GPS units, anyone have one, use it?

[greyshep]

Hey guys,

My wife was looking for a gift idea for me and I have thought a hand held GPS unit may be nice to have. Thought it may be handy for pinpointing good fishing areas for return trips, etc.

I really dont know what to tell her to look for though. Any specific models or features I should be telling her to focus on?

Anyone have any experience or insight into these things?

Thanks.

[kermitology]

www.gpscentral.ca

If you're looking for simple and cheap. Garmin eTrex are pretty decent, but very basic.

[TimSJ]

i have a Clarion N.I.C.E. works great.. has memory so you can add MP3's, play video on it.. has sirrius capabilities.

[greyshep]

Originally Posted by kermitology

www.gpscentral.ca

If you're looking for simple and cheap. Garmin eTrex are pretty decent, but very basic.

I am looking at the Magellan explorist 500.

Thanks for the link.

[kermitology]

Originally Posted by greyshep

I am looking at the Magellan explorist 500.

Thanks for the link.

That looks like a pretty decent unit. If someone was looking for an in-car unit I'd suggest something that has a SiRF GPS chip in it.

[pope04]

Originally Posted by greyshep

I am looking at the Magellan explorist 500.

Thanks for the link.

Canadian Tire has those babies on sale for $200!

http://canadiantire.ca/browse/produc...romSearch=true

I've been eyeing one too. Wife and I just bought a boat and thought it'd help.

[Robbob]

Me and my wife got one for my father in law from gpscentral. They really seem to know what they are doing and came recommended by a few few stores when we were looking around. Ask them for what you will be using it for and they will be able to recommend a good one.

One thing I noticed when we were looking around is that you should go for a colour model because they are so much clearer. My father in law had an old one (I think that yellow etrek) and the new one with colour was a million times easier to see.

[Tron_fdc]

This is the one I have, and I use it all the time. I don't have a lot of experience with the other brands, but this thing does all kinds of neat and fancy stuff. You can download maps to it, create "tracks" (record your movement), mark different locations, and all kinds of other stuff I haven't figured out. I mainly use it sledding checking altitudes, and figuring out whereabouts I am in relation to pick up and drop off points when we're shuttling in the backcountry.

I believe it was about $400.

[greyshep]

Originally Posted by pope04

Canadian Tire has those babies on sale for $200!

http://canadiantire.ca/browse/produc...romSearch=true

I've been eyeing one too. Wife and I just bought a boat and thought it'd help.

Yeah I noticed that one in the flyer today as well.

Never really know with Cdn tire whether their regular prices are overinflated or not. Seems this is a decent deal though.

[Robbob]

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

This is the one I have, and I use it all the time. I don't have a lot of experience with the other brands, but this thing does all kinds of neat and fancy stuff. You can download maps to it, create "tracks" (record your movement), mark different locations, and all kinds of other stuff I haven't figured out. I mainly use it sledding checking altitudes, and figuring out whereabouts I am in relation to pick up and drop off points when we're shuttling in the backcountry.

I believe it was about $400.

That's the one I got for my father in law. Also got him a topo add on so when he goes gold panning he knows the general lay of the land. Said he loves the thing.

[BlackArcher101]

I have the Garmin 60CSx as well. I use it for both navigating unknown roads in my truck and hiking in the backcountry. As an extra bonus, it has the SiRF chip in it. Practically works indoors!

[photon]

Yeah anything with the newer SiRF stuff is quite impressive. I develop GPS enabled games and apps for mobile devices (phones), and we have a couple of Mitac phones with SiRF GPS chips in them, very accurate and nice. So a windows mobile smart phone with the Tom Tom software is another option.

I'd rather have one of those bluetooth GPS pods and have it run through my normal cell phone.

[Jagger]

We have four GPS units. My main unit is a Garmin 60CS. This is an excellent machine, especially when you purchase add on map sets. It was a godsend when travelling in Florida and Yellowstone. I also use it for work on a daily basis.

The other units we have are a Garmin LegendC (A nice intro model), an old Garmin Legend, and a Garmin forerunner (great for running/jogging).

I'm really into geocaching (www.geocaching.com) which is a great use of the gps! Lot's of cachers and caches in Calgary too.

[kermitology]

That SiRF chip is how GPS will be done in the future. Over the past year and a bit I've been working on something similar so I've got a REALLY good understanding of how it works.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by Jagger

We have four GPS units. My main unit is a Garmin 60CS. This is an excellent machine, especially when you purchase add on map sets. It was a godsend when travelling in Florida and Yellowstone. I also use it for work on a daily basis.

The other units we have are a Garmin LegendC (A nice intro model), an old Garmin Legend, and a Garmin forerunner (great for running/jogging).

I'm really into geocaching (www.geocaching.com) which is a great use of the gps! Lot's of cachers and caches in Calgary too.

Why do you have four?

[Jagger]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

Why do you have four?

mine: Garmin 60cs
wife: Garmin Legend c & Forerunner (for running)
Kids: Old Garmin Legend

It does seem excessive but then we do geocache seperately at times and use the GPSr's in seperate vehicles too.