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Which Gps Unit To Purchase?


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Hi all,

 

I'm would like to purchase a GPS unit in the next couple weeks. However, I don't know what unit I should get. I don't want something at the low end, but don't want to spend the $$$ at the very high end. Hopefully you can offer some suggestions...

 

I would really like the ability to chart my travels during a day. Whether hiking or skiing, I'd like to be able to upload the data to a computer to display my travels in a visual format. A 3D representation would be nice. At the least, if I could get XYZ points, I have the software to make this work (if there isn't something simpler available specifically for the GPS). Of course, I'd need a unit that could be strapped to the arm (or somewhere) so it would register while I was doing other things.

 

I'll probably do a little geocaching, too, but I figure that any GPS will be able to assist with this.

 

Thanks for your help!

Tim in Hollywood

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Hi all,

 

I'm sorry to be responding to my own post, but do any of you have suggestions about where I can find the information I am requesting? I've asked two very similar questions on this board, but received no response to either one.

 

Is there another discussion forum whose members will more likely have the answers (to what I thought would be a relatively simple question)? I've called the manufacturers, but didn't get very specific info from them. I haven't found it on their web sites, either (though I simply may have been looking in the wrong places).

 

If anyone can either help with my question or point me to another resource, it would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks a bunch!

Tim in Hollywood

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If you are going to strap the unit to yourself, I don't think you want a unit with a patch antenna, unless you strap it to the top of your head or to of your shoulder. The requirement for being able to record long trips would lead me to suggest a Meridian unit that has an SD card slot and allows you to save your trails to the sd card. That's all for now.

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something with a large track log - geko 201 or 301, etrex legend or vista, gpsmap76 or 76s would be good. the geko's and etrex's have a variety of "mounts" available one of which should do the trick for you. i believe the new version of memory map (www.etopo.ca) supports 3d representations.

 

don't think i'd want something as large as a meridian strapped to me for very long - i'd prefer a geko or an etrex.

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Take a look at how many waypoints will go into the Tracklog.

 

The Legend for example I think has an update that lets it do a large number of track logs.

 

A full day can fill up the GPS tracklog such as the one on the GPS V and you will loose some of your early runs.

 

For strapping to yourself a external antanea strapped to your hat would make you look dorky but would work much better.

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I've had Garmin eTrex Vista and Magellan SporTrack Pro for over a year; when it comes to storing the tracklogs I've found Vista to produce smooth, exact track - while SporTrack tends to put trackpoints way too far from each other. Here is the proof: ZIPped .gpx tracklogs - I carried both units on my trip to San Francisco.

 

I believe Magellan tries to save memory and combs out intermediate trackpoints, while Garmin samples them often and stores in a huge 10,000 trkpt buffer.

 

Height info is available on both units' tracklogs, this is how it looks in "color-coded" display (red is highest, blue lowest part of the trip).

 

If anybody knows how to make Magellan SporTrack Pro match Vista's tracklog capabilities, please speak out!

Edited by quakemap
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You might improve the "smoothness" of the SporTrack track by setting to Autodetailed if it's only on Auto (I'm presuming my Meridian feature set is similar enough to the SporTrack's, I might be wrong). Even then, I believe that gpsinformation.net concluded Garmins to be superior in their tracking with more trackpoints laid down.

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While the Geko/eTrex line does use patch antennas, my Geko 201 doesn't seem to mind being in a vertical position. In fact I'll often drive with it propped between the dash and the windshield at an angle where I can easily read it (near vertical). Yet it seems to have no problem following my driving.

 

On the downside, the Geko uses AAA batteries. It may not run as long as you'd like it to (the whole day). Probably better to look at something in the eTrex line as I think it would run longer.

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Thanks for the hint, Embra!

I found AutoDetailed on SporTrack too:

[on the map screen]-->Properties("book"btn)-->MapSetup-->Enter-->[scroll down to "TrackMode"]

There are "Auto", "AutoDetailed" and 2.0...0.01Mile options. I guess 0.01Mi=50ft is not bad at all.

 

From the manual, SporTrak tries to weed out trackpoints that are located on a straight line (in Auto and AutoDetailed modes). Not a bad idea, but my problem is that it does too good a job of weeding them out, removing most of them on a relatively straight highway or in flight. The track looks weird on aerial map, and "Break into Trips" function makes gaps in the track (there is always "Join tracks" function to correct this). I'll try to use 0.01 next time and see how it compares to Garmin Vista.

