Lowrance and Magellan vs. Garmin

[ravenaussie]

Hi,

I've been reading the posts here for about 3 weeks now and i'm still sans gps unit. I wish to start geocaching I think it would be fun and a great reason to start walking. I do have a couple of questions but i'm going to start with one for now.

 

Customer service issues aside...is the Garmin that much better than the Magellan units or the Lowrance units?

 

I understand customer service is a big deal to a great deal of people, but in order to get to customer service there has to be a breakdown in the unit in some form or fashion. Whether the unit stops working or we don't understand the manual and need clarification.

 

Are the comparable Magellan and Lowrance units functionally so much worse than the Garmins and why? Are they more brittle, do they have inferior processors and chipsets?

 

Or is it just perception?

 

thanks for any response

 

john

[+GeekBoy.from.Illinois]

Hi,

I've been reading the posts here for about 3 weeks now and i'm still sans gps unit. I wish to start geocaching I think it would be fun and a great reason to start walking. I do have a couple of questions but i'm going to start with one for now.

 

Customer service issues aside...is the Garmin that much better than the Magellan units or the Lowrance units?

 

I understand customer service is a big deal to a great deal of people, but in order to get to customer service there has to be a breakdown in the unit in some form or fashion. Whether the unit stops working or we don't understand the manual and need clarification.

 

Are the comparable Magellan and Lowrance units functionally so much worse than the Garmins and why? Are they more brittle, do they have inferior processors and chipsets?

 

Or is it just perception?

 

thanks for any response

 

john

 

Well, from my personal experience, a lot of it is personal preference. I own a Magellan eXplorist 600, and a Garmin GPSMAP 60 CSx. I generally use the Garmin all of the time, but there are features of the Magellan I do prefer over the similar feature on the Garmin unit. IIRC, the Magellan unit was also about $75 cheaper than the Garmin unit when I bought them.

 

As you said, putting aside the customer service issues, the units seem comparable to me. I found my first hundred or so caches using the Magellan, and I can't say that it was really any different than using my Garmin unit is now. They have slightly different features. I will admit that when I first started, I did not learn as much about how to use the Magellan as I have with the Garmin, so I made things a little more difficult on myself, but that was my fault, not the unit's fault.

 

I will say that I don't think I've met a person who has a GPSr with a memory card socket that has not been happy with their unit. Some people I have met are unhappy with the limits of their units that don't have the memory card expandability though.

 

As a side note, since Magellan is releasing the new line of GPSr's this fall/winter you might be able to get a good deal on an eXplorist unit as they might get discontinued soon. You might also be able to find a good deal on one of the new units as a promotion to get them out in the market. Since holiday shopping season is nearing, I would watch for deals and rebates from all makers as they all want to get their units into the hands of the people.

[+JohnnyVegas]

I starte with Garmin, then went to Magellan, I now use both Magellan and Garmin. I use a megellan as a hand held unit and a Garmin on for dash for getting to the area of the cache.

Rather than getting hung up on brand names, you should make a list of the features you want

 

Do you want a-

Detailed map?

Color or monochrome screen?

USB or Serial port interface? (what does your computer have)Some GPSrs do not have a computer iterface.

Electronic compass?

Expandable memory?

Automatic course routing?

Voice prompt directions?

 

And lets not forget, how much do you want to spend?

[+hukilaulau]

I have owned or own magellan explorist 200, 500, Sportrak Map, Garmin etrex legend. Never had any performance problem with any of them. I really like the magellans and hated the etrex. (poor signal stability and awkward to plug in coords by hand). But many people start with and love the etrex. Hey, just get one and get out there! You can't really go wrong...

[+fratermus]

Customer service issues aside...is the Garmin that much better than the Magellan units or the Lowrance units?

 

I do not think that any of the big three or four manufacturers makes GPS hardware units that are, quality-wise, better than the others. This is why we beat dead horses like device-specific features, firmware, support, hackability, map locking, etc. The hardware is like a commodity now IMO, and the added value is elsewhere.

 

Garmin is likely the dominant player (and all my units are Garmin) but I have not talked myself into fanboi status. Horses for courses, caveat emptor, etc. As long as you do your research and planning BEFORE buying the unit you should have fun and get real use out of any major manufacturer's GPS.

[ravenaussie]

Thanks for the quick response. So everyone has pretty much said what i kind of suspect, that all these units are pretty good and do what they're intended to do. It can be overwhelming reading this site, and i read pretty much from now till about 2005, not all but alot. At the same time i didn't want to bore people about giving me a recommendation...I just needed to know if there are any low quality brands to avoid, and not just because of human relations issues.

 

Do you want a-

Detailed map?

Color or monochrome screen?

