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Got a Magellan® RoadMate (http://www.google.com/url?sa=L&ai=BcnZui_LfRPa3M8fYYPDfhaAOsoC3HP6xzZMCktT0E8DQdxABGAMoCEiNOVDkmpm7______8BmAGahQHIAQGVAihbGArIAvaNVg&num=3&q=http://www.magellangps.com/products/product.asp%3FsegID%3D354&sig=__6zlNoSS2BqR2CGYbw_AOiU1XBXI=) this weekend. To be specific - the basic 360 model - for about $360 after the Target discount. :)

Still trying to get used to it. Since 12-power cuts off when FASing, that is going to cramp my style. :( I should get the hang of it by the time I leave Thursday on a four-day trip to Colorado.

The altitude reading is suspect. Lewisville is around 500ft. but RoadMate says 140. :confused: Love to see the readings during my work commute up the mixmasters and the trip to Colorado...

On a humorous note, you can select different languages for RoadMate to speak. Tried Spanish and almost never got back to English. You can select American or British English. Not only is the verbage different, but so is the accent. (Stephen Hawking would love this, as his electronic voice box has an American accent).

I was thinking - why not do like some Linux installations and have a variety of accents? :D

Standard American English
Standard British English
Redneck
Valley Girl
Cockney
Buggy Bunny's sort of Brooklynese accent
AH-nuld (maybe directions to find Sarah Connor... :eek: )
Aussie
Various other movie stars and celebs

I had RoadMate on during my work commute, and need to put it more directly in front of me (to avoid being a distracted driver ;) ) It's really interesting seeing a real-time map as you are going down the freeway.

One morning I will switch from map mode to GPS diagnostics to get the altitude. The High Five interchange is at least 100 feet over I635 and US 75. Would love to get it's estimate of the height.

Linux has a program called festival which does text to speech. I do plan on using it for my GPS. However, GPS applcations are hard to come by in linux ;) I do plan to have my whole carputer with gps ready for next hybridfest. Maybe I'll try to find a southern accent voice so if you take my car out for a drive you will feel at home.

That might be the "Redneck" selection. :D

The Magellan® RoadMate is a great navigator.

Just enter a destination and not worry.

The maps are accurate too.

The altitude is another question. The RoadMate gives my home altitide as 140, when it's 490 to 550 feet. I know it's not accurate when I checking it's reading going on the biggest mixmaster built - the High-Five interchange at I635 and US 75. It's at least 100 feet tall.
http://www.texasfreeway.com/Dallas/construction/high_five/images/us75_i635_interchange.gif
Do you mean to tell me the highest ramps are only 39 feet above the ground? :D

Altitude is always a guess with those things; the sats and the
way they're received are optimized for x-y location and z is
apparently much harder to determine, even with a lot of birds
in clear view.
.
_H*

I wonder if there are possible security issues - i.e. not make it miltiary accurate.