What GPS do you use?

[+Zac Young]

I have decided I would like to make a complied table or database full of information of GPS units that our Geocachers use. If you would like to participate in this, please fill out the following form briefly. I appreciate your input.

 

Name/Model of GPS:

Rating (1= 5= ):

 

Advantages:

Disadvantages:

 

Consumer Comments:

 

 

 

[+Team Chinook]

Colorado 400T - 5 smilies! Very automated uploads and downloads, very paperless, very slick. It is very new, still has a few warts, but for me works as an every day geocache tool. I love it! :-)

[+PeoriaBill]

Name/Model of GPS: Garmin 400t

Rating (1= 5= ): 1 star

 

Advantages: Small size, large screen, reasonably accurate

 

Disadvantages:Screen is hard to see in sunlight, dims w/ alkaline batteries when the batteries are half used, menus are not setup to flow without having to navigate back through the menus. TOPO map seems inaccurate, however, if you load a second newer map, then the TOPO seems to start tracking accurately, MicroSD clip is flimsy and falls off.

 

Consumer Comments: I could forgive all the other warts on this GPS if only I had a clear and bright display in sunlight.

Edited September 23, 2008 by Peoria Bill

[+FireDoug]

Garmin 60Csx 4 Stars!

 

Pro: Screen readability in direct sun, accuracy, recepition of birds is unequeled!, battery life, ease of use, turn by trun navi, works with GSAK and other 3rd party SW.

 

Cons: not paperless

 

Had a Maggie Triton 2000 that I returned 1 star

 

Pros: works with NG TOPO good accuracy, some barebones paperless features

 

Cons: Could not read in sun worth a darn, battery life a couple hours, compass did not work, even after a year frimware 1.39 was buggie

 

Before that First Garmin Legend 2

 

Pros: good for what it was when it was

 

Cons: don't buy one now... can't believe Garmin is still making it.... Outdated Technology

[-Oz-]

Name/Model of GPS: Garmin GPSMap 60csx

Rating (1= 5= ): 5

 

Advantages: Reliable, high sensitivity sirf III receiver, expandable memory, turn by turn navi

Disadvantages: not enough for paperless caching

 

Consumer Comments: Used for road navigation for years, now just for camping; works for skiing, hiking, camping, caching.

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Name/Model of GPS: Garmin Nuvi 250W

Rating (1= 5= ): 4

 

Advantages: Wide screen is amazing; price couldn't be beat (under $200)

Disadvantages: Doesn't speak the road names (doesn't really bother me though)

 

Consumer Comments: My wife has the 250; splurge for the widescreen the difference is amazing

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Name/Model of GPS: Garmin Rino 110

Rating (1= 5= ): 3.5

 

Advantages: Seeing the other radio location on screen is great

Disadvantages: Badly needs a high sensitivity receiver (and the new ones have them)

 

Consumer Comments: Works really well as long as you're in radio range. Would have gotten a 530hcx had it existed when I got my 60csx.

[+Night Stalker]

Name/Model of GPS: Garmin GPSMap 60CX

Rating (1= 5= ): 4

 

I thought I would save a couple of dollars and not get the electronic compass. I notice that it is not as stable at slow speeds as my older 60CS with the electronic compass.

 

Not worried about paperless because I have been using a Pocket PC for the last several years and it takes care of the paperless very well.

 

Excellent unit for Auto-Routing as well as geocaching. It has kept me from getting lost while traveling around the western United States extensively. (see my profile)

Edited September 23, 2008 by Night Stalker

[+scubahhh]

Name/Model of GPS: Delorme PN-20

Rating: 4 smiles

 

Advantaes: Nearly bulletproof; easy to read, even in bright light; intuitive controls; easily adjustable settings, even on the fly; comes bundled with excellent maps & software; maps and various images are layer-able; Paperless (though I use my PDA, or more often paper, because the screen's too small fo disaplay much text).

 

Disadvantages: slow to load maps (not an issue in the field, but not so great for driving); small screen; battery meter isn't always accurate.

 

Consumer comments: don't use the Delorme belt-clip pocket! Mine fell off my pack the other day and I lost my GPS... immediately ordered another (from Earthmate LLC on EBay @ $75 off Delorme's price), so I guess that means I like it!

