Xmas Present opinions: GPS

[Mr. Laz]

ok ... me pop's apparently wants a GPS, i know very little about them.


he also fishes alot, and I've heard of some of them that have some kind of fishing helper
thingie(<-- thingie happens to be a technical term )


what do i need to look for in a GPS? Do they all have a monthly fee for GPS service?

any brand better than others? Any brand that is complete crap?


any and all opinions would be greatly appreciate




btw - sorry about the lack of a poll, i'll try and do better next time.

[WilliamTheIrish]

Whatever type you decide to buy go with GARMIN.

They are locally owned (Olathe) and their products are first rate.

[morphius]

My father bought a Garmin for himself this year and loves it. He used it to travel the wastelands, just preprogrammed his route, hung it from the mirror of his truck and left. He went through Western NE, SD and ND, across Northern MN to Deluth and back to the twin cities, all on highways and backroads, no interstate.

[WilliamTheIrish]

Morph my brother owns one. He says it's the absolute best navigation tool he's ever used.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by WilliamTheIrish

Whatever type you decide to buy go with GARMIN.

They are locally owned (Olathe) and their products are first rate.

thanks...


but to be honest, after visiting that site i'm more confuse then ever.



priority for pops:

1. ease of use (just a straightforward design)
2. reliability (so that dam thing doesnt break every 5 seconds)
3. not a high monthly fee(if any fee)
4. bonus ... the fishing thingie

[dtebbe]

I am a Garmin dealer, and I agree that Garmin is the best way to go. They are an absolute top notch company from top to bottom. What you need to find out is if he just needs a waypoint type unit (just shows your lat/lon and tracks where you have gone, allows you to enter waypoints so you can revist those points) or a mapping unit (actually shows highways, rivers, etc.) The mapping units cost quite a bit more. I personally have been using the GPSMAP 61C with the full streets software for a month or so, and it is pretty cool. Mapping units start at about $300. The waypoint type units start around $100.

DT

[trapped_in_stl]

Don't buy the yellow one (cheapest) At least get the blue one (Garmin Legend) That's what I have. Theres no monthly cost or subscription. It will effectivly mark fishing locations, so you can navigate back to them latter. That's mostly what I use it for. It also has the solunear tables buiilt in to tell you when the best time to fish is. Bought it before a fishing trip to Canada. But it also has a base map of the North America built in. All numbered hyways and interstates are shown on the screen. With this feature I use it to navigate on the road as well. The yellow one dosn't have this. This one should cost around $150

If you can go higher, buy the silver (vista) The main addition is the digital compase. The others you have to move for it to get a good directional reading. With the digital compase you can be standing still and always know which way is north.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by dtebbe

I am a Garmin dealer, and I agree that Garmin is the best way to go. They are an absolute top notch company from top to bottom. What you need to find out is if he just needs a waypoint type unit (just shows your lat/lon and tracks where you have gone, allows you to enter waypoints so you can revist those points) or a mapping unit (actually shows highways, rivers, etc.) The mapping units cost quite a bit more. I personally have been using the GPSMAP 61C with the full streets software for a month or so, and it is pretty cool. Mapping units start at about $300. The waypoint type units start around $100.

DT

not so worried about my initial investment ... but more worried about any kind of monthly fee it takes to run the thing.

i hate buying a present that is going to cost the person money.



i also worry about the GPS map being so cluttered with information that he can't use it easily.


i'll check out that GPSMAP 61c ... thanks

[|Zach|]

I lost my locator.

And yes, I realize the irony in this.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by trapped_in_stl

Don't buy the yellow one (cheapest) At least get the blue one (Garmin Legend) That's what I have. Theres no monthly cost or subscription. It will effectivly mark fishing locations, so you can navigate back to them latter. That's mostly what I use it for. It also has the solunear tables buiilt in to tell you when the best time to fish is. Bought it before a fishing trip to Canada. But it also has a base map of the North America built in. All numbered hyways and interstates are shown on the screen. With this feature I use it to navigate on the road as well. The yellow one dosn't have this. This one should cost around $150

If you can go higher, buy the silver (vista) The main addition is the digital compase. The others you have to move for it to get a good directional reading. With the digital compase you can be standing still and always know which way is north.

thanks

[Mr. Laz]

what about this one?



Receiver: WAAS-enabled, 12 parallel channel GPS
Screen resolution: 480 x 320 pixels
Display: 256-color, sunlight readable TFT with adjustable backlight
Receiver dimensions: 5.7 x 3.2 x 1.9 inches
PC compatibility: Loading and PC downloading of waypoints/routes, tracks and device configuration
Waterproof: IEC 60529, IPX7 (Submersible to 1 meter at 30 minutes)
Waypoints: 3000 user waypoints with an expanded list of waypoint symbols
Routes: 50 reversible routes with 1,200 waypoints per route
Tracks: 10,000 point automatic track log; 15 saved tracks, 700 saved track points each
In the Box: GPSMAP 276C unit, USB interface cable, power/data cable, marine mount, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, owner's manual, quick reference guide, MapSource Trip, and Waypoint Manager CD-ROM

[Otter]

Originally Posted by lazarus

he also fishes alot, and I've heard of some of them that have some kind of fishing helper thingie(<-- thingie happens to be a technical term )

what do i need to look for in a GPS? Do they all have a monthly fee for GPS service?

The fishie thingy is when you have a GPS intergrated into a fish finder.

A fish finder is a peice of equipment that gets mounted on a boat which bounces sonar of the bed of a lake or river and produces a digtal picture of whats between the transciever and the bed of the body of water from what the signal bounces back.

So instead of having to buy a fish finder and a GPS system its a 2 in 1 thing. The GPS portion is not neccessary unless your dad fishes on large lakes or the ocean. It's kinda tough to get lost on a river.

Outside of the Garmin advice I can only add that if he's going to be in dense forest to buy a GPS system with an antenna. Thick tree cover does block signals without an antenna. I know this first hand.

There is no monthly fee for the GPS. The system is a bunch of satalites that rotate around the earth and triangulate your position. The signal is there for free.

If your talking about car mounted models with mapping systems it's a different ball game. Don't know too much about them.

[KCWolfman]

Originally Posted by ZachKC

I lost my locator.

And yes, I realize the irony in this.

Did you put a clapper on it? Those always help

[Iowanian]

I know quite a bit about GPS, but more about the higher end Mapping and survey grade Units.

Garmin makes a very good product. If he just wants to log waypoints for fishing, and be within 5 meters accuracy, you should be able to hook him up for anywhere from 150-500 depending on how fancy you want, and if you want to be able to store information and maps.

Garmin and Trimble are the big boys.........Ashtech makes a decent product and there are multiple others that would be fine for low end stuff like geocaching and fishing.

As to what to look for.........you shouldn't have to pay a subscription fee..........If it is a RTK device, it should have on the fly differential correction, and he can link to Coast guard beacons or public base stations.

[|Zach|]

Originally Posted by KCWolfman

Did you put a clapper on it? Those always help

I don't have the clapper. I will be sure to find you if I need the clap though.