AquaFox

anyone use any GPS gizmos? i was looking around and found a handful of units for under 200... as low as 120 on tigerdirect.... and more likely i would consider the Magellan eXplorist 210 Handheld GPS for $150... anything past 200 seems to be the angled-view in car navigation things

has anyone ever use the these things? and do they work well with navigation?

i would like something that could help with navigation on the road as well as work for geocaching... i am an outdoors man and would like to quickly store GPS locations while i go by them so i can find them later and even look at the spot on googleearth or nasa world wind.... the move useful the thing is the more i'll use it...


anyone have suggestions or experiences with handheld GPS things?

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...AquaFox...

mastertakana

Iv'e hear that Garmin is the better manufacturer. Handhelds are not always very accurate, from my eexperience. Expect deviation of 5-10 meters.

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AquaFox

Magellan eXplorist 210 Handheld GPS ($179) says:

GPS Accuracy Position 3-5 meters

GPS Accuracy Velocity 0.10 knots RMS



Garmin eTrex Legend GPS Navigator: (the cheapest one i've seen, 120)

GPS Accuracy Position < 15 meters, 95% typical

GPS Accuracy Velocity 0.05 meter/sec steady state








the cheaper one doesn't have as many buttons... the eXplorist 210 odviously got some more features.... if i get one, i would mostlikely be more happy with this one... i just gotta see if its worth the $... of if theres any better ones out there within the price range

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cyrnel

Some have awful interfaces but otherwise I can't praise the technology enough. My use has been offroading and vehicle navigation, not hiking. My customers use them for vehicle route tracking, and differential setups for mapping and automatic farm vehicle piloting down to cm accuracy. Very cool stuff.

The simplest versions don't store many waypoints. If nav is important make sure the one you pick has some kind of big visual or audio assist and easy access and downloading of maps. Car nav isn't too useful if maps are a pain or you have to pull over to read references.

If you don't mind used you can pick up great deals from people upgrading. Craigslist, ebay, etc. For first-time new purchases I'd stick with local shops vs. rebate nightmares via mail. You'll be learning which features are important and you may immediately decide you want those extra 100 waypoints or a bigger screen.

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Daniel_

I use a Tom Tom 300 for driving, and it is fantastic.

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jujueye

Garmin Legend! Yeah!

I use GPS primarily for Geocaching and general nav when I am on the road. You're a cacher, eh? Cool! i haven't been out in a while. Bad weather and new job keeping me far too busy. Damn.

I have the Legend and I really like it. A friend of mine has a Megellan, and I think the Garmin screen is much easier to read. Yes, the Magellan screens are a bit wider, but the Garmin screens are really clear.

Navigation: they are both really different. We were out caching one day and some waypoints were more easily found with his, while some were more easily found with my Garmin. Even out in the open the two were quite different; it was pretty surprising.

Now, there are two different types. One type is road based, and is quite common in newer cars. This is different than the handheld versions that are not really road based, but more...uhm...navigation based (I dont remember the actual term right now...haha) So if you really want one for the car, ti will be quite different than one for caching or non-road. Now, with that in mind, the Garmin Legend does display roads in the area, so you can't get too lost. I just took a trip north of Seattle in the car, and was happy to look over at my Legend to see how far I was from the next exit or the next city. I hope the differences are kind of clear from this description (prolly not...haha).

1 vote for Garmin, here.

BigBen

Did someone actually type this? Not very accurate, due to an error of 5-10 metres?

Look: When map and compass are being used for navigation, a deviation of 100m is acceptable. You need lessons and a whole shit-load of experience to get better than that.

To have a little screen display your exact location on this earth down to a metre (or 5, or 10) is incredible. To call that "Not Very Accurate" is taking this technology for granted, IMHO.

I never go ANYWHERE without my GPS. And spare batteries. And spare spare batteries. I am a legend amongst my friends due to my horrible navigation skills, and thus was an early adopter of the GPS technology. I sucked using a map and compass.

GPS are incredible. I use the UTM data, not the degree method that others rely on. It was how I was taught, and I am confident.

I have never had a problem with weather conditions or sattelite position with my new one (Garmin 315, if I remember correctly). I used to have the first gen garmin 3000k, and it took about 10 minutes to lock the sattelites. The one I use gets the job done in 15 seconds.

Look for durability, waterproof buttons, and long battery life. You need one that can go about 10-12 hours on a set of batteries. Yeah, these things are heavy on batteries, but knowing your exact location is priceless.

Those GPS with the fancy colours are not my style. I dunno. Kinda like the colour of your car says a lot about the person.

