GPS recommendations

[lightemup]

Hi all,

I'm currently looking at GPS's as an alternative to my good ol' compass, and maps (including street maps). I've held off from buying the basic models e.g. Magellan 310 etc in the hope of getting one with mapping capability. Two models especially that are interesting me are the Magellan Platinum (with the in-built compass etc I think) and the Magellan Colour (that might help with map reading? )

My use for a gps will be primarily two-fold. Firstly for general over-land 'bush' navigation in replacement of the venerable compass and topographical map, and secondly if I can use it as a street refidex etc for when i'm driving it'd be great /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif For navigation I will still carry a compass and maps though /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif technology is made to break isn't it? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Does anyone have suggestions /opinions or experience with gps's? And any particular model (or Brand for that matter) that they think would best fit my requirements?

Thanks,
Cam

 

[KC2IXE]

For dual purpose, the current "Hot" gps is the Garmin GM60C - mapping, auto route, color, plus it's hand held

 

[Flashlightboy]

I bought a 60C a few weeks ago and it's da bomb. It does all those things KC2IXE says and I'm really impressed by the long battery life and the excellent color display, especially on a bright day. It picks up signals well and overcast days and so far, I haven't had any problems with trees.

You can download topos into the 52 mb memory but I don't know if it provides as much detail as the map itself.

I'm very happy with it and can't recommend it enough.

 

[nullandvoid]

I think the only "advantage" the meridan platinum and color have over the garmin, although I've never even looked at the garmin, is that the meridians take SD memory cards for expansion so you can get lot's of memory at reasonable prices. I have a platinum and really like it, I keep mine loaded with both the street refrence and topo maps for my area and can switch between them whenever I want, I also keep maps for several other cities that I travel to on a semi-regular basis. Magellan has street routing software out for the meridian series now but I haven't had a chance to try it it. I'm sure other people will correct me if I'm wrong and the garmin can take standard memory cards but that's probably about it.

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Cam,

I just upgraded my Magellan Map 410 with a SportTrakPro Marine.

I am very happy with it. I am amazed with the way it can pull a signal in. It works as well as my 410 does with an external antenna with +14 dB gain.

I looked at the color units and decided that I could get along just fine without color.

Tom

 

[StevieRay]

For a comprehensive review check here

 

[haertig]

I have a Garmin GPS V that I like quite a bit. It is not a replacement for map and compass, so it's good the hear you say that you'll still use those items for navigation. But a GPS is a great enhancement for hiking around. I bought the V because it is good for both hiking and road use. I actually use it more on the road.

You can buy software to download maps for many GPS's. My V came with that software included. One thing that is important for road based use, is the ability to recalculate a route while you're driving. Cheaper models let you calculate routes and download them into the GPS from your computer. But once you're on the road and make a bad turn or hit a detour, the GPS can't recalculate and won't get you back on track automatically. The V will recalculate routes on the fly as I'm sure other models will. Just be sure to look for this feature. Route recalculation could be faster on the V. It might sometimes take 30 seconds and in that time you've gone several blocks. Also, you are limited in the amount of detailed map data you can download, depending on the memory of the unit. My V is NOT expandable, but holds enough of the detailed info for me to get most of the entire state of Colorado in there (at least the I-25 and I-70 corridors). When I was in California, the V would hold a large part of the LA area, but not all of it. The entire USA is included in the GPS firmware, but that level of detail is not house-to-house address level. For example, you'll see all major roads around a subdivision, but not the individual cul-de-sacs within the subdivision. But with the detailed data downloaded, you see everything - and it's quite accurate as well. While in San Diego, we said "find us a Joe's Crab Shack". It did, and took us there turn-by-turn. Very impressive and useful in an unknown city. (Part of the reason the V wouldn't hold all of LA was because I also had San Diego loaded in there.)

I can only say this based on my Garmin V, but you'd better plan on reading the manual and practicing. You can't just hand one of these things to somebody and say, "here ... go use this". I can't say that I love the Garmin user interface, but it doesn't appear worse than a friend's Magellan I played with for a while. On the Garmin, you have many multi-step operations to get to where you want sometimes, and then if you hit a wrong key you're hosed. Time to start over. Don't ever plan on configuring one of these things while you're driving either, unless you want that written about you on your tombstone.

All in all, a great little gadget. I love mine. I am also an engineer / computer nerd / geek. I think that really helps. Plus, my wife is the one who prefers to drive in the family, so I can fidget with the thing to my heart's content while on the road. Without that geek type of personality/training, I can imagine someone questioning the actual practical utility of such an expensive and somewhat difficult to use thing. (It's only difficult to use if you consider "30 button presses to find a Joe's Crab Shack" to be excessive ... I don't!)

