VMS or Hema

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RustyNav09

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So this is gonna open up a full new can of worms. but all your opinions of each will be appreciated and no fighting lol.

i am in the market for a off/on road gps. purely for offroad ie. Cape York and the weekend trips etc.

i have my eyes set on the VMS 700 as it has the BIGGER screen and pixel rate is higher and the maps are easy to use and allows are reversing camera x2. in comparison is the Hema HNi5 or 6 whichever is recent model. not as great on the pixel part and doesnt allow for a reversing camera. i am after you thoughts on each brand as opposed to model. obviously the VMS is a much larger unit being the 7" screen etc, but im not 100% sure what either brand is like.

any thoughts and recommendations would be great

thanks

Rusty
 
I dunno but bought a Hema a few weeks ago because it was cheap. Can't open it until my birthday but would be interested to read the responses you get. Then again it might be best not to read them.

If you have somewhere in mind which will accommodate a 7" screen & need a unit that will also function as a reverse camera monitor, the VMS has a lot going for it.

If you had a camera on the back of a caravan, I don't think the VMS unit use as a monitor would fit the bill because you would need to choose between the GPS function or watching the traffic behind.

Just my 2 bobs worth.
 
I was looking recently and got the Garmin Montana 650T great little unit, easy to use and heaps of features.

For me... this would be the pick of the bunch, but that's because I've cut my teeth on Garmins only and haven't had that much exposure to other units bar looking/playing with them in the shops....

If you really want to incorporate a reversing camera, then the Montana won't be any good for u. The good thing about the garmins is the mapping. U can zoom into what ever level w/o loosing quality of the pictures (ie w/o it becoming pixelated).

The other thing that I like about the garmins is that u can go between the Garmin street mapping & Topo maps w/o interrupting your tracklog recording where as on the Hema Hni5 u can't..... unsure about the VMS but if its like the Hema where it uses 2 different systems for street & offroad navigation, then I think u won't be able to have continuous tracklog of any touring trips u do if u switch between the 2 navigation systems (ie Ozi & Igo for example). I've been told that the new Hema 6 have solve this problem but I'd like to see it 1st b4 spending my $$.

It will come down to what else u want to do with the unit (ie Rev Camera / Bluetooth for your phone, etc, etc). I've seen the Montana in the shops and a mate of mine has one and I like it very much but the price is high as well (around $700+ or so I believe). I do a lot of bush exploring and have always preferred the garmin but since owning my Navara I can see the need for a Reversing Camera as well, especially in tight car parks.

Plenty of people use Ozi and seem to like it but again I've been told it's not the most user friendly when u start getting right into it....

I assume the VMS unit uses Ozi-explore for off road what does it use for on road navigation?

rob
 
I have the VMS 700HD and cannot fault it, massive screen and works well both on road and off road
 
Old Garmin 510 + topo maps.

Only one that has voice commands in the outback. Mates have expensive in dash VSM's. Not one of them has voice commands in the Simpson desert. Sure it shows you where to go, but doesn't talk to you. The vsm map detail is probably sightly better. Garmin topo and my old C510 get me everywhere i want to go.
 
So this is gonna open up a full new can of worms. but all your opinions of each will be appreciated and no fighting lol.

i am in the market for a off/on road gps. purely for offroad ie. Cape York and the weekend trips etc.

i have my eyes set on the VMS 700 as it has the BIGGER screen and pixel rate is higher and the maps are easy to use and allows are reversing camera x2. in comparison is the Hema HNi5 or 6 whichever is recent model. not as great on the pixel part and doesnt allow for a reversing camera. i am after you thoughts on each brand as opposed to model. obviously the VMS is a much larger unit being the 7" screen etc, but im not 100% sure what either brand is like.

any thoughts and recommendations would be great

thanks

Rusty

I have a mate who has the Vms600 and trying to get any assistance from them (tech Support ) has always been a joke .They couldn't help with simple things such as supplying maps. The Hema guys are the great very helpful and informative.
I personally use a cheaper double din unit with igo street maps and Oziexplorer which i purchased a license for $40. Added the Hema maps to it and i have it all
 
I've just purchased a cheapy eBay special. Will put oziexplorer maps
On it and see how it goes. My cousin has one and rates it dry highly just the on road side of it
 
How can the Garmin 650t be the pick of the bunch?

It is purely offroad by the looks. by far the most expensive. Has a screen half the size of the vsm and hema. Pretty much does nothing else.

Hema, does on/off road. Bluetooth handfree, FM transmitter.
VMS does on/off road. Reversing cameras.
 
How can the Garmin 650t be the pick of the bunch?

