New Gpsr

[Cheetah223]

I've got a yellow eTrex right now that I share with my dad, so it's full of waypoints that have no names and only he knows what they are. Because of this I'm looking to get my own GPSr. I want the ability to have an external antenna for use in my Jeep, but I also want it to be a handheld unit that I can take out in the woods on backpacking/hunting trips as well as caching. Obviously I want it to connect to my computer, and it's got to be waterproof...I'm having trouble finding a reciever that fits what I want. Any suggestions? I'm hoping to keep it as cheap as possible, but I'm not going to put any limit on price because I'd like to see what I should expect to pay if I do decide to upgrade later anyway..

 

Thanks!

[+W7WT]

the 76C or 76CS would meet you needs and you may not need the external antenna. Some people like the 60C or 60CS because they like the way it fits in their hand. I sure there are others but I don't want to recommend anythng that I haven't used myself. Good luck. Dick, W7WT

[+Thrak]

I only have experience with one unit - the Garmin GPSMAP 76CS but it would certainly fill the needs you have outlined. I love mine.

 

BTW - If I had bought my unit locally it would have cost me $632.00 with tax. I bought mine new, in the box, from eBay and had it delivered to my door for $397.00. Quite a large cash difference and, when I broke the thing, Garmin covered it under warranty even though I told them it was my fault that it was broken.

[+Sputnik 57]

Except for the external antenna, the Legend C would be ideal for you. You probably don't need one in a Jeep. I get great reception in my TJ. If you need to have the antenna, try the Garmin GPSMap60C or the GPS 60. Both are less than the 76C, and the 60 substantially less (grey scale like the yellow).

[Cheetah223]

Thanks guys, I'll check out the models mentioned!

 

Sputnik - I drive a '90 XJ, so sort of setting it on the dash in the windshield there's little chance for sustained reception. I've wedged my eTrex in between the dash and windshield somewhat regularly, but it's starting to peel the rubber strip around the outside from holding it there, and it doesn't stay very well. Reception's kind of a problem, and having my GPS in the window like that kind of throws me off when I'm driving, so an external antenna would definitely be nice

 

Edit: I don't mind too much about mapping features, but how upgradable are the maps on the garmins? It says the factory maps can't be altered..What's up with that?

 

And what about the 76S? It doesn't have a features list, I'm thinking maybe it's not in production anymore..Do the "marine" features of the 76 series get in the way at all? I highly doubt I'll be taking it on any bodies of water other than wading to go fishing, so these features would just kind of be redundant to me...I doubt there's any way to remove them, so how prominent are they? Are any of the button's specific to marine features?

 

Thanks again!

Edited November 3, 2005 by Cheetah223

[+briansnat]

The Garmin Map 60 might be a good choice. Not too expensive and has a jack for an external antenna. Its kinds of a poor man's version of the popular 60C. Half the memory and a greyscale screen instead of color, but otherwise its similar to the 60C.

[Cheetah223]

The Map60's page kind of confuses me. It says it's a non-mapping unit:

 

The GPS 60 is a non-mapping unit that comes factory pre-loaded with a 1 MB marine point database that includes worldwide cities.

 

Then says maps transfer quickly:

 

Fast map transfer, with support for both USB and serial port interfaces; navigation instructions can be shared with repeaters, plotters, and autopilots using NMEA protocols through the dedicated serial port

 

How do those work together?

 

http://www.garmin.com/products/gps60/index.jsp

[peter]

The Map60's page kind of confuses me. It says it's a non-mapping unit:

 

The GPS 60 is a non-mapping unit that comes factory pre-loaded with a 1 MB marine point database that includes worldwide cities.

 

Then says maps transfer quickly:

 

Fast map transfer, with support for both USB and serial port interfaces; navigation instructions can be shared with repeaters, plotters, and autopilots using NMEA protocols through the dedicated serial port

Probably a little too much cut&paste on Garmin's part since the other members of the 60 series do have maps. The GPS 60 does let you download up to 1 MB of POIs and those will certainly go fast using USB. But then they wouldn't take too long even with RS-232.

 

Note that the webpage you cite is about the "GPS 60" which is a different model from the "GPSMap 60" - that model does support mapping and downloading of up to 24 MB of maps.

[+hogrod]

The Map60's page kind of confuses me.  It says it's a non-mapping unit:

http://www.garmin.com/products/gps60/index.jsp

it is slightly confusing at first, but garmin makes 4 differant 60 series GPS. you were looking at the cheapest, which does not do maps. here is list in order of cheapest to best. gps60, gpsmap 60, gpsmap 60c, gpsmap 60cs. i believe he was telling you to look at the gpsmap 60, not the gps 60. as i understand it, the gps 60 is basicly a etrex yellow.

GPSMAP 60

Edited November 3, 2005 by hogrod

[Neo_Geo]

You might also want to consider a GPS V! You can connect an external antenna to it, hook it up to a computer, and it works as a handheld. It's a mapping unit with 19MB of memory, and it does autorouting! It can be had for $200, and that includes the City Select map software!

 

The other units cost $250 to $400 - and that's just for the GPSr itself! The map software would be another $100!

 

Edited November 3, 2005 by Neo_Geo

[BilgeRat]

For the external antenna, look into the Gilsson stuff. They are much less expensive than the Garmin antennas, and they work very well. I have two: one with a three foot lead for use in the car (with thier small suction cup bracket), and one with the sixteen foot lead for use at work.

Tom