View Full Version : GPS Unit
THEmapMAKER
09-07-2008, 08:08
I am looking for an handheld GPS unit that works well in the deep woods, that shows hiking trails, but will also give me turn by turn directions when I am driving around like mapquest.com does. I went to a local outfitter in my area and was told that it does not exist, but I went to Garmin's webiste and they seem to say some of thier handhelds will do what I want. Does anyone have any recomendations for me. Thanks.
How much do you want to spend? The best one, right now, would be the Garmin Oregon 400t which comes with nationwide topo installed. You would then have to buy the software to install national road routing on a micro card and you would have it all. I have all the above on an older Garmin 60 CSx and it's excellent in both the forest and on the road. Be aware that the actual trail information is limited.
take-a-knee
09-07-2008, 10:22
I am looking for an handheld GPS unit that works well in the deep woods, that shows hiking trails, but will also give me turn by turn directions when I am driving around like mapquest.com does. I went to a local outfitter in my area and was told that it does not exist, but I went to Garmin's webiste and they seem to say some of thier handhelds will do what I want. Does anyone have any recomendations for me. Thanks.
There is no such device and probably never will be. An auto GPS must have a large enough screen to be safely viewed mounted on your dash, plus it needs a data base primarily of road/highway data. We had older Garmin GPS V's on the dash of our trucks when I worked in Iraq. You couldn't drive and use the thing at the same time, it required a navigator to operate it. All you need for the bush is that cheapest Etrex AND a map and compass. Most any of the dash mounts will serve you well like the Garmin Nuvi or Tom Tom.
fiddlehead
09-07-2008, 10:37
The Garmin's with an "X" on the end are supposed to be great in the deep woods.
The standard etrex can really suck in that environment.
I just ordered and am waiting for my 60 CSX as i am in deep tree cover and it's a real pain looking for some sky and then waiting for a fix. Should be here in another 2 or 3 days. I've heard nothing but good reviews on it.
Recently discussed here http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=40262
I just ordered and am waiting for my 60 CSX as i am in deep tree cover and it's a real pain looking for some sky and then waiting for a fix. Should be here in another 2 or 3 days. I've heard nothing but good reviews on it.
Your going to love the 60CSX! I just did that 30 miler on the Pinhoti, heavy tree cover, down in shallow valleys, never lost signal!
take-a-knee
09-07-2008, 12:26
The Garmin's with an "X" on the end are supposed to be great in the deep woods.
The standard etrex can really suck in that environment.
I just ordered and am waiting for my 60 CSX as i am in deep tree cover and it's a real pain looking for some sky and then waiting for a fix. Should be here in another 2 or 3 days. I've heard nothing but good reviews on it.
The Garmin GPS units that are described as WAAS (wide area augmentation system, whatever that is), do in fact work better (slightly more accurate, better under tree cover) than the earlier units do. So just remember the buzzword WAAS and you'll be good to go.
The Garmin GPS units that are described as WAAS (wide area augmentation system, whatever that is), do in fact work better (slightly more accurate, better under tree cover) than the earlier units do. So just remember the buzzword WAAS and you'll be good to go.
FWIW: My (new) Earthmate PN-20 is "WAAS-enabled" and was pretty much useless under leaf cover in Vermont a few weeks ago. As I understand the "definition" of WAAS (and the user manual for this GPS,) it has to do with additional accuracy -- but not much to do with the sensitivity of the receiver.
humunuku
09-08-2008, 18:07
How much do you want to spend? The best one, right now, would be the Garmin Oregon 400t which comes with nationwide topo installed. You would then have to buy the software to install national road routing on a micro card and you would have it all. I have all the above on an older Garmin 60 CSx and it's excellent in both the forest and on the road. Be aware that the actual trail information is limited.
The Oregon has some neat features, but has some issues. The 60csx is more accurate. Check out--->http://garminoregon.wikispaces.com/
take-a-knee
09-08-2008, 22:15
FWIW: My (new) Earthmate PN-20 is "WAAS-enabled" and was pretty much useless under leaf cover in Vermont a few weeks ago. As I understand the "definition" of WAAS (and the user manual for this GPS,) it has to do with additional accuracy -- but not much to do with the sensitivity of the receiver.
