GPS for Hunting

[CarphuntinGod]

I've been lurking here, and am ready to try and nail down some information so I can buy a new gps for hunting. Hopefully, I'm putting request for advice in the right forum.

 

I have an old eTrex Venture that has never really suited me for use while hunting. I basically use it now as a speedometer/odometer in my vehicles. I've messed with it a bit...but it's just not an intuitive device for me (probably due to my lack of playing). Lately have tried to load maps and stuff to it...but it seems to have squat for memory (it has to be at least 3 years or more old).

 

I will use my GPS for hunting and some driving (and finally possibly while fishing). Most concerned with accuracy in the woods while hunting. I want the best accuracy I can get in heavy forest (either with the leaves up or or down).

 

I've read sites on making my own gps unit maps, and I want to be able to load custom maps (that I can mark with property lines / landmark information). I want to be able to unload and rework custom maps For example, load a map with overall property information, but then walk the paths on the property to capture actual paths to add to the map. Once in, I'd want to put back into computer to tweak the base map stuff.

 

I want to be able to zoom in and out so I can see my position in comparison to different landmarks, etc at different scales.

 

Think I require it to be color so I can easily discern land/property features from track/path/route information.

 

Driving....don't know if handhelds can do on the fly turn by turn directions, or if I have to preprogram routes. Would prefer it to do the work.

 

Must operate on AA batteries, or have an aa battery replacment pack. If they have display sleep modes that save batteries (not just backlighting...I mean the whole display), that would be a plus

 

Must be waterproof, or resistant. Should be fairly robust for beating around in the woods. Must operate in temps down to -30 F.

 

Not sure an electronic compass is required (I carry multiple compasses in my hunting stuff). If it at all interferes with gps...I'd skip it.

 

Big display is a plus (wth they don't make a 4"x4" handheld, I don't know.)

 

Understand I'll have to buy some maps.

 

Could have built in FRS radio....that would mean I don't have to carry two devices in the woods. But...if radio models aren't the most accurate devices, or have the best "woods" chipset, or have any other features that interfere with operation of gps, I don't need it to be one device.

 

So....I'm not trying to pick a winner. I'm unfamiliar with brands other than Garmin (probably because the sites I've been reading for information seem pretty Garmin-centric).

 

I've been eyeballing the Rino 530hcx, the 60csx, and the Colorado 400. Is the Rino a 60 plus radio? I've seen two different statements on whether or not they use an identical chipset.

 

Seems currently people believe the 400 is "teething," and I'm not sure I want to jump in at that price point if it's not massively demonstrably "better" than the rest of the pack.

Edited May 1, 2008 by CarphuntinGod

[+embra]

For the things you want to do with the maps, you should look at Delorme's PN-20/Topo7 package. Topo7 would let you do most all the map editing things you want, and let you send the edited maps to the PN-20. You can also bring in to the PN-20 the USGS Topoquads for unsurpassed detail that Delorme sells on a state-by-state basis for half price to PN-20 owners.

 

The one thing I'm a little unsure of is bringing in the property lines on a map--it would depend on how you want to do it. You can draw lines freehand on the T7 maps. You can certainly record a track that is transferred as a line to a T7 map (and colored as a polygon if so desired). If you have pre-existing plots that you can scan, those can be imported via the XMap program that Delorme also markets.

 

Garmin also has map editing possibilities, but I am not familiar with them. Others here are, and I'm sure they'll describe them.

 

The Garmin handhelds are going to be better for autorouting, although the PN-20 is capable of doing them, too. But Garmin will do it faster.

 

The PN-20 is comparable IMO to the high-sensitivity Garmin handhelds in holding lock in the woods. The display on the PN-20 is smallish...about the size of the eTrex line. Waterproof/resistant, check. AA batteries, check (the PN-20 can also take a rechargeable Li-Ion).

 

No radio, no electronic compass. But if map editing is a high priority, you should give Delorme consideration.

