What kind of GPS should I buy?
- Thread starter Abbe Osram
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Abbe the guys are right, the ringed port is a standard 9 pin D type (otherwise known as a serial port).
I have the Etrex Vista and a GPS 12XL and have had good service from both. The GPS12XL is better under canopy and I have a lot of faith in it since I have been using it for well over 10 years now, it is also easy to operate and understand (something common to most of the Garmin range).
I have the Etrex Vista and a GPS 12XL and have had good service from both. The GPS12XL is better under canopy and I have a lot of faith in it since I have been using it for well over 10 years now, it is also easy to operate and understand (something common to most of the Garmin range).
Hi Abbe,
Although the port you indicate looks like a serial, I would advise you to check in the manual to make sure. If you have 8 x USB 2.0, your machine sounds more modern that my three year old PC. Mine has 4x USB 1.0 plus a serial. My thinking being that often the latest machines dont have serial.
If you have consulted the literature and are sure it isnt a serial - then all is not lost. There is an adaptor kit with a connection and a driver on CD, that GPS suppliers sell to solve the problem. I dont have the details to hand but if you decide you need it, I can probably show you where I saw one. I dont actuilly own an adaptrtor, so cant say how good it is, but the places that supply them seem reliable. You would be looking at between £20 to £40.
Hope this helps,
Peewit.
Although the port you indicate looks like a serial, I would advise you to check in the manual to make sure. If you have 8 x USB 2.0, your machine sounds more modern that my three year old PC. Mine has 4x USB 1.0 plus a serial. My thinking being that often the latest machines dont have serial.
If you have consulted the literature and are sure it isnt a serial - then all is not lost. There is an adaptor kit with a connection and a driver on CD, that GPS suppliers sell to solve the problem. I dont have the details to hand but if you decide you need it, I can probably show you where I saw one. I dont actuilly own an adaptrtor, so cant say how good it is, but the places that supply them seem reliable. You would be looking at between £20 to £40.
Hope this helps,
Peewit.
Yo', Abbe: Garmin makes superb GPS units. I use a handheld by them (Etrex) and have a dash mounted marine unit on my boat. A friend who is an airplane pilot tells me that the state of Florida equips all their planes with Garmin units because of reliability and ease of use. I find both my units to be very user friendly and weather proof as well. If you are concerned about battery life, carry spare batteries. Should you develop a problem with a Garmin GPS, they have a very good customer service department. They will usually repair or replace any unit that has gone bad (unlikely event) and will only charge for shipping costs. The map is a very nice thing to have. Essentially, the GPS is also a chart plotter that shows your track or trail. That is a very handy thing to have. You can also mark spots of interest (waypoints) , food caches, game trails, your house, your destination and such. The accuracy of the new GPS units is incredible. Generally, my boat unit has repeatable accuracy of 3 meters!! I can find a wreck 20 miles off the coast, save it to the GPS and go back to it again and again in good seas and weather or bad. You can back track your original path (it is right there on the screen) or follow a new one......Good Luck with your purchase. Let us know what you get and how you like it. Also, even if you get one, remember to take a plain old compass with you as well. Redundancy is good.
Best, Bruce
Best, Bruce
Abbe,
About 6 months ago, I bought what I though (and still do think) is the best handheld mapping GPS on the market today - the garmin GPSmap 60CS. It's an amazing unit, it has one of the largest colour screens available and true mapping abilities. By that I mean that you can upload detailes contour maps directly onto the unit. Be aware that most mapping GPS units, you cant do this with - the legend for example, has a very basic map of Europe, built in that shows you major roads, rivers and lakes etc, but not much more. In truth, nothing of real use. The GPSmap60 series offers true uploadable, ordnance survey level maps (if the maps exist for your area). For example....
It also contains a barometric altimeter, electronic compass and a gazillion other features. One of it's strengths, is that it can be used as a real time "autorouting" GPS for road use. That means it gives you real time instructions on where to go. If you take a wrong turn, it updates your route and recalculates it, based on either "fastest" or "shortest" depending on what you want. It has an anchor drag alarm, a quad antennae, WAAS/EGNOS enabled and a bazillion other features. It's also submersible to 1 meter and runs for about 40 hours on a single pair of AA lithium batteries. A really, really outstanding all round unit - but it comes at a price. Including maps, you are talking well over £500 UKP.
I love it.
But....
