Information on GPS units

[motorman]

I am looking into getting a GPS. Figure it is somewhat like buying a stereo, the more you know the tougher it is to make a decision.

I am looking for the basics

1.small...handheld that is easily transfered from vehicle to vehicle
2.inexpensive
3.will tell me where I am at(yes I have gotten lost more than once)
4.shows direction..ie compass

however................

what am I getting into if I start looking at doing the following

5.gps provides driving directions for highway and trail (doesn't have to talk to me....just show it on a screen)
6.I want to "map" a trail for others to use later
7.download maps that others have created(similar to 2)

and now the questions I am not sure I want to ask.......

8.What other "cool" features do these little units have that a Jeeper who isn't afraid of exploring would want?
9.What accessories would I want to consider buying?

My hope is to go to more locations in the near future that I am not familar with at all............read into that back to Utah/Nevada/Colorado/Pennsylvania etc.

10.Any additional issues if I expand to Canada and Mexico?

Thanks in advance. This is not a holiday thing so time is not that critical .....at least don't expect it to be. Might be a present to myself at the after the holiday sales.

 

[DrMoab]

If it were me...This is the one I would buy...
Garmin 60CS
I have used Magellans for years and really like the way they work but now I am having a few issues with them....They just aren't keeping up with the times. For instance I have an older Magellan 300M and I can't use it on my laptop. It uses a serial port and my laptop doesn't even have a serial port.
I checked on updating to a newer magellan but they still aren't making anything with a USB connection.
The new Garmins use USB and its so much faster.
Also if you ever decide to get into geocaching Click Here You will find that Garmins newer GPS's are much more user friendly.

As far as price goes....The more you spend the more features you will get. I know you can get the 60CS from Garmin for around 450.00. I know that seems steep but if you spend much less you won't get all the features and user friendliness.

But thats only my $.02

 

[RichP]

IOGEAR model GUC232A, serial to USB, $40 in the store... needed it to talk to cisco stuff for the initial setup...
Cheaper laptops don't have serial ports, not until you get into the professional grades.

 

[DrMoab]

IOGEAR model GUC232A, serial to USB, $40 in the store... needed it to talk to cisco stuff for the initial setup...
Cheaper laptops don't have serial ports, not until you get into the professional grades.

I have a usb to serial connector....The biggest problem I have is that the older software that Magellan uses only gives you com port choices 1-4....Mine started at like com port 8 and in XP I have yet to figure out a way to change this. I can use it on other programs that look for the com port that the gps is hooked too but not on the program that actually downloads maps to the gps.
Clear as mud right?

 

[GI-John]

Your 2 main makers are Garmin and Magellan. Brand loyalty runs deep, and both are somewhat comparable. Accept NO OTHER brands.

That being said, I prefer Garmin. www.garmin.com

Based on what you are looking for, the GPS V sounds like a nice compromise with memory being your main drawback. It allows turn by turn, autorouting, and street or topo downloading (at a decent fee) No compass either, but points out cardinal direction.

I've had :

Etrex Yellow as my primary navigator on the Tank (READ: ABUSED) and there are several upgrades of the model that gives you altimeter, barometer, and electronic compass.

A GPS V for a little while that performed great, but had to be returned due to software issues (from the seller, not Garmin)

But my choice, and current primary GPS is the Rino 130. It has all of the bells and whistles of an Etrex vista, with the added capability of FRS/GMRS and position reporting.

Also try www.geocaching.com for more info and a possible new hobby.

 

[METAL MONKEY]

i'm a magellan user, but have been looking into the previously mentioned garmin 60cs. there are a couple of things that bother me about the garmins. first of all, they don't float. they are only rated to be waterproof to a certain depth. 3 meters i think. Even though they say waterproof, my brother and several others have had them leak and consequently ruin the gps. needless to say they switched to a magellan unit. Secondly, specifically on the 60cs, you can not expand the memory, but i would say that 57mb is more than enough for a single outing. Lastly, garmin's topo software is more expensive than magellan's, and on top of that, the topo software is regionalized. now if you plan to always stay in that region, then fine. otherwise you have to go out and buy a $100 or so worth of software for another region. magellan's software, i know, is good for the U.S, if not all of N. America. I haven't used it for a while, so I would have to check. whether or not garmin's topo software is more detailed, i don't know about that either. maybe someone else will chime in on that. don't get me wrong though, the garmin units seem to be very nice units and have features that the magellan's don't, but this is just IMHO.

 

[ChiXJeff]

IOGEAR model GUC232A, serial to USB, $40 in the store... needed it to talk to cisco stuff for the initial setup...
Cheaper laptops don't have serial ports, not until you get into the professional grades.

I've got a USB-RS232 dongle, which I think is the one you're referencing.

Garmin Mapsource does *NOT* work with it. V5 locks up, V6 doesn't find the GPS V.

I've used to talk to Cisco routers and as an HP-UX console. I know it works.

 

[CaptTrev]

"GET A GARMIN....OR GET LOST"

do a search on here about garmin GPS's

i make my living using my handheld garmin GPS (76 map edition)

 

[Steele]

I really like my garmin legend, its the blue one...... it does just about everything that you are looking for it to do..... and man have they come down in price since I got mine a couple years back..... I've seen em on ebay for real cheap.

 

[BillR]

I have a simple Garmin GPS-12. It's accurate and always works great. It seem to pick up it's position really quick, too.