Halx Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 Hey peeps. I suddenly got the urge today to get a GPS device. I am gonna be taking a road trip by myself next week and I wouldn't mind a little reassurance. Not to mention that I have a friend who is into Geocaching and I sure need a new hobby. What's a good one for about $150 that is map/directions oriented. I looked at Magellan RoadMate series, but WOW.. I cant justify $1300 for anything like that. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment
+DustyJacket Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 If you are going to use it for driving, here are some factors: A magellan needs to be vertical for best receptions. Therefore you can look forward to see the screen. A garmin needs to be horizontal for best reception. So, you'd have to look down to see the screen. Both units would need to be on the dashboard, as a GPSr can't detect a lot through the roof of a car. The magellan has clearly labeled buttons on the front of the unit where you can see them, and just poke the proper button. The garmin has the button on the side. I don't know if they are labeled, but until you are really, really comfortable with each control, you may take your attention off driving while trying to push a button. These were the reasons I chose a Magellan, as I use mine for driving, boating, and GeoCaching. A lower end Magellan would be in your price range. I've seen a lot of folks promote the Garmin V - it was made for use in a car and the antenna can rotate so the unit is vertical for geocaching. The buttons and screen are on the "front" so you have easy access from the dashboard. I am not sure, but I believe it is well over the $150 mark. DustyJacket Not all those that wander are lost. But in my case... Quote Link to comment
+New England n00b Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 I love my Garmin eTrex, but it is NOT suitable for driving due to the small screen size. However, it is PERFECT for gc'ing, for the same reason, plus the buttons (UNlabeled) are kinda ergonomic for holding and using. On the other hand, it is terrible for mounting and button pressing. If the unti you want is for navigating while driving, don't go for the eTrex. If you really don't care too much about the driving aspect and want a light, comfy GPS, the eTrex Legend runs ~$199.00 (but most websites have it at 179 or less). Also, whatever GPS you buy, get a nice little magnetic compass to make those close-to-cache hunts easier. The 'compass' on many GPS units are actually direction finders, which is a bit confusing. The 'Bearing' numbers the GPS gives you are always right when used with a real world compass. Eh, good luck. I think I just spewed out too much information. Hope it is helpful... --------------------- It wasn't me. Quote Link to comment
+ThisWayOut Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 I chose the SporTrak Pro as my general purpose GPSr. Maybe not the best choice, but I'm new to this as well and made my choice based on how I wanted to use it. I also went with the MapSend Topo software (mainly with geocaching in mind). I was pleasantly surprised to see that it offered street names as well which works well when using it for driving. I will admit that the map screen is a bit difficult to see for driving, but it is still good for staying on course and knowing the names of approaching intersections. It is a bit more then the $150 you want to spend, but there are other SporTrak models available for a little less then the $224 I spent on the Pro. All in all, there are lots of units to choose from and each has it's place in the market. You simply have to start hitting the web sites to compare features then go to a local shop where you can compare them side by side. That's what I did. Good luck and have fun!!! If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there. Quote Link to comment
+GeckoGeek Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Halx:What's a good one for about $150 that is map/directions oriented. You're not going to get mapping (base map or downloadable maps) for that price range. Now they will show a "map" showing location of waypoint and your location as well as pointing "that a way" for that price, but that's not considered mapping. Quote Link to comment
+geospotter Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 quote:Originally posted by GeckoGeek:You're not going to get mapping (base map or downloadable maps) for that price range. Now they will show a "map" showing location of waypoint and your location as well as pointing "that a way" for that price, but that's not considered mapping. Sure you can! See if you can find a Magellan Meridian. It's not unusual to find one for around $100 new. It has WAAS, mapping, expandable memory, and a large screen. It's what I use. Quote Link to comment
+ThisWayOut Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 GekoGeek is right. You will be hard pressed to find a mapping unit for $150. Amazon has the Sportrak Map for $177, but with only 6mb if available memory for uploading maps, it is limiting. If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there. Quote Link to comment
+Clffhngr Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 Halx, Do you have a pda or a laptop? GPSr and software can be added to these. The laptop isn't very good for GeoCaching but ok for roadtriping. I use mine that way all the time, WARNING WARNING WARNING don't play around with the GPSr/PDA/laptop while driving. There I took care of the legal disclaimer. "It's a dull mind that spells a word one way" Quote Link to comment
Neo_Geo Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 You can get an Etrex Legend at gpsnow.com for $175 (including shipping). That unit has a basemap of all major roads & highways in the U.S. built-in, but it won't give directions (need to spend an arm & a leg for that feature). It will draw a point-to-point line between you and your destination/point of interest (which helps a little). Spring for another $80 and you can get MetroGuide 5 at Amazon.com. Maybe even cheaper at eBay.com. Be advised, small MetroGuide maps eat up lots of memory! If you're going on a long road trip, then Roads & Recreation might be a better choice. It provides detailed maps with Point of Interest information for highway exits only. Quote Link to comment
+NightPilot Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 If you have a PDA, you can get started with complete mapping for that. Radio Shack is selling its Digitraveler GPS for $29.99, and you can get complete Mapopolis US maps, the platinum version that talks to you, for $99. If you have to buy the PDA, it's going to cost a lot more, though. Regards, Stan Quote Link to comment
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