 

[HunterSon]

Overcast days will have no affect on GPS signals, unless of course you are hit by lightening.

 

[Deanster]

I'll follow up on what Haertig said about the user interface - I think it's the biggest decision in choosing a GPS these days - All the hardware from the majors is pretty excellent, but the UI can be a nightmare. I think Garmin still has the best, although not by as much as they did a couple years ago.

Either way, I'd advise that you try to spend as much time as you can stand in the store going through various operations, and seeing how many key presses it takes to get you there, and how hard it is to do one-handed, and how badly things go wrong with a wrong key selection, etc., and then choose the unit that seems to best fit your vision of 'easy'.

I've got a couple pieces of electronics on my boat that are superstar performers at their main task, but I barely manage to avoid pitching into the briny deep every time I need to change a setting. It's just maddening when the UI is so hard to manage that you don't use useful features because they're too hard to access.

Good luck!

 

[Frangible]

I have a Geko 301. The size/weight are very nice, but it's not a mapping unit, which would probably rule it out for you. Still, if waypoint navigation is acceptable, it'd be worth checking out because it's just so damn small.

 

[BB]

There is also due out this month the new Garmin 76C and CS. Slightly larger, different form factor, floats and weighted more towards Marine use (as well as automobile). Also will have 115 MByte of map memory.

-Bill

 

[INRETECH]

I have owned over 8 GPS units, and I find the GARMIN V the most reliable, powerfull and easiest to use

 

[Harrkev]

I have the MeriPlat, and I can say that the compass feature is over-rated. You always have to calibrate the thing. Unless you do geocaching, save the money and go for the Meridian Gold or Meridian color. The Plat is not worth it.

The Meridians have fine hardware, but the software can be a bit lacking. Turn-by-turn routing IS available with the right sofware, but the base map is NOT routable. So all of your navigation should fit in one square of 64Mb or less. Forget about cross-country routes.

The Garmin 60C seems VERY nice. However, the memory IS very limited compared to the Meridian series, and I have heard complaints about the battery life. Otherwise, it seems like a wonderful unit.

If you do get the Meridian, the BEST reference is here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Magellan_Meridian/

If you check out the files section of the group, get the FAQ. It will tell you a LOT that the manuals don't. It comes very highly recommended, even if I did write the first two revisions /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[haertig]

With the Garmin GPS V, the compass part only shows your direction of travel if you are moving. I think some GPS models may have a functional compass when you are stationary, but I'm sure that feature adds much more cost than just buying a regular compass outright. This probably only makes a difference if you are geocaching or some other orienteering thing. Sometimes you will hit an instruction that says "Go 20 paces at a bearing of XXX". By the time you've moved your GPS around enough to get a semi-accurate idea of what direction XXX is, you're far off the mark for moving those 20 paces from your original spot. As I mentioned before, a GPS compliments a map and compass ... it doesn't replace them. Not to mention a GPS is battery powered. I get several hours of use out of a set of batteries (four AA's for my V). But it isn't all that great in the longevity department. I went for a couple sets of NiMH's and a good quality Maha charger to power the beast. Since this IS "CandlePower Forums", I'd be remiss if I didn't recommend some type of LED flashlight to finish off the last bit of charge out of those GPS drained batteries!

 

[jlfletc]

Just got the Garmin GPSMAP 60CS, with the built in altimeter, and digital compass (works when not moving). This thing is awesome, and far beyond the Garmin V, which I used to own. The V was nice, and at the time, the best compromise of size, utility, battery life, etc.. The 60 CS is in another league! I saw it at the Shot Show this year, and I ordered it as soon as I got home. The main advantages of the 60CS over the V, are the color screen, the faster CPU, the USB port, the improved battery life (the V got about 20 hours on 4 AAs, The 60CS gets about 30 hours on 2AAs) the altimeter, the digital compass, the 56MB of RAM vs 19MB, and all in about the same size.

 

[lightemup]

Thankyou everyone for your thoughts and suggestions so far /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

I'll have to have a proper look into Garmin now /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif the reason I was focussing on Magellan was that my local store can upload the entire Australian streetmap onto a 256mb (i think) SD card (thus saving me from having to load different maps etc).

I haven't really had all that much time to read everyone's responses thoroughly, when I do no doubt the questions will fly /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif especially about the GPS compasses, barometers and altimeters...