[+twolpert]

Name/model of GPS: Garmin Colorado 400t

Rating: 4 smilies but rising

 

Advantages: Great paperless geocaching features. Good battery life, at least with NiMH rechargeables. Sturdy. Plays Wherigo if you're into that. Rock n Roller is moderately convenient for menu navigation and map zoom. High-sensitivity receiver maintains lock even in very challenging conditions. Includes barometer and electronic compass. Includes good topo and DEM data.

 

Disadvantages: Display can be hard to read in bright sunlight, requiring you to hold the unit just so. Rock n Roller sucks for text input. Lousy battery life with standard alkaline batteries. Questionable water resistance. Anemic piezo-electric squeaker is useless for warning tones. 2-axis electronic compass needs frequent calibration and requires holding the unit level. Lacks the ability to average position. Street information in the topo maps is inaccurate. Expensive.

 

Comments: Early firmware was plagued with problems, but has improved quite a lot. From my perspective, there is only one sizable issue left. However, that one (known in the forums as "drift") sometimes results in unacceptably large position errors (600 or 700 feet). Apparently only affects some units, and only in challenging reception conditions. I've never actually seen the problem myself, which is why it only cost the CO 400t one smiley in my rating.

[+Damin69]

Name/Model of GPS: Garmin GPSMap 60csx

Rating (1= 5= ): 5

 

Advantages: Reliable, high sensitivity sirf III receiver, expandable memory, Button Placment on front of unit.

Disadvantages: I dont have a second one for my Son.

 

Consumer Comments: Have only had this unit for a little over a week but so far it is great. Has been alot easyer to use than the Etrex Venture HC I had.

 

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Name/Model of GPS: Garmin Nuvi 255W

Rating (1= 5= ): 5

 

Advantages: Wide screen, Paperless Cach Information, Turn by Turn by roadname. Expandable with SD Cards. Can be used as a Picuture viewer and use GeoRef Images.

Disadvantages: Not Water Proof, Built in Battery, Replace able batteries would be nice but unit is ment to stay in car so cant ask to much.

 

Consumer Comments: Has been a great unit for car directions. I use to get me to parking places for caching then from there I use it only for the Paperless Cache features. Great for when you are at a cache in the middle of nowhere to get back to civilization.

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[+cuboodle]

I use a Garmin Oregon I have done a side by side comparison with an advanced military GPSr called a DAGR the Oregon was more accurate, easier to use and way lighter/smaller. I have been a garmin fan since they came on to the scene. I was a fan of Trimble Navigation until Garmin came to be. I have been in the Army for over 20 years and have seen more garmins in the field and on deployments then all others combined. No I dont work for garmin I am a school teacher. The advantages of the Oregon outweigh the dim screen people have been complaining about.

Edited September 23, 2008 by cuboodle

[+Hrethgir]

Garmin etrex Legend HCx = 3.5 (overall I like, but controls irritate me, and no paperless option)

 

DeLorme Earthmate PN-20 = 3.5 (does paperless and I like the control layout much better, but much slower than the garmin)

 

Here's the rest of the info I have on those two:

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=204371

 

Really looking forward to the DeLorme PN-40, sounds like it will be exactly what I want, all the pros of the two I already have, and many of the cons are supposed to be gone. So if the reviews live up to the hype, look for my PN-20 to show up in the classifieds! Gonna keep the Garmin for the motorcycle, probably, the Ram mount for the PN-20/PN-40 won't work with my handlebars like I want.

[+roadrage64]

Name/Model of GPS: GPSMap 60CSx

Rating (1= 5= ): 5+

 

Advantages: Stability, Durability, Tack driver accuracy, never lost a signal in 2.5 years of useage.

Disadvantages: A little slow at aquiring a signal first thing in the morning.

 

Consumer Comments: The first time I used this thing, I was totally shocked by the performance and accuracy. Today, 2.5 years later, I'm still impressed by it's performance. For me, it's definitely become the standard by which I judge all other GPSr's, and so far I've not yet seen one that comes close. For anyone out there that is considering one of these, buy it with confidence, you won't be dissapointed.

Edited September 23, 2008 by roadrage64

[Prospector_Pete]

Lorance Ifinder Pro 4 smilies

Pros- Easy to read in bright light, basic built in maps, good accuracy, good batterey life, cheap i got it for around $100 a few years ago on clearence at scheels

cons- no color screen, have to enter everything by hand (but I have gotten fast at it), tricky to try to get waypoints in by using memory card

[+johnling]

It's in my sig. A 5 PLUS. It is ALWAYS very accurate. (Knock On Wood)

[+LostSurvivor]

Name/Model of GPS: Garmin GPSMap 60csx

 

Pros: Good accuracy for GeoCaching. With MapSource CD (an additional purchase) it has great turn-by-turn street routing and road maps - I use it for work all the time! Easy to use. Great for tracking your hikes routes & distance. Easy to download cache info straight from GeoCaching.com to the GSP.

