In Need Of New Gps

[+Scout353]

I've recently decided that I would buy a new GPS after discovering my Garmin Geko 101 is holding me back in the Geocaching community.

I've looked around and just can't seem to find the GPS that's just right for me.

I'm a Ham Radio Operator(KB1LCV) and want a gps that is APRS compatible which means a USB slot. The features that I am most interested in at the moment are:

 

Downloadable Topos

Good Battery Life

USB Compatible

Waterproof + Rugged

Good for Running in the woods

Saveable Routes

500+ Waypoints

WAAS

Lightweight

Trac Back

Price Range- Up to around 200, depending on the model, i might go higher.

 

I do backpacking, camping, orinteering, all that kind of outdoor stuff. Anyother features you think i might need or possible models?

 

I've looked at the Fortrex 201 only though.

Thanks a ton for your help

[+Milbank]

Price Range- Up to around 200

 

and USB?

 

I can't think of anything in that price range.

 

I think to get what you are looking for you are going to have to forget about your price range.

 

Now someone can come along and post the gps I forgot about.

[+Miragee]

I've recently decided that I would buy a new GPS after discovering my Garmin Geko 101 is holding me back in the Geocaching community.

I've looked around and just can't seem to find the GPS that's just right for me.

I'm a Ham Radio Operator(KB1LCV) and want a gps that is APRS compatible which means a USB slot. The features that I am most interested in at the moment are:

 

Downloadable Topos

Good Battery Life

USB Compatible

Waterproof + Rugged

Good for Running in the woods

Saveable Routes

500+ Waypoints

WAAS

Lightweight

Trac Back

Price Range- Up to around 200, depending on the model, i might go higher.

 

I do backpacking, camping, orinteering, all that kind of outdoor stuff. Anyother features you think i might need or possible models?

 

I've looked at the Fortrex 201 only though.

Thanks a ton for your help

You can get the little Garmin eTrex Legend for less than $140 on Amazon. By the time you buy the cable that converts the serial connector to USB, get the cigarette lighter adapter for your car and the support bracket so you can have it on the dash, you will have spent more than $200.00.

 

The maps are going to run you another $100.00, minimum, unless you have them already.

 

And, don't forget the rechargeable batteries. I just bought a 15-minute charger at Target yesterday for about $25.00. It included four more 2300 mAmp batteries.

[+embra]

I don't think you'll find something for $200 that covers all your bases, either. But there are a few that cover most of them. I can speak to the Magellan offerings; I expect someone with better Garmin familiarity can make suggestions from that vantage.

 

The Meridian Gold can be bought for $170 or so; with SD card you can have virtually unlimited waypoints. It uses a serial connection, but you can take advantage of USB speed by writing directly to the SD card in a reader. The only drawback I see in your criteria is it's rather large and relatively heavy...not the best for running.

 

Smaller and lighter would be one of the SporTracks...but with limited memory, I *thinK you can't exceed 500 waypoints. Of the two, I think the Meridian is the better value.

 

You may want to consider the Explorist 400, due to be released in the next month or so. I've seen it for $260 at gpscity.com (in a limited spot-check, it may be cheaper elsewhere) and it appears to meet all your criteria except price. A possible drawback for you is the proprietary Li-Ion battery if you go for extended outings.

 

It's a case of picking your compromise, I suppose. I see the Garmin Legend suggested a lot, but I'm not familiar enough to know its shortcomings for you. You may also want to look for a used unit.

 

Edit: I see idiosyncratic beat my post.

Edited April 3, 2005 by embra

[+IVxIV]

The Lowrance iFinder H2O has much of your features covered. Check it out

Edited April 3, 2005 by IVxIV

[+Renegade Knight]

The Legend C is probably as close as you are going to get.

 

Perhaps the new Explorist 400, and up would fit the bill?

[+Scout353]

OK I think i kinda screwed up with the USB Compatible. I just need some way to connect to computer and to my ham radio for APRS operation. I think that a the serial port will work. New Price Range- Under 300.

 

Can the foretrex 201 show topo maps and is it downloadable? That's a great lightweight unit I've heard and is excellant for running.

 

I hear the sportracs are not great and get a lot of cracks in them.

I want a unit that can show topo maps on the screen and info about areas.

I've heard the Explorist is not a unit that is any good according to Uber_Bike_Geek

 

New List of features:

Can download Topos

Good Battery Life

Waterproof + Rugged

Good for Running in the woods

Saveable Routes

500 Waypoints

WAAS

Lightweight

Trac Back

Around $300

 

Any Models or any things on the list you think i should remove or add?

[+Milbank]

Can the foretrex 201 show topo maps and is it downloadable?

 

No, they don't show topo.

Yes, from what I remember of the one I use to have you can connect it to a PC to upload and download waypoints.

 

I've heard the Explorist is not a unit that is any good

 

I would have to disagree.

 

What ham radio are you connecting it to?

