Buying a GPS

[dogface]

I need to buy 8 new GPS's for work. My work is with VATF-1 (Virginia Task Force 1). We are one of the groups that respond for both national and international rescue incidents. ie.. Turkey, Taiwan, Kenya, and the Pentagon to name a few. We need a very simple to use, one that works throught the world, relativly fast in finding position, rugged, water resistant, etc... You get the idea. I am open to suggestions, but time is limited. I only have till 1-1-03 to decide on the one to buy. Thanks, Mark

 

you can e-mail me at:

dogface1739@hotmail.com

[+OzzieSan]

For what you are asking I think you should visit a couple dealers and get a hands on. If you are dealing with life and death situations you may need military grade units (if you are able to get them). I dont think I would trust either of my units if my or someone elses life was on the line.

 

VATF-1 and the best they could do for email is hotmail?

[+Alan2]

Geocachers use consumer grade. Better units including totally waterproof, military type will ost thousands.

 

Are you buying this yourself or is someone else paying? If yourself, and you can only spend a few hundred, I'd go with a simple etrex yellow just to show you position.

 

If you want mapping, with digital compass and altimeters, go with the Garmin 76S. However, since Garmin does not yet have maps throughout the world, the mapping portion is limited.

 

You might go with the rino since it has on board radio as well as a locator to find the other person who is carying a companion unit.

 

ANother alternative is to call GPS World Magazine and speak to someone on the staff. They would be a good resource to find a good unit for your needs.

 

Alan

[Forester II]

Look only to professional grades or brands. These have the capability to load information(maps, points, line, etc.) direct from GIS applications (ESRI ARC__ or Mapinfo) so you can be easily covered world wide if needed. You are able to do this with the consumer models to some extent but requires some work arounds and is limited on what you can import (vector data only).

 

Trimble, Sokia, TDS, CMT, Thales are brands that come to mind. Trimble probably has what you really need but check them all.

[+Cymbaline]

Is it just me, or wouldn't this person already have knowledge of where to get his gear?

 

Worldwide? Uh.. I don't think so.

 

Not to mention that there's no such thing as "VATF", be it "-1" or otherwise.

 

Further responses will not be forthcoming, I hope. Try again in the year 2100.

[+OzzieSan]

There sure is a bunch of info on the web about it.

 

 

quote:

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Originally posted by Cymbaline:

Is it just me, or wouldn't this person already have knowledge of where to get his gear?

 

Worldwide? Uh.. I don't think so.

 

Not to mention that there's no such thing as "VATF", be it "-1" or otherwise.

 

Further responses will not be forthcoming, I hope. Try again in the year 2100.

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[+Cymbaline]

quote:

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Originally posted by Team 5-oh!:

There sure is a bunch of info on the web about it.

 

 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Cymbaline:

Is it just me, or wouldn't this person already have knowledge of where to get his gear?

 

Worldwide? Uh.. I don't think so.

 

Not to mention that there's no such thing as "VATF", be it "-1" or otherwise.

 

Further responses will not be forthcoming, I hope. Try again in the year 2100.

---

---

 

Polly want a cracker?

[+jonboy]

Our SAR unit uses GPSrs and we have all kinds of recreational units, the most popular being the e-trex. I had a Vista, which I got for the capability to load maps, but wished I had gotten one that would take am external antenna. I now have the GPS76S, which I use with an external antenna and it is streets better than the Vista. Garmin has the best worldwide software (Mapsource) for loading maps onto the unit. Combine this unit with a laptop and a portable printer and you can generate mission maps enroute. The Mapsource maps are not the ones we favor for generating topo maps, we use either TOPO! or Terrain Navigator, but the mapsource maps are the only ones that can be loaded on the unit and these maps are invaluable for orienting us quickly to the topo map. Mounted in a vehicle, the maps make navigation to a strange location much easier. We have to buy all our own equipment, so a high end recreational unit is a good compromise.

[Alphawolf]

Garmin 72's. Mapping isn't something you need for your purposes. This thing is all that you require, and relatively cheap.

 

"Never take a sunset for granted. Stop what you are doing and enjoy it. You never know when it may be your last"

[+Mopar]

quote:

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Originally posted by Cymbaline:

Not to mention that there's no such thing as "VATF", be it "-1" or otherwise.

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Seems pretty real to me, complete with the "1".

www.vatf1.org

 

Tae-Kwon-Leap is not a path to a door, but a road leading forever towards the horizon.