Author Topic: Who is the leader in gps for affordability? (Read 8355 times)

walley_hunter · « **on:** Feb 23, 2003, 03:15 PM »

I am in the market for a GPS and I need to hear some feedback. Who makes a good unit that is fairly easy to use and is affordable. Around the 200.00 dollar range. :-/

shark · « **Reply #1 on:** Feb 23, 2003, 03:36 PM »

Hey wally hunter
I've got a Garmin etrex Legend. cost 249.00. I'm happy with it. Easy to mark your hotspots for a return trip. Small as a cell phone. I have it mounted on my 4 wheeler.
Good luck , Shark

pkevinb · « **Reply #2 on:** Feb 23, 2003, 03:38 PM »

I'm looking at the Garmin Etrex Legend and the Magellan Sportrak map. Both are around $200 but am unsure which would be better.

lakehopper · « **Reply #3 on:** Feb 23, 2003, 03:53 PM »

i have a garmin 2 + and love it

bushbunny · « **Reply #4 on:** Feb 23, 2003, 05:51 PM »

I have my brain!! Up here in Canada, we know not of what you speak. We mark our spots by trees on shore, lined up with trees on the other shore!! I guess technology is something to look forward to.

twodoggs · « **Reply #5 on:** Feb 23, 2003, 06:56 PM »

I have a magellan 330 It was more then $200. But I can down lload maps onto it for a more detailed view of where i am at.

Plug-N-Play · « **Reply #6 on:** Feb 24, 2003, 12:37 AM »

If you are 8 miles from shore, as I have often been on Lake Michigan, there is no way to line up with any landmarks on shore. Add some rain or fog and finding your port can be very important. You get fog on smaller lakes too. The one I use is a Garmin Map76. Did my homework before I made my choice too. It is "WAAS" enabled which translates into better targeting accuracy. Within 10ft. This makes finding a small mid-lake hump childs play and less holes to punch in winter. I can also add Hot-Spot Fishing Maps or the Garmin Blue-Chart software programs to my computer and download this to my GPS. Still don't have either one yet, but I'm going to in the near future because the built-in map doesn't have much for lake detail. Even without it I was able to find a school of baitfish 8mi. from shore and fished over them for 4 weeks in a row. This is the smallest memory of the Garmin series with the add a map feature. It didn't come with a computer program so I could save all my waypoints. I e-mailed Garmin and they were very helpful. They know their stuff. They gave me a link to free program sites so I could keep my waypoints and routes on my computer. This freed up my memory. I only use the waypoints for the lake I'm fishing that day and download any new ones to my computer when I get home. The program is called EasyGPS....Free

There's better ones out there that have mapping and charting for around $50 but the free one works fine for saving everything in a file. Think I gave $349 for my unit. Came with a PC cord too. I planned on having my invesment for a long time and wanted to be able to expand it's capabilities as I got better at useing it. It'll even hook up to the auto-pilot on my boat with a patch cord. Think of it as a fish-finder...you can get one that'll work or get one that'll give an edge. Thought it was a lot of money at the time but have no regrets today. I have some links I'll send you, but if I leave this window, I'll lose everything I wrote so far. Hope this didn't confuse you and was of some help...Bob

If you have any questions, just send me a message and I'll try to answer em' for you.

Plug-N-Play · « **Reply #7 on:** Feb 24, 2003, 12:56 AM »

Here's those links.........

http://gpsinformation.net/#geography

This one will keep you busy for a long time. I found the the link for it on iceshanty.com about 3 pages back in the general chat section.

http://www.topografix.com/

Here's the one that has the free EasyGPS download that I use.

Have Fun.......Bob

emptyhanded · « **Reply #8 on:** Feb 24, 2003, 03:12 AM »

Magellan 320 or better -- good gps, easy to use -- around $200

creeker · « **Reply #9 on:** Feb 24, 2003, 03:52 AM »

Which ever one you decide on, you should check out eBay. You can usually get $100 off any unit if you are patient and put in a little time. I got a Magellan Sportrak Pro for $180 with the software. The Pro has 23 megs of memory which is great for storing base maps and waypoints. There are a lot of good machines out there. Make sure you have enough memory and WAAS.