[mikey_b]

I personally would stay away from the Garmin Colorado and Magellan Triton models, they are in my opinion "works in progress". Very impressive units to say the least, but not totally stable, and have some other quirky behaviour that needs to be addressed.

 

That being said, the other choices you mentioned are great. The 60CSx and 530HCx are both based on the SiRFstar-III chipset/receiver and are excellent for hunting in thick brush. I can't say for certain that the 530 is the 60 with a radio, but they do seem to be identical otherwise. The 60CSx is considered to be one of the premier models on the market.

 

The only thing I can think of with respect to a larger screen would be a Magellan eXplorist XL, but the eXplorist series has been discontinued and there are some issues with respect to customer service on the part of Magellan.

 

I don't think you can go wrong with the 60CSx personally. If you get value out of the 2-way radio in the Rhino, then that would likewise be a good choice (especially for deep wilderness hunting/backpacking, the NOAA weather broadcasts could save your life!).

[yogazoo]

60CSX!

 

I had one, sold it to fund the purchase for the Colorado. Now I regret it. The bugs were worked out of the 60CSX. The 60CSX is also easier to use. This is my opinion, take it for what its worth.

[+RonFisk]

60CSX!

 

I had one, sold it to fund the purchase for the Colorado. Now I regret it. The bugs were worked out of the 60CSX. The 60CSX is also easier to use. This is my opinion, take it for what its worth.

Another vote for the GPSMAP 60CSx. It's hard to beat for your needs...

[+Jeff in Pa]

Tommorrow I will get my two Rino's, I hope they are what everyone says, maybe that is the unit you are looking for?

BTW,

Your name.. I too have killed my share of carp, and yours, and his, and hers..... you get my drift? I hunt at nite on a boat, just a real fun thing to do.

 

Jeff

[CarphuntinGod]

It's a toss up. I'm kinda playing with my old Venture right now... but I really can't see anyway to get enough map detail into it (I also know it blows in the woods).

 

I want to go check out some of the current products because one thing I see on the 60's and Rinos that bothers me are the buttons at the bottom of the unit. Big hands, it's tough to one-handed operate stuff like that. Bottom of device is a tough place to use your thumbs.

[+DonB]

Check out the Lowrance iFinder Hunt, it has a hunting mode

[+Klemmer]

Embra beat me to it! I've hunted Deer & Bear in NY & PA, and Havalina (pigs) in Arizona. None recently. I ALWAYS had the USGS Topo maps with me. Can't be equaled (not even close) for off-road use. THAT is current information. Sure wish they had something like the PN-20 when I was hunting (or any GPS!). Would have saved me some.... ummm... extra walking (!?). The only practical (proven, working) methods of putting USGS 7.5 minute Quads on a handheld GPS is the Delorme PN-20. Maggy & Garmin might get there, but not yet. [Not that I would buy anything from Magellan anymore].

 

If USGS Topos are important to you, as a hunter, get the PN-20. No comparison.

 

BTW: When you buy the PN-20, you get their own Topos for the whole US, included (Topo USA ver 7). Ask about getting your state's 3D TopoQuads (USGS Topos). Last I heard, they were half price for PN-20 owners (which would mean about $50 per state).

[+benjamin921]

Another vote for the DeLorme PN-20. Hands down the best mapping around. The screen size might be a bit smaller than what you would expect but because of the clarity of it and the maps being so good, it acts almost like your "4x4 screen

[CarphuntinGod]

How do the DeLorme's compare to the garmin for accuracy in heavy cover?

[CarphuntinGod]

btw...borrowed a garmin gpsmap 76s just to play with. Seems to be about the same vintage as my Venture... just a larger device. Fits my hand pretty well.... Is a current 76C (s)x the same antenna and chip as a 60C(s)x? Wondering if where the 60 has the obvious antenna, the 76 just houses it within the main body of the case.

 

NM found answer. Identical antennas. just one's inside the case, while the other's exposed (yet still encased).

