Help a newbie with GPS selection

[club2403]

I realize this is probably the first time someone has asked this question.....NOT.....but in looking for a handheld GPS I have narrowed the choice down to a couple units, my question is would the Magellan Marine GPS unit be the ideal boating/geocaching unit or is there something better for the money? Also, what are the downsides to this unit? Thanks to all and wish me luck!!!

[+DustyJacket]

The ideal boating unit would be one of the big Chart Plotter GPS receivers (like Magellan has).

 

But, if you want to use it for geocaching and/or driving, then the recommendation will change.

 

DustyJacket

Not all those that wander are lost. But in my case...

[club2403]

OK, throw in driving as well, what is recommendation?

 

Thanks for responding!

[+Gaddiel]

We're pleased as punch with our Garmin eTrex Legend. Got it for around $150, after rebate (the curent rebate offer expires some time in July.) You can get the basic eTrex for around $100, but believe me, it's worth the extra $50 for the data cable (to connect to the PC) and the ability to load maps to it. We use ours for geocaching and travel.

[+briansnat]

Boating, driving and geocaching? The Garmin Map 76S.

 

"Au pays des aveugles, les borgnes sont rois"

[+Quoddy]

I use the MeriColor for Geocaching and driving. With the marine chip it would be excellent on the water too, being color.

 

"Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused"

[beachcaster]

I was in a similar situation having recently got into geocaching but had already used a Garmin GPS 12XL so knew my way round a GPS already. I looked at the E-Trex range but found I didn't like the key layout and display is very small - not easy to see if you have it in a case. Eventually I decided on a Garmin 72 and am very pleased with it. It has some nice "boat" features like Man Overboard which can be handy for marking where you parked your car when geocaching :-) It is well made and although bigger than a lot of the competition, it has a really clear display, runs happily on 2 x AA NiMh batteries and you can easily make up a data/power cable for it as the plugs are available through Purple Pledge.

[+sbell111]

You are going to get almost as many answers as there are units, but in my opinion, the best is a garmin gps 3+. Get a V if you want autorouting and have deep pockets.

[+Renegade Knight]

Driving & Geocaching. The Garmin GPS V hands down. For boating (big boat?) you can also attache an external antanea if your map room is down below.

 

=====================

Wherever you go there you are.

[club2403]

Thanks all for the input. No, not a big boat, small boat @ 23', also waverunners. Anyway, I realize that people prefer one brand to another but trust all of you who use these things versus the guy behind the register who can't SPELL GPS.......The Magellan Marine must not be that great cuz no one talks about it........I'm guessing my choices are, in no particular order:

 

1 Garmin Map 76S

2 Mericolor

3 Garmin 72

4 Garmin GPS 3+

5 Garmin GPS V

 

I believe I see a pattern developing!!!!!

 

Thanks again ev1!!!

[+briansnat]

quote:

---

The Magellan Marine must not be that great cuz no one talks about it

---

 

The Magellan Marine is fine for boating, but not so great for geocaching or driving, which is why nobody mentioned it.

 

The Map 76S floats and I think the Meridian color does too. Not sure about the other units. The 72 is fine for all 3 applications, but it doesn't have mapping capability, or an electric compass. Personally, I'd rule out the 3+ because it is lacking a lot of features considering its cost. Of course the GPS V is the best of the bunch for driving and geocaching and would be OK for boating, but doesn't have as many boating friendly features as the 76S (tide prediction, off course alarm, anchor alarm, etc...) Not sure if it floats either. I'd rule out the eTrex line for boating because though they are fine units, they sink like a rock.

 

"Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he'll sit in a boat and drink beer all day" - Dave Barry

 

[This message was edited by BrianSnat on June 26, 2003 at 07:31 AM.]

[Team Kender]

I think Garmin and Megellan both have nifty lines of GPSrs but I only own a Megellan Meridian so I'll tell ya what I think.

 

I have a Meridian Green and it looks like the Meridian Marine is basically the same thing but it also has a basemap for waterways, lighthouses, nautical markers, aquaducts AND of North American major roadways. You can use it in conjunction with Mapsend software to get street-level detail.

 

My Merigreen has kept me very happy so far for street navigation and Geocaching. I do wish it had a higher resolution screen like the Garmins tend to have but it does have a large screen with large display selections so you don't have to have your eyes glued to the unit to see the data. Also the big "Grandpa accessable" buttons on the front are very easy to navigate the interface with. If you have the unit locked onto a dash or whatever the boating equivalent is, you'll be able to just push the buttons easily, as they are right in front of you.

 

If you look into considering the other suggestions and you really want to use it on the water, you might make sure there are avenues for getting marine navigation info into them.

Good luck! -Dan

 

Team Kender - "The Sun is coming up!" "No, the horizon is going down."