Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Sandman on April 05, 2004, 11:26:00 PM

Title: Handheld GPS Receivers
Post by: Sandman on April 05, 2004, 11:26:00 PM: Any recommendations for handheld GPS receivers?

I'm currently leaning real hard towards a Magellan Meridian Gold.

Any insight/input is appreciated.
Title: Handheld GPS Receivers
Post by: Maverick on April 05, 2004, 11:45:00 PM: You are talking about flying GPS machines aren't you?

Before you decide on whichever brand, think about the cost of database updates. In the past Garmin was the most expensive. I have a 95XL and they quoted me a price of $125.00 for one update. I figured since it was for VFR anyhow I could compare sectionals and the Garmin a lot cheaper than updating.

I understand thay have come down in price but find out the cost before you get one.

I like the Garmin 195, the monochrone version of their color handheld. It is MUCH cheaper and lbatteries last longer as well.
Title: Handheld GPS Receivers
Post by: Sandman on April 05, 2004, 11:55:28 PM: Hehe... no... not flying... walking. :)
Title: Handheld GPS Receivers
Post by: rpm on April 05, 2004, 11:59:12 PM: I hear the newest generation mobile phones have GPS.
Title: Handheld GPS Receivers
Post by: Sandman on April 06, 2004, 12:01:10 AM: Quote
Originally posted by rpm371
I hear the newest generation mobile phones have GPS.

One more gadget I don't want on a phone. :) Cameras, MP3 players, PDA's... pffft.
Title: Handheld GPS Receivers
Post by: rpm on April 06, 2004, 12:03:50 AM: Would come in handy keeping track of your kids.
Title: Handheld GPS Receivers
Post by: Gh0stFT on April 06, 2004, 02:00:26 AM: Sandman for Paragliding we use some products from Bräuninger (http://www.braeuniger-flugelectronic.de/) .
I'm sure they can be used for walking too ;)

R
Gh0stFT
Title: Handheld GPS Receivers
Post by: beet1e on April 06, 2004, 04:40:52 AM: I have the Garmin Legend. It has a really useful map display amongst its other features.

If I were buying again today, one thing I'd look at is expected battery life. That Garmin eats batteries. In cities and towns it's not so good because of tall buildings, but I don't know if any GPS could overcome that problem.
Title: Handheld GPS Receivers
Post by: Creamo on April 06, 2004, 04:57:02 AM: Garmin Rino 110.

110 (http://www.garmin.com/products/rino/)

Pretty cheap, but it is best if your friend has one. Then it is really cool. You have radio contact, and can with a click, get their immediate location.
Title: Handheld GPS Receivers
Post by: CyranoAH on April 06, 2004, 05:56:47 AM: If you have a Pocket PC/Palm, check the bluetooth/mini GPS receivers. That + Ozi Explorer is all you want :)

Daniel
Title: Handheld GPS Receivers
Post by: Nilsen on April 06, 2004, 05:59:31 AM: Magellan has been good to me.
Title: Handheld GPS Receivers
Post by: LePaul on April 06, 2004, 08:19:51 AM: Garmin

As you may know, I work for a navigation software outfit and while there are oodles of brands I deal with on the phone with customers, the Garmins are the king of the heap...from inexpensive hand helds for your needs, to full-size plotters for larger vessels

Magellan...bleah...seen too many go out to lunch on people. I wouldn't give one to my worst enemy.
Title: Handheld GPS Receivers
Post by: Nilsen on April 06, 2004, 08:24:38 AM: still has been good to me ;)
Title: Handheld GPS Receivers
Post by: LePaul on April 06, 2004, 08:30:37 AM: And Im sure 99% of them are. You have to recall that Im in the tech support and testing section...if someone has problematic stuff, it goes to me and my coworkers.

Maybe they've licked the problem, but for a long time, Magellans were notorious for randomly not sending data out their external data line. So if you had it hooked to a computer program like ours or outside instruments, suddenly you lost all positional info. Meanwhile, your Magellan screen was all nice and happy, not indicating a problem inthe world. Sometimes power cycling cured it, other times, it would send data, then stop for 10-15 mins at a time, start sending again for hours, then randomly stop, etc. Not good if you have a large yacht in rough waters, near shoals, etc etc.

We had 2 units in house that did it.

Again, maybe they fixed it.
Title: Handheld GPS Receivers
Post by: Nilsen on April 06, 2004, 08:36:30 AM: Don't know about the data thing, when i had the gps i used it "solo".
Someone stole it from me and id sure like to ask him :mad: if he had any trouble with it...i would also discuss another issue with him.
Title: Handheld GPS Receivers
Post by: Golfer on April 06, 2004, 05:05:33 PM: I have a Garmin GPS Pilot III that I keep in my flight bag and use once every few flights to stay current with it and keep extra batteries. I like it very much for aviation, and have seen a non-aviation version (the exact same thing, price too) that had more roads and landmarks that the aviation GPS doesnt have (Aviation GPS has runway info, frequencies, services ect ect...all nice)

I dont know what it's called, maybe GPS III, but it is a good reciever and will run you about $500.

There are lots of lower-end items out there and lots more higher end items out there. You can spend anywhere from $80-$15,000 on a GPS/Navigator that ranges from basic handhelds to super sophisticated do-it-all-doodads for airplanes.

I'd recommend Garmin because its what I have and have good reception and no complaints.
Title: Handheld GPS Receivers
Post by: Makarov9 on April 06, 2004, 05:10:53 PM: We use Garmin GPS 76's at work for doing general point data collection. Has built in N.A. map and you can buy more detailed maps/topos from Garmin for it. They are rugged and dependable.

I have a Garmin Etrex Legend, which also has the built-in map and capability to import more detailed maps. Both units are similar and work great.

http://www.garmin.com/outdoor/products.html#mapping (http://www.garmin.com/outdoor/products.html#mapping)
Title: Handheld GPS Receivers
Post by: Sandman on April 06, 2004, 09:05:37 PM: Thanks... I pretty much narrowed the field down to a Garmin eTrex Vista or the Magellan Meridian Gold.

The units are quite similar, but the big selling point for me on the Magellan is the SD card slot.
Title: Handheld GPS Receivers
Post by: crowMAW on April 06, 2004, 09:13:13 PM: I've used a couple of different eTrex models. I currently use the Vista since it has a barometric altimeter, which is useful when I'm flying.

I've also used the Garmin 76, which is like an oversized eTrex. It does seem to aquire satellites faster than the eTrex though.

The best place to see independent reviews of different gps units is from:

http://gpsinformation.net/ (http://gpsinformation.net/)
Title: Handheld GPS Receivers
Post by: CyranoAH on April 07, 2004, 02:57:59 AM: I'd go for Garmin as well (Garmin GPS III Pilot here, ex-magellan owner).

Daniel
Title: Handheld GPS Receivers
Post by: Sandman on April 07, 2004, 11:38:21 PM: Thanks for the input, guys.

I spoke to a woman I work with and I had no idea that she was really heavy into GeoCaching (http://www.geocaching.com), one of the reasons I wanted a receiver. Anyway... she highly recommended the eTrex Legend. The fact that she has well over 100 finds and 9 caches of her own made my decision easy.