Dakota 20

[+Shinook & White Juan]

I have been using my Dakota 20 for about 5 years and today the button and the inner button fell out. So I am looking for a new gps that has similar features but not expensive. Any suggestions. I do not want to buy used. Thanks in advance.

[alandb]

Probably the Garmin Oregon 600 or the Etrex Touch 35 would be a good replacement for a Dakota 20. You should be able to find one in the $250 range. They both have touch screen interface, electronic compass and altimeter like your Dakota 20.

[+Mineral2]

The udate to the Dakota 20 is the eTrex Touch 25. Though it seems that you can get an Oregon 600 for around the same price or less. That might be a better option.

[alandb]

Agreed, and I see you can pick up a Oregon 600 on Amazon for less than $200. If you are willing to go with a factory refurbished unit, I saw one from a different online vendor for $160. I have bought Garmin factory refurbs in the past and they have been like new with full factory warranty just like a new device.

Edited February 27, 2017 by alandb

[ohgood]

I have been using my Dakota 20 for about 5 years and today the button and the inner button fell out. So I am looking for a new gps that has similar features but not expensive. Any suggestions. I do not want to buy used. Thanks in advance.

 

nomu s10

it has larger display, bigger battery, bigger internal memory, more RAM, will hold more waypoints/tracks/routes, 5000mah replaceable battery, better use interface, more mapping options, more media import/export file types, and if you need to hammer in some nails, it's good for that too.

 

$130

 

and will probably outlive your affinity to drop test things

[+Shinook & White Juan]

Thanks for the help. Now I know were to start for a replacement..

[MtnHermit]

nomu s10

it has larger display, bigger battery, bigger internal memory, more RAM, will hold more waypoints/tracks/routes, 5000mah replaceable battery, better use interface, more mapping options, more media import/export file types, and if you need to hammer in some nails, it's good for that too.

 

$130

Will it read/display Garmin maps? If so I'd anti up $130 for a test drive.

 

Thanks

[+Viajero Perdido]

Will it read/display Garmin maps? If so I'd anti up $130 for a test drive.

That's an Android, so it'll depend on the app. Generally the answer is no*, but you'll have access to OpenStreetMap in its many flavors (of which the popular OpenCycleMap is one), online or fully offline, so you may not care about Garmin maps. OSM maps are generally free BTW. Check out Locus Map (Free or Pro), with the Geocaching4Locus and Map Tweak add-ons. The latter gives you a huuge selection of online maps, though personally I prefer to use it in offline mode, just like the way handheld GPS units work.

 

Here's a similarly rugged Blackview phone running Locus, in airplane mode with an offline OSM map shown; the map is free (donationware) from openandromaps. Add the BRouter app (bike router) and a sultry voice, and you can get turn-by-turn directions down the trail to your next cache.

 

(* Locus actually does have basic support for unlocked Garmin IMG maps, undocumented and unsupported. But with OSM available, I no longer care.)

 

PS, I watched that video. The Nomu doesn't seem to have enough heft to make a good hammer; the Blackview, well, it's a brick. When I drop it in my pants pocket, I find myself pulling the pants back up again.)

Edited March 1, 2017 by Viajero Perdido

[ohgood]

nomu s10

it has larger display, bigger battery, bigger internal memory, more RAM, will hold more waypoints/tracks/routes, 5000mah replaceable battery, better use interface, more mapping options, more media import/export file types, and if you need to hammer in some nails, it's good for that too.

 

$130

Will it read/display Garmin maps? If so I'd anti up $130 for a test drive.

 

Thanks

 

Garmin maps are not special, but yes you can display .IMG and .map files just fine.

 

it's better to use Open Street Maps since they are free , higher detail, and easily edited to reflect updated road systems.

 

locus has a built in map downloader and also has a HUGE list of online maps available to download.

[ohgood]

Will it read/display Garmin maps? If so I'd anti up $130 for a test drive.

That's an Android, so it'll depend on the app. Generally the answer is no*, but you'll have access to OpenStreetMap in its many flavors (of which the popular OpenCycleMap is one), online or fully offline, so you may not care about Garmin maps. OSM maps are generally free BTW. Check out Locus Map (Free or Pro), with the Geocaching4Locus and Map Tweak add-ons. The latter gives you a huuge selection of online maps, though personally I prefer to use it in offline mode, just like the way handheld GPS units work.

 

Here's a similarly rugged Blackview phone running Locus, in airplane mode with an offline OSM map shown; the map is free (donationware) from openandromaps. Add the BRouter app (bike router) and a sultry voice, and you can get turn-by-turn directions down the trail to your next cache.

 

(* Locus actually does have basic support for unlocked Garmin IMG maps, undocumented and unsupported. But with OSM, I no longer care.)

 

PS, I watched that video. The Nomu doesn't seem to have enough heft to make a good hammer; the Blackview, well, it's a brick. When I drop it in my pants pocket, I find myself pulling the pants back up again.)

 

lol I think you're right, it needs a iPhone or three taped to the back to give it more mass.

 

the BlackView is super strong, and reviewers are raving about it.

[+Viajero Perdido]

My phone is a better hammer than your phone.

 

One comment about buying these Chinese phones. Ordering anything from AliExpress these days seems to take forEVer to arrive here in Canada. From digging around on the web, I'd learned Customs in Vancouver is hopelessly backlogged because of safety; people are shipping that epidemic-drug from China, and it can be a hazard for the inspectors. One forum post mentioned a 40 day backlog (!!!), and that might explain why it took two and a half months for my Blackview to arrive. Supposedly all packages from Asia get thrown onto a huge pile to be dealt with ...whenever.

