was amazed at how quickly the new GPS acquired the satellite signals...on our previous Garmin GPS, it could take 15 minutes to acquire enough satellites to show our position if the van hadn't been driven in a week or so and several minutes if it had been driven the day before. This new unit will acquire enough satellite signals to show our location by the time I put the van in gear!
One frustration with the installation is that the power cable is also the antenna and it is too short to reach from near the inside rear view mirror, along the overhead console above the front window and down the pillar panel to space under the dash. Instead, I had to extend 12v+ power and a ground up the pillar panel and solder on a female lighter socket inside the overhead console. The power cable/antenna now takes up most of the space on the driver's side of the overhead console. (You can't cut off the cigarette adapter since it is also a power transformer. It might be possible to cut the power cable near the male lighter adapter and splice in more two-wire conductor but the cable is also the internal antenna. If anyone has done this, let me know.)
Several years ago we talked about wireless backup cameras and, as I recall, most reported problems with them such as poor reception. So, when I ordered our GPS/wireless camera package, I included a 50-foot extension cable for the camera. The camera connects to a transmitter via the a cable which then sends the signal wirelessly to the GPS. This extension cable let me move the transmitter from the rear of the van to the forward end of the storage tray which is on the driver's side of our SMB (EB-50) above the sink and refrigerator. That put the transmitter about 4' from the GPS...the signal on the monitor is thus as good as possible.
Jiminy
Sportsmobile (AKA Money Pit)
Linear Mode
