[kentdfd]

What type of gps handheld do you own and what are the pro's and con's ??
I'm looking at lowrance H20 color handheld with downloadable maps. Need help in making my final decision before buying?

 

[jamiehughes]

i use a garmin e trex(the cheap one,less than 100 bucks) i only really use mine to mark ice fishing spots and good open water spots(my buddies boat fish finder doesn't have gps) we usually only save open water spots for later ice fishing use, i do like this unit for it's simplicity works well for what we use it for, very easy to use, especially when it's real cold outside, not to many buttons to push. thats why i bought the cheaper one so that when i go 6 months without using it, i don't have to read the manual to use it again..

 

[Guest]

I have the Lowrance iFinder H2O and really like it. Mine is the black & white version. You can download maps, use the Navionics chips, or use Lowrance MapCreate software. I also have a Lorance combo sonar/GPS on my boat so I can load waypoints from one GPS to the other. Works great and easy to use.

 

[Spin Dr.]

I have a Garmin GPSMAP 76S. It is pricy--about $350, but has features that I like and use, such as roads and trails, public lands, elevation, tide tables, celestial data and other neat stuff. The memory is very big and I upload maps, mostly Map Source, for all areas of the country. You can zoom in and get pretty decent detail including contours. I use it when traveling on the road, hunting, hiking, and fishing. It's black and white; Garmin introduced a color version a year after I bought mine and it looks nice, but I don't think it's worth an extra $150.

 

[NeWcS]

I too run the ETrax unit. I mostly use it as an antenna for my Sonar unit. The fishfinder is GPS ready with either a GPS unit or a GPS antenna.

I use mine to mark structure or to try and stay on a large school of fish.


[me=Jay_In_Parker] [/me]

 

[Burn-n-daylight]

I use the Magelan Sport rack (blk &wht) its around 200.00 I think maybe cheaper now and I also got the topo graph map (100.000 I recommend it gives you all the roads,rivers.lakes,P.O.I.,it basically gives you everything. as far as the features IT FLOATS. which is a must if you use it around water alot, I would rather see it float down the river than sink to the bottom of the lake the down side its not color and it goes through GPS FOOD (batteries) alot quicker than i would like something like 10-12 hours thats with the light on. overall its good unit in my opinion good luck. also if you do get one you can always take your wife or kids out geo cacheing wich is always a fun way to kill time when the fish dont wanna play. www.geocacheing.com

 

[jamiehughes]

i used to have one of the early magellans and that thing seemed almost impossible for me to ever use,glad that they finally made it easier to figure out. my e trex just had less buttons so i figured less buttons, less problems.

 

[duckdog72]

I have the Garmin Legend-C. Love the color screen and the auto routing when used with the topo and street map software. Im a truck driver so I use mine alot when looking for an address or a shortcut to a delivery location.

 

[idratherbfishing]

I have a magellan meridian gold. its ok, I wish it had a larger screen. It sucks batteries fast so I use the cigarette lighter adapter when on the boat or in the car. When I am away from that kind of power source I use rechargable batteries. I have several sets of batteries that I use for both my gps and digital camera. They pay for themselves very quickly.

Dan

 

[DavidK]

My current GPS is a Garmin GPSMAP 76CS. But over the years I've also had a Garmin GPS12, Garmin eTrex Legend, and a Garmin GPSMAP 76S.

I like Garmin a lot. You have to understand that Garmin has about 85% market share in handheld GPS's, and they have it for a reason. The other guys do OK, but with only a few exceptions Garmin is the better unit or the better value.

The next thing is that you'll have a choice between a mapping GPS and a non-mapping GPS. The non-mapping GPS's are OK, but they have no street or topo maps. You can see waypoints and your breadcrumb-like track, but that's it. Mapping GPS's are much better, but also more expensive. And if you get a mapping GPS you need to factor in the price of the maps into your purchase.

Between mapping GPS's, there are kinds that can do autorouting and those that can't. Autorouting GPS's can calculate a route for you (take a left at 84th, right on Simms, etc.). Non-autorouting GPS's can only route between waypoints that you've entered. For hiking or boating, non-autorouting is fine. For street navigation, autorouting is really nice.

A good place to go for all sorts of GPS information is gpsinformation.net. They have lots of reviews and technical info. Also, I've found that gpscity.com is a good place to buy one.

 

[baja]

Garmin is the way to go I have a GPS plus 3 Love it but santa Got me a new Garmin vista C Color what a great GPSr.Geocaching here i come.

