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Another Newbie Asking The Same Thing Again...


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Ok, I'm sure you guys are sick and tired of the standard newbie question but there's just too many post to weed through so here we go again...

 

I'm thinking about getting a GPS and was wondering what everyone has to say...

 

I have a Garmin Basic 12 (a friends) that I've been playing around with for a few days and it seems ok but pretty dated compared to what's on the market now.

 

A friend at work just purchased a Garmin Legend and he seems to love it.

 

I played with Legend for a short time while at work and have found several differences between the two. Actually, the units are as different as night and day! The legend seems to be a far superior unit hands down. Just the base map functions make it a fantastic tool let alone the detail of the display...

 

So, what seems to be a pretty good unit to get for a newbie? I would be using it for fun, fun and more fun. Geocaching appears to be a neat sport that I might get into with my wife and kids but I'm also a fairly die-hard hunter and could apply many uses to a GPS in that area as well. I also have a strange addiction to maps/topo maps for some reason and again, I can apply the use of a GPS to that as well...

 

Ok, enough babble, any comments?

 

Thanks, Jon.

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The Garmin 12 is an excellent!! but older unit. Easy to use, and quite rugged.

 

The legend does have the benefits of being newer, and this technology changes rapidly. It will also handle maps. Once you have maps you just won't want to go back.

 

Keep the 12, get the Legend if you like it. The draw backs of the Legend are that they are small and also have a small patch antennea, which may not be quite as good at grabbing a signal in tough conditions (under tree cover) as some other units. Never the less, it is still a good unit and many swear by them. The best unit out there is either the Garmin V or the Garmin 76S.

 

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Thanks for the quick reply. One night this week my friend from work and myself will be doing the Creature of the Night hunt. He will have his Legend and I'll have the Basic 12. I think I've already decided that the map abilities of the Legend are a must but I'm interested to learn more about the units with better antenna's. I'm sure I'll be using it in the summer and many area's we hike in are covered by dense canopies. I also forgot to mention the fact that I've been using Notebook PC's with GPS antenna's for a few years and find them great tools to have with the extensive maps available on CD-ROM and DVD. My real hope is to get a nice handheld PC someday with a good antenna and software, but I'll take it one step at a time just so I can learn the in's and out's...

 

Thanks again, Jon.

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You didn't state how much you wanted to spend so I will start with my prefered GPS.

Get the Map76s if this is in your price range.

 

Or if you want to save a few $$$ then why not a Legend?

 

Both are good GPS's but the Map76s has several more features plus will accept an external antenna, which is nice when in a car.

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I didn't post a price range because I'm not honestly sure how much I want to spend... I don't want to go broke but at the same time, I'm not about to buy something because it has the best price... We used a Legend last night and it worked perfectly in heavy overcast sky's. Actually, it was snowing off and on too but never missed a beat. On the other hand, I had a Garmin GPS 12 with us and we were about 200 feet from the cache before it got it's first lock...

 

The external antenna connector is very appealing as well so that instantly puts us up into another price range too.

 

Thanks, Jon.

 

Shayl.gif

 

Come visit us on the web!!

The JJ&C Railroad

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STOP promoting the M315! At outpost.com you can get a Meridian Green/Yellow for $119.00 (or often on sale at $99.00) For possibly less money, you get 2mb base Map, SD/MMC slot for additional memory and the ability to add additional maps, WAAS and lots more!

 

As long as outpost is selling this unit at these prices you would be hard pressed to find a better value for you money.

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Based on your comments I've now refined my advice.

 

GPS V or the GPSMAP76S.

 

Yup, sure enough that's where you want to be.

 

Take a look at the specs, vs what you have posted. If you like Routing, it's the GPS V as there is no other handheld GPS that does the job as of now.

 

Either the V or the 76S have the better antena and the maps.

 

The better antanea (quad helix) is better under tree cover.

 

The basic Legend antenea is better near vertical surfaces.

 

Good luck.

 

Wherever you go there you are.

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You know what? I bought a Legend this evening... Earlier somebody posted a message saying Sports authority had them on sale for $219.00 plus more off if you had the coupon from this weekends flyer etc... Well, my wife had here friend dig through her trashcan and came up with a coupon for us. It was an additional 30% off. Once at the store we discovered that the only one left anywhere in our area was the demo unit for the store. So, they took another 10% off and we bought it. It has some scratches on the front at the top but seems to work just fine. The only loop hole seems to be with the $50.00 mail-in rebate. It requires the UPC from the box which the store didn't have any longer. I have everything else but no box. I sent an e-mail to Garmin tonight with the details of the purchase and will wait to hear what they say. If all goes well, the unit will have a cost of $96.00 including tax. I also downloaded the new software for it (v3.20) which looks like it came out yesterday.

 

Jon.

 

Shayl.gif

 

Come visit us on the web!!

The JJ&C Railroad

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