Need Recommendations on GPS Units for Students

[histphd]

Greetings,

 

I am a professor at a small college in South Mississippi.

 

I need recommendations on what type/model GPS to purchase for student use.

 

I need the least expensive that we can get by with and still be useful in the field.

 

I want to purchase 20-30 of these units, so I need to know where to buy them as well.

 

Any assistance is greatly appreciated in this matter and I thank you in advance.

 

histphd

Edited February 19, 2008 by histphd

[+benjamin921]

If you need that many, I would suggest calling the major players.

 

DeLorme - 1.800.561.5105

Garmin - usually have to go with one of their dealers (unable to find a Sales #)

[cowboyshootist]

If you just want to teach navigation then a base model Etrex should fill the bill. You might try Costco or one of the other warehouse companies and see if they can cut you an educational discount. I think the basic Etrex goes for under $100 retail.

 

If you need mapping capabilities then you'll want something more than a basic model. My suggestion would be to get mostly the base units with perhaps 5 or 10 advanced models that students could "share" to learn how to use the other features of a GPS.

[+Miragee]

If you need the GPS units to connect to a computer, you need to decide whether the ones with the Serial connection will work, or if you need to get GPS units that connect with USB. The new Garmin 'H' units are very good and they range in price from under $100 to a bit over $220.00.

 

 

Edit for typo . . .

Edited February 19, 2008 by Miragee

[groth]

Greetings,

 

I am a professor at a small college in South Mississippi.

 

I need recommendations on what type/model GPS to purchase for student use.

 

I need the least expensive that we can get by with and still be useful in the field.

 

I want to purchase 20-30 of these units, so I need to know where to buy them as well.

 

Any assistance is greatly appreciated in this matter and I thank you in advance.

 

histphd

 

I taught a freshman seminar: "Where's Waldo: the Science and Application of GPS" in the spring semesters of 2004, 2006, and 2007. The course web page for the latest is here:

 

FRS142

 

Since this course fulfilled a lab requirement, we collected data with the GPS units and analyzed it with excel.

 

Each student was required to have a GPS receiver and a way to read it into their laptop. Freshman physics textbooks are getting to be well over $100 with limited resale value as the textbook publishers bring out new editions as fast as they can to kill the used book market. This course did not have a textbook; students found readings on the web and I lectured occasionally. Since they didn't have to buy a textbook, I figured it was not unreasonable to have them buy a GPS receiver. I steered them to the Garmin eTrex line and told them that the basic receiver would be fine (and they would need a cable to connect to their laptop). It was up to the individual student if he or she wanted a fancier model as long as it was in the eTrex line.

 

Turns out the students weren't put off by this requirement at all. Some bought Vistas, some found the basic eTrex on ebay, etc. They searched the web for the best prices. Some sold theirs when the course was over.

 

In 2004, all the students had windows laptops with serial ports. All the eTrex's had serial outputs. There was free software to do all the uploading and downloading. I had a Mac, but I had purchased a serial to USB adapter and MacGPSPro software, so I was good to go.

 

By 2007, many of the eTrex models had only USB ports and some windows machines were losing their serial ports in favor of USB ports. Also many students had Macs. Since students were getting new receivers with USB ports as well as used receivers with serial ports, this made a lot of combinations to get working. I think in the end there were one or two that couldn't get their receivers to talk to their computers. So I eventually just had them share computers and help each other out.

 

One thing I miss about the USB receivers is the lack of NMEA output. This provided a lot of data and the data stream looks very similar to satellite telemetry in the way the data are commutated.

 

I don't know if having the students buy the GPS units is applicable to your situation; if so, it might be an easy way to solve the problem!

 

- Ed

[Parsa]

 

One thing I miss about the USB receivers is the lack of NMEA output. This provided a lot of data and the data stream looks very similar to satellite telemetry in the way the data are commutated.

 

- Ed

 

Actually, USB is serial, and I have received NMEA signals on my Macintosh from a Magellan eXplorist via the USB port. You can view the NMEA signals streaming in using Terminal. This fact let me contact software makers like GPSy to let them know their software could be modified to work with Magellan USB receivers for live tracking. No driver was needed.

 

Parsa

[histphd]

Hello to all and thank you for the responses.

 

A little clarification as some of you have asked questions that may help you to help me with my quest.

 

First, the students will not be purchasing these units themselves. We are a small college and most of the students just do not have the money. Our school actually rents textbooks to the students so they will not be hit with the high cost.

 

Second, these GPS units must have the capability for the student to find specific sites, such as a cache, but more likely locations of historical signficance.

 

Third, I am hoping to find units that the college would purchase and (30) that students could check-out for a week or two to complete the work, then return them. The units would be used each semester by a new group of students.

