Does anybody have any experience with the new Cobra GPS's?

[JustaCrawlin]

I see where Cobra has come out with two new GPS's (GPS 100 and GPS 500), and another model to be released in the future (GPS 1000). It looks like the GPS 100 might be similar to a Garmin eTrex, and the GPS 500 might be similar to the eTrex Venture, and it sounds like the GPS 1000 (yet to be released) might be comparable to the Garmin Legend.

 

Does anyone have any experience with either the Cobra GPS 100 or 500?

 

Following is a link about the Cobra GPS's

http://www.cobra.com

 

I haven't purchased a GPS unit yet, and had been looking at the Garmin models (rino 120, eTrex Vista, or the eTrex Legend). However, I think that maybe I should give Cobra a chance. I have always liked their CB's and FRS radios.

[+Moose-r-us and MrEdden]

funny I was just looking in the forums for the same answer. I found one review online for the 100 that said it was pretty good. I figure just buy it, try it out and if it doesn't work return it. People always seem to be nervous about new brands but everything cobra I have ever tried has been good.

[+Johnnie Stalkers]

We have been using the Cobra 500 for about 2 months now. It is the only GPSr I have used. So far we have been very happy with it. I cannot say how it compares, but for our needs it is great. I don't think you are going to go wrong with any brand, as long as it i a new model. The only question as I see it is BUDGET. I spent a little more than I had planned originally because I wanted to avoid upgrading later on. At this point I think it was the right choice. Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

Understand what? My purpose? You know that. To find the Tower is my purpose. I'm sworn.

-Roland, The Gunslinger

[+weswada]

I saw a sale on the Cobra GPS500 at Circuit City couple of weeks ago so i decided to give this multi-channel advertised quick acquisition puppy a try. At $169, it was not much of a 'sale' but hey, they do say they have a liberal return policy at 'the city...'

 

After a week of using it, i returned it. Need you know more? Then read below.

 

I have used a yellow etrex, a legend, and currently have a palm v navman with mapopolis software for driving directions (very good) and currenty use a Magellan Map 330 for most of my caching (getting used to its complexity).

 

so with that, i compare and contrast the cobra 500.

 

keep in mind, i live in the 50th state, so YMMV.

 

Firstly, i noticed that the interface and menus are pretty much like a Garmin etrex, so much so, i wonder if they needed permission from them...

 

Secondly, i found that there are no street level mapping included, although the comparison chart on the back of the retail box compares the 3 cobra gps units so you can choose the features you need, and it said that the 500 has a built in basemap, compared to their $99 GPS100 unit. So i went with the more expensive GPS500 for the basemap.

 

The basemap in the Map 330 is crappy, and even Magellan admits to it, as they say that they now license map data from another provider that is more accurate, but the Cobra GPS500 uses Rand McNally, which, for us 50th state folks, is useless. So far, i found that every Rand map product i have purchased, PC CD-ROMs, Palm software, and GPS' do not include the 50th state in their product, so its bogus and wasted for us here to buy. Maybe that's why the Rand McNally store closed, in the largest shopping mall in our state, a few years ago...

 

Sure enough, this GPS500, with licensed Rand basemap, has no useful info, except to draw a boundary edge around our entire state in realtion to any tracks or waypoints you may have. wow. big deal. so it costs more than the yellow etrex, but gives the same mapping functionality, imho.

 

Anyways, to get to the meat of the details, i found that getting a fix on first power on, could range from 2 seconds to 2 minutes. so much for rapid acquisition. and the worst part, is, something i have never seen in a GPSr before- it would constantly lose connection to the sats throughout its power on. Every minute or so, its satellite dish icon would appear in the middle of the display, meaning it is seeking sats, as it doesnt have enough sat signals to fix your coords. yikes!

 

and then, to make things worse, even when it was reading, i found i could drive for blocks, and the coords would not change. Imagine recording a waypoint based on your location miles ago! double yikes!

 

so i was ready to return it, but decided to make absolutely sure it was working as designed. so i went ahead and chose the option to reset it to default factory settings, and that helped! it now was updating the coords every second or so, so as i drove, i saw the coords change, good. sadly, most of the other complaints i have, did not improve.

 

I emailed tech support and they pretty much confirmed what i suspected.

 

decided to contact cobra via email, and confirm there's nothing else i can do to make it better, and they essentially told me that what i wanted was indeed limitations of the device. they essentially told me to return it to the store if i wasnt satisfied.

 

I have used cobra products in the past, ranging from CB radios, FRS/GMRS radios, radar detectors, and cordless phones, with good satisfaction, but i was sorely disappointed with their first foray into GPS technology. Of course, my eval is not statistically significant, as n=1, but barring that i got some kind of defective unit, with i thought at first, but after resetting to factory defaults, which helped, but not enough, i think this product has a ways to go, to develop and improve...

 

Especially since i got my Map 330 for $99, including data cable, Mapsource CD, vehicle mount, and manual. etrex and cobra cannot compare to that huh?

 

Hope this helps you in your decision making!

 

Aloha!

[Neo_Geo]

I have read in some other earlier posts about how some Cobra users cannot find computer interface cables. They say that some Cobras have a connector on it which looks very similar to the Garmin computer interface, but when they connect the Garmin cables, the computer doesn't recognize the GPSr.

 

Also, popular software like EasyGPS, ExpertGPS and other popular titles do not inlude Cobras in their types of compatible GPSrs.

 

IMHO, buy a Garmin, or maybe even a Maggie.

[daddyo & concussion]

I currently use a Cobra 100. It is my first GPS so I have no other experience with other GPS units. I bought it because I have had great success with other Cobra products. My big problem with it is it takes 2 to 10 minutes to find its initial start up bearings. We're all standing around ready to get moving and we're waiting on this stupid thing to figure out where it's at. Once we get moving it is constantly losing it's place and we're standing around again waiting on it to lock in. Yesterday we were on a hill top with hardly any trees and not a cloud in the sky. We waited at least 10 minutes for it to find it's bearings. Needless to say I am looking for another unit.

[Vlad]

i have spent some time with the 100 and 500 and have found the menu system to be clunky and non-intuitive. as well the buttons on the side are much harder to press than necessary - for anyone with carpal tunnel - beware! the 1000 might be a better unit and maybe that will be worth waiting for. i don't see anything that the 100 and 500 offer that magellan and garmin don't do better. stick to comm products cobra!

[rickntheboys]

I agree with the other folks - Cobra needs to do a lot more homework on these units. I've got a Cobra 100 and have had mixed results with it. The buttons controls are way too difficult to press. It is not very heat tolerant (definately not to their specs) and the accuracy is very questionable. Sometimes it's right on but more often than not it's way off. We went out last week and it was over 40 meters off in an open field on a clear day. Santa should be bringing another unit as soon as I settle on a model.

[daddyo & concussion]

Yesterday I bought a Magellan Sportstrak and man what a difference! I walk out the door and it's locking in the satelites and has it's bearings in 60 seconds. When I get in the truck and drive, it holds its bearings all the way to the cache. What a difference from my Cobra 100. If you saw my earlier post you know I was standing around 10 - 15 minutes waiting on it to lock in some satelites and it was always losing it's fix. And that's not in the woods, that's in my non-wooded front yard! It didn't get a fix at all in my truck. Needless to say I will be selling the Cobra at my next garage sale. It was a wasted $100.00.