Polar · « **Reply #10 on:** Feb 24, 2003, 05:20 AM »

Stanard Horizon magnum NAV-40.

twodoggs · « **Reply #11 on:** Feb 24, 2003, 08:57 AM »

Just keep one thing in mind Walleye hunter. I can not put a value on my gps. I was out one evening on a rather large lake. It was snowing and as night hit the wind came up presto chango instant ground blizzard. we packed up headed for the landing and got lost real bad. There was a town about a mile away but we could not see the lights. I pulled out the gps and we got out in a few minutes. I marked the landing before we went out.
I suppose it would have been better to get out before night fall but the fish were bitting and I had been on this lake alot. I also had the gps so i wasn't too worried.

Plug-N-Play · « **Reply #12 on:** Feb 24, 2003, 01:39 PM »

Ditto to that Twodoggs....a VHF radio or cell-phone can call for help but it sure helps to tell em where you're at. Even if you never need to use it for help, it's there when you have to.
You can use one all year long too. Mine is a battry eater so I hard wired a plug-in for my boat.

boxcar · « **Reply #13 on:** Feb 24, 2003, 04:18 PM »

I have the Garmin 12. Payed 150 bucks at Cabelas. Does everything I need it to do.

kenelz · « **Reply #14 on:** Feb 24, 2003, 04:53 PM »

For ice fishing, you dont need a lot of bells and wistles. Take a look at the Garming Etrex, a little over a hundred bucks, fits in your shirt pocket, uses two AA bateries. I mark when I leave shore, and mark anyplace I have luck at. This gps will store 500 waypoints, has all the bacic features, it will save your tracks, but doesnt have maps. If a snowstorm comes on, just punch in the shore waypoint, hit the goto button, and an arrow will point to where you have to go, on the same screen your heading, bearing, and speed read out.
Whatever GPS you get, I suggest when you mark a waypoint, give it a name immediatly, the numbers are soon forgoten.

Barleydog · « **Reply #15 on:** Feb 24, 2003, 05:32 PM »

I agree Kenelz!
The ETrex comes in handy out hunting Moose and plotting fish on submerged humps out in the salt water. Came in handy twice with me getting turned around in the woods, (Thank the Lord, because I think one legs longer than the other and I almost always walk in a circle chasing critters!)

This model will get you from point "A" to "Z" with little hassel. It doesn't come with a fancy map for downloading tons of overstimulation, (eye candy), it's just a simple GPS with little bells and whistles. ETrex has lots of mounting gear, cases, and adapters that come in handy when mounting them to your boat, snowmobile, or car. If you go with the ETrex, stick with the Ram style mounting gear, (sold in Cabela's). Hard to beat this little unit for around $100 bills! I bought a yellow ETrex because my hunting partner 3 years back lost his camo model in the woods! Can't figure out why someone would want to camo a piece of equipment like this

Nothing like losing your GPS in the woods when your lost! - Barleydog

bushbunny · « **Reply #16 on:** Feb 25, 2003, 02:53 AM »

If your GPS eats batteries like a grizzly, try the AA lithiums. Mine eats alcaline batteries like nothing else, so I tried the lithiums. Now instead of 6/8 hrs, I can get 16/20. They are well worth the extra cost, when you consider that unless you change out the batteries each morning before you go out, you might just be sol when you might really need it later in the day(if you run it all day), on your way out of the bush or off the lake in a whiteout!!

kenelz · « **Reply #17 on:** Feb 25, 2003, 05:42 PM »

Bushbunny, I havent tried the lithium, I use rechargeables, and carry a couple spares. I dont think the recargables last as long a regular battiers, but when I come back, they go into the recharger.

Plug-N-Play · « **Reply #18 on:** Feb 26, 2003, 03:39 AM »

Hey Bushbunny, How much do you have to give for those lithium batteries? I'd like to give them a try. I heard they have a longer storage life too. How do they behave under cold weather conditions?