 

Fourth, ease of use and durability are a must.

 

Fifth, connecting to computers is less important if all of the other criteria are met.

 

Thanks again for all your responses.

 

histphd

[histphd]

Bump

[zulutime]

You might consider the Garmin Etrex H. Make sure of the "H".

 

The user's manual is available in pdf form on Garmin's website.

Edited February 20, 2008 by zulutime

[+briansnat]

You might consider the Garmin Etrex H. Make sure of the "H".

 

The user's manual is available in pdf form on Garmin's website.

 

I agree. Go with the eTrex H. Inexpensive and great reception. Basic unit that will get the job done.

[Source_GPS]

I took notice that this is for education. I am an authorized GPS dealer (I sell on the side as a hobby which allows me to offer units to fellow GPS's users at a lower cost because I don't care about making much money off of it ). Since this is for education, I am willing to sell these at cost to you. Just let me know which ones you're interested in.

 

Steve

[Source_GPS]

Greetings,

 

I am a professor at a small college in South Mississippi.

 

I need recommendations on what type/model GPS to purchase for student use.

 

I need the least expensive that we can get by with and still be useful in the field.

 

I want to purchase 20-30 of these units, so I need to know where to buy them as well.

 

Any assistance is greatly appreciated in this matter and I thank you in advance.

 

histphd

 

I taught a freshman seminar: "Where's Waldo: the Science and Application of GPS" in the spring semesters of 2004, 2006, and 2007. The course web page for the latest is here:

 

FRS142

 

Since this course fulfilled a lab requirement, we collected data with the GPS units and analyzed it with excel.

 

Each student was required to have a GPS receiver and a way to read it into their laptop. Freshman physics textbooks are getting to be well over $100 with limited resale value as the textbook publishers bring out new editions as fast as they can to kill the used book market. This course did not have a textbook; students found readings on the web and I lectured occasionally. Since they didn't have to buy a textbook, I figured it was not unreasonable to have them buy a GPS receiver. I steered them to the Garmin eTrex line and told them that the basic receiver would be fine (and they would need a cable to connect to their laptop). It was up to the individual student if he or she wanted a fancier model as long as it was in the eTrex line.

 

Turns out the students weren't put off by this requirement at all. Some bought Vistas, some found the basic eTrex on ebay, etc. They searched the web for the best prices. Some sold theirs when the course was over.

 

In 2004, all the students had windows laptops with serial ports. All the eTrex's had serial outputs. There was free software to do all the uploading and downloading. I had a Mac, but I had purchased a serial to USB adapter and MacGPSPro software, so I was good to go.

 

By 2007, many of the eTrex models had only USB ports and some windows machines were losing their serial ports in favor of USB ports. Also many students had Macs. Since students were getting new receivers with USB ports as well as used receivers with serial ports, this made a lot of combinations to get working. I think in the end there were one or two that couldn't get their receivers to talk to their computers. So I eventually just had them share computers and help each other out.

 

One thing I miss about the USB receivers is the lack of NMEA output. This provided a lot of data and the data stream looks very similar to satellite telemetry in the way the data are commutated.

 

I don't know if having the students buy the GPS units is applicable to your situation; if so, it might be an easy way to solve the problem!

 

- Ed

 

Ed,

 

This is pretty interesting course you set up. I could value your input for the education section of a non-profit organization I am building focused on gobal positioning technology education, industrial application and lobbying for manufacturers on consumer's behalf for industry standards.

 

Steve

Edited February 20, 2008 by Source_GPS

[histphd]

I took notice that this is for education. I am an authorized GPS dealer (I sell on the side as a hobby which allows me to offer units to fellow GPS's users at a lower cost because I don't care about making much money off of it ). Since this is for education, I am willing to sell these at cost to you. Just let me know which ones you're interested in.

 

Steve

 

That would be great! I guess I need a quote on the Etrex H since that seems to be inexpensive and works well.

 

Do you accept POs? Since it is educational, the state has us send POs.

 

histphd at hotmail.com is my email address.

 

Thanks everyone!

 

histphd

[Source_GPS]

I took notice that this is for education. I am an authorized GPS dealer (I sell on the side as a hobby which allows me to offer units to fellow GPS's users at a lower cost because I don't care about making much money off of it ). Since this is for education, I am willing to sell these at cost to you. Just let me know which ones you're interested in.

 

Steve

 

That would be great! I guess I need a quote on the Etrex H since that seems to be inexpensive and works well.

 

Do you accept POs? Since it is educational, the state has us send POs.

 

histphd at hotmail.com is my email address.

 

Thanks everyone!

 

histphd

 

I do for this type of purchase. Let's take this offline. I will send you an e-mail shortly.