arounsev Posted October 28, 2004 Posted October 28, 2004 I need some advice! I am looking to buy a GPS which contains the following features: electronic compass, downloadable for maps (8MB or so), contains N. America basemaps (cities, highways, lakes, rivers), Stores way points, track log, sunrise/sunset and fish & hunt calculator. I guess you could say I want it all! But don't need to color screen. I am interested in the Magellan Sportrak Map GPS, but my father said Magellan doesn't update their downloadable maps so I should consider a Garmin or a Lowrance. I can't seem to find a compareable GPS with all the features I am looking for. Any suggestions? Need some advice from the experts! You can either reply on the forum or e-mail me at elvis10@hotmail.com Thanks! Amber R. Quote
Bobthearch Posted October 28, 2004 Posted October 28, 2004 Sounds like you want a Garmin GPSMAP76S. A very reliable and durable unit that I highly recommend. You can compare features of any Garmin units side-by-side at their website. Happy Shopping, Bob Quote
+Renegade Knight Posted October 28, 2004 Posted October 28, 2004 Garmin Side. Vista C 60CS 76CS & the one already pointed out. Magellan makes some GPS's that fit your criteria but you just ruled them out. Too bad because Magellan has them with B/W screens and that saves you some money. All basemaps suck but I do hear the 76 series has better basemaps than the others. Quote
+niskibum Posted October 28, 2004 Posted October 28, 2004 (edited) Sounds like a regular Vista. I just got one for $149, but that deal is long gone. It has everything you mentioned but without the color screen of the VistaC.(and the expense) Edited October 28, 2004 by niskibum Quote
BenHenny Posted October 28, 2004 Posted October 28, 2004 Where did you find a Vista for $149.00? I'd buy one in a second. Quote
Midnight Rider Posted October 28, 2004 Posted October 28, 2004 I just bought a Magellan Meridian Gold and Im very pleased with it. It has all the features you mentioned. Figure on about $200 As for the maps, I dont know how current you need your maps to be, but I believe all the mapping software companies use the same USGS maps as sources for the overall areas. Oftentimes those havent been updated in decades. City maps are likely updated far more frequently and depending on what you will be using the GPS for, this might be very important to you. Quote
+JohnnyVegas Posted October 28, 2004 Posted October 28, 2004 As far as updates, Magellan has a new topo software that should be out at fairly soon, The electronic compass is going to add quite a bit to the cost of the GPS. As far as the compass Magellan has a triaxial compass so that you do not have to hold the GPS level in order for it to be accurate. I just use a std base plate compass, these you can get for abot $10.00. One feature Magellan has in the Topo software is a terrain projection. If you must have the electronic compass my choice would be the Magellan Meridian Platinum, if you can live without the electrnic compass then the Magellan Meridian Gold. The sport trak map does not have an electronic compass but the Sport track color does. Quote
+briansnat Posted October 28, 2004 Posted October 28, 2004 Sounds like a regular Vista. I just got one for $149, but that deal is long gone. It has everything you mentioned but without the color screen of the VistaC.(and the expense) In the Garmin line, the Map76S and eTrex Vista should fit the bill. The Vista is the lighter and more compact unit of the two. Quote
+niskibum Posted October 28, 2004 Posted October 28, 2004 Where did you find a Vista for $149.00? I'd buy one in a second. Office Max priced some incorrectly a while ago. They caught the mistake and fixed it quickly but honored those of us that ordered in time. Keep your eye on the GPS garage sale section of the forums to get in on deals like this. While both Garmin and Magellan make good products, the Garmin has one thing that sells me that Magellan never will. It is an American company. If you are an American (I realize not everyone here is) and you can get a quality product from an American company, then why not support them? Quote
+Corp Of Discovery Posted October 29, 2004 Posted October 29, 2004 On topic: If you don't need too large an area mapped, I'd say go with one of the Garmins (or possibly Magellan Sportraks) with or without the compass as desired. If you don't need the compass and want lots of maps, go with the Magellan Gold. If you really want the compass and lots of maps, then you would do best with a Magellan Platinum. While both Garmin and Magellan make good products, the Garmin has one thing that sells me that Magellan never will. It is an American company. If you are an American (I realize not everyone here is) and you can get a quality product from an American company, then why not support them? Off topic: I don't mean to nitpick or anything, but... I see this a lot. I have 3 Garmins and 3 Magellans. All the Garmins say ' Made in Taiwan'. So altho Americans own the company, that doesn'y necessarily mean a whole lot otherwise. Just sayin' is all... Quote