Bob

baginwal · « **Reply #19 on:** Feb 27, 2003, 04:24 AM »

Barleydog, If I am correct, the Etrex does not come with WAAS. A few comments back, Plug-n-play indicated that WAAS enables you to get within 10 ft of your spot. Do you know what the accuracy is on the non-WAAS units?

Plug-N-Play · « **Reply #20 on:** Feb 27, 2003, 06:33 AM »

Baginwal...Lookin in my West-Marine catalog the answer seems to be 10-15 meters for the non-WAAS but most users reported 10 meters or better. 3 meters for WASS enabled. While this isn't a real big improvement, better is better. Anyone thinking of getting a new Garmin, should visit their on-line site. Sometimes they have specials and rebate offers that can amount to big savings. I'm sure other companies do the same, so take the time and look. West-Marine catalog was very good at explaining in non-expert terms, how GPS works, what different features are available, what they do, and which models have what. I'm sorry I didn't mention them before. I started out to be of some help to find an affordable GPS and believe I've only caused confusion by overinforming. I bought the one to fit my needs. Everone else has to do the same. Most all of them are well made and give accurate fixes. Mine has a lot of features that I'll never use "bells & whistles" but they came along with the ones that made this the model for me. A cheaper one would have worked well and without a doubt, beat the disadvantage of not having any at all. ...Bob

baginwal · « **Reply #21 on:** Feb 27, 2003, 08:18 AM »

Bob: Thanks for the info! I think I'm going to spring for one with WAAS capability. I still have a Loran C on my boat!!

I heard some talk awhile back that they were going to shut down the land-based transmission stations and therefore, I started becoming more educated on GPS. With Loran, the accuracy is better for coming back to a spot you marked as a waypoint as opposed to punching in latitude and longitude and trying to pinpoint a dropoff, weedbed, etc. Does the accuracy of GPS work this way as well?
Thanks, Walt

Plug-N-Play · « **Reply #22 on:** Feb 27, 2003, 12:49 PM »

Yes it does. And all of your old lat/long waypoint data can still be used with your GPS. I have noticed most will use deg/min/sec whenever exchanging information over a chat forum about fish location and things. It only takes a push of the button to switch from one format to the other and it'll do all the conversions by itself. There's 1/2 doz other formats in them too. I also heard they were phasing out the Loran Differential Broadcast Stations. They were a great tool and I think a lot of them are still in use so it could be a while before you have to make the change-over.....Bob

Plug-N-Play · « **Reply #23 on:** Feb 27, 2003, 02:15 PM »

Oh! Sorry about that. I misunderstood the question. A GPS plots entered waypoints with equal accuracy. Mapping was a big thing with me. I leave it on while ice fishing and it'll show which hole I cought the most fish in. You can see where you've walked backwards to to bring up a fish by the trail you leave on the screen. Every movement is recorded on a drawing. Works the same way for trolling too. Sometimes you hook a fish but don't have time to punch in the spot while landing it. The mapping line gets wiggly because you get off course a little. You can put the cursor on the wiggly place, hit enter and have the the waypoint logged in for another drive-by and hopfully another fish. I was looking at the e-Trex series and only the 2 better ones in the series have mapping. I would have gotten one but the control buttons are on the side and would have been hard to use when mounted to the dash of my boat right next to my fishfinder. Top of the e-Trex line was the same price I gave for the GPS76MAP w/front control buttons. As an added plus, I got a bigger display screen and it's submersible. I saw where the camo GPS got lost in the woods. If you lose one, you can get a hold of Garmin, give em the ser.# for the unit and they have a way to find it by sattelite. With their numbers and another GPS you can walk right to it. I think the batteries have to be live and after 3 years, the batteries in that camo one would be dead. But who knows? Might be worth a try anyways. Nothing to lose that isn't lost already. Stranger things than that have happened. Let me know if you find it. That'd make my day

. Magellan makes a good GPS too. Just know about the one I've spent the most time with. Add