I bought it mainly because I was going to buy an in-car GPS and this killed lots of birds with one stone. I dont regret the purchase one little bit, but it's an unecessary extravegance for outdoor use. If I was buying one purely for outoor persuits, I most definitely would NOT buy a mapping GPS - unless it could handle full ordnance survey maps - that rules out the garmin legend. I would get the simplest, most reliable, rugged, most battery efficient unit that could accept multiple waypoints and backtracking. Anything else is surplus to requirements. For a simple, rugged unit, that you can use to quickly spot your location and log your traps, I would look very closely at the garmin 60c...
Basically, this is the little brother to the one I have. It's physically larger than the tiny Geko, but it's a rugged outdoor unit, easy to operate, big clear screen, big buttons that are easy to use with gloved/cold hands, simple menu, quad antennae, WAAS/EGNOS, multiple waypoints and backtracking, it runs for 28 hours on one pair of AA batteries and much longer if you use lithiums (Garmin recommend using lithiums with these units in sub-zero temperatures) ...and it's waterproof (submersible) - actually, it floats! It has all the features you are looking for, withouty any of the unecessary bells and whistles that just add ££££ to the unit.
Read more here....
http://www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk/garmin-gps-60-description.html
If I was buying again, purely for outdoor use, this is the unit I would buy.
About 6 months ago, I bought what I though (and still do think) is the best handheld mapping GPS on the market today - the garmin GPSmap 60CS. It's an amazing unit, it has one of the largest colour screens available and true mapping abilities. By that I mean that you can upload detailes contour maps directly onto the unit. Be aware that most mapping GPS units, you cant do this with - the legend for example, has a very basic map of Europe, built in that shows you major roads, rivers and lakes etc, but not much more. In truth, nothing of real use. The GPSmap60 series offers true uploadable, ordnance survey level maps (if the maps exist for your area). For example....
It also contains a barometric altimeter, electronic compass and a gazillion other features. One of it's strengths, is that it can be used as a real time "autorouting" GPS for road use. That means it gives you real time instructions on where to go. If you take a wrong turn, it updates your route and recalculates it, based on either "fastest" or "shortest" depending on what you want. It has an anchor drag alarm, a quad antennae, WAAS/EGNOS enabled and a bazillion other features. It's also submersible to 1 meter and runs for about 40 hours on a single pair of AA lithium batteries. A really, really outstanding all round unit - but it comes at a price. Including maps, you are talking well over £500 UKP.
I love it.
But....
I bought it mainly because I was going to buy an in-car GPS and this killed lots of birds with one stone. I dont regret the purchase one little bit, but it's an unecessary extravegance for outdoor use. If I was buying one purely for outoor persuits, I most definitely would NOT buy a mapping GPS - unless it could handle full ordnance survey maps - that rules out the garmin legend. I would get the simplest, most reliable, rugged, most battery efficient unit that could accept multiple waypoints and backtracking. Anything else is surplus to requirements. For a simple, rugged unit, that you can use to quickly spot your location and log your traps, I would look very closely at the garmin 60c...
Basically, this is the little brother to the one I have. It's physically larger than the tiny Geko, but it's a rugged outdoor unit, easy to operate, big clear screen, big buttons that are easy to use with gloved/cold hands, simple menu, quad antennae, WAAS/EGNOS, multiple waypoints and backtracking, it runs for 28 hours on one pair of AA batteries and much longer if you use lithiums (Garmin recommend using lithiums with these units in sub-zero temperatures) ...and it's waterproof (submersible) - actually, it floats! It has all the features you are looking for, withouty any of the unecessary bells and whistles that just add ££££ to the unit.
Read more here....
http://www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk/garmin-gps-60-description.html
If I was buying again, purely for outdoor use, this is the unit I would buy.
Hi Guys,
I like to update you on my Thread so you all know that it was not for nothing helping me.
I got an eTrex, the cheapest and in yellow. But the gps is great, I love it already.
Very easy to handle and very clear. I didnt choose a map because I am working in different way with my gps and dont need a map.
If I am planning a tour, I am sitting at home with "Mapsource" and have a very detailed map. I am setting waypoints or routes and transfer them onto my gps.
(Its working now !!!) The simple eTrex is enough for me as it guides me along the route with a big and clear marker.
If I am setting traps somewhere I save them with a simple click button into the gps and at home I load the waypoint into my PC and have a look at the map.
I am all very happy with my new toy, I believe it will do me a hell of a lot good.
thanks for all the boys and girls here helping me out to find the right tool
cheers
Abbe
I like to update you on my Thread so you all know that it was not for nothing helping me.
I got an eTrex, the cheapest and in yellow. But the gps is great, I love it already.
Very easy to handle and very clear. I didnt choose a map because I am working in different way with my gps and dont need a map.
