Need advice on new gps

[+mrplug]

Hi, All.

 

I'm about to upgrade my gps from a bubble gum machine magellan 310 to something better. I wanna spend no more than 200 maybe as high as 250. How can i get the best bang for my measely buck?

[peter]

If that ~$200 has to include the cost of good street maps, then the eMap package for $215 that includes the PC cable, 8 MB card, and MetroGuide-USA CDs is a good match. You may also be able to find a Magellan 330(X) for a good price since some places have had close-out sales on them.

 

If the maps can be a later additional cost then I'd look at the Magellan Meridian or Sportrack models, or the Garmin Legend.

[+leatherman]

Really need to know more about your expectations of the GPSr, not just the price range.

Do you want to stay with the familiar Magellan line of GPSr? Are you upgrading to get mapping? The 310 is just fine for geocaching.

What are your expectations?

 

Preperation, the first law to survival.

[+mrplug]

Thanks for responding Peter and Leatherman.

 

Right now, I tend to spend a lot of time looking at my road map to find the best route to the coordinates. So I want a gps that will clearly indicate the best route to get to a cache.

 

Also, the 310 only allows two digits to the left of the decimal in seconds. So often times I have to round up when entering coords and subsequently probably spend more time than average searching for the prize. Finally, the 310 is horrible in tree cover. So I guess what I'm looking for is something with good maps, accurate location, and signal detection under trees.

 

Now I will become a true geocacher....my little brother gets the 310. :-)

[+mrplug]

I meant two digits to the right of the decimal.

[+ClayJar]

Basically, you have two options that I'm familiar with.

 

The first option is to purchase a Magellan GPS receiver (MAP 330, Meridian series, or SportTrack series). If you can find the MAP 330X package, it'll come with software; otherwise you'll have to buy it. For the Meridians, you'll also need to buy an SD card ($10 and up, depending on size, and if you buy a 64MB or larger card, you'll definitely want a $20 SD card reader). That'll come closest to your target price, but it *won't* do automatic turn-by-turn directions for you.

 

The other option is to purchase a Garmin GPS V. That'll run you about double your range (plus software, etc), but it *will* do automatic turn-by-turn directions.

 

All the Magellan mapping GPS receivers and the Garmin GPS V have quadrifilar (a.k.a. quad-helix, a.k.a. good) antennas, so they should all have similar reception characteristics (but under heavy, wet tree cover, *no* consumer GPS receiver will receive too, too well). The Garmin GPS V's antenna is detachable, which could theoretically be useful.

 

So, basically, you need to decide how much you really *can* spend, and then figure out which of these receivers fits you best. I can tell you that *I* purchased a Magellan Meridian for the express reason that my caching habits don't fit well into a fixed memory size (8MB for the MAP 330, 19MB for the GPS V, 24MB for the SportTrack Pro, and up to 128MB or more per SD card -- so far -- in my Meridian; I've got a 64MB card in there for now). It has excellent reception, too.

 

Anyway, figure out if you really want turn-by-turn directions. If you do, you'll just have to keep saving a bit longer to afford the GPS V. If you find that you can be content with twelve giga-boatloads of maps in you receiver without turn-by-turn directions, I'd heartily recommend the Meridian series (which practically have a built-in filing cabinet, now that you can save and load waypoints/routes and tracks on your SD cards).

 

(Oh, and incidentally, the GPS 310 was the last Magellan GPS receiver made that only goes to two digits east of the decimal point. I don't know which Garmin was the last, but it had to be one roughly concurrent in vintage.)

[+mrplug]

Hi, ClayJar.

 

Thanks for the info. T.B.T. sounds nice, but probably too rich for my blood for now. I will take a look at some of the Meridians.

[+mrp]

ClayJar gives a very ballanced overview of your options, but I want to make one small correction.

 

quote:

---

Originally posted by ClayJar:

 

The other option is to purchase a Garmin GPS V. That'll run you about double your range (plus software, etc), but it *will* do automatic turn-by-turn directions.

---

 

The price of the Garmin GPS V includes the software and an unlock code for one "region" of the US (or Europe in that market). There is a new version of the GPS V coming out (called Deluxe) that has unlock codes for all of the US (or Europe).

[+Team Hoijong]

I think the Garmin eMap is great unit for the price around 215 dollars including data cable..

 

I'm using the Magellan 310 now and also want to move on to a beter unit.. I'm saving money to buy the Garmin eMap or the Garmin eTrex Vista.

 

Irresisti

N12º 55.475

E100º 52.865

[+headmj]

You can get the Meridian GPS and the Mapsend Topo software with a 16meg SD card at Walmart for about $300. That's what I did and it has been great. The unit works well even in deep tree cover.

[peter]

quote:

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Originally posted by mrplug:

Thanks for the info. [Turn-By-Turn] sounds nice, but probably too rich for my blood for now. I will take a look at some of the Meridians.

---

 

Note that while the $215 eMap/MetroGuide package doesn't support auto-routing on the GPS, it does support it on the PC. So MG will calculate a route that you download to the eMap. Then you get a beep warning and arrow indicating the turn direction shortly before each intersection where you need to turn.

 

MG-USA by itself costs $115, so in effect you're getting the eMap, PC cable, and memory card for only $100.