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Police have noted to the news media a disturbing trend.

Thieves love to steal GPS navigation units from parked vehicles.
Apparently (I don't own one, so I don't know for sure) the GPS units
may contain your home address as the starting point for your directions.

So if the thieves steal these units from your work garage, health club, the mall, etc.
they know you won't be home for a while.

They zoom over to your house and break in to get more of your loot.

Cops say that many times people may remove the units from their windshield, but
leave the mounting hardware up. The thief only has to see the mounting hardware to
be aware of a GPS on the floor or the seat.

SIA

I put the address of the local WalMart as my home address for just that reason. I can find my own way home from there.

Maybe I will just change the address to the local police station!

Kevinf2349 wrote:I put the address of the local WalMart as my home address for just that reason. I can find my own way home from there.

Maybe I will just change the address to the local police station!

thats actually a good idea .

Kevinf2349 wrote:I put the address of the local WalMart as my home address for just that reason. I can find my own way home from there.

Maybe I will just change the address to the local police station!

That's a darn fine idea.

Kevinf2349 wrote:I put the address of the local WalMart as my home address for just that reason. I can find my own way home from there.

Maybe I will just change the address to the local police station!

Hmm...there's this annoying Obamaton a few blocks away...

surprise_i'm_armed wrote:So if the thieves steal these units from your work garage, health club, the mall, etc.
they know you won't be home for a while.
They zoom over to your house and break in to get more of your loot.

What about your significant other who is at home and armed to greet them?

But, thanks for pointing this out because if they liked your car and your gps unit, they may figure other stuff you have is nice stuff too and they will stake out your house until they are sure there is no one there and strike.

So, I have just changed my "HOME" on my Garmin to the local Police Station as well........good idea!

I think this is a bit silly. My home location is set to my house, but my GPS is also password protected. A password is required anytime the GPS is turned on unless I'm at home, in which case the password is bypassed.

If the usual smash-n-grab car burglar is able to social engineer Garmin into giving him an unlock code for my device, I've got more to worry about than burglary.

sss wrote:I think this is a bit silly. My home location is set to my house, but my GPS is also password protected. A password is required anytime the GPS is turned on unless I'm at home, in which case the password is bypassed.

If the usual smash-n-grab car burglar is able to social engineer Garmin into giving him an unlock code for my device, I've got more to worry about than burglary.

Exactly, password protected

I have yet to understand the need for a GPS in a vehicle.

Boat: Maybe, though I've never needed one.

One in a car or truck? I don't get it...

If I'm going to a new place, maps work fine.

I rode with someone once who had one that talked, i.e., "turn left, turn right, etc." it was annoying as heck.

If I couldn't find my way without one I'd find an alternative...

Now, get off my lawn!

the voice gets on my nerves too . i simply turn off the sound .
what i really like to do is purposely take the wrong turns to try to make it mad

i do a lot of driving for work and it has taught me a lot of short cuts that i wouldn't have known otherwise .
and for going to new addresses , its invaluable to me .

USA1 wrote:the voice gets on my nerves too . i simply turn off the sound .
what i really like to do is purposely take the wrong turns to try to make it mad

i do a lot of driving for work and it has taught me a lot of short cuts that i wouldn't have known otherwise .
and for going to new addresses , its invaluable to me .

Same here....and for evacutations it is a true help. Getting hotel phone numbers while on the road so you can check availabilty etc.

There are a couple of really annoying traits though. One is to try and get me onto interstates or toll roads all the time. The other is that it tends to not know the bad parts of town! That was really scary one time!

As I am a computer guy I always carry a backup...a console full of maps!

Kevinf2349 wrote:The other is that it tends to not know the bad parts of town! That was really scary one time!

that is so true . it will tell me to cut through "the projects"..and i'm like...i don't think so

i want one with Mr.T's voice that says.." I pitty the fool that don't turn left at the next street "

Abraham wrote:I have yet to understand the need for a GPS in a vehicle.

Boat: Maybe, though I've never needed one.

One in a car or truck? I don't get it...

If I'm going to a new place, maps work fine.

I rode with someone once who had one that talked, i.e., "turn left, turn right, etc." it was annoying as heck.

If I couldn't find my way without one I'd find an alternative...

Now, get off my lawn!

I bought my first GPS, for use on the road, in 1993, when most people were not using them like that.

I have used, for years, a Delorme GPS unit associated with their Street Atlas software on a laptop computer. My software does not have my home identified as such, I know where I live, and the routes stored on it are many and varied and likely beyond the sophistication and effort required to decipher them.

A few years ago I was sent to perform some technical support at a telephone central office in MD, just outside of DC. I took my trusty laptop as always, of course it had the upgrade soaftware on it.

When I neared the location of the address I discovered that it didn't exist on the paper map I had, as a matter of fact, the paper map showed no road where I found road, and road where I found none. The highway had been straightened since the map was drawn and it had never been updated. I botted up my laptop.

My Delorme Street Atlas showed the orphaned sections of road, even if not by address, and I was able to find the little piece of road that had been landlocked by guardrails and driveways, and got the job done, it would have taken me much longer to try to figure it out on paper due to the map's inaccuracy.

OTOH, I had my software route me across a bridge in TN, a few years ago, and when I arrived there, there was no bridge, necessitating a thirty mile backtrack.

Of course my laptop setup has many more options than a dashboard unit, and it is a little inconvenient, but I enjoy the heck out of it.

I have many more tales of successes and failures, including the trip across Montana when my laptop outperformed a rented dashboad GPS by leaps and bounds.

if you really want to confuse it .
set the destination for Hawaii

USA1 wrote:if you really want to confuse it .
set the destination for Hawaii

Wouldn't it just route you to the nearest airport and tell you to buy an airplane ticket, and stop wasting silly time?