If I am planning a tour, I am sitting at home with "Mapsource" and have a very detailed map. I am setting waypoints or routes and transfer them onto my gps.
(Its working now !!!) The simple eTrex is enough for me as it guides me along the route with a big and clear marker.
If I am setting traps somewhere I save them with a simple click button into the gps and at home I load the waypoint into my PC and have a look at the map.
I am all very happy with my new toy, I believe it will do me a hell of a lot good.
thanks for all the boys and girls here helping me out to find the right tool
cheers
Abbe
Abbe Osram said:
That would be my second choice.
Great little unit that does everything you need it to.
Once again GP sounds a voice of (relative) doom.
Airlines can be "sniffy" about lithium batteries, strictly they are classified as DAC (Dangerous Air Cargo) due to their potential for violent spontaneous combustion if shorted. I've been told that they have the explosive potential of an equivalent weight of dynamite...
Anyway you might want to consider the fact if you're thinking of flying anywhere, they're quite within their rights to confiscate them.
Great Pebble said:
They are talking about the bigger Lithium batteries The AA size batteries dont tend to get classified as such, the RFID tags that are used to track shipments are powered by AA size lithium batteries (DONT PUT THESE IN YOUR EQUIPMENT AS THOUGH THEY ARE AA SIZE THEY ARE 3.6V) and so every pallet would be classed as dangerous goods if they were. They problem with the Lithium batteries (Large ones) were that if they got damaged like a non visible hairline crack then they were shorting out overheating and then igniting.
hope this helps to clarify things.
Andrew.
Recently had a convo on another board about AA's being confiscated from equipment. UK airport too.
Peewit said:
IIRC you can have as many USB ports as you like and still have a serial.
I cant think what a port that looks like a 9 pin serial would be if not a serial
BorderReiver said:IIRC you can have as many USB ports as you like and still have a serial.
I cant think what a port that looks like a 9 pin serial would be if not a serial
I tested it and it worked fine for me, dont need to buy an adapter. It worked directly without any software CD or driver. I hocked up the gps onto the port and voila mapsource works great togehter with the gps. I am all happy.
thanks guys
cheers
Abbe
I back Garmin I have a Garmin Etrex Summit which has the benefits of a compass(where you can adjust the declination to read grid, true or magnetic north) it also has an altimeter. The benefits are that if you have correctly set the altimeter, using your height above sea level or the correct barometric reading you can also get an accurate height. This back up with your GPS reading should at least knock down any errors. The batteries are cited to last 18 hrs, in use I've had 2 days use out of them of course switching it off when not navigating. Lightweight and largely waterproof, good kit
william# said:
My neigbours friend bought a more fancy one with maps etc.
He is not happy with them as they suck a lot of power and one cant see so much.
I bought the eTrex without maps. But got myself mapsource, mapsource are software maps, very detailed.
1. I open up the maps on my Pc at home and plan my route on my pc
2. I upload all the waypoints into the eTrex from my computer
3. Now I can give the eTrex an order to guide me along the route or to a single waypoint.
4. I am not following a map but a graphic picture of a little figure walking a path towards the waypoint on a gray screen. I see how he turns, or strays of the course and simply correct me walking until the little figure on the screen is lined up again with the waypoint flag. I dont need a map and save a lot of power.
5. the eTrex is saving constantly where I walk.
6. At home I can upload this information into mapsource and can see down to a meter where I walked.
I really love the little eTrex. It works like a charm for little money.
good luck
cheers
Abbe
I also have a Garmin etrex - venture.
I was too tight to buy the mapsource cd but I found this software which is free and does everything that I need it to
http://www.gpstm.com (Gpstrackmaker)
You can scan maps (OS or whatever) into your PC and then plan a route and upload all the waypoints etc to your GPS. When you get home you can send all the info the other way back to your pc and see where youve been, how long it took etc.
If you have Google Earth installed you can open an overlay of your map / route straight into google earth from the gpstrackmaker software. Loads of fun ( yes , I have been told Im quite sad )
A great piece of free software.
I was too tight to buy the mapsource cd but I found this software which is free and does everything that I need it to
http://www.gpstm.com (Gpstrackmaker)
You can scan maps (OS or whatever) into your PC and then plan a route and upload all the waypoints etc to your GPS. When you get home you can send all the info the other way back to your pc and see where youve been, how long it took etc.
If you have Google Earth installed you can open an overlay of your map / route straight into google earth from the gpstrackmaker software. Loads of fun ( yes , I have been told Im quite sad
)A great piece of free software.
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