Jump to content

Garmin Gps Iii Plus


Recommended Posts

Didn't have much luck doing a search.

 

I have the opportunity to buy a new in the box Garmin GPS III Plus for $140. Thoughts on this unit? Cheapest I found it for online was $259 and reviews for this unit have been outstanding 4.75 out of 5 or higher.

 

I know it is an older unit but if it's a good unit then that's all good. I'm not after bells and whistles.

 

Feedback on this unit, quick please.

Edited by Moab Man
Link to comment

For that same 250 you can get a GPS V Deluxe which has Mapsource City Select included as part of the price.

 

If the III does mapping at all it won't have much memory. Get a V and you won't have regrests. It's probably in the sweet spot right now for bang for the buck.

 

http://www.garmin.com/products/gpsIIIp/

 

The III does not come with City Select. If you buy it, it will push you to the price of the V. The lesser memory means you will have a minimal map area and I'm still not sure it will work with City Select.

Edited by Renegade Knight
Link to comment

I agree with RK and would pass on a III+ at $140. It has great reviews because it was an excellent unit when it came out and for a few years thereafter. It was Garmin's first handheld that supported downloadable detailed maps which was a big advance at the time (although I believe Lowrance's GM100 beat them to it). But the map memory is limited to only 1.4 MB which makes it incompatible with much of the best street mapping software (it can handle Garmin's US Topo maps for limited areas). In some places even a single region from MetroGuide would be too large for this memory and in others you'd be limited to one or two very small areas.

 

Furthermore it lacks many features considered standard now, including support for WAAS/EGNOS, address lookup, searching for intersections and Points-Of-Interest, etc.

 

At a similar price point there are a number of more recent models that I'd choose instead, including Garmin's eTrex Legend, Magellan's Meridian Gold, and Lowrance's iFinderH2O.

Link to comment

First of all, for $140, it might be worth it if its brand spankin new. I cant think of anything relatively the same as the III+ that would be a good replacement. For that price, you should also look at the Lowrance iFinder which goes for $119.00 and includes a detailed worldwide basemap, WAAS and excellent interface. keep in mind though that the ifinder is not waterproof.

 

Your GPS doesnt accept WAAS signals via towers. WAAS is transmitted by satellite and anyone in the US has access to it. (although it is sketchy in certain areas).

Edited by Tahoe Skier5000
Link to comment

I know GPS III Plus doesn't have it. I was looking to get one with it until I was told it is not so good here in Utah.

 

My understanding was that WAAS worked of stationary fixed points on the ground to adjust for variance from satelites.

 

from: http://www.garmin.com/aboutGPS/waas.html

WAAS consists of approximately 25 ground reference stations positioned across the United States that monitor GPS satellite data. Two master stations, located on either coast, collect data from the reference stations and create a GPS correction message. This correction accounts for GPS satellite orbit and clock drift plus signal delays caused by the atmosphere and ionosphere. The corrected differential message is then broadcast through one of two geostationary satellites, or satellites with a fixed position over the equator. The information is compatible with the basic GPS signal structure, which means any WAAS-enabled GPS receiver can read the signal.

 

 

It is brand new in the box. They actually still make them or at least there are a whole lot of them around that they continue to get shipments.

Edited by Moab Man
Link to comment

Even if the V didn't have WAAS it beats the III hands down for every purpose you want the GPS for. You have WAAS in Utah but reception may be spotty in canyons.

 

WAAS uses satalites along with the ground stations to calculate a differential correctoin for your GPS signal. That correction is what gives you better accuracy. I don't think your GPS needs to see the ground station. Just the satalites.

 

You won't regret the V. You may say you don't regret the III but secretly you really will.

Link to comment
My understanding was that WAAS worked of stationary fixed points on the ground to adjust for variance from satelites.

...

 

It is brand new in the box. They actually still make them.

Yes, WAAS uses a network of ground stations to detect any variations in the signals from the GPS satellites due to things like atmospheric delays, satellite clock errors, etc.

But the network of ground stations now covers the entire US and much of southern Canada, so that's not a problem in Utah. The WAAS correction data is transmitted to the user's GPS unit by a couple geostationary satellites, one over the Atlantic and one over the Pacific. Since geostationary sats must be over the equator, they'll be located fairly low in the sky as seen from the northern US, including Utah. Given the hilly terrain in many locations you'll have trouble getting a line-of-sight view of the WAAS satellites in places where your horizons are obstructed. So it'll work fine in many situations in Utah, but not in places where the terrain happens to block your view of the WAAS geostationary satellites.

 

The GPS III+ may well be new in the box, but Garmin did discontinue this unit some time back so I doubt that any are still being manufactured.

 

Having owned a III+ and using it side-by-side with a Legend, I'd pick the Legend as the more capable unit in most circumstances - has 8 MB for maps vs. 1.4 MB, supports WAAS, supports newer map features (search addresses, POIs, etc.). And it's generally available for less than $140. If you'll also be buying detailed Garmin street maps, then I'd go along with RK's suggestion of the GPS V. The street maps alone cost about $100 and are included with the V, so the overall cost would be about the same as the III+/maps and you'd be getting a far superior unit (19 MB for maps, WAAS support, auto-routing, better screen resolution, improved feature set).