 

[epic]

I use to use a Magellan Sporttrak Pro, but it was stolen out of my car when I was in New Mexico. I loved it had the topo software for it and used it for Fishing, hiking, snowshoeing, and I did a ton of Geocaching, which is a ton of fun for the kids. Hopefully I can budget to replace it soon.

 

[hobb3s]

I bought a Garmin GPSMap 76CS and from what I've seen so far it's pretty impressive. I bought the Topo map to go along with it and I'm really impressed with all of the features and info it has. A big seller for me on this device was it floats if dropped in water and can withstand it for up to 30 min. It was hard for me to pass up that feature when I'm a huge klutz and around water as much as I am.

 

[roadkill]

i have used garmin units for many years and have never been disapointed

 

[rfideng]

I know the guys that make the electronics that go into the new Magellans and they are fast and accurate. Unfortunately Magellan went cheap on the mapping software, so it's not very friendly or detailed. You can't load land maps and water maps in the unit at the same time, unbelievable....

After consulting several GPS users I bought a Garmin eTrex legend - it works great and has nice mapping software. For the mapping nuts out there there's info from Garmin and on the net that you can use to make your own maps to load into the Garmins. There are sites were you can download other peoples maps, but nothing for Colorado.

 

[GMCO45]

Was at a free GPS seminar at Gander Mtn today.  The seminar was presented by Colorado Firearms Safety Inc. and lasted about 3 hours.  The last part was hands on experience with
various brands.  While they all had their good points, I was impressed with the ease of using the Garmin units while wearing gloves.  That was a big plus with today's weather.

 

[taylinloop]

      I've used Garmins for pheasant hunting in Kansas where there are no road signs. You can get away with using the low end models in that situation but tried one of those for hiking and mountain hunting and they're just too crude. I upgraded to the Garmin 76S Map last year after a lot of internet research and I love it. (brand new about $300 on ebay)

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&satitle=garmin+76s+map

Took it to the Maine wilderness this fall and it worked like a charm. I also noticed the game wardens out there used the same one for their search and rescue only the pricier color version.

 

[Spin Dr.]

Was at a free GPS seminar at Gander Mtn today.  The seminar was presented by Colorado Firearms Safety Inc. and lasted about 3 hours.  The last part was hands on experience with
various brands.  While they all had their good points, I was impressed with the ease of using the Garmin units while wearing gloves.  That was a big plus with today's weather.

Speaking of GPS training...the US Geological Survey also gives free training at the Federal Center in Lakewood. It's the same building where you get various maps. They will emphasize that GPS is a very useful tool, but it does not replace a compass and "real" map. Used together, they are excellent for locating places, getting to and from, planning routes, etc. An important thing to keep in mind is that all maps are not the same. Each has its own "Map Datum" printed on the map, usually near the legend. You have to set your GPS to match the Map Datum, otherwise, nothing will match.

 

[tal0362]

Good point Spin Dr.

Does any one know an easy way to convert between datums? I have gathered a lot of data on different
GPS units, most are WGS 84, when there are many maps on NAD 83.

I take GPS coordinates for a known location then try to apply a correction.

I would like to have all my data on one datum like NAD 83 or WGS 84.

Suggestions?

 

[NeWcS]

On a side note:

Taylinloop

When you have a long URL just goto www.tinyurl.com and convert it to a smaller url. That way your url doesnt have a length of 625 characters. It can also screw up the layout of the site.

Before: h**p://search-completed.ebay.com/garmin-76s-map_W0QQa10244ZQ
2d24QQa14ZQ2d24QQa31245ZQ2d24QQa6ZQ2d24QQalistZa6Q2ca14Q2ca3
1245Q2ca10244QQbsZSearchQQcatrefZC6QQfisZ2QQfposZ80003QQfrom
ZR10QQfsooZ2QQfsopZ1QQfstypeZ1QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQgcsZ1830QQpf
_queryZgarminQ2076sQ20mapQQpfidZ2598QQpfmodeZ1QQsacatZQ2d1QQ
sadisZ200QQsargnZQ2d1QQsaslcZ2QQsbrftogZ1QQsofocusZbs?GetRes
ult&a10244=-24&a14=-24&a31245=-24&a6=-24&
;alist=a6%2Ca14%2Ca31245%2Ca10244&bs=Search&catref=C
6&fis=2&fpos=80003&from=R10&fsoo=2&fsop=
1&fstype=1&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&gcs=1830&pf_que
ry=garmin+76s+map&pfid=2598&pfmode=1&sacat=-1&am
p;sadis=200&sargn=-1&saslc=2&sbrftog=1&sofoc
us=bs



After: http://tinyurl.com/k2p89

[/side note]


[me=Jay_In_Parker]   [/me]