I'm guessing maybe a Kenwood HT.

 

Have you checked to see how much the cables are to connect the gps to your radio?

I was looking at connecting a gps to my HT too until I seen how much a cable was.

[+Milbank]

New List of features:

Can download Topos

Good Battery Life

Waterproof + Rugged

Good for Running in the woods

Saveable Routes

500 Waypoints

WAAS

Lightweight

Trac Back

Around $300

 

Garmin GPSMAP 60

 

Garmin Legend C

 

Explorist 400

[+Scout353]

I had planned on grabbing a cable for it at Hosstraders (Hopkinton, NH) or one of the numerous Ham Radio Fleas I'll be attending in the next month. I was looking a getting a gps that I could at some point connect to a radio. When the IC-V82 comes out i thought of using that one for APRS.

I can still be considered a n00bie in the field of APRS though.

 

Can the Foretrex 201 show road maps/trails. I think thats all i really need after doing some further reading.

I'm giving the explorist another chance on my list. I guess Jeff is not god after all. LOL

 

Garmin GPSMAP 60

 

Garmin Legend C

 

Explorist 400 

 

I think they have more features then I really need. The items that I am currently deciding between a Explorist, Foretrex, Garmin Lengend??, feel free to add to my list of models. The more help the better.

 

I'm updating my feature list again.

 

Good Battery Life

Waterproof + Rugged

Good for Running in the woods

Saveable Routes

500 Waypoints

WAAS

Lightweight

Trac Back

Around $300

Road/Trail Maps

Downloadable way points

Good Sattilite Recivingness(You know wat I mean)

 

Still Looking for models or other features that need exing.

Thanks

[+Miragee]

With your new price range, you could also include the Garmin eTrex Vista. It has an altimeter which is a fun feature to have and one I've used frequently because of the topography of the area where I live.

 

Without the batteries, it is very lightweight . . .

[+Scout353]

Well I'll be darned. The Etrex Vista is a really great gps. I've looked at their site and it looks like it might be the winner. Does anyone know of any cons of the Vista?

 

Also does anyone know if it is compatible with a Ham Radio/ can connect to a computer?

 

Mucho Thanks

[+FoxPro]

Hi Scout,

 

I just moved up from a Garmin Legend to a 60CS. I'm very happy with it and it fills your bill, except for the minor point of price.

 

Bill C

[+Miragee]

Well I'll be darned. The Etrex Vista is a really great gps. I've looked at their site and it looks like it might be the winner. Does anyone know of any cons of the Vista?

 

Also does anyone know if it is compatible with a Ham Radio/ can connect to a computer?

 

Mucho Thanks

I have an eTrex Vista I bought on eBay, along with the Mapsource maps. I haven't had any problems with it, except occasionally if the batteries are not fully charged up, the click stick doesn't respond.

 

I just got this model for an older couple I know. They were going out to the desert for a lengthy camping trip and really needed a way to find their way back to the truck.

 

The Vista connects through the serial port to my computer. It ships with the connector. I got the cigarette-lighter adapter on Amazon for free by signing up for one of their credit cards and getting a $30.00 credit -- can't beat a deal like that!

[+Scout353]

It's sounding to me that the Vista might just be the Champ. I recently found a good amount of old gift cards to EMS where i might purchase it. Thanks everyone for you help.

 

Does anyone know about the connectivity of the Vista to a Ham Radio?

 

Also are there any comments on the cons of the Vista besides the little clicker problem.

 

Thanks

[uber_bike_geek]

I've heard the Explorist is not a unit that is any good according to Uber_Bike_Geek

Whoa there Scotty... Since when did I say you could quote me on that?!?! What I said was really more like, "I've heard that the eXplorist series isn't too good, but I've never used one, so I can't say for sure."

Once again... You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be misquoted and used against you in a court of law. (Well, the forums are close enough! )

 

I guess Jeff is not god after all.

I demand that you bow down to me!!

Be nice to your SPL!

 

The Vista sounds like a good choice, except for one thing: Now I'm going to have to upgrade, too!

Happy Caching

Jeff

[+Scout353]

Anyone else with feedback on the Etrex Vista? Thanks to everyone

 

Scout

 

*bows* to Jeff, the All Powerful SPL

[peter]

Does anyone know about the connectivity of the Vista to a Ham Radio?

Haven't specifically connected the Vista model to amateur radio equipment, but it uses the same type of RS232 interface and NMEA messages used by the Garmin eMap and that worked fine for tracking via APRS.

 

So I see no reason to expect any problems using the Vista for APRS.

Note that my confidence does *not* extend to the color VistaC which only has a USB interface and doesn't support standard NMEA messages.

Edited April 4, 2005 by peter

[+Scout353]

Well I think I found my winner, The Garmin Etrex Vista. Thanks to all of you that posted and helped out in my quest for a new GPS. (That Rhymes). IF you have any information about the pros/cons of the Vista, please inform me. I would love to know about them. Thanks

 

Scout

[+ritzvin]

Questions to think about?