+JohnnyVegas Posted October 29, 2004 Posted October 29, 2004 While both Garmin and Magellan make good products, the Garmin has one thing that sells me that Magellan never will. It is an American company. If you are an American (I realize not everyone here is) and you can get a quality product from an American company, then why not support them? off topic reply When garmin got started Garmin was not 100% American. The men who started were named Gary and Min, Min is from Tiawn, they combined their names to for GarMin. You can be sure, a good deal of Garmins income stays in Tiawan. Magellan started out as an American and was bought out by Thales communications which is a very large mulit national co. (Much larger than Garmin) base in France. We live in a global community, Perhaps niskibum should get rid of everything he owns that is not made in the USA. If all non USA products just vanished you could into any Wally World, Target, Macy's etc and at 90% of the shelves would be empty. We in the USA are more concerened will price than quality. That is just the way it is. Quote
+niskibum Posted October 29, 2004 Posted October 29, 2004 Off topic: I don't mean to nitpick or anything, but... I see this a lot. I have 3 Garmins and 3 Magellans. All the Garmins say ' Made in Taiwan'. So altho Americans own the company, that doesn'y necessarily mean a whole lot otherwise. Just sayin' is all... Actually what they say is "Designed in the U.S.A, Made in Taiwan". I don't believe this is off topic, since Arounsev is asking for advise and reasons to buy a certain gps, and for a lot of people this is a valid reason. I know we live in a global economy, but we also (those of us in the U.S.) live in the U.S. economy. I choose to support that economy when I can. True that I can't always do that, but as I said, when you can get a quality product from an American company why not? I suspect that most people that continue to extoll the virtues of magellan care more about their brand loyalty than their patriotism. Some of us in the U.S. are concerned more about price than quality. I am not one of them, and don't see the value in it. It used to be that you had to save up to buy something, but when you got it, it lasted a lifetime. If I can buy a U.S. product (or at least partially U.S.) and can get quality, and I don't think anyone here can deny the quality or support of Garmin, then I don't mind paying more for it and feel good that I have done something to support the U.S. economy. Also, since Garmin isn't priced over that of Magellan, price really isn't an argument here. It's more of a question of what your values are and where your loyalties lie, or if you have them at all other than your pocketbook. Quote
+JohnnyVegas Posted October 29, 2004 Posted October 29, 2004 Off topic: I don't mean to nitpick or anything, but... I see this a lot. I have 3 Garmins and 3 Magellans. All the Garmins say ' Made in Taiwan'. So altho Americans own the company, that doesn'y necessarily mean a whole lot otherwise. Just sayin' is all... Actually what they say is "Designed in the U.S.A, Made in Taiwan". I don't believe this is off topic, since Arounsev is asking for advise and reasons to buy a certain gps, and for a lot of people this is a valid reason. I know we live in a global economy, but we also (those of us in the U.S.) live in the U.S. economy. I choose to support that economy when I can. True that I can't always do that, but as I said, when you can get a quality product from an American company why not? I suspect that most people that continue to extoll the virtues of magellan care more about their brand loyalty than their patriotism. Some of us in the U.S. are concerned more about price than quality. I am not one of them, and don't see the value in it. It used to be that you had to save up to buy something, but when you got it, it lasted a lifetime. If I can buy a U.S. product (or at least partially U.S.) and can get quality, and I don't think anyone here can deny the quality or support of Garmin, then I don't mind paying more for it and feel good that I have done something to support the U.S. economy. Also, since Garmin isn't priced over that of Magellan, price really isn't an argument here. It's more of a question of what your values are and where your loyalties lie, or if you have them at all other than your pocketbook. Patriotism has nothing to do with Garmin Vs Magellan, this is the typical type of comment from someone who knows nothing about why american made products can be so over priced for what you get. I will buy American if I am getting my monies worth. I my opion Garmin is ripping of the American consumer. As far as magellan vs. Garmin Magellan Triaxial compass does not have to be level to work, the Garmin must be held level All current Magellan GPSr use the same cables for power or data, the garmin do not, if you change styles in Garmin you have to buy all new cables also Magellan TOPO software offers terrain projections on the GPS screen Garmin does not Magellan Direct route software when released did not requiring buying a new GPS to use it, When Garmin released their first software that offerd turn by turn nav. it would only work on the GPS V and Street Pilot III. And then if you wanted access to an area you had to pay extra to have the CD unlocked and this was very expensive. An lets not forget with the first Street pilot you could not buy a CD, you had to buy a pre loaded chip for the city you wanted, in my area Just the San Francisco area was $150.00 as was Sacramento and L.A. Magellan GPSr that have expandable use a Std off the shelf memory card, the Garmin GPSr with expandable memory must use an over price garmin Card. Now who is giving the shaft to the American Consumer---GARMIN I made these same coments to the Garmin rep when he whould stop to see me were I was the GPS buyer for the company I was working at before I retired. Before you attack someones patriotism, you better get your facts right. Quote