I guess I passed along a falsehood that was told to me, trees weren't much of a problem in Iraq.
tatersalad
09-09-2008, 07:27
I have a Map60Cx and love it. My buddy has the windshield mount and it works just fine for driving. Yes the screen is smaller than dedicated auto GPS units, but the deep woods performance is excellent.
My smartphone has both backwoods mapping software on it as well as street-type GPS software (PocketTopo and TomTom respectively in my particular case). They both work fine, and my phone has a true GPS on it (SiRFStar III chipset).
If a smartphone or just a PDA with a GPS (if such a beast exists) makes sense for you in other ways, you might consider this route.
I carried a smartphone with me on my PCT thru-hike this year; there were enough learning curves in prepping for this that I actually wrote up a document of suggestions for others who might consider this approach, here:
http://postholer.com/smartPhone.html
It's not a trivial out-of-the box solution, but does offer a lot of functionality in a single package.
Brian Lewis, http://postholer.com/brianle
Toolshed
09-21-2008, 13:42
I am looking for an handheld GPS unit that works well in the deep woods, that shows hiking trails, but will also give me turn by turn directions when I am driving around like mapquest.com does. I went to a local outfitter in my area and was told that it does not exist, but I went to Garmin's webiste and they seem to say some of thier handhelds will do what I want. Does anyone have any recomendations for me. Thanks.
The 60 CSX and 76 CSX both use Quad Helix Hi Senstivity antennas that are leaps and bounds over the eEtrex Series.
I have used my 76CSX with both topo/topo2008 and now with Europe City Navigator. With topo I have all the contours and geo features and even some trails on my unit (Must load Topo to the unit from your DVD.
With the City DVD, you can load to a chip on your GPS many cities and highways.. The screen is large nough to be seen easily using a dashmount.
If you buy both mapsets on DVD and a large (2G) memory micro SD card, you can load some data from each DVD. You can have the best of both worlds simply by going into settings (I forget which one) and selecting which mapset you have downloaded to the unit (From Topo or from City).
WalkingStick75
09-21-2008, 14:23
I just came back from a trip in the Alps using my 60CSX only lost siginal once in 120 kph winds (windy day) and another time down to two satalites when in a spot where I had mountains all around me. Great unit.
NICKTHEGREEK
09-21-2008, 15:18
I just came back from a trip in the Alps using my 60CSX only lost siginal once in 120 kph winds (windy day) and another time down to two satalites when in a spot where I had mountains all around me. Great unit.
Wind doesn't have any effect on GPS other than to blow your receiver out of your grasp.
WalkingStick75
09-21-2008, 18:36
Wind doesn't have any effect on GPS other than to blow your receiver out of your grasp.
Yea, thats what I thought too. I was on top of the mountian over 6000 meters with no obstructions. The Hutte Warden told us that was common when the winds kicked that high. Anyone else have another explaniation?
NICKTHEGREEK
09-21-2008, 19:46
Yea, thats what I thought too. I was on top of the mountian over 6000 meters with no obstructions. The Hutte Warden told us that was common when the winds kicked that high. Anyone else have another explaniation?
Not to put too fine a point on it but I believe the hutte warden was full of crappe, or just having fun with the tourist.
The easiest example is that airplanes fly much higher than 18000 feet, airplanes fly much faster than 200 kph, and airplanes rely pretty heavily (but not entirely) on GPS.
Wise Old Owl
09-21-2008, 20:20
Yea, thats what I thought too. I was on top of the mountian over 6000 meters with no obstructions. The Hutte Warden told us that was common when the winds kicked that high. Anyone else have another explaniation?\
Chilled your batteries!:-?
Back to the original questions....
I have asked myself the same question, I have read the posts and tried to get a handle on this … Well let me tell you I really tried to research this.
I bought the Vista HCX and it was rumoured and several posts that you could buy a streets chip for turn by turn directions…..
Based on what I read here I went back to the web site to find the info I knew… it’s gone.
I don’t think it’s a big deal, they are introducing new products now that might fit the need. If not do not discount the fact if you have a laptop and a 12v inverter you only need Microsoft Streets & Trips with sensor. – It just doesn’t get any better.