Best Unit For Under $200?

[MotherNature]

Okay, I'll admit to being naturally indecisive. It can take me an hour to pick out a birthday card for heaven's sake. Now I'm trying to select my first GPSR. I've been reading all the posts about the various ones available at different price ranges and am getting more and more confused. I had decided on a Garmin then read lots of complaints about coverage under trees or the rubber coming off the seam or whatever so I looked more at Magellans After more reading I learned they can 'fake' the signal (maybe they really don't get better reception than the Garmins?), it's taking a long time for people to get rebates (customer service not good?), and Garmin outsells Magellan 5 to 1 (must be a reason?). I've also read that a person should just buy one and learn to use it and they'll be happy with it. And of course there's the 'grass is always greener' feeling to contend with. I've narrowed down how much I can spend right now and what I'll be using the GPSR for and I'd really appreciate any opinions/advice people can give me.

 

I want to spend $200 or less.

I'll use it for geocaching and hiking.

It rains here!

I don't need a radio.

I don't need an electronic compass.

An altimeter would be nice but I guess I don't 'need' that either.

I want some memory and mapping capability, but probably

don't need (and can't afford) alot.

Will be using it most often under evergreen tree cover.

I'd like something that I'll be satisfied with for a couple years.

And I use a PC with Windows if that makes any difference.

 

Thanks in advance for any guidance you can give me.

(And I'm sorry if this is too much like a question that's been answered a hundred times already )

[+DustyJacket]

Prioritize the features you want.

Find the units with those feature.

pick one.

 

If you are spending under $200 (the selection is getting slimmer) then you'll probably upgrade in a couple of years.

 

It sounds like you will want some mapping for hiking, but maybe not the extensive streets maps.

 

A low-end Meridian with mapping would be good.

or an Etrex Legend.

 

Try shoppin a reputable seller on eBay to get a better but used unit.

[+aka Monkey]

I want to spend $200 or less.

That limits things a lot.

I'll use it for geocaching and hiking.

You THINK that's all you'll use it for. You'll end up taking it around with you the way some people carry a cell phone. I use mine in the car so much I bought a windshield mount for it.

It rains here!

I think both Garmin and Magellan make waterproof units, so not an issue.

I don't need a radio.

I don't need an electronic compass.

An altimeter would be nice but I guess I don't 'need' that either.

Buy a separate handheld compass (good idea to have a backup anyway). As for the altimeter, most people seem to enjoy it, but never actually 'use' it.

I want some memory and mapping capability, but probably don't need (and can't afford) alot.

Get it now. Otherwise you'll end up wishing you had, and you'll end up replacing it soon and spending even MORE money. Garmin units have a fixed amount of memory, Magellan's are upgradable using SD memory. Garmin says they don't do this because of durability issues.

Will be using it most often under evergreen tree cover.

This might be an issue with any GPS. See if you can borrow one from someone and give it try, or check the return policy of any store where you buy it.

I'd like something that I'll be satisfied with for a couple years.

Then get the mapping unit.

And I use a PC with Windows if that makes any difference.

It does. It means you'll be able to use 90% of the software available. Us lowly Mac/Unix users are the ones left in the cold.

 

Based on your criteria, I'd recommend the Garmin Legend. Available for $169 at GPSCity.com. It has mapping capabilities, and you can always "upgrade" later by buying additional mapping software.

[+kpktrackers]

Im a new user but have some info that may be helpful. I bought a unit for my teenage daughter for Christmas. Based on the recommendations on here I got her the Etrex Legend. After using the unit since then we are happy with the quality & perfomance of the unit even with our limited skills. The only complaint I have with the Legend is with the small screen. Me being in my late 40s , I use reading glasses. Even with my reading glasses on ,the Legend screen is difficult see . I decided to buy my self a unit of my own & went with the 76s for the larger screen larger memory. I just got it yesterday the screen is much easier to see & the controls are more user friendly. Another thing to think about is memory. The Legend's 8mb holds about a 100X100 mile square of the metroguide for our state .

This is plenty for any of our caching adventures , but I plotted a route from Chicago to Jacksonville Florida on metro guide just to see how much memory was needed for that trip. It required about 35mb so even the 24mb capacity of the 76s would not hold it. With the 24 mb limit I could get from Chicago to about Chattanooga , so if you want a unit for long trips a unit with expandable memory would be needed or if you are using it for caching 8mb is plenty . This being the case I would probably been as well off with the map76 with its 8mb capacity unless the compass feature grows on me , but I would not want to go back to the small Etrex screen size. I notice no great difference with the different antennas either. The 76 seem to lose satellites just as often as the Legend. So in a nut shell , if you have any sight issues consider a unit with a bigger screen or at least test drive a Etrex before buying & if you want it for long trips get something with expandable memory.. If it wasnt for the waterproof issues I would have looked real hard at a emap.. I was able to buy the 2 week old 76s of of ebay for $225 so its not much over the $200 mark.. K

Edited January 11, 2004 by kPK Trackers

[+DustyJacket]

{edited to remove complaint about font - thanks, I can now wee again.}

Edited January 12, 2004 by DustyJacket

[+Renegade Knight]

GPS's that fit the bill as you have described are.