USB or Serial port interface? (what does your computer have)Some GPSrs do not have a computer iterface.

Electronic compass?

Expandable memory?

Automatic course routing?

Voice prompt directions?

 

And lets not forget, how much do you want to spend?

 

That is the rub and unfortunately I can afford most out there but the last point is the big one for me.

When geocaching or even geodashing, what is the least I can live with? I imagine expandable memory would be important to me. Don't need Voice prompt or Auto course routing...i have a tomtom for that...USB since my computer supports that, color would be nice but not necessary. I can actually maybe go paperless since i have an older Sony Clie...Is a detailed map crucial? Would a basemap suffice or no map at all be acceptable? Compass? I thought they all had some kind of compass but i also have a magnetic compass that i keep...price wise...$150 or lower would be ideal, but like i say if those units at those price ranges are inadequate...let me know.

 

john

[Vlad]

you might want to consider each vendor's map software offerings. once you start buying maps for one vendor you'll be inclined to continue purchasing gps units from that vendor because the maps (that you are now invested in) are proprietary to each vendor.

[ravenaussie]

you might want to consider each vendor's map software offerings. once you start buying maps for one vendor you'll be inclined to continue purchasing gps units from that vendor because the maps (that you are now invested in) are proprietary to each vendor.

 

Vlad,

that is a good point. It's one reason i'm kind of waiting for the Tritons to come out. From what i read they're going to use National Geographic maps? People seem to like those alot...But, for geocaching purposes, is the basemap good enough? Does a topographical map help you? I also enjoy a good hike when the family goes out camping so i thought this would be fun to have for that, even though most trails are well marked.

[gratefulHIKE]

push screens seem like a nice idea, but you would probably need sometype of built in lithium rechargeable due to excessive battery use I would think, plus screen damage would kinda kill the device

 

I guess it is preference though, because the Iphone seems to be doign quite well........although I hate that new commercial with the pilot looking up the weather.......I mean come on, airports have the most sophisticated weather equipment around usually, I doubt they need a pilot to tell them its CLEAR </end random rant>

[+theosus]

Hi,

I've been reading the posts here for about 3 weeks now and i'm still sans gps unit. I wish to start geocaching I think it would be fun and a great reason to start walking. john

 

I have a magellan sporttrak map that is about 5 years old, as well as a garmin etrex legend thats about 18 months old (won it at a business conference). We have e-trex's at work too, and I know our state tropers all have them for locating wrecks on state forms.

 

That being said -

I use both magellan and Garmin. I much prefer the magellan for most reasons:

The rocker pad is a lot easier to use than the "click stick" on the garmin. Working the joystick after just a minute or two gets painful to me. The sport-trak is also bigger overall, and the screen is easier to read. It also seems to be less "picky" as to satellite reception. I can sit the two side by side and not only does the sporttrak find sats faster, but its holds a lock easier.

Both GPS units connect to my PC without trouble, although the sport-trak has three NEMA settings, which I have to change for various programs (I use it for netstumbler, map-send streets, and microsoft streets and trips).

The garmin unit, on the other hand, will tell you its estimated accuracy, which the sporttrak does not. It seems a little more accurate, when it does finally lock on and not lose satellites.

 

Magellan includes all the street-level maps and topography info on one CD. Garmin charges for different things for different reasons. Topographic, city streets, etc. And you could wind up spending a lot on supplemental maps. Garmin's base map was a LOT more detailed than the SportTrak, ut it was also newer.

 

Given the choice, my next GPS will most likely be a magellan. I'm just used to their interface. Working a garmin, with its joystick and drop downs, is a lot like working a tiny PC. Very tough on the thumbs, but the Garmin is more pocket-sized, if thats what you are after.

 

Neither one of mine have memory card slots. Each has about 5MB of memory. They both have serial port cables, while most new laptops only have USB ports, but for $14us I bought a serial-usb interface cable that works fine with either unit for programming or live use with my laptop.

 

My SportTrak failed about six months after I bought it. I sent it back for repair. it was a software problem and they reprogrammed it. Customer service was easy to deal with, and they sent me some free stuff for my trouble (a suction cup dash mount, and an extra serial cable).

Even with that problem, I'd still buy another Magellan.

[+Jhwk]

you might want to consider each vendor's map software offerings. once you start buying maps for one vendor you'll be inclined to continue purchasing gps units from that vendor because the maps (that you are now invested in) are proprietary to each vendor.

 

Vlad,

that is a good point. It's one reason i'm kind of waiting for the Tritons to come out. From what i read they're going to use National Geographic maps? People seem to like those alot...But, for geocaching purposes, is the basemap good enough? Does a topographical map help you? I also enjoy a good hike when the family goes out camping so i thought this would be fun to have for that, even though most trails are well marked.

