Garmin Edge 800

C6SSYBOY

Please could someone give me some advice on buying a Edge 800, i want one with the Heart Rate Monitor and Speed Cadence, but do i need to buy a data card aswell.

I've seen one for £330 and this is whats in the box:

Edge 800 Blue Bundled Version
Edge 800
Premium heart rate monitor
Speed/cadence sensor
Data card preloaded with City Navigator for Europe street maps (maps on a preloaded data card cannot be copied or viewed on a computer)
Bike mount
AC charger
USB cable
Quick start manual

I don't know whether the card is what you download your rides on, confused.com

gkerr4

i "think" (i don't have an 800 - just an older 305) that in this instance, the 'data card' is a small memory card (like a mini-SD card or similar) with the maps pre-loaded onto it

you connect the edge series units to your computer by USB cable.

leech

I think that's what's sold as the 'Performance & Navigation Bundle' I bought it through Handtec (was the cheapest at the time). The Micro SD card has the maps on it. When you connect your 800 to the computer to download your rides to connect it can read and display the maps on your computer no problem. I think they're just saying you can't read from the SD card direct to the computer without having the 800 plugged in. Downloading your rides onto Connect is simple via USB as the previous poster said.

Only thing I'd say is do you really need the maps? Since I've bought mine, I've realised that the 500 would have been fine or me. Not really used the mapping as I thought I would.

C6SSYBOY

Hi, thanks for the replys.

This is what i was thinking, "Do i need the data card" can i use the 800 without the data card?

piquet

C6SSYBOY wrote:

Hi, thanks for the replys.

This is what i was thinking, "Do i need the data card" can i use the 800 without the data card?

there is a VERY basic preloaded map that is virtually usless. for navifgation you need either the street map or if you go off road as well you would need the OD mapping bundle.

the sd card maps can be read on your pc when running Garmin base camp with the 800 connected to the pc

piquet

C6SSYBOY wrote:

Hi, thanks for the replys.

This is what i was thinking, "Do i need the data card" can i use the 800 without the data card?

there is a VERY basic preloaded map that is virtually usless. for navifgation you need either the street map or if you go off road as well you would need the OD mapping bundle.

the sd card maps can be read on your pc when running Garmin base camp with the 800 connected to the pc

gkerr4

agreed as above - if you think "do i need the data card" then perhaps the question should be "can i live with the 500 and save myself a few quid!"

StillGoing

You don't need the data card as you can download the maps direct to the device if you decide later on that you need them. The mapping I find useful (705) if I'm trying to follow a pre-planned route of 50+ miles but other than that the 500 would have suited just fine. The 500 even does more as a training tool. The 705 and 800 can also be used as handheld devices if you go walking.

kettrinboy

Piquet wrote:

the sd card maps can be read on your pc when running Garmin base camp with the 800 connected to the pc

This works but i find the maps very slow, a faster way is to use the micro SD in an adapter in the card slot and use Basecamp to view and create routes and tracks.

C6SSYBOY

I appreciate every's comments on this, but i'm thick as S**T when it comes to something like this, lol.

So with the Data card, can i put other maps on there :-/

peterst6906

C6SSYBOY wrote:

So with the Data card, can i put other maps on there :-/

Yes, as long as there's sufficient memory left on the card, you can add more maps.

chiark

You don't need to buy the maps, as you can use the OpenStreetMap derived map which I personally think is better than the citynavigator map...

Buy a 2GB SD card - 4 quid - and download the OSM Garmin version, and you're up and running.

The 800 will also accept the GB Discoverer range of maps which is probably better than the OSM stuff.

But between City Navigator and OSM, I'd take OSM. Or at least that's what I take on my 705!

C6SSYBOY

Cool, well sort of,

Not that i understand what OSM means

So would i be better off buying an 800 without the data card and getting a card separately?


Ah hang on a mo, duh :roll: , Ordanace Survey Map yea

john_smith

OSM means open street map i think. basically it will be a free no license required mapping software which covers all roads in the country and people are suggesting you use that instead of the garmin stret/road mapping.

for the ordnance survey maps i think you have to buy a garmin 1:50k discovery pack. this costs a small fortune £180ish but will make the gps useful for mountain biking and hill walking at a guess.

my question and why i came looking on this thread. does the edge 800 have a straight ordance survey grid reference readout field. i have a edge 305 and it frustrates the hell out of me that it isn't much use for hiking as you can't easily look at a os25k map and see a matching grid reference from the edge 305. hence i am thinking of getting a edge 800 if it has ordnance survey grid references as a standard field.
i am 100% convinced garmin deliberately did not put grid references on the edge 205 and 305 because they were trying to force people to buy a separate outdoors model.

StillGoing

I use GPsies to pre-plan my routes. Download them as course or training files to the device and they seem to work fine. I downloaded the UK & Ireland road map to my device without an SD card from Garmin and it was around £35. As someone said though, the full monty version is a staggeringly high sum.

chiark

@john_smith - you can set the 705 to display Position Units in OS Grid reference... I assume you can on the 800, but please please please check with someone else who has an 800 before parting with your hard earned

OSM = Open Street Map.

How to use on a Garmin:
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OSM_Map_On_Garmin

kettrinboy

john_smith wrote:

my question and why i came looking on this thread. does the edge 800 have a straight ordance survey grid reference readout field. i have a edge 305 and it frustrates the hell out of me that it isn't much use for hiking as you can't easily look at a os25k map and see a matching grid reference from the edge 305. hence i am thinking of getting a edge 800 if it has ordnance survey grid references as a standard field

The 800 can display coordinates in quite a few formats including OS grid reference, handy if you dont have the OS 50K maps on the device but have the OS map sheets that hikers use.

C6SSYBOY

Right, this is getting to complicated for me now :?

Perhaps i'll go to a shop and talk to someone who sells them

john_smith

thanks for the confirm, now just need to find the funds to buy one.

nferrar

@OP - if you buy that pack you listed in your first post then that's all you need. It comes with the Garmin road maps (not just the basic ones) and has plenty of storage built in for storing ride data and courses you've plotted.

Mind you, as others have said, unless you really intend putting the effort in to plot routes to follow and intend using the mapping a lot you're better off with a 500. I bought a 705 a couple of years ago and have only used the map display a handful of times.