Pda With Gps Add On Or Standalone Gps

[waltnmarla]

I have a Handspring Visor and want to know if anyone is using one with a GPS attachment. Pluses or minuses? Also what is a recomended GPS add on brand with reliable accuracy?

And finally is a standalone GPS a better alternative?

Thanks!

[+ultimate_ed]

Personally, I opted for a standalone GPS. A decent basic unit can be had for $100 (or less on Ebay), which is about the same as what you'd pay for a GPS addon CF unit.

 

I do carry my Axim along with me to store copies of the caches pages for field reference, but I tend to keep it safely in my holster most of the time.

 

One piece of advice I got when considering the situation was that you PDA is probably going to break spectacularly if you drop it on a rock in the field. Most GPSr's are robust enough to take a fall, I know my Magellen Meridian has taken several spills and is still trucking along.

[GrandpaCannon]

I also have a Handspring Visor and used the Magellan plug in for a couple of years. The software it came with was pretty good and I did some great geocaching. IT did tend to reset occasionally and I would lose my track and it would "forget" where it was taking me. I now have a Garmin Vista and I really like the fact that I don't need to have my Visor out all the time in the rocks and trees. The plugin also ate alot batteries.

[+RJFerret]

I had the same question as I was looking for a toy to add to my Palm device (TRG Pro) when I stumbled across caching.

 

The best argument I heard then is have them both networked with cable--that way I can have mapping on the palm while arrowing on the GPS (or whatever).

 

Your two screens can be doing something different.

 

The problem with the GPS attachments (from people who use them) is they SUCK the battery life.

 

My palm can run for weeks and my GPS can run all weekend without new batteries. The two together however reportedly last only hours.

 

Check out the for sale forum here for great buys on GPS's, $70 is what I remember as the going rate a coupla' years ago. Extra expensive features won't help you caching FYI.

 

I did spend the twenty-ish to have the cable made that connects my eTrex to my Palm and some $ for mapping software on the palm.

 

hth,

 

Randy

[+Sputnik 57]

I once sat next to a guy on a plane who had a GSPr attached to his Palm. He had the window seat but couldn't get a lock. This was a few years ago, and hardly a fair test of the GPSr, but from what I read in the Forums, others have used stand-alone GPSr on planes near the window and have gotten a good signal.

 

Fry's in Houston had yellow Etrex on sale this weekend for $69.99. Pretty hard to beat that price.

[+briansnat]

...is  SUCK the battery life

 

...and aren't built to take the beating you will subject it to while geocaching and the handheld GPS's are waterproof, while your PDA probably isn't.

[+MrCOgeo]

I have a Palm Vx with a Magellan add on unit powered by a home-brewed power cable. I use it in my car to zero me in on parking, caches and general mapping. I can take it when I am teaming up with people and plan caching trips without computer. I have everything I need and no paper.

 

I would not use it on the trail when I am hiking in. The PDA is not waterproof as my Garmin stand alone is and like the other's have said it literally sucks battery power from your PDA like a parasite.

[+NightPilot]

I started out with a Palm and an attached GPS. It's not a good way to go. It's ok for micros in parking lots, but if you have to go into the woods, you'll be very sorry very quickly. The cable between the units gets caught on every limb, vine, and briar you pass, and it's a miserable experience. Nevermind the possibility of breaking the Palm and using up the battery - that cable hanging down is WAY more trouble than it's worth. Get a standalone GPS, which you can use by itself in the woods, and still connect to the Palm when you want to do that. I have a Garmin Legend, and I connect it to my Palm to drive Mapopolis for driving directions to the cache or to any unfamiliar destination. Then when I get there, I can put the Palm in my pocket and use the GPS by itself.

[+NightPilot]

The forum software said flood control was in effect and my post had been stopped. It lied. And this idiotic board won't let me delete the duplicate.

Edited August 18, 2004 by NightPilot

[+frefel]

This might be a good time to ask about connections between the Visor and GPSr. I bought a cable to connect to my eTrex to use CacheNav (CacheMate plug in) but I can't get the two to recognize each other, despite trying all the various interfaces. I presented the problem to CacheMate's forum but got no satisfactory answer, other than it might be a Visor deficiency.

Any ideas. Thanks.