A Begginner Buying His First Gps

[flope004]

I would like to buy my first GPS. I was thinking to buy one of the following handheld GPS: Garmin Ventura, Garmin Legend, Magellan Explorist 200 or Magellan Meridian Gold. I choose these ones checking the specifications and the costs.

 

What do you think is my best option? All of them are between 100 and 200$ so do you think there is a different option and better than these?

 

I am temporally in US but I will mainly use it in Europe. I love hiking and I am starting to be interested in Geocaching and all the possibilities that a GPS offers.

 

Other questions:

 

Does the meridian gold accept any kind of SD card memory such us the SD memories for a digital camera (Ex: Sandisk…)?

 

Using a map GPS. Do I can prepare my own maps and upload them in the Legend or Ventura? and in the Meridian Gold?

 

Thank you for your help,

 

I hope not to have bothered you with my novice questions.

[+CW Iams]

I have a Garmin Etrex Legend and I am very happy with it. I have more than enough waypoint storage and it is fairly easy to use. I have used it in conjuction with Topo! software and it works well.

 

The Legend is WAAS enabled and can be accurate up to like 9 feet, but it will use the batteries a little bit more.

[Neo_Geo]

Forget about the Venture. For the few dollars more that you spend on a Legend, you get a lot more bang for the buck! The Legend gives you a basemap and the ability to upload more detailed maps such as Topo and MetroGuide - The Venture NOT! Also, the Legend gives you 10,000 track points whereas the Venture only gives you 2,000.

 

...Just my 2¢

[peter]

.-

Edited October 26, 2004 by peter

[peter]

The Meridian Gold offers much more flexibility than the others with memory expansion through SD cards, auto-routing using the optional DirectRoute maps, and a good selection of other topo, marine, and street maps.

 

The eXplorist 100/200/300 models have the least flexibility due to the lack of a PC connection so you can't exchange waypoints/tracks/routes, upload detailed maps, upgrade firmware, etc.

 

The Garmin Legend and Venture fall in between with the Legend having the advantage of map display and downloading optional detailed maps.

 

If the size of the Meridian Gold doesn't bother you then I'd recommend that model. But if you'd like something smaller then the Legend would also be a good choice.

 

As to your question on maps, yes it is possible to create your own, but not easy.

For Garmin mapping models, like the Legend, you can use the programs at

http://cgpsmapper.com/ but the process is rather involved. Best to plan on just

using the manufacturer's maps at least initially. I believe there are similar efforts to create maps for Magellan models but I'm not familiar with the details.

[+JFoster]

I just got into using a GPS myself. I purchased the Garmin Etrex Legend. I find it to be very easy to use. I have not used any of the mapping programs, but I understand they work very well with this unit.

[koz]

jodie foster is a tadpole?...way cool!

[+Sputnik 57]

Unless you buy mapping software to replace the base maps, be careful where you buy. Garmin units purchased in the US have US basemaps, and AFAIK, they cannot be replaced. If you are going to cache in Europe and rely on basemaps, be sure that you get a unit made for Europe.

[+Renegade Knight]

I'll second doing some homework on maps. Go with the GPS that will serve you better in Europe. If you don't care a wit about maps, then ignore this post.

[flope004]

so, it means that the legend GPS goes with 8mb full of maps that they cannot be replaced by others. Is that right?

[peter]

so, it means that the legend GPS goes with 8mb full of maps that they cannot be replaced by others. Is that right?

Not sure what you mean.

 

The Legend comes with a basemap (Americas if bought in US, Atlantic if bought in Europe). The basemap is about equivalent in detail to a typical state highway map. It can't be changed or replaced by the user and AFAIK, Garmin has never specified the size but it looks pretty similar to Magellan's 8 MB basemap on their 330.

 

In addition, the Legend has an 8 MB memory that's dedicated to user-downloaded maps such as the optional MetroGuide or Topo. These are much more accurate and detailed and you can only load a fairly small area (like one extended metro area) at a time into the 8 MB. But you can reload this memory with another set of maps whenever needed.

[flope004]

I understand.

 

Thank you all.

 

So, now my doubt is decide if a Legend is more than enougth for me or if I should choose a meridian gold.....

[+embra]

Since it may be an implied question: Meridians do allow the user to switch basemaps. I don't think it's an officially supported feature, but there is a means to do so.

 

I think you'll enjoy any of the units you're considering. But FWIW, I consider the Meridian Gold to be one of the best values today in bang for the buck and expandability. The Meridian line is getting to be a little long in tooth, and there will be some higher-end Explorists coming out in the spring that may supplant them in their current market niche. But I've been quite satisfied with my Meridian Platinum's ability to grow with me as my GPS needs have evolved. I think I could live with it several more years except that I'm developing color envy.

 

BTW, you may want to review the Meridian FAQs link in my sig line. It will let you know more about the strengths and weaknesses of Meridians.

[+CW Iams]

Does anyone know of a good tuturial for downloading maps from my topo program to my etrex legend?

 

Thanks for helping out a newbie!

[+soreyes]

another possible option is to hit up ebay for one of the old Meidian Green/yellow models. They are running around 100 - 120 and also have SD capability. That leaves a little more money for maps!

[Neo_Geo]

Does anyone know of a good tuturial for downloading maps from my topo program to my etrex legend?

 

Thanks for helping out a newbie!

 

The ONLY maps that you can upload into your GPSr are Garmin MapSource maps.

 

CLICK HERE to view the MapSource tutorial video at Garmin's Web site!

Edited October 30, 2004 by Neo_Geo

[+CW Iams]

Thanks, Neo Geo!