Help! never owned a gps

[justjezzy]

I have never owned a GPS and need to buy one. I am going to Cameroon, Africa in the middle of January and really don't want to get lost. I don't know what I do and do not really need in a GPS. I am also on a budget but will spend the money if I have to. Please let me know your suggestions on what to buy.

 

thanks,

adam

[+webscouter.]

If you don't need road maps (ie aren't driving) any good handheld will work for you. Personally I think one of the Garmin E-Trex will be perfect. The Legend H is a good choice.

 

If you want maps you will need something a little better. A Garmin 60Cx will be a great investment and you will be able to resell it for a good price if you decide you don't want it when you get back. You will need some maps for it. The map you would need is MapSource® WorldMap. It only has major roads on it but it would get you around.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

I have never owned a GPS and need to buy one. I am going to Cameroon, Africa in the middle of January and really don't want to get lost. I don't know what I do and do not really need in a GPS. I am also on a budget but will spend the money if I have to. Please let me know your suggestions on what to buy.

 

thanks,

adam

 

As the previous responder noted you probably want a GPS receiver that has decent maps available for it. The Garmin 60 CSX or 60CX would be a good option but an Garmin HCx would cost a little less and use the same maps. Keep in mind, that except for top-of-the-line GPS units, the maps that come with it are very basic and if you want something better it's going to cost extra. The Garmin MapSource World Maps cover Africa but the level of detail in Cameroon is probably not going to be much better than the basemap that comes with the garmin mapping gps receivers. I was in Zambia about a year ago and considered the Worldmap but when I compared the maps to the standard basemap it wasn't worth the $120.

 

So basically, I wouldn't rely on available maps that can be used as basemaps on a GPS to avoid getting lost. What you really need are lots of waypoints (geographic coordinates expressed in longitude/latitude) at identifyable locations. For that you can use Google Earth to create placemarks, then export all of your placemarks to KML format, then convert them to GPX format so that they can be loaded into a GPS. For that you're going to need a tool like GPX babel (it's free) and you'll want a tool to collect them (EasyGPS would work fine for this). If you do a google search on "Cameroon waypoints" there are several sites which have a compilation of waypoints that you could enter into a GPS. It's worth noting that waypoints can be expressed in several different formats. You'll want to convert any waypoints that you find to a common format. The format commonly used for geocaching is Degrees and Minutes (i.e N 04° 02.905 E 009° 41.506) using WGS84 Datum.

 

If you do get a GPS, I'd get it well in advance of your trip so that you have plenty of time to practice entering and downloading waypoints to it and navigating to them.

 

As an aside there are only two Geocaches in the entire country of Camaroon.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

Garmin GPSmap 60CSx.

 

Rugged, waterproof, easy on batteries, fast and accurate.

 

No idea what maps of that area are available, but as far as a GPS the 60CSx is a great machine, the best of the 7 GPSr I have owned and better than anything else I have used.

 

I do not like the new Garmins, the Colorado etc. and the new Magellan Triton 2000 is serious junk, avoid them.

[justjezzy]

how about a Garmin 60 cs? I found one on Craigslist.

[Keystone]

I am moving this thread from the Geocaching Topics forum to the GPS and Technology forum.

[+joranda]

I'd go for the 60CSX. You can't go wrong there.

[+webscouter.]

how about a Garmin 60 cs? I found one on Craigslist.

That is a fine GPS.

 

It doesn't have the new high sensitivity receiver and has some other limitations but I used on for many years and really enjoyed it. My wife still uses it daily.

[+GerIRL]

Firstly, I would commend NYPaddleCacher for the tremendous post above - I even learned a lot from it.

 

I would go for the 60CSx over the 60CS. I used a 60CS for 3 years and really liked it, but it would lose satellite lock under dense foliage. In the year I've been using my 60CSx, I have never once lost a good satellite fix. Also, when you return to the US, the 60CSx can utilize the NT series of Garmin maps, and supports a microSD card. It costs just under $300, but is well worth it. You will not be disappointed.

 

Enjoy Cameroon.

[+GerIRL]

Additionally, no matter which GPsr you buy, make sure to get a screen protector from ZAGG.com. $12 incl postage, but will protect your display from being damaged by keys etc for ever.

[+coggins]

I have never owned a GPS and need to buy one. I am going to Cameroon, Africa in the middle of January and really don't want to get lost. I don't know what I do and do not really need in a GPS. I am also on a budget but will spend the money if I have to. Please let me know your suggestions on what to buy.

 

thanks,

adam

I would give these maps a look: LINK

[justjezzy]

Firstly, I would commend NYPaddleCacher for the tremendous post above - I even learned a lot from it.

 

I would go for the 60CSx over the 60CS. I used a 60CS for 3 years and really liked it, but it would lose satellite lock under dense foliage. In the year I've been using my 60CSx, I have never once lost a good satellite fix. Also, when you return to the US, the 60CSx can utilize the NT series of Garmin maps, and supports a microSD card. It costs just under $300, but is well worth it. You will not be disappointed.

 

Enjoy Cameroon.

 

It seems I should spend the few extra bucks and get the 60 CSX instead of a lesser model. Will it give me a dvd or something that I can learn from? Remember I have never done this before.

 

thanks,

adam

[yougogirl64]

The unit comes with an owners manual and a quick start guide, but not a "how to" video. Bennett does offer a training video for that model.

[+GerIRL]

Firstly, I would commend NYPaddleCacher for the tremendous post above - I even learned a lot from it.

 

I would go for the 60CSx over the 60CS. I used a 60CS for 3 years and really liked it, but it would lose satellite lock under dense foliage. In the year I've been using my 60CSx, I have never once lost a good satellite fix. Also, when you return to the US, the 60CSx can utilize the NT series of Garmin maps, and supports a microSD card. It costs just under $300, but is well worth it. You will not be disappointed.

 

Enjoy Cameroon.

 

It seems I should spend the few extra bucks and get the 60 CSX instead of a lesser model. Will it give me a dvd or something that I can learn from? Remember I have never done this before.

 

thanks,

adam

Also - if you're ever stuck, just post another question on these forums, and everybody will be happy to offer advice. Buy it, play with it and see how you make out.

[+Team CowboyPapa]

Additionally, no matter which GPsr you buy, make sure to get a screen protector from ZAGG.com. $12 incl postage, but will protect your display from being damaged by keys etc for ever.

Ok, when this was posted, I would have agreed 100% and I have them on my GPSrs. Then I opened a package of two for some other products and they are not right. I'm going to email them right now for a refund and depending on what they respond, I'll post back accordingly.