+EScout Posted October 29, 2004 Posted October 29, 2004 JOhnny Vegas makes very good points about the Garmin vs. Magellan issue. In general, Magellans are better values given the mapping, memory cards, cords, etc. I agree that you should choose based on the features and your own personal use and needs. I have owned for a couple of years, both a Legend and a Meridian. The Meridian, which I got for $100 was a great bargain then and is now also. I just saw a 128MB SD card advertised for $5 after rebate. I got the Meridian Topo mapping program for $50 on ebay. So you have a mapping GPS with memory and maps for under $200............... Quote
+niskibum Posted October 30, 2004 Posted October 30, 2004 Patriotism has nothing to do with Garmin Vs Magellan, this is the typical type of comment from someone who knows nothing about why american made products can be so over priced for what you get. I will buy American if I am getting my monies worth. I my opion Garmin is ripping of the American consumer. What an arrogant reply, and incorrect as well! Patriotism has a lot to do with this decision for those that don't sell out theirs because they think they can save a few bucks. I do know a little about why American products may be priced a little higher, but I don't believe this is the case here. I have bought three different Garmins, all with mapping, and all for $200 or less. Plus I got mapping software for my pc that works on all of them for under $80. True I got some good deals, but I still would have paid more since the quality and support is second to none. I also got cables with each and every one of them for no extra price. My etrex picks up satellites better face up, so it never has a problem holding the magnetic compass since it's never carried that way. It works fine sitting on my dash while driving as well. It also fits in my shirt pocket with room to spare. If you need to look at terrain projections for distances under .8 miles because you can't look at your topo map you shouldn't be out in the woods without a guide. I bet 99% of the people with that feature play with it once and never look at it again. As for memory cards, I couldn't care less. The 28meg in my Vista can handle my entire state and then some. If I was traveling around the country constantly that might be different, but as it is it's just another thing to loose or break. Don't you mean that you had to pay to unlock different areas on the V and SPIII? I believe they came with a certain number of areas unlocked with the unit. And the First SP? How many years ago was that? Did Magellan even have the technology to download from cds back then? I don't know, I don't dredge up ancient history. This is all Ford vs Chevy. They both have their plusses and minuses. Magellan is not the end all be all perfect GPS, and neither is Garmin. But the Garmin will do everything the original poster asked for at a fair price, plus you can know that at least part of the money you spent went into another Americans pocket. You can't say as much(other than the middle man who sold it to you, unless you went overseas for that too) for your Magellan. Nothing to do with patriotism? Only if you are willing to sell yours out because you think you can save a few bucks. Go ahead and justify your decision with features you think are must have, but allow the rest of us to support businesses in our own country. If I lived in France guess which kind of GPSr I would own. Would you think less of me for that? Quote
+JohnnyVegas Posted October 30, 2004 Posted October 30, 2004 I find your post challanging the patriotism of who buy non US products insullting and childish. But I guess when you are faces with facts this is the only way you respond. How much of your ski equipment is american made, it will not be 100% With the GPS V and Street Pilot III you got one free area to unlock, others you had to pay for. With the first Street pilots you had to by pre loaded card from Garmin at $150.00 per city area, if you were in ca and needed San Francisco, Sacramento and LA you had to spend at least $300.00 extra. THe reason garmin got away from this poicy is because the retailer could give them away when the customes found out they would have to shell out big bucks for the maps. Most people looking to by these were those that were traveling cross county in RVs, Boaters or sales reps. The only cable you got free with your garmins is the Data cable, if you want a power cable you have to open your wallet for each style of GPS you purchase from Garmin. As far as service, the best customer servive I have seen from any company in the outdoor industry in the past 33 years has been from Magellan, did you know that in most cases Magellan will owner warranty work far beyond the experation of the product warranty date, I have never seen Garmin do that. And another thing Magellan does with their warrnaty service is include a free power cable or a data cable or some other item when they return the GPS to the consumer. I have never seen Garmin do this. By the way my Magellans pick sattelites regardless of how I hold them and under heavy tree cover. Buy the way I have used both Magellan and garmin Products in the field, I was required to in my job. The Magellans always outprfomed the Garmins with the pacth antennas in the e-Trex series. By the way, when I asked Garmins tech support about the Patch antenna VS the Quad Hellix, THEY said the patch antenna would not perform as well. Quote
