MatthewG

Hey folks! I have been doing some research on GPS the last few days and have become very interested in them. I still don't know that much about them and have some questions. Does the GPS track your path automatically and shows it on the screen or do you need to press something ever so often? Is it good to have topographical maps? Does the GPS remember all the info I put into it (for example, waypoints, additional maps) forever or does it erase after a while?
I was also looking for a recommendation. I will mostly use it while hunting, fishing, hiking or on a boat. I don't mind the price too much, as long as it's not completely irrational. I want a GPS that is good but doesn't have too many bells and whistles that I won't be able to understand. I want it to have reasonable maps of Canada, becuase I sometimes go hunting there. I want it to have an electric compass, and be waterproof, preferably be able to float. If it's possible, a thermometer would be nice too. It needs to be accurate and get good reception in dense forests. It needs to have some memory for additional maps. I am leaning towards Magellan because I heard their recption is better in woods. Is that true? Garmin is OK too for now. Thanks! If I think of any other additional questions I will post them.

TJD

I have a Magellan Gold that works reasonably well. Basically, you can plot your path with it by touching a few keys. Setting waypoints is the same drill. All of the paths and waypoints stay in as long as you don't erase them. I did not get any of the topo map add-ins, at least not yet. So I just have the standard built-in stuff that shows roads, rr tracks, major waterways, etc.

As for reception, if you are in a deep woods with lots of canopy, the reception drops off fairly quickly. It may show the proper position, but with a larger error indicated, or show you something silly for elevation (mine once showed me at 30,000 feet!). But if you get into clearings, or have a woods that gets somewhat open overhead, you should be OK.

When you pick up the WAAS signals (stands for Wide Area Augmentation System), the readings can be very accurate. I have used it to guide me to within 3 feet of my treestand in the dark...not too bad.

As for memory, you will have to break down and get some expansion cards for the thing to really do the job. Overall, I'm happy with the Magellan, but have heard good things about Garmin as well, so it may just be a matter of taste.

Kip

Im also looking at the Magellan Meridian Gold, and will probably buy one in the next week or two, unless someone knows of a better one in the same price range. From what I have read, it is a good GPS. Im undecided on whether or not to get the topo card. If you go to The GPSstore's website, you can read all about each one thats available.

jetblast

You should do some searching at google.com and you'll find many websites on this subject. I'm not real smart on GPS's. But I do own a Garmin Vista and have the topo map CD. Garmins will only "load' Garmin Mapsource programs on their GPS's. The topo maps are not that great but it does give a good reference point once you learn what the squiggely lines mean. Mine has the compass, but leaving it on will drain batteries. It is nice because you don't have to start walking to get a directional pointer. To track your movement, you just push a couple buttons and it will either track your passage or show where you are at. It's not that hard to do. Trust me, I hate the new video recorders. I'm a record, play, FF and rewind type of person only! Most models hold a gob a waypoints in the GPS. Or you can save them on a computer with the mapsource programs. I've done scouting trips last Feb and I have that saved on a file in my computer. But it's not in my GPS. The Vista will loose reception in heavy cover (real heavy). But unless you have an external antenna, I think any model will. The Vista holds 24 megs of info. Which is PLENTY. I don't think it tells the temps. One thing to remember, Garmin will not give the rebate (if still active) to units bought on e-bay. You'll probably find the best price through the internet. Garmin names their models the e-trex and then adds a name like E-Trex Vista, E-trex Legend down to a basic e-trex model. So know what you are buying if you choose to go that route. There are some GPS smart folks on this website who can add much more than I can on info. You might try a search on the subject here. also, www.backpacker.com is a good place to ask questions on this subject. Good Luck!

ShadowAce

Ok, let me see if I can be of any help. I had a Garmin Etrex ($100) that did not have any basemaps loaded or the ability to do so. It just displayed the waypoints I loaded and my tracks that were saved while I was walking. (Most save about 500 waypoints and are not erased automatically. As long as it's on it will track your movement if it is getting a signal) I didn't think I needed a fancier model with the basemaps of the areas I hunted until the following happened. First of all, I hunt in some big tracks of WMA's that are very thick. You can get turned around very quickly in a small area. As a matter of fact, I bought the GPS after my first weekend of hunting there a couple years ago. Well, the first trip this year I forgot to save our parking spot as a waypoint before we went into the woods that afternoon and normally the GPS would have tracked our path in, but I had put it in my pocket where it could not get a signal. So when I got out of my stand at dark I had nothing to guide us in the right direction. We knew the direction that the road was, but after walking around all the briars and thickets, we were turned around. That's when I realized that if my GPS had basemap cabability, it would have displayed the road we had parked on and we could have just headed in that direction. It took us 1.5 hours to get out of the woods that evening, and I went and purchased a Magellan Sport Trak Map Pro($270.00 with the basemap of North America loaded and a free topo CD with more detailed maps) before my next trip out. I really like it. I can print out maps from my PC with all of my stands on it and it has the topo lines also. I did a lot of research on the net and the Magellan just seemed like the best for me. It does not have an electronic compass(you have to be moving for the compass to work) or temperature though. You have to spend more money to get those features, if you can get the temperature feature at all. Hope this helps!

RIStrutStopper

I have an Etrex Legend. No electronic compass, but I carry my regular compass to get a quick bearing. It tracks where you have been automatically, unless you tell it not to. It will save your routes and tracklogs (10 each I think) and your waypoints (1000 waypoints I think with the free upgrade I downloaded from the Garmin web site). I don't have any of the add on maps, but do use it with free mapping software found on the web. It has 8 meg of memory, and has the north and south america basemaps loaded from the factory. Yes, in heavy cover it looses signal, but its generally easy enough to reacquire. I paid about 150 for the unit (after rebate) from Amazon.com. Amazon has free shipping too for items over 25. Hope this helps.

Paul

Jimimac

Here is a link to a recent discussion.

http://forum.hunting.net/asppg/tm.asp?m=479756

Jim

ralphie

Email the folks at affordablegps.com