One question however, I notice most of the responders so far are from North America, could I in Australia buy one from the US etc, load the Aussie maps etc and be on my way (also would I have to send it back to the US for warranty etc)?

 

[BB]

The Magellan base maps, as I understand, can be changed/used for general map storage.

Garmin base maps are not field change-able. If you purchase a US unit--you will have freeway maps of the US. Work great in the US. Load LA and New York, and autoroute will start in LA city, transition to base map and continue on to New York. If you don't have a base map, you would have to load the entire trip.

The base maps are not very accurate or detailed. They can be off by 100's of feet (no road lock--IIRC) and many exits and most local roads are missing (as will as no local points of interest). Not a problem if you can load your entire trip (or continent) into one cartridge or available on-board memory.

So, if you are going across country, choose one of the current or new Automotive designs with 256 MByte (new max Garmin for SPIII due out this month) or the 26xx with industry standard expansion cards (up to several GBytes).

Regarding the Magellan's--I had seen earlier limitations of maximum usable segments of 64 MBytes and there was a license fee for each expansion card (first one was free???). All of this may have changed by now (I don't own or follow Magellan closely).

In the end, you need to identify your application requirements, hardware, and review the software (aka Maps) for your areas of interest. Then look for specific support in the model(s) / manufacturer(s) of interest.

Regarding warranty service of US units down-under--Give Garmin a call or drop them an email. In general, they seem to have a pretty good reputation for customer service. I am sure you will not be the first person to ask or get one repaired.

Regarding on-board compass and barometer--First, they reduce battery life from 30 to 20 hours (I think you can turn them off). Also, review the barometer functions--Garmin and Magellan are different. One uses the altimeter and GPS elevation together to try and improve accuracy. The other is only intended to monitor weather trends (as I recall--again, software and models very quite a bit--check the features you want very closely).

I don't think you will be unhappy with either Garmin or Magellan units. Garmin has done small unit autorouting for years--Magellan is new to this. And, Garmin has had a lead on maps for most areas. Magellan seems to be catching up with maps and if Magellan's autorouting works as advertised--Anyone with experience?

It is sad that Garmin has not supported add-in memory for their hand held units--hopefully, that will eventually change.

-Bill

 

[Harrkev]

[ QUOTE ]
lightemup said:
One question however, I notice most of the responders so far are from North America, could I in Australia buy one from the US etc, load the Aussie maps etc and be on my way (also would I have to send it back to the US for warranty etc)?

[/ QUOTE ]

The Meridian basemaps CAN be upgraded/changed (just avoid the Meridian Green). There ARE problems, however...

1) Magellan has sent an army of lawyers after the people hosting Meridian base maps. The hard part would be finding a base map. If you know somebody who has an Austrailian meridian, it is an easy operation to grab the map from his unit. Maybe find some geocachers in your area and ask them. You MIGHT be able to find the base map on a peer-to-peer service. And, of course, if the police knock down your door, you have only yourself to blame. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

2) Warranty service might be a problem with a unit purchased overseas. Especially if Oz Magellan gets back a broken unit with an Oz base map. They probably keep track of the serial numbers of units authorized to have the Oz map.

But if you do order from the US, you could save approximately 50%.

If you buy WorldWide BaseMap, the coverage is probably not quite as good as with the built-in Oz basemap, but then your unit could be purchased in the USA and still be 100% legal, while still saving money. WorldWide BaseMap costs just under $100 USD. http://www.magellangps.com/en/products/product.asp?PRODID=182

 

[haertig]

[ QUOTE ]
jlfletc said:
The main advantages of the 60CS over the V, are the color screen, the faster CPU, the USB port, the improved battery life (the V got about 20 hours on 4 AAs, The 60CS gets about 30 hours on 2AAs) the altimeter, the digital compass, the 56MB of RAM vs 19MB, and all in about the same size.

[/ QUOTE ]
Wow, this looks really good! Can you flip the display from vertical to horizontal view like with the V? This new model only costs a little more than the V did. But it looks like it doesn't include the detailed map software anymore. If you're upgrading and already have the software, I assume Garmin will allow you to transfer the software key - so all is well. I think Garmin MapSource software is something like $150 if you have to buy it outright. I can't remember the standalone price since the V, at least the later models near the end of it's production life, came with the software included. Not that I'll be buying another GPS anytime soon, but this sure does look like a very nice model !

 

[Harrkev]

[ QUOTE ]
haertig said:
I assume Garmin will allow you to transfer the software key - so all is well.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think that Garmin limits you to TWO unlocks per software package purchased. So if you already have software used on one GPS, then you get ONE MORE.