dimkasmir Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 Can you please tell me everything you know about the Garmin GPS 12? Also, I would like to know why it has been discontinued. Quote Link to comment
+Airmapper Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 It's an old unit, used back when selective availability was still active. I imagine it was discontinued because it simply can't compete with modern technology. They are tough units, almost like a brick with a screen. However they only display standard units in hundredths of a mile, making them harder to use when homing in on a set of coordinates. I have used a friends on several occasions, and it is pretty good, but it doesn't find the satellites as quick and looses signal easier. Quote Link to comment
Alphawolf Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 It's from the Jurassic Period (talking GPS years here). It's sorta like asking "Why has Intel discontinued the Pentium II processors?" Quote Link to comment
+EraSeek Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 All of the above is true, however it is still a good functional unit. I have a Garmin 45xl (a true dinosaur). a Garmin 12, had a Map76, have a 60cx. The only one I would not bother turning on is the 45xl. Quote Link to comment
Grasscatcher Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 The 12 or 12XL (will accept external antenna) is an absolute perfect unit to start with . No maps, or WAAS, but it's accurate and durable. Doesn't have a bunch of the bells and whistles that the newer models have, but those are the things that confuse most people anyway......as evidenced by a lot of the questions posted on this forum. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 Its very heavy. Quote Link to comment
+DustyWalker Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 Its very heavy. And damned frustrating to work with. We still have some at work and they can't compete with the newer units. Quote Link to comment
Alphawolf Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 HA! Wasn't that old 45XL a bugger?!?! It was my "introduction to GPS" and I'm lucky it didn't scar me for life! That thing took forever to lock, and it just wouldn't lock if you were moving. But, I thought it looked classic. I loved the black & white "maritime" look. I wish I still had it just for old times sake. Maybe as a cool paperweight or something. Quote Link to comment
+Wadcutter Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 Its very heavy. Heavy? You need to lay off the Twinkies and start hitting the gym. The 12 weighs more than some of the newer models but definitely not heavy. You've never carried a military plugger. They were the size of a Webster's dictionary, weighed about as much, and had about the same features as a 12, but plus the codes and a few more features. We issued all our F-16 pilots Garmin 12s which they carried in their flight vests. They were rugged and could take the impact of an ejection. Saw 3 that had been carried during ejections. They continued to work fine even tho the pilots didn't. A sister unit gave their F-16 pilots Garmin III+. Quote Link to comment
Alphawolf Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 We issued all our F-16 pilots Garmin 12s which they carried in their flight vests. They were rugged and could take the impact of an ejection. You were life support? What squadron? I personally thought the only reason the Viper drivers carried the 12 was they were obtained pretty cheaply. They (The Air Force) should've contracted with Garmin to produce the basic Etrex in desert tan color or O.D.. It would have been cheap, easy to use, rugged as the 12, smaller and lighter than the 12. The 3 squadrons I was affiliated with (421st, 34th, 4th, of the 388th FW, Hill AFB) has tons of problems with the 12s, once they started to get old. They kept them about 5 years longer than they should have. Quote Link to comment
+Wadcutter Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 You were life support? What squadron? I personally thought the only reason the Viper drivers carried the 12 was they were obtained pretty cheaply. They (The Air Force) should've contracted with Garmin to produce the basic Etrex in desert tan color or O.D.. It would have been cheap, easy to use, rugged as the 12, smaller and lighter than the 12. The 3 squadrons I was affiliated with (421st, 34th, 4th, of the 388th FW, Hill AFB) has tons of problems with the 12s, once they started to get old. They kept them about 5 years longer than they should have. SF Cmdr. Retired 2000. Etrex models weren't around when we began issuing them. Went to several crashes, 3 where the pilots popped out, 1 too late. The 12 took the ride and continued working. Quote Link to comment
+EraSeek Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 My 12 dropped off the top of the car at 35mph, not a dent, still works fine. The 12 has a larger patch antennea than the etrex. A bit better reception. Quote Link to comment
+Kayak Kouple Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 I own a Garmin GPS 12 ...I now own a 60cs ...I have found many caches w/my GPS 12 & it is a very good unit ...just no mapping & it doesnt count down to the cache in feet .....09 .08 .07 & so on ....It is a very sturdy unit & a bit heavy ....but it is a great unit for beginners...I am in the process of selling mine as we just got a 60cx Quote Link to comment
eaparks Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 You guys got my suspicions up when someone said the 12 series was heavy. I've owned a 12XL that I bought new in May of 1997 that is still like new. I just recently updated to the 60CSx only because I wanted the mapping capability. If it had not been for that I would still be using the 12XL. It is very easy to use, extremely durable and good battery life due to using 4 AA batteries, alot better battery life than the 60CSx. I haven't seen any difference in accuracy in the 2 either, but the new SiRf III chipset in the 60CSx is great, it definitely picks up a signal better than my old 12XL, but I rarely lost signal when outside with the 12XL. It would hold on to a signal better than the old etrex units. In the Colorado Rockies hunting, a friend and I would be side by side, and his etrex Vista would loose a signal occassionaly when I wouldn't. For just going to point "A" and back the 12XL was great for what it was intended for. At the time it came out it had about the best ability to keep a signal under tree canopy. The measured weight of each unit with batteries installed using a set of postal scales is: 12XL weighs 8.5 oz.; the 60CSx weighs 7.5 oz. 12XL holds 4 AA batteries and the 60CSx holds 2 AA batteries so if you take the batteries out the 12XL is actually lighter than the 60CSx If you ran across a good used 12XL at a garage sale or flea market for a bargain I'd jump on it, if you only want the basics or a good basic unit for a back up. I would go with the XL model just so you can download with the computer to it. The regular 12 Model you can't download to. Quote Link to comment
8mmag Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 I would go with the XL model just so you can download with the computer to it. The regular 12 Model you can't download to. This isn't right...the only difference between the 12 & the 12XL is the ability to hook up an external antenna to the MCX connector on the back of the XL. Both can hook up to a computer to upload/download Waypoints, Tracks, etc. Quote Link to comment
Evarena Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 Thanks for all the info about the Garmin 12. I also have one (just got it), and I would like to know if it is really true that the (AA) batteries have to be alkaline or can I also put in rechargable batteries? The manual says that rechargable batteries give a small difference in the readings? Does anyone have experience with this? Evarena Quote Link to comment
+Wadcutter Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 The manual says that rechargable batteries give a small difference in the I never found the difference to be all that much. Since the 12 doesn't go down into feet but .01 of a mile, for geocaching switch over to metric. It will show you in meters. Quote Link to comment
+EraSeek Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 Thanks for all the info about the Garmin 12. I also have one (just got it), and I would like to know if it is really true that the (AA) batteries have to be alkaline or can I also put in rechargable batteries? The manual says that rechargable batteries give a small difference in the readings? Does anyone have experience with this? Evarena Probably just the reading in the battery level. Quote Link to comment
Evarena Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 Thanks! Evarena Quote Link to comment
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