 

Do you want to use this for street navigation, or only for outdoors-type stuff like geocaching?

 

---- yes - then you may want:

-------------------- color (more detail = harder to read if only 1 color, esp in car)

-------------------- higher memory or takes memory cards

-------------------- bundled detailed software

 

==========pricewise, the winner for me was the meridian color...the travel bundle is available from anchorexpress for $381 (this includes the unit and the detailed North America map CD's, and a car holder, cig lighter power adapter w/ data cable, data cable. it's serial; but USB SD card drives are less than $10 on ebay (and allows you to upload multiple rectangles of detail to the same card).

 

---- no - a non-color model with less memory will suffice.

============ The Garmin Legend is pretty nice at $130. If you want to upload topo maps, you might want to upgrade to the $190ish vista with 3x the memory. I don't know how much room the topo maps need.

 

Do you want the waypoint icons on the gps to match those on geocaching.com (differentiate between single, multi, virtual,...)?

---------The older magellan meridian models do not. It has fairly large pixels and only 16 colors, so the icons are pretty simple...not the pretty shaded icons the Legend I used a few times did. (I returned the Legend when I decided I wanted to also have street detailed routing). The Legend even showed the travel bug icon if there were travel bugs (if I remember correctly).

 

Your best match is probably the vista. It's fairly cheap, but has enough memory to fit a decent amount of topo maps.

Edited April 5, 2005 by ritzvin

[+ritzvin]

on the Vista..

 

the only cons I can think of:

 

- no expandable memory (internal only), and only 24 mb. Since you plan to use it only fo rthe outdoors, this should be plenty for your purposes. I would think that should be more than enough for topo maps. (in comparison, my block of detailed streets/destinations for the rectangular area consisting of Western New York and Southern Ontario, including Buffalo, a little of Pennsylvania, Toronto, and Barrie is 23 mb, thus travelling with street info with this device would require lots of uploading of map areas)

 

-No USB or removeable cards: this will increase the required upload times for maps...probably not an issue for you depending on how many topo maps you'll want to switch between and if you'll even have to (I don't know homw much memory your topo maps will need)

 

- non-color. however, the monochrome shading on the garmins is pretty good, and should be more than enough for topo uses.

 

Conclusion... based on your planned uses, the above cons probably aren't an issue. It should be an excellent model for you. (the one I would have picked for you)

[+Miragee]

I have the Vista and have it loaded with street maps for most of San Diego County (a huge county) as well as maps up to Joshua Tree National Park and Death Valley National Park.

 

I also have lots of waypoints and many tracks saved.

 

I think I've only used 37% of the available memory so far.

 

Edit to correct typo . . .

Edited April 5, 2005 by idiosyncratic

[+Marky]

I hear the sportracs are not great and get a lot of cracks in them.

I want a unit that can show topo maps on the screen and info about areas.

The SporTrak color has never had cracking problems. They have a different case design. The SporTrak color also has a nice hi res screen and displays topo maps very nicely.

 

I've heard the Explorist is not a unit that is any good according to Uber_Bike_Geek

That's not what I've been hearing about the Explorist 500. The 100-200-300 series is MUCH different from the 400-500-600 series. Which one was Uber_Bike_Geek talking about. As mentioned by another poster, the LION battery pack might be a consideration if you do a lot of overnight trips where you are away from power.

 

New List of features:

Can download Topos

Good Battery Life

Waterproof + Rugged

Good for Running in the woods

Saveable Routes

500 Waypoints

WAAS

Lightweight

Trac Back

Around $300

I got a SporTrak Color at Costco for $200 and it does all of those things. I'm pretty sure it would interface with your equipment just fine.

 

--Marky

[Overland1]

Anyone else with feedback on the Etrex Vista? Thanks to everyone

 

Scout

 

*bows* to Jeff, the All Powerful SPL

I have a Vista, and bought all the extras to go with it. No complaints so far, and it performs really well. The only thing is that is had a monochrome display, but that may be better in sunlight anyway. It goes with me just about everywhere..... on the motorcycle, on foot, on the bicycle, and in the Jeep (which has a built-in nav system).

[+EScout]

Scout 353:

For APRS you want a GPSr with a serial connector. This means the Original Vista will work fine. The new color ones do not have a serial connector (only USB)and will not be easy to connect if you can at all. You might also consider the iFinders, Magellan Sportrak models that have mapping (especially the Topo model), the Meridians, the Garmin 60.

[+Scout353]

What type of Garmin Vista Extras do you all think would be useful?

[+The Seven G's]

Look into Lowance Ifinder pro series. They are the under dog--in terms of popularity, not quality or features. They were well-priced, and i'm loving mine. I hate following the crowds/sheep, and am I glad I didn't.

-JG