No, you don't need one with a map display and all that crap. You need a proper map anyway, so don't rely on a GPS readout screen to navigate for you. A paper map no more than 10 years old (for outdoors stuff) is required. I get the feeling that the map displays on GPS are quite weak, and I get nervous when someone trusts their life to an electronic screen.

Remember, the GPS tells you where you ARE. The map will tell you where you are going and the best (safest) way to get there.

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glytch

I hope this doesn't de-rail the thread, but it looks like posting a reply here would be better than starting my own:

Does anyone know of a good USB GPS device that works under OS X? I'd like to hook it to my laptop for long trips. Also, how about map software? Any help would be appreciated.

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splck

I have a Garmin and and Magellen. I prefer the Garmin hands down.

If all you want to do is hike and geocache, get the Garmin Legend. It's small, cheap and works great.

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AquaFox

i got a Legend C, i'm loving it soo far

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Peladinho

I Use a Simrad CE33 and have a Furuno Back up these are to large to handcarry but works really well in boats.
The Simrad is a color screen and you cant beat it.

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Cynthetiq

I have a garmin hand held....

it's okay, good for hiking and walking.

I have a Magellan RoadMate for driving. Excellent because it's all maps of US and Europe in one unit.

I also bought the Garmin PalmPDA for my father for golf. He loves it and uses it for driving when renting cars.

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stevo

I've been looking into getting a handheld gps for mostly hiking/camping/fishing the usual outdoors stuff. But then taking it with me on the road as well. After reading reviews and doing some research I though I was settled on the Garmin eTrex Legend, but after further reading I though maybe the Magellan Meridian Gold/Platinum would be the way to go. After reading this thread it looks like I was right the first time and should go ahead with the Garmin. Does anyone have a Magellan Meridian? I would like to consider some TFP user reviews before I commit to a purchase.

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AquaFox

the display and ease of use of the etrex legend C is pretty good, it has a color screen, really rugged, waterproof, it will navigate roads (will require north american maps software)... it also does allitude and has some games and such. you can find it for about 200 new on ebay, retails for 280. i'm loving mine soo far

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stevo

Is the difference between the legend C and the regular legend just a color screen? A color screen isn't really that important, especially if it adds $50-$80 to the price. An altimiter isn't all that important to me since I live in florida and 99% of my activities take place within 200 ft of sea level, and more than half within 3 feet of sea level. I don't need an electronic compass, my regular one always works.

• On the legend is there a place to plug in an antenna amplifier?
• Will I be able to upload the information stored on the gps to software on my PC (traks, waypoints, etc.)?
• How reliable is the waterproofness? I've heard not-so-good things about the magellan meriedian, but with the legend, would it be safe to take it out to the sea in a kayak, or wade up to waist deep in water for several hours, say, with the gps hung around my neck? (the rogue wage comes through the bay every once in a while).
• How do they hold up over time? That is, is it too risky to buy a used one off ebay, or should I just go fo a new one? (I haven't seen many refurbs, which I suppose is a good thing)

Thanks for all your input.

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longbough

I have a GPS that came with my Lexus GS 430. I must admit I love the thing! I think the Lexus interface (with touch screen) is much better than the Mercedes or BMW which rely on pushbutton or "joystick."

I have no experience with the handhelds .... I just wanted to say I love GPS!

splck

stevo,
In my earlier post I said I had an etrex legend, but I messed up. I have the basic (cheapest) garmin etrex (the bright yellow one). You can upload and download waypoints (I use EasyGPS), but you can't upload and view road maps. I live in an area that gets lots of rain and have my gps mounted on my ATV, so it's been soaked many times and never leaked.
Most, if not all, GPS units will have an altimiter by default.
If you do want city maps, take a look at the Garmin Venture.

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AquaFox

some GPSs use a real alltimeter that can be used, but neither the legend C or regular legend has that...


according to garmin, the legend lasts 18hours on batteries and has 8mb of memory, and a serial connection port

legend C has 36 hours of life on one set of batteries, 24mb, USB port (faster transfer speed for data, maps, etc..), auto routing (turn by turn road navigation), and color display... and overall i think it's unit itself is a bit more condensed.


according to someone on another forum when i asked about buying a GPS, the regular legend takes a bit longer to aquire and everything, since it's older technology as compared to the C for instance...


if you want to use it for a car in the future, the C does have turn-by-turn navigation... also be forewarned, with the handheld GPS units, you do have to purchase the maps (about 75 bucks) for yourGPS, then you upload the maps from your computer onto your GPS, and thats where the memory comes into play, the more you got, the more maps you can store... i havn't purchased any maps yet, i've only used my GPS on the road to track speed, distance, and to see how far away i was... i will buy the maps later... right now i've been using it for geocaching.

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