Hema Navigator 5

Are they a must have item or just another expensive toy. I have been thinking about purchasing one for a while now but I am still not convinced that a good set of paper maps and a GPS, or software loaded into my laptop wont give the same information. If you have one what to you think, are they worth the money?
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Reply By: long haired nomad - Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 02:58

Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 02:58
I bought one when they first came out and i still havent learnt how to use it properly. I can use it to see where i am on the moving map and thats about it. I turn it off and put my Nuvi 760 on to let me know my ETA to my destination.The Nuvi is a better road navigator, main hwys etc etc. The Hema 5 has all the off road maps and im sure is good for off road navigation. Maybe im just used to the Nuvi as ive had it for some time. I think it was an expensive toy that i could have done with out
AnswerID: 415448

Reply By: Member - Old Girl (QLD) - Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 04:38

Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 04:38
David, I had a play with one yesterday at (that shop). The rep is coming up to Toowoomba in a couple of weeks so I will go along and see before I decide. I was impressed by how quick the detailed map moved across the screen. I have a navman and is useless for where we go, I feel the first purchase was the waste of money. We always use to go off the beaten track with others but these days tend to go it alone so the Hema for us would be a good toy.
Sharon
AnswerID: 415449

Reply By: Staffee - Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 05:26

Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 05:26
I have setup a couple of them with all the 1:25000 (on a 16GB SD card) scale maps on NSW same as your topos you get from the shop. If I didn't use a 15" screen laptop for navigation then these units are the only units I would go with. Has street navigation coupled with oziexplorer - I believe you just cant really beat that in a GPS device......
AnswerID: 415451

Reply By: Sand Man (SA) - Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 07:34

Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 07:34
David,

None of them are "must have items" but I wouldn't like to go trekking without one.

The Hema is a good sized navigation device without taking up considerable cabin space.

My previous device was a PDA and the screen size was too small.
Prior to that I ran OziExplorer on a laptop and that was a PITA. Took up too much space,there were cables everywhere and when the sun was shining you couldn't see the screen anyway.

Some folk will say, buy a VMS unit (cheaper) but you need to configure it.
Hema Navigator 5 is ready to go straight out of the box.

Are they worth the money?
I justified buying one so yeah, I think they are.


Bill.
Bill


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AnswerID: 415454

Reply By: Member - Stephen L (Clare SA) - Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 08:13

Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 08:13
Hi David
This is an often asked question and you will get many varied replies. I have always used laptops in the cabin, but too big and a couple of years ago went for a Toshiba 8.9" that sits on the console running Ozi. This works fine but you still have to take your eyes off of the road to see if you are on track. I paid the ultimate price for that last year on the Sydney Yeo Track. One section that we were on the tracks were completely overgrown and we were driving "Off Road" as such. Looking down for a split second to see how far off track we were and I ran over a very large mulga stake that took the side wall out of my rear tyre.
So apart from costing me another tyre it showed just who quick this type of accident can happen when taking your eyes off of what I should have been doing, concentrating on track conditions.

I have only just received my new Hema Navigator 5" that will do all that the small laptop did, but in line of view, without looking down to where I should be. I will be putting it into a very good work out in August with more cross country travels. I am still able to transfer my working waypoints from the laptop to the Navigator, so it should be great for what I want.

You will find that people that buy them will uses them for outback conditions and not for their street Navigation properties. As for paper maps, they are still required, but I need to know where I am exactly at the look of the screen.

Just my thoughts.


Cheers


Stephen
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AnswerID: 415458

Reply By: MEMBER - Darian, SA - Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 08:32

Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 08:32
Member Sand Man has a blog on the very subject - I added a few comments there re my recent purchase of the HN5. For mine, in summary - it provides quality GPS mapping in a very convenient size for in-cab use (that was a biggy for me - no cab-clutter :-o). It is very accurate in it's tracking. As Sandy says, no configs required - switch on and go ! Oh .....and the cost .... they were $970 - mine was $899 - think they were offered briefly somewhere the other day for $799....... they should probably be $599...... but I'm currently in a 'just get on with it" mode of thinking.
Agreed re paper maps - still vital for planning the scope of a trip - but knowing exactly where you are on a track, anywhere, is quite valuable. We have missed a few unsignposted locations in the past because we were unsure as to exactly where we were.
AnswerID: 415461

Reply By: Peter McG (Member, Melbourne) - Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 09:00

Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 09:00
If you are thinking about the Hema GPS then do some research on the cheaper option.

You can now get a 5" GPS unit on Ebay for aorund $180 or less. You then need to buy the Oziexplorer licence - $40 and Hema maps - $179.

Setup is now very easy and for around $400 you will have exactly the same usability.

