Braff-n-MandaRue

I've looked around on Amazon to see what types of other GPSr's are available. Bushnell does have a few basic units that can save a few waypoints and use trackback type features to get you back to your vehicle. They also seem to be limited to just showing Lat/Long coordinates, but I'm partial to UTM myself. There are also several Golf GPS units by Bushnell as well as a company called Bad Elf. Just not as much of a selection out there anymore. I'm happy with what my Garmin can do. Plus there are several apps I can use on my phone, but none of them I really like, or maybe it's using the phone I don't like. A shame really, I always enjoyed the new models come out with their new features to see what else they could pack in. They were getting a little on the expensive side. They have gotten to the point where they are almost like a smartphone, just without the phone. Why purchase two devices when one can do it all. The competition made it interesting for a while.

I was sitting around at work, bored, and I got to thinking about handheld GPS units. I realized that I don't really know who makes handheld GPS units anymore, other than Garmin. Magellan maybe, but they don't seem to active. I remember Lowrance and DeLorme having a few out. Maybe even Rand McNally had a handheld at one time. I believe Bushnell had or has a pretty basic GPS too. Wasn't there a geomate jr or something around for a bit too? Anyway, my real question is what companies are in the handheld gps market these days? Are there any other than Garmin that put out new models or support models they still have on the market?

SOLD

I'm selling my little used Garmin eTrex 30. No scratches or any wear to speak of. Used a few times on some hiking trips. Can be seen here: Garmin eTrex 30 (clicky)

Sold

I recently upgraded a bit to a etrex 30, so I suppose I will part with my old 20. Has a few light scratches on the body, and a few on the screen, but nothing that hurts visibility. If interested you can e-mail me at: This Address (Clicky) Asking $120 shipped to anywhere in lower 48 states.

I can understand some of the frustration. They paid new price for a GPS, and when it quit working they got a Refurb GPS in return. Something they could have probably found and bought cheaper to begin with. That is a bit annoying. On the bright side though, refurb products do seem to have better quality control. Like others on here, I've had better luck on refurbs than new. It's a good way to save money up front too, if you can find and buy a refurbished product instead of brand new. It generally has the same warranty as new, but with a discounted price.

I discovered the Garmin Adventures earlier this year. I've made a couple. I enjoy it, it's a good way to document a trip. I like it because I can upload them to the web and share the link with friends and family, they can see the pictures I took, the trail, the waypoints. They may not want to necessarily download the adventure for their own personal use, so not having Basecamp isn't a big deal for them.

I'd be interested in testing some of the new Garmin Adventures functionality out, but I'll wait on a full version of the firmware to come out first.

Have you looked at the eTrex Legend Hcx? Battery life on it was pretty great. I don't remember how the track logging was on it though. Seems that when you "saved" the track, it averaged it out to 500 or 1000 waypoints in the track. If you kept the "Active Log" and didn't delete it, seems like it would save 10,000 points, and after that it would start removing the oldest point. Maybe someone can correct me, I may getting that confused with a Magellan I had. Speaking of, I had a Magellan Triton 1500, and there was a way to have it record tracks straight to the SD card, but it wasn't a very straight forward process. It was one of those "hidden gems" one sometimes find. The payoff was that it would record a track for as long as you needed it, until the card was full.

I thought about being able to load larger areas using birdseye. My thoughts with that are, I can only be so many places at one time. So, I don't usually load very large areas at once. Although, it would be nice on larger trips. I have the older 100k Garmin Topos, and several 24k maps from GPSfiledepot that I use, so I'm familiar with and use vector maps. The reason for wanting to use a raster map is to have something on my GPS that matches the USGS paper maps that I carry with me. I also realize you can download digital maps from the USGS site and convert them, but if someone else has already done the work, I'd rather just use that.

I recently purchased a Etrex 20. I've been playing around putting extra maps on it. Making my on KMZ maps and those types of things. I've been contemplating purchasing either Topofusion or Birdseye to aid in adding additional maps to the GPS. If I bought Birdseye, I'd want to purchase both the aerial imagery and TOPO maps. So, it's close in price to purchasing Topofusion Pro. With topofusion, the program creates KMZ files and loads them directly to the GPS. The color aerial images with Topofusion also appear to be more up to date in my area than the Birdseye imagery Birdseye is more proprietary and should work better with the GPS. I just don't know yet, and was wondering if anyone else has some good experience. As of right now I'm leaning a little more toward Topofusion, because the program has some extra features I like over Basecamp.

I don't think you appreciate the way we actually use the mag compass feature on our Garmin handhelds, or you probably wouldn't suggest that. While constantly looking at the bearing to target on the Garmin and trying to orient a compass at the same time to get a heading while you're climbing sideways on a hill might sound like fun ... no, I think you understand why that isn't practical to suggest now, yes? No, I've had several GPS units with the built in magnetic compass, didn't like them. I've never had a problem with getting a bearing off a GPS then finding it on my compass. Hillside or not. It takes like five seconds to do. To me, it's very practical, and I don't have to worry about the batteries in my compass dieing or recalibrating it. It's there, and it's ready. I'm not going into any explanation of GPS models used, 2-axis, or 3-axis. It's not important, either way, I just don't like them. You like them, I don't. That's a good enough explanation for me.

Seems to be a problem with some of the newer generation of GPSr's. The Triton suffers from it. The Colorado I use to have suffered from it (to a lesser degree than the Triton series). The Oregon's appear to suffer from it, from what I've read in the posts on here. I'm sure other models do as well. I've just gotten use to using quick glances with back light, instead of constantly staring at the GPS with back light on.

It's a little late in the conversation now, but definitely don't move it and let the C.O. take care of it. I've had one well camo'd cache that got moved several times because people thought it should go elsewhere (i.e. - in a easier to find spot). Because they weren't willing to place it back where I hid it, but instead where they thought it should go, in a much less camo'd spot, it eventually got muggled. Sometimes the most obvious spot isn't the best.

Could always just carry a real compass.

It's better to beg forgiveness than ask for permission.

I'd go $35, but I wouldn't include the maps.

Any offers?

Back light works, both settings. No corrosion in the battery compartment.

I have a Magellan Meridian Gold for sale. Powers up, works good. Couple of light scratches on the screen. Comes with GPS, Serial Cable, and quick start guide. Also Magellan Mapsend Topo 3D version 1.00. Asking $50. If interested send me an e-mail at elicaudill@windstream.net

The owner's manual for the Colorado said that too, and I was afraid to get the one I had in a light drizzle. It didn't take much for moisture to start creeping in the battery compartment on that one. It's why I've been a little hesitant about the advertising with the Nuvi 500.

Thanks for the replies. I guess I should have been a little more clear about my usage and such. I have an old Nuvi 200. So, I'm familiar with the Nuvi series. The model I have, I wouldn't trust to use in any outdoor situation except for nice clear sunny skies. I really don't think it would hold up to the elements well at all. That's what I'm wondering about with the 500. If I were to use it outdoors, could it hold up to the elements fairly well? You never know when you'll get caught in a freak summer rain shower, or the occasional snow flurry. I'm just wondering if it could stand up to those general outdoor situations.

Just how rugged is the Nuvi 500? I've considered purchasing one. I live in a very rural area, and for some reason, none of the local stores ever carry the 500 model. So I can't get a real good up close and personal look at it to see what I think. Meaning, that if I order one, it will be an online order. It will be used probably 97% in the car for navigating, and 3% off-road out in the open. So, I want to make sure it's something that can stand up to the elements first. Anyone with any opinions on this?

gpsfiledepot.com