Link to comment
Thank you everyone for all the info. I appreciate it and hope that I didn't come off as trying to defend the gps III+ I just wanted to really discuss it.

 

Thanks

No prob. We're just telling ya it ain't worth $140. Its been discontinued by Garmin and for that money you can get yourself a Legend brand new and have enough left over for a tank of gas.

Link to comment

I have owned both a III+ and teh V and the V has a much nicer Screen, better details, Better Back light, AutoRouting, 19mb of Map space and routing :laughing:

 

Did I mention routing :laughing:

 

I loved my 3 and it did well for me in geocaching, but using the V helpe dout a lot of getting close to a cache without having to hunt for close entrances and the like. Heck sometimes it get me dadgum close.

 

-R

Link to comment

For the heck of it, I bought the GPS III to give it a try since I could return it and wanted to compare. I found the III to pick up and hold satellite better than my original Etrex gps. Accuracy was the same.

 

Since the III wasn't any kind of an improvement over the Etrex so I headed back and exchanged for a Legend. With this unit I found the accuracy to be a bit better than Etrex/III, not much but it was consistantly better. The III still held the satellites better than either Etrex or (Etrex) Legend. I imagine this is due to the external antenna. For my own curiousity I will see if an external antenna.

 

As for what I was told about WAAS not really being available here in northern Utah... After more checking and enabling the WAAS on the legend I can tell you nope, nada, nothing! No WAAS for me.

Link to comment
For the heck of it, I bought the GPS III to give it a try since I could return it and wanted to compare. I found the III to pick up and hold satellite better than my original Etrex gps. Accuracy was the same.

 

Since the III wasn't any kind of an improvement over the Etrex so I headed back and exchanged for a Legend. With this unit I found the accuracy to be a bit better than Etrex/III, not much but it was consistantly better. The III still held the satellites better than either Etrex or (Etrex) Legend. I imagine this is due to the external antenna. For my own curiousity I will see if an external antenna.

 

As for what I was told about WAAS not really being available here in northern Utah... After more checking and enabling the WAAS on the legend I can tell you nope, nada, nothing! No WAAS for me.

No go back and replace the Legend with a V. :D

 

Trust me, the etrex's absolutely suck in the forest! I used it last summer while hiking around my house and couldnt get any sort of lock at all. Terrible reception.

 

etrexes are also a lot less durable IMO. they also have reliability issues...

Link to comment
...As for what I was told about WAAS not really being available here in northern Utah... After more checking and enabling the WAAS on the legend I can tell you nope, nada, nothing! No WAAS for me.

Funny I got lots of WAAS in Southern Idaho. I can about spit and hit Northern Utah from here. It takes a long long time to get the lock and show the accuracy improvements.

Link to comment
Trust me, the etrex's absolutely suck in the forest! I used it last summer while hiking around my house and couldnt get any sort of lock at all. Terrible reception.

 

Probably a defective unit. They are the most popular unit around here and are used with great success under heavy tree cover. I know my Legend and Vista both get excellent reception in the forest.

Link to comment
...As for what I was told about WAAS not really being available here in northern Utah... After more checking and enabling the WAAS on the legend I can tell you nope, nada, nothing!  No WAAS for me.

Funny I got lots of WAAS in Southern Idaho. I can about spit and hit Northern Utah from here. It takes a long long time to get the lock and show the accuracy improvements.

I agree that you should be able to receive WAAS correction data as long as you're in a location that has a reasonably unobstructed horizon toward the southeast and/or southwest. There's nothing particularly special about Utah, and being farther south, you should have an easier time finding places with good WAAS reception than RK does in Idaho. I also have no trouble getting WAAS signals in northern California which should be quite similar to Utah.

 

However, it can sometimes take awhile for the receiver to initially load the almanac for the WAAS satellite locations (this is separate from the GPS satellite almanac). There's a good step-by-step procedure at:

http://www.gpsinformation.org/dale/dgps.htm under the section titled "Loading the Almanac" to ensure that your receiver gets the necessary data to start using the WAAS corrections. Once it has this almanac loaded, subsequent uses of WAAS data go much faster.

Link to comment

What your seeing between the LEdgen and the III+ is the differnace in teh Patch ( etrex ) and the Quad Helix ( III+ and V )

 

The Quad holds sig better than patch in foresty conditions.

 

Save your pennies and get the V, you can find them cheap w/ the City Select software and full unlock for 300 ish. Shop around, hell look for used units as well.

 

-R

Link to comment

I already bought the Legend and tree cover really isn't an issue for me here in the desert.

 

Finally got WAAS to work. I had to go further west into the valley floor between the mountain ranges but I got it. It seems that the WAAS are low on the horizon for me and if I'm within 5 miles of the range I can't get them.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...