 

And I haven't been able to find the Blackview for sale anywhere at retail, or even from an online shop that doesn't ship from China, and that includes wandering the phone shops of Hong Kong (BV is a Hong Kong company), which I found surprisingly ironic. Got home from Hong Kong and had to order my Hong Kong phone via the internet, yep.

[ohgood]

My phone is a better hammer than your phone.

 

One comment about buying these Chinese phones. Ordering anything from AliExpress these days seems to take forEVer to arrive here in Canada. From digging around on the web, I'd learned Customs in Vancouver is hopelessly backlogged because of safety; people are shipping that epidemic-drug from China, and it can be a hazard for the inspectors. One forum post mentioned a 40 day backlog (!!!), and that might explain why it took two and a half months for my Blackview to arrive. Supposedly all packages from Asia get thrown onto a huge pile to be dealt with ...whenever.

 

And I haven't been able to find the Blackview for sale anywhere at retail, or even from an online shop that doesn't ship from China, and that includes wandering the phone shops of Hong Kong (BV is a Hong Kong company), which I found surprisingly ironic. Got home from Hong Kong and had to order my Hong Kong phone via the internet, yep.

 

yup, a friend had the same result here in the States. iirc it took a month or so to arrive, whereas i can order things from Oregon and have them on my doorstep in two days.

 

if the quality is anything like most of the mad produced electronics coming from China (everything is made there now) i could care less about a warrantee/guarantee, as they work just as well as the iPhone/Samsung units they normally clone.

 

and you're right, your phone is definitely better at hammering than mine is. :-)

[MtnHermit]

 

So clue me into where/what to buy. If it'll display .img files I'm game.

 

Do either of you know how to convert shapefies to Android format? I'm assuming I'd need a compiler, just don't know what or where.

 

Thanks

[+Viajero Perdido]

Do you already have an Android phone? Or can you borrow an old one with an expired plan? If so, you can experiment with apps before putting money down on modern hardware (optional, or just go caching with what you've got).

 

As mentioned, Locus Map has undocumented support for unlocked Garmin IMG files. I think Orux does too, but I don't know of any others. Note that Locus is also a caching app; Orux isn't.

 

Shapefiles?!? Darned if I know, but Locus GIS miiight be of interest; I think it's in perpetual beta with no real development that I can see, and I don't think that's a caching app either. But check the docs on Locus Map (not GIS); it supports a variety of map formats, and you can even overlay maps. Maybe you can put your shapefile data on top of a good OSM map. Lots of possibility.

 

What data do you have in shapefile format? What would you like to do with it?

Edited March 2, 2017 by Viajero Perdido

[+geodarts]

My phone is a better hammer than your phone.

 

 

If it came with a knife I would have a good survival tool. Since getting the BV6000 I upgraded the belt I use for hiking, which solved the problem of my pants dropping. I was impressed that it recently updated to Android 7, although I am not sure what advantages it offers. But now the BV7000 has been released, although for my purposes I like the specs for the 6000 better.

 

I recently started using Locus Pro for its offlinzer feature, it's maps are very nice, particularly with the contours and shading. Apart from that, I really like OSMAnd+ for mapping and it interfaces ncely with both Locus and GCDroid.

 

I tried an unlocked .img map using Locus - although it loaded, it was very hard to read with strange colors. It was an interesting experiment but I would not recommend it unless there are settings that could be adjusted. If that is a person's bottom line, your advice to try it before purchasing any more hardware is good.

 

 

There are a number of rugged/waterproof Chinese phones that seem interesting.

Edited March 2, 2017 by geodarts

[+kunarion]

One comment about buying these Chinese phones. Ordering anything from AliExpress these days seems to take forEVer to arrive here in Canada. From digging around on the web, I'd learned Customs in Vancouver is hopelessly backlogged because of safety; people are shipping that epidemic-drug from China, and it can be a hazard for the inspectors. One forum post mentioned a 40 day backlog (!!!), and that might explain why it took two and a half months for my Blackview to arrive.

My BV6000 arrived rather quickly (eBay, Hong Kong to Atlanta). It came brand new sealed in its box, unfortunately with two embedded viruses. What a disappointment! It never did "update", kept crashing during its automatic firmware update. I guess that should have been a hint. Then Apps started appearing, "installed" one or two every couple of days. If it had not done something so obviously wrong, I wouldn't have done the virus scan. I deleted the App called "Phone" with its virus (yeah, that App was probably an important one to have, oh well), but the other virus was in a non-deletable file. I tried a bunch of utilities and they failed, they can't fix it. I'd have to start over with clean firmware. Too bad it's not a real phone. I can't just go to the "Blackview" store in town and get it fixed. The firmware thing would be a huge pain to do.

 

I set it to Airplane mode, so data can't get sent or installed anymore. And transferring any files manually... probably not a good idea. I'm not even charging it at this time. No more of this kind of thing for me.

Edited March 2, 2017 by kunarion

[+Red90]

So clue me into where/what to buy. If it'll display .img files I'm game.

 

Do either of you know how to convert shapefies to Android format? I'm assuming I'd need a compiler, just don't know what or where.

 

Thanks

 

The GPSfiledepot forums are the place to discuss this. There are various map makers there that are using Android and such.