It is purely offroad by the looks. by far the most expensive. Has a screen half the size of the vsm and hema. Pretty much does nothing else.

Hema, does on/off road. Bluetooth handfree, FM transmitter.
VMS does on/off road. Reversing cameras.

The only thing u mentioned that I reckon is probably an advantage is the Reverse Camera, Larger screen...... But u got see the difference where the Garmin can be used effectively in and out of the car (Has a built in Camera as well) bushwalking , etc. the Hema/VMS units are usually more design for in car use only..... even though I believe u can use for bush walking but that's not what they are designed for....

With Maps..... there is no comparsion IMO.... Hema/VMS mapping system is basically scanned paper maps scaled in.... Garmin maps are digitally created and u can zoom right into any level w/o any signs of pixelation. Yes u do get a larger screen but as said previously it's more versatile and the screen size of the Garmin is not that bad. Yes, it is expensive but u can use the same tracking software for city / bush where I believe the Hema has 2 different systems, 1 for the city nav and one for the bush nav and switching between the 2 u loose your continuous track logging. The new Hema 6 may be different but the price of it is similiar to the Garmin anyway.

For me Garmin wins hands down but in the end it comes down to what the individual user is use to and what they want in features, etc. FM transmitter I can do w/o; BT might be handy for something, not sure what; Reversing Camera would be handy but not essential.
 
I would have absolutely no idea what is better & I reckon no matter which one I had, there would be way too many functions for me to want/need or remember how to use.

Got to play with my HN5i for the first time last week. That also has a camera function which I was not aware. The unit comes with a couple of discs (4WD & Topo maps) which are loaded to your PC & for a mapping moron like me, has given a lot of entertainment & will come in handy when planning trips etc.

The quick start guide which is supplied with the unit is 80 odd pages & the full instruction manuals, which you download, are 130 something pages for Igo & 100 odd for 4WD & Topo. There is absolutely no hope that I will use the unit to it's potential.

Really stoked with the unit but would defer judgement of which is a better prospect, to the experts.
 
I would have absolutely no idea what is better & I reckon no matter which one I had, there would be way too many functions for me to want/need or remember how to use.

Got to play with my HN5i for the first time last week. That also has a camera function which I was not aware. The unit comes with a couple of discs (4WD & Topo maps) which are loaded to your PC & for a mapping moron like me, has given a lot of entertainment & will come in handy when planning trips etc.

The quick start guide which is supplied with the unit is 80 odd pages & the full instruction manuals, which you download, are 130 something pages for Igo & 100 odd for 4WD & Topo. There is absolutely no hope that I will use the unit to it's potential.

Really stoked with the unit but would defer judgement of which is a better prospect, to the experts.

"Quick start is 80 pages"

Of course!:confused2:
 
And just to be different I run the VMS app on my IPad, pretty happy with it, is the cheapest option ( if you don't count the IPad which I already had ). So I guess I'm sitting on the couch using the Navara forum from my GPS navigator ? That's pretty flexible :)

I use a RAM mount stuck to the windscreen with the IPad hanging down over the stereo as the tunes are coming out of the IPad too.
 
I also use my Ipad and run mud maps with a GPS mouse. very detailed and accurate maps and you can download tracks from 4x4 earth and load them onto the Ipad. The only downside is it takes the fun out of getting lost 4WDing!
 
i have a hema and its been sensational..never missed a beat and I have found a road or tracl not on one of the maps.,..
having said that, id probably go an iPad and download the $200 hema app... that should do the trick, give you a bigger screen and all the other functions of an iPad..
 
i have a hema and its been sensational..never missed a beat and I have found a road or tracl not on one of the maps.,..
having said that, id probably go an iPad and download the $200 hema app... that should do the trick, give you a bigger screen and all the other functions of an iPad..

Wont help when you are out of mobile range,or at least buying some sort of plugin gps.Also no rev camHugh
 
I just got Topo Aus 4. It's not bad. I have lent the VMS from a mate and I didn't like it. The maps were crap. I am told the Hema is a similar design, just a paper map effectively scanned. I literally have only had Topo for a day but I like that I can use Garmin's BaseCamp software and it plots where you have gone etc, you can pre plan your trip all with one provider.

I know Ozi does it too, but seeing as I already had an old Nuvi 265, I now have topo mapping free of charge and effective.

One thing it is lacking from Hema maps is all of the additional POI's and info. That would need to be added manually. I will be taking Hema paper maps anyway and using the GPS as more of a reference guide and trip logger.

Taking it up to Newman this week to give it a run through the Pilbara and see what it's really like.
 

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