+Corp Of Discovery Posted October 30, 2004 Posted October 30, 2004 No offense to Johnny Vegas or niskibum, but maybe this isn't the place to continue this- it would be better served in it's own thread, probably in the Off Topic area. Yes, I know I mentioned it too in my other post, but now it's straying totally off topic. Quote
+niskibum Posted October 30, 2004 Posted October 30, 2004 No offense to Johnny Vegas or niskibum, but maybe this isn't the place to continue this- it would be better served in it's own thread, probably in the Off Topic area. Yes, I know I mentioned it too in my other post, but now it's straying totally off topic. I agree, so this will be my last post, since I am arguing with someone so totally biased that they think they have a miracle gps that never loses lock no matter how he holds it or how heavy the tree cover. There are plenty of posts comparing G and M, and it always comes down to personal preference. I prefer a smaller gps when hiking that you can slip in your pocket. Something you can't do without a patch, and M doesn't offer one. G also offers gpsrs with quad antennas if you like, so that is pointless anyway, although if you check your facts you will find that there are conditions where patches work better than quads. I know this is true, I have both. As far as M outperforming G every time - bull. You may have percieved that, but you are so biased you can't see the truth. I prefer a gps that tells me when it has lost lock, not give you the impression it hasn't. I ripped the rubber gasket on my legend one time, sent it in for repair after the warranty period. They sent me a new one(probably refurbished) and had it at my door five days after I had sent mine in free of charge. There are plenty of stories here about service like that from both G and M. If M gives you power(I assume you mean a car power cable because one for home would be pointless) when you buy the unit, what use is a second one when they repair your gps. Does the other one wear out? As far as my ski equipment, I used to use Solomons (French) but after I heard they wanted to dig up our soldiers buried there that died freeing their country I put them in storage and bought K2's(US). Best skiis I have ever owned. Want childish, how bout "my gps is the best and has no flaws and never losses lock and always works better than yours neener neener neener". Thats childish. Quote
+briansnat Posted October 30, 2004 Posted October 30, 2004 (edited) I ripped the rubber gasket on my legend one time, sent it in for repair after the warranty period. They sent me a new one(probably refurbished) and had it at my door five days after I had sent mine in free of charge. There are plenty of stories here about service like that from both G and M. Same here. Garmin fixed my GPS for free when the gasket loosened, even though it was 4 months out of warranty. It also came back with a new screen because I scratched the original one. I didn't even ask them to do it. Don't you mean that you had to pay to unlock different areas on the V and SPIII? I believe they came with a certain number of areas unlocked with the unit That's true. They came with detailed maps for your region FREE. Something NO other GPS I'm aware of does. If you wanted maps for other regions, you had to pay to "unlock". Since I rarely geocache outside the northeast, this was not an issue for me. I like that flexibility. Why should I pay for Alaska if I'm never going there. Edited October 31, 2004 by briansnat Quote
+JohnnyVegas Posted October 31, 2004 Posted October 31, 2004 No offense to Johnny Vegas or niskibum, but maybe this isn't the place to continue this- it would be better served in it's own thread, probably in the Off Topic area. Yes, I know I mentioned it too in my other post, but now it's straying totally off topic. I agree, so this will be my last post, since I am arguing with someone so totally biased that they think they have a miracle gps that never loses lock no matter how he holds it or how heavy the tree cover. There are plenty of posts comparing G and M, and it always comes down to personal preference. I prefer a smaller gps when hiking that you can slip in your pocket. Something you can't do without a patch, and M doesn't offer one. G also offers gpsrs with quad antennas if you like, so that is pointless anyway, although if you check your facts you will find that there are conditions where patches work better than quads. I know this is true, I have both. As far as M outperforming G every time - bull. You may have percieved that, but you are so biased you can't see the truth. I prefer a gps that tells me when it has lost lock, not give you the impression it hasn't. I ripped the rubber gasket on my legend one time, sent it in for repair after the warranty period. They sent me a new one(probably refurbished) and had it at my door five days after I had sent mine in free of charge. There are plenty of stories here about service like that from both G and M. If M gives you power(I assume you mean a car power cable because one for home would be pointless) when you buy the unit, what use is a second one when they repair your gps. Does the