 

Hope to hit gander mt. tonight to see how the 60's buttons feel in hand (the 76 fits my mitts pretty well)

Edited May 2, 2008 by CarphuntinGod

[vaq45]

I own land and deer hunt-i have marked my boundries and put the tracks on my home computer--i bought a vista HCX with topo 2008 on it and have never lost signals in the heaviest cover--you might consider one of these units

[CarphuntinGod]

will do

[+GeoFevre]

How do the DeLorme's compare to the garmin for accuracy in heavy cover?

 

No comparison, that is the main reason I got rid of my DeLorme. Kept losing signal under tree cover without leaves. Maps were awesome, but reception not reliable enough for me.

[+GeoFevre]

How do the DeLorme's compare to the garmin for accuracy in heavy cover?

 

Sorry, double post.

Edited May 2, 2008 by GeoFevre

[+Klemmer]

I've gone 'head-to-head' with my PN-20 against a friends 60CSx under tress of several varieties. No appreciable difference. Delorme has gone thru several firmware updates, at least one of which helped reception. Maybe you did this a while ago.

 

P.S. I don't work for Delorme.

[CarphuntinGod]

Got a chance to handle some of the contenders this evening. Quick impressions.... 60 cx/csx... buttons near bottom were not super comfortable for me. 76csx...felt like the 76s i've been playing with and works ok. 530 Rino... fit my hand pretty darn good. Reason being, the battery actually makes it easier to grip than a 60 cx.

 

Didn't have a Delorme to look at, but I did look at the vista/legend hcx and a couple of lowrance models. Didn't really like the feel of the lowrance... sales guy liiked his, but warned they eat batteries faster than garmins. vista legend...didn't like the button layouts as much as the others.

 

also handled a CO 400... people are right...needs more backlight. otherwise if they got all their bugs worked out and waterproofed it, etc... it would be pretty darn slick.

 

So, aside from finding a delorme to look at, I'm going to now start looking for people with rinos to see what kind of battery performance they're getting with gps off/radio on, and vice versa. 60, 76 and Rino are all still strong contenders...guess I'm watching for the deciding factor.

[+Klemmer]

Maps?

[CarphuntinGod]

not sure what you mean by "maps."

 

I intend to use this hunting on known properties...and for those, I'm playing with making maps with some of the utilities I've found online.

 

I've also talked to a friend who I work with at a university about using the esri/gis software to output maps directly from materials they have (which from what I can tell are more up to date than what I see on google/yahoo maps. He says they have a utility for making maps from ortho and transferring them to the garmins

 

I may look for any kind of demo of the Delorme utilities to see what sort of manipulation of their maps, etc., they allow for loading to the pn-20

 

Hunting or wandering anywhere eles, I'll have to rely on something like the topo maps garmin or delorme sell for their units If I haven't planned a head and created anything.

[+Team CowboyPapa]

Looks to me like you are juggling enough info now without factoring in battery comparisons based on hearsay. I would decide based on the other characteristics and let the battery consumption fall where it may.

[Mickermic]

I contacted Garmin about their topo maps asked when they would have a 1:24,000 map out.

 

This was the reply:

 

Thank you for contacting Garmin.

 

 

I don’t have any firm info or inkling on it at this point.

 

 

We do not have nationwide 24K Coverage. That is true. MapSource US TOPO 2008 is based on USGS 1:100K data, but with that said it is a hybrid product and is not just like that 100K scale data. But it does have roots in it. If you have not you might use the Map Viewer on the page about it to see the basic detail in the maps…zoom tightly & click “more detail.”

 

http://www8.garmin.com/cartography/mapSource/topous.jsp

 

 

The USGS does have Digital Raster Graphics over most of the States in 24K detail, which are in big part what PC based products commercial products out there have. That's the rub. They are LARGELY raster based. We really need digital, vector detail throughout for product. And the USGS does not have that all over the US, unfortunately. That’s the rub on the scale.