Peter
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AnswerID: 415467

Follow Up By: Shawn - Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 20:42

Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 20:42
I agree.
I have a small Triton GPS I use as a backup but use:
On drivers side; Navman MY55T running OziExplorer CE on a 8gb Micro SD card through the Miopocket 3.0 program (need to go up to 16gb to fit all the maps) and has the added advantage of using the normal Navman street maps when required.
On the passengers side I have a 7" Chinese GSP screen (off ebay for $190. If it breaks down, better that Hema's $1,000) it runs OziExplorer on a 8gb SD card with maps (again need to go up to 16gb) it gives better viewing if needed and gives the wife something to look at.
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FollowupID: 685646

Follow Up By: Member - Leigh (Vic) - Friday, May 07, 2010 at 14:10

Friday, May 07, 2010 at 14:10
I'm with you Shawn. The Navman set up as you have it is a cracker! I now have the best of both worlds having hacked mine a couple of weeks ago. I also have an epee laptop for backup and looking at a cheap 7" unit with a couple of gig flash memory to set oziexplorer up on as well. Things are getting pretty good on the navigation front now and I don't need to spend $1K to get the same result. Cheers
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Reply By: Member - Oldplodder (QLD) - Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 09:05

Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 09:05
As you say, it is a personal thing and what you are used to.

I run oziexplorer on my laptop at home for route planning and a PDA with GPS oziexplorer CE in the car. But the 3.5" screen PDA is hard to read at times, but useful. I print out a set of the Natmap 1:250,000 for the interesting areas, and the PDA runs the same map, so you can look at the PDA and say 'I am here' on the map, and look further ahead than the PDA allows (without a lot of zooming).

I have the full set of Hema and Natpmap maps running on both laptop and PDA.
But it doesn't do drive navigation unless you set up a route first.
I do sometimes put in major waypoints and it gives me ETA to those.
The recorded track is useful.

Did think of buying a hema navigator but I have already spent $300.00 odd on maps, which are included in the HN5. Don't think they give a discount if you provide your own maps. :o)

So looking at a smartphone (3.5" screen) with GPS for the street navigation when it is useful (need a new phone), and a 5" or 7" GPS unit for the Hema maps for about $350.00.

While if I had none of these the HN5 might be worthwhile to me.

Check if you can run both the street navigator and Hema maps on the HN5 at the same time, and just flick between them. Could be useful from what we have done.

AnswerID: 415469

Reply By: Allan B, Sunshine Coast, - Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 09:12

Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 09:12
I have recently purchased a Hema Navigator 5 and would agree with all of the above. Been training with it for its first trial in a few weeks.
The city street mode is not as good as my TomTom but the Off-Road mode looks good.

Up until now I have used paper maps but used the TomTom in "Help/Where Am I?" mode which then displayed the navigation co-ordinates in large type so that I could reference my location on the paper map. Useful and cheap but not ideal.

Did not like the idea of a laptop.
$800/$900 is a lot of money for the HN5 but at least there is no setup chore. Still will use paper maps for planning and back-up.


Cheers
Allan

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AnswerID: 415470

Reply By: Member - David C2 (VIC) - Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 10:19

Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 10:19
Thank you everyone for your replies. I suppose is just comes down to a personal choice and how easy you require the information. It think that my main concern was that it would become like a new phone 100 extra new functions that either I can't work or never use when all I wanted to do was make a call. :-(
I will be travelling more off road into areas that I don,t know and often on my own so it may be a bit of extra insurance to always know where I am , or where I am going! That was another good point, just get on with it!!!
Cheers Dave
AnswerID: 415478

Follow Up By: Rainman WA - Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 14:30

Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 14:30
I dont think the Hema will be like a new phone, but learning how to use Ozi for anything other than showing you where you are may be initially.

It can be a steep learning curve but the more you learn the better it gets. I run a cheap Chinese GPS with Ozice on it, and ended up getting the full version for the home computer as I got more competant.

I haven now learned how to make calls AND take pictures. ;-)
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FollowupID: 685605

Reply By: Member -Dodger - Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 14:54

Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 14:54
I have the Hema 4 and it is great in OZIE mode but the route 66 street mode is simply not up to the job.

I used to have a handle on life, but it broke.

Cheers Dodg.

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AnswerID: 415513

Follow Up By: Flynnie - Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 23:32

Wednesday, May 05, 2010 at 23:32
Have used both 4.3 and 5 and agree with what you say.

The Hema maps are great but Route 66 for street navigation is only ordinary.

The 5" has worked very reliably for the 3 months I have had it.

Whether it is worth the cost is a matter for each person to decide . It does not replace good maps and a compass.

Flynnie
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FollowupID: 685673

Reply By: Ozhumvee - Thursday, May 06, 2010 at 10:55

Thursday, May 06, 2010 at 10:55
Expensive for what it is when a no name GPS virtually identical can be bought for around $250 delivered including a better turn by turn nav program and all it needs is Ozi and maps which can be bought for $150.
Route 66 is very basic for turn by turn and not really user friendly, Igo is much better.
I guess though for those wanting out of the box use it is ok but pricey.
AnswerID: 415599

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