other one wear out? As far as my ski equipment, I used to use Solomons (French) but after I heard they wanted to dig up our soldiers buried there that died freeing their country I put them in storage and bought K2's(US). Best skiis I have ever owned. Want childish, how bout "my gps is the best and has no flaws and never losses lock and always works better than yours neener neener neener". Thats childish. No you are dealing with some who knows value when he sees it and is not an isolationist. Buy the way technically K2 is not 100% American owned, K2 is publicly traded stock (KTO), so anyone can owns shares. While K2 is base in the US and started in the US, being publicly traded, it is owned by stock holders from all over the world, one if which I am. Also I was dealing with GPS gear long before there was geocaching, Did you know the first comsumer (Non industrial) GPS was marketed by Magellan before the first gulf war. I have also used Magellan and Garmin side by side in the feild while geocaching. You may not like the fact that my the Magellan GPSr have outperformed Garmin models with Patch antennas under tree cover, but that is just a fact that I have observed. I also do not claim all Magellan Porducts have been good designs, If you have seen threads re, the explorist line you will know that I do not like them and I have told the Magellan reps I have talked to the same thing. I have never had a problem carrying a Magellan GPS in my pocket, the sport trak is not that much larger than an e-treks series, if you can not fit a sport trak into your pocket you must have very small pockets, this argument about Magellan being to large to fit into a pocket turns up from time to time and is just plain stupid. Magellan has been known to send out 12 volt power cables with repaired not when the GPS is sold. It does not hurt to have an extra 12 volt power cable or an extra data as a spear incase you damaged one. Most I my problems with Garmin have to due with them ripping off the American consummer with their business practices, another example is there TOPO software, when they released an I saw the three CDs my thoughts were "Why are they making people buy all three regions insted of breaking them down into three seperate packages and selling them for a third of the price. These were also issues my customers would have with their TOPO software. When it comes to Value, it is not there with Garmin Quote
+briansnat Posted October 31, 2004 Posted October 31, 2004 I have also used Magellan and Garmin side by side in the feild while geocaching. You may not like the fact that my the Magellan GPSr have outperformed Garmin models with Patch antennas under tree cover, but that is just a fact that I have observed I've observed them working equally well under most conditions. I've also encountered instances where the patch antenna was superior. Yesterday in a gorge my 60CS, with a quad helix, could only get 2 sats. My wife's Gecko had 4 solid locks and a 24 ft EPE. I noticed in the logs for the cache that Magellan owners also complained they couldn't get a loc at the cache site, so it wasn't a Garmin thing. Quote
+Texan78 Posted October 31, 2004 Posted October 31, 2004 (edited) I think you'll be looking for the Garmin eTrex Vista. It has N America & S America Base Maps, 24mb of memory and downloadable map, and waypoints and has a compass, Stores way points 1000, track log, sunrise/sunset and fish & hunt calculator. Everything you said you were looking for. Plus other little goodies. Plus alot cheaper than what some are suggesting. got mine for $217 and thats a everyday price brand new in the box. Edited October 31, 2004 by Texan78 Quote
+Torry Posted November 4, 2004 Posted November 4, 2004 I'm a little yellow eTrex fan. Fits my budget and does the job. Quote
+Sputnik 57 Posted November 4, 2004 Posted November 4, 2004 (edited) Vista fits your bill, but IMHO, you may be better served with a Legend and a magnetic compass (I know. It sounds so 16th century!) The Legend is essentially a Vista without the e-compass and altimeter. You can get a really good compass and a night on the town for the price difference between a Vista and a Legend. I got a 60C instead of a 60CS. I personally prefer the 60C, with its longer battery life. The C gives great bearings when moving at or above walking speed. I use a magnetic compass for those rare occasions when I need to take a bearing while standing still. Edit: Sorry your thread was hijacked by xenophobes and chauvinists (please don't add me to the flame war for that, but y'all are WAY OT!) Edited November 4, 2004 by Sputnik 57 Quote
4x4van Posted November 4, 2004 Posted November 4, 2004 (edited) Never mind. edited to remove the Off-topic section. Oops, that didn't leave much, did it? Edited November 4, 2004 by 4x4van Quote
+Texan78 Posted November 4, 2004 Posted November 4, 2004 The one feature that i like about having the compass on my Vista is when you get right on top of your target to where the map wont really help you anymore. You can have it point you in the right direction to go towards to target. That way you can get right on the cords. The map wont go into that much detail, but putting you in the general area. As well as having tell you how many feet away you are from it. That feature though is standard on most units. The compass feature though is real nice for me. Quote
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