 

 

The USGS does have some 24K digital, vector detail...but not all the US in such for that scale. We put the 24K National Parks West, 24K National Parks Central and 24K National Parks East products together using some of the digital, vector detail they had. But there are many holes in this vector detail they offer...you might have a transportation layer for a quad but not a hypsography layer, for instance, in the vector detail. We ran into this a lot just with putting the National Parks products together. To fill such holes, we put quite a few resources into it. But these parks products just cover the specific areas noted/listed on the coverage maps with them.

 

 

If and when these are updated/republished down the way, etc. I assume new coverages will be added. But it could be a pecking order on that.

 

 

And the engineers may take some novel approach before it is over, too. Frankly I do not know just what the future may hold in all this right now. This gets requested a lot, though, and we do listen to the market and our customers about what they want. Add to that Magellan has announced something with NG TOPO! I think it is just raster images with a vector layer or two, but it is something. Garmin has never been one to sit back and let a competitor take a run on them.

 

 

So stay in touch and check with us periodically.

[CarphuntinGod]

Vista is kinda sneaking into the running... saw this note on Amazon... is this true? Are there some maps I can't just load from computer to memory and that I have to buy on a chip? Is this true of any other units?

 

I bought Gamin's recommended accessory National Parks Map East on CD to go hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains. When I tried to transfer a map to the unit from my PC, I found that it cannot be done for this model. But it's a recommended $100 dollar accessory for this product!

 

Apparently, you can only download waypoints and trails from the CD but not the map. If you want to upgrade the map you have to buy a preloaded microSD card, except that at the time of writing the map I want is not on SD yet.

 

I've returned the eTrex Vista and ordered Garmin's GPSMap 60Csx.

[+coggins]

Vista is kinda sneaking into the running... saw this note on Amazon... is this true? Are there some maps I can't just load from computer to memory and that I have to buy on a chip? Is this true of any other units?

 

I bought Gamin's recommended accessory National Parks Map East on CD to go hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains. When I tried to transfer a map to the unit from my PC, I found that it cannot be done for this model. But it's a recommended $100 dollar accessory for this product!

 

Apparently, you can only download waypoints and trails from the CD but not the map. If you want to upgrade the map you have to buy a preloaded microSD card, except that at the time of writing the map I want is not on SD yet.

 

I've returned the eTrex Vista and ordered Garmin's GPSMap 60Csx.

National Parks East maps can be loaded into the Vista. You first have to select the map tiles in MapSource.

[+Klemmer]

Comparisons of topographic maps on various GPS receivers:

Here

 

Not all maps and not all GPS units are created equal. Take your pick based on your needs.

 

Garmin Colorado and Magellan Triton should eventually compare favorably with the Delorme PN-20, when they get their bugs worked out ( or "if" in the case of the Triton).

[CarphuntinGod]

I've checked with several sources, and garmin says the comment on amazon is wrong.

 

Anyway, I'm fairly certain I'm going with a Vista HCX. I'm reading the back and forth by people about the 60csx vs.... but can not find a definitive proof that one's antenna is better than the other.

 

I messed with my Venture this weekend and have a better feel for the button layout around the unit, and it's a comfortable setup for me... so i think the Vista should work the same way (or close enough for jazz).

 

I've handled a Delorme, and wasn't keen on the feel. On a whole, the few comments I can find about reception of the pn-20 vs a 60/vista is that the garmins do better in heavy woods.

 

I understand Delorme prepacks a lot of maps, ... but for my use, I have access to some good mapping tools (esri, gis, etc) and resources, and the local knowledge base is completely garmin... so it's tough to go the Delorme route.

[CarphuntinGod]

Ordered the REI Vista HCX bundle. too good a deal, and from everything I've read, should cut it for what I want.

[CarphuntinGod]

after a 15 minute assault on the vacuum pack, my new toy is in hand...

[jmundinger]

after a 15 minute assault on the vacuum pack, my new toy is in hand...

 

Enjoy! Now run webupdater