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Hi all,

 

Thanks a bunch to everyone for your help thus far!

 

In comparing the Garmin eTrex Vista and Garmin eTrex Legend, the Vista lists 10,000 trackpoints and 24MB of RAM. The Legend lists 10,000 trackpoints and 8MB of RAM. Is the 10,000 waypoint limit a finite limit, or a limit based on the free RAM available? For example, if I don't load in any maps, can I somehow store more than 10,000 trackpoints in the Legend (or move them to another part of the internal RAM)?

 

I would likely be skiing for 8-10 hours without stopping. Given that I am constantly on the move, is 10,000 trackpoints likely to be enough for that period of time? I will not have many periods where I am moving in a straight line, other than when riding on the lifts (but the elevation will be changing non-uniformly at around 200ft/min).

 

The Magellan Meridian GPS also sounds like an interesting possibility. Since it has an SD slot, I could get a 128MB card for around $40...and apparently have all the space necessary. Of course, the size is a bit of a concern, since it's more than twice as thick as the others. The screen resolution is less than half the others, too.

 

To quakemap specifically: Thanks for the map and tracklog file! It really helped to get a better idea of the possibilities. Does the Garmin eTrex Vista have any ability to filter some of the trackpoints that are not needed? I'm also eager to learn the results of your tests with the new settings enabled.

 

Thanks again to everyone! I really appreciate your assistance!!!

Tim in Hollywood

Edited by Tim in Hollywood
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Tim,

If you are interested in elevation profiles, you should really get the Vista. Both the Legend and the Vista will display elevation profiles on a PC once you've downloaded the tracklog points, however, the Vista will also display them real-time right on the unit, the Legend won't.

 

10,000 tracklog points may not be enough for a full day of skiing, however, it would be very easy to save your morning runs (you can save up to 10) and start with a fresh tracklog after lunch. In other words, the Vista can store upto 110,000 tracklog points but you'll have to save and clear the log every 10,000.

 

Also, since the Vista uses a barometric altimeter, you will continue to get elevation readings even if you've lost satellite reception.

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IF you end up with a Meridian try this:

In auto detailed it does try to economize and only put points where is sees some sort of major turn. (Very useful for my mapping projects, but not accurate in some cases).

 

Forcing it to 0.01m (52.8 feet) makes it accurate but it can fill up the 2,000 points allowed in a couple of hours, depending on your travels. One way is to periodically stop, save the track to the SD card, then clear the track in memory, and continue.

 

That procedure also saves you in case the batteries wear out. One "negative" on the Meridians is that if the batteries wear out and the unit shuts down automatically, you can lose your track, or a good part of it depending when you last shut down.

 

Importing the track into MapSend Topo (Magellan product) will not get you 3-D but will show a "vertical profile" that shows all your ups and downs. Not as neat as 3-D though.

 

Here is my driving tracklog: http://www.dustyjacket.com/geocache/tracks.html

Edited by DustyJacket
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A buying tip that is 3 for three with me and saved me over $400. Find the model you want. Then goto www.dealtime.com and search for it. You will get a list of prices. My V lists for $499 when I bought it. Circuit city had it for $404 after rebate Garmin was offering. I found a place on dealtime.com that had it for $402 BEFORE $75 rebate. I printed that and too it to Circuit City and made them price match. After rebate I ended up paying $335.

 

I did the exact same thing for my Olympus Dig camera and my Sony Video cam. The Sony I really scored on. It was a discontinued model. So there was several online places blowing it out. It was cosmetic changes to the new model...EXACT same features and specs. Most places had it for $399 that had it in stock. I ended up walking out of the store (*Target) for $250.

 

Same exact deal with the Olympus camera. Discontinued model. Found a place online blowing it out....Printed it and saved $100 (Target again).

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I sold my MeriPlat because it was never as good as the GPS V, even when the Platinum was set to Auto-Detailed. Garmin GPS V tracklog is even better than my Vista's and Map 76S. Nice thing about a garmin, is that when you turn it off then back on, that starts a new tracklog segment. You cannot do that in a Magellan Meridian GPS(One long messy tracklog). BUT, you can save the tracklog to the meridian's SD memory card, each time you want to start a new tracklog in the meridian. The resolution was never very good on my Platinum.

 

You may want to try loading your tracklogs into USA Photomaps, and it would look cool to see your tracklogs on a SKI hill.

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