 

The GPS V if you can find a used one.

The GPS Map76S but it's hard to find one that will be under your budget.

 

Under tree cover the key is the quad helix antanea. The etrex line has a patch anteana and it's fairly good and better than a Quad near vertical surfaces (like a rock wall) and for Idaho I'm as likely to have a forst as a cliff so it's a wash. Still you did say evergreen forest so... Both the Garmins have the quad helix antanea.

 

However you should be able to find a sport track in your budget also.

The sport tracks have the quad helix antanea

The problem of not telling you that you have lost lock can be fixed with a menu items somewhere in the GPS. (Faking a signal is the GPS taking it best guess as to your position based on your speed and heading while you don't have a signal lock)

 

The Garmins have a better screen (until you hit the sport track color but now you are out of your budget) but the Sport tracks are probably more affordable.

 

Based on your criteria I'd look at those two Garmins, and the Sport Tracks and see what you can afford based on your budget.

Edited January 11, 2004 by Renegade Knight

[+Karma Hunter]

I recently got my wife a Magellan Sportrak Map for $170 from Amazon. There is probably an additional $25 rebate available. Our needs were almost exactly like yours, except we have heavy oak and poplar tree cover. We have been very happy with it.

 

The pros: Quad helix antenna which seems to get excellent reception, mapping capability (except the new DirectRoute software, but nothing under $200 runs it), unit itself is small enough to fit in a pocket, screen is fairly large, not only waterproof but floats too, battery life has been good, lots of user-customizable screens, probably other stuff I'm forgetting, comes with wrist lanyard, gives accurate elevation readings as long as it has enough satellites locked (at least as accurate as "pressure-based" altimeter watches I've owned.

 

The cons: No compass, somewhat limited memory for maps (which is why it can't run DirectRoute), no other fancy features (radio, color screen, etc.), included basemap is quite limited but better than no map at all.

 

The other contender for us was the Garmin Legend. We chose the Sportrak for the quad helix antenna. If you REALLY don't need mapping, the Rino 110 looks like a nice unit ($150 at Amazon). The radio could maybe be a safety feature, and it certainly has good battery life, though the unit is bigger and the screen is smaller. For what it's worth, the only thing we would consider getting instead of our Sportrak Map would be to get a Meridian Platinum ($250 Amazon) for the compass and DirectRoute ability, but that breaks your budget. Good luck!

[+TEAM DARROW]

I don't have one, but I believe that the Meridian Gold

 

http://www.magellangps.com/en/products/product.asp?PRODID=90

 

does mapping and Harmony Computers lists it for $204

 

http://www.shopharmony.com/product.asp?fil...t&i=MAGMRD59802

[+gpsblake]

Under 200 bucks. Unless you spend another 70+ bucks on mapping software, no unit basemap is going to help you with serious hiking. What you want probably is a unit that allows you to save multiple tracks and has a PC cable. My suggestion is the Etrex Legend. Small in size (a plus for hiking), allows you to save tracks, real nice resolution display, comes with PC cable, great for geocaching and the GPS atimeters in all the units are usually all you are going to need. The Magellan Sportrak has a bigger display but not as detailed resolution on the screen vs the Etrex Legend and weighs a few more ounces. Some report the antenna for the Sportrak are better but I hike with the Etrex line and don't have any serious problems.

 

You won't go wrong with either the Etrex Legend or the Sportrak Map, both will accomplish what you want to do well. The only reason like the Legend over the Sportrak is the smaller size and the fact I owned the yellow etrex and the included cable works with my old yellow unit as well.

 

You will find both Garmin owners are generally happy with their units and Magellan owners are happy with thiers.

[+quills]

I aggree with Indiana on this one. I bougfht mine for caching and to play around with for hunting and fishing. Now I carry it with me almost everywhere I go. I just ordered a winshield mount last night. I happen to have the E-trex Legend and it has worked great for me.

[+byonke]

Garmin units have a fixed amount of memory, Magellan's are upgradable using SD memory. Garmin says they don't do this because of durability issues.

 

Where did garmin say this?

 

Brian

[+aka Monkey]

In this post by Jeremy.

 

One drawback: No SD card. Other manufacturers are starting to offer this as an option, but a Garmin rep let me know they have no plans to introduce SD card slots into their units. They believe that their units would be less durable with this option. Fixed memory is no fun, but 56 megs of internal memory is more than double the capacity of the Garmin V.

[MotherNature]

I bought a Legend. Thanks for the advice and opinions!