 

The batter life for us is about 20 hours, a little less than advertised, but not too bad. Uses a standard micro-USB plug for power in a car or connecting to a computer, so if you have a Razer phone you can use it's charger for the GPS in the car - it works great for me.

 

Cons: Like most GPS units, heavy tree cover will throw it off some. Sometimes just standing still under very heavy tree cover will show you moving around. Wish screen was a little bigger.

 

Conclusion: Overall I'll give it a 4 out of 5 stars... of couse I probably wouldn't give 5 stars to anything that didn't give me accuracy to within a couple feet - which I couldn't find from any consumer GPS when I bought this one. Great for off-road and on-road directions and geocaching!!

[+Branky]

Make/Model Garmin GPSMAP 60Cx

 

Rating -

 

User Comments

This is my 4th unit. Used with Topo Cananada, Metro Guide Canada, City Navigator NA 2008 and 2009 and a Micro SD card for map and Custom POI's. This has been a great unit. I use it for on road navigation with an external antenna and for geocaching. I also us it in conjuntion with my Polar HRM for tracking my exercise.

 

It has proven to be very reliable and accuate too. I like the external antenna and the serial and power connector. I built a power pack using and old flashlight and the round serial / power connector to allow for extended battery life on the weekend camping / caching weekends

[+Branky]

Make / Model - Garmin Oregon 300

Rating - Unrated

 

User comments

I have only had the oregon for 2 weeks and am still forming my opinion.

 

I bought the Oregon because of the touch screen. I luv cool toys!. I went for the 300 because I live in Canada and the topo maps and charts don't do me any good.

 

So far, these are my Pro / Con list;

 

PRO's

PROFILES. Nice to be able to customize. MEMORY ON BOARD. I have loaded maps for my area and still have room for caches. No extra memory required! HEART RATE MONITOR.Might be able to do away with Polar. TOCH SCREEN. So far, easy to use with or with out gloves.

 

CON's

NO EXTENAL ANTENNA. I wanted that. NO EXTERNAL POWER. Cant use my flashlight power supply. At walking speeds, it shows stopped while I am still moving. Only for a second or two, but they add up. There is an apperent error when the Oregon converts the current track to .gpx for transfer I am investigating that.

 

Would I do buy it again? I think so. I like the Colorado 300 because of the external antenna, but the touch screen is way nice, and the Colorado drift issue worries me.

[+Wild Thing 73]

Garmin Map 60CSx....it does not get any better...tried true and very durable...I have dropped my 60CSx on rocks, in the water, and it still works even better.....It is very reliable....Happy trails

[+SwampYankee]

Garmin GPS60csx

 

PRO's Rock solid, Trouble free. I used it for geocaching, travel, quads travel, horse travel, works great in all kinds of cover. Good company do due business with it you need service also.

 

Cons, I wish the screen as as bright as my Garmin 60C but its still very usable.

 

It has all the bells and whistles I would ever need and then some. It it could make me 20 years younger that would make it perfect.

 

SwampYankee

[+smithdk]

I have decided I would like to make a complied table or database full of information of GPS units that our Geocachers use. If you would like to participate in this, please fill out the following form briefly. I appreciate your input.

 

Name/Model of GPS: Garmin Vista C

Rating (1= 5= ): 4

 

Advantages: Compact size, accurate, reliable and durable

Disadvantages: Limited memory size

 

Consumer Comments: This is my first and only GPSr. I have found almost 1,900 caches with it. It still works fine.

 

 

 

[ryguyMN]

Name/Model of GPS: Colorado 400t

Rating (1= 5= ): 4

 

Advantages: Pretty looking topo maps, ability to load maps on top of each other, paperless caching, accurate, does auto navigation when necessary, barometer trending for hunting and fishing, respectable battery life using NiMH rechargable batteries.

Disadvantages: Text entry is a b*tch, a little pricey.

 

Consumer Comments: Overall, I'm pleased with the Colorado. It does what it's expected to do. For me, a score of 5 is close to perfection, and there are some quirks like how text entry is handled and some other small bugs that need to be hammered out that keep it from achieving that score.

Edited September 28, 2008 by ryguyMN