For everyday caching, a basemap will 'get you by." Eventually you will want to add some detailed maps. It just comes in handy to see more than the major roads, plus they have additional features and points of interest that an 8MB world map can't hold. Can't tell you how many times I've hit the goto button for something I needed RIGHT NOW. Like gas, food, medical service, etc. Also, most handhelds won't route you on a base map, or a topo map. You need the detailed maps for that.

 

Since you already have a tom tom, maybe someone will come along who can help you cache with that until you decide.

[LinXG]

Are the comparable Magellan and Lowrance units functionally so much worse than the Garmins and why?

I own a Lowrance Expedition C and have used Garmin 76 and 60 series GPSrs. I have no experience with Magellan. Based on my experience I would say that they are generally equal in areas of functionality. Each manufacturer would of course like you to believe that their features are the best and most sought after but by and large one GPSr isn't that much different than another as far as basic function is concerned.

 

Are they more brittle, do they have inferior processors and chipsets?

I would tend to rank the Garmins as being a better physical design but not by much. I don't think anyone knows exactly what processors the various models use. Both Lowrance and Garmin use the SiRF chipsets so they are equal in that respect.

[+hogrod]

The garmin unit, on the other hand, will tell you its estimated accuracy, which the sporttrak does not. It seems a little more accurate, when it does finally lock on and not lose satellites.

 

Magellan includes all the street-level maps and topography info on one CD. Garmin charges for different things for different reasons. Topographic, city streets, etc. And you could wind up spending a lot on supplemental maps. Garmin's base map was a LOT more detailed than the SportTrak, ut it was also newer.

 

Given the choice, my next GPS will most likely be a magellan. I'm just used to their interface. Working a garmin, with its joystick and drop downs, is a lot like working a tiny PC. Very tough on the thumbs, but the Garmin is more pocket-sized, if thats what you are after.

 

All this info you posted is a bit dated, so it nolonger holds true.

 

1. your sporttrak does have an estimated accuracy reading, it's been awhile since I've used a magellan so I can't remember which screen that is shown on.

 

2. Magellan & garmin both sell topo and street map DVD's. Garmins old topo maps(verison 3.02) none of the streets were named, so magellans topo maps were a bit better. garmins new topo 2008 shows all street names on the topo mapset so the topo maps are pretty much the same. street maps are MUCH better on the garmin last time I checked & they get updated more frequently.

 

3. only the etrex series garmins use the click stick, the 60/76 series both use the same rocker/enter button as magellans older units. The interface on garmins handhelds has changed a bit since the old grey scale etrex models, they no longer have those tiny drop down menus.

[ravenaussie]

This has been some great information and i really apreciate it. I think i have formulated a plan of attack to purchase a unit and now i'm not so scared to pull the trigger thinking one is inferior to the other. Choice is good.

I will say this though, that going through ebay gives you an idea of what is definitely popular out there...the Garmins by far are sold close to market value...very little dealing goes on their when you compare to the webstores out there. Not talking msrp, very few places sell for that.

 

Jhwk:

Since you already have a tom tom, maybe someone will come along who can help you cache with that until you decide.

 

I have thought about this but i'm pretty sure if i droped the TT it would do it no good...so i'm looking for the ruggedness of the handheld for this new hobby. I'm really looking forward to taking my little girl with me on this 'mini' adventure. I remember when we took her camping and we went on a small hike around one of the trails...she was so excited, it will alway's stay with me. So when i stumbled upon geocaching and even the other games...it just seemed like a great idea and a good excuse to go out...

[cleo43]

I would invest in a Lengend HCx or a Vista HCx, but not more than that, to protect my investment in the long run.

If you are a tinkerer, and frequent world traveller - Garmin & TomTom together can help covering more maps than any sources out there. Also there are more freebies written for them.

If you want just geocaching, then invest in a cheapest that has a high sensitivity chip (Garmin H-Etrex, Triton - cannot remember the model right off the bat, but you search easily for it here).

[+Jim och Tora]

I use a Garmin 60CSx för the hunts... have loaded in the caches, topo maps, and planed route from the program Garmin mapsource. Can navigate with the topo maps to within 20 meters of the spot, then switch over to the compass needle to locate dead center. My gps usually takes me to within 6 meters of the cache.

 

I use GPSonar on a smartphone for cache info, but have just purchased a new phone with windows mobil 6 and GPSonar does not show the hints on it! Not sure how I will proceed... right now I am using the old phone.

 

Sure wish Garmin would include a program like GPSonar in their operating system, afterall they have so many other programs available for fishing and skydiving! Seems like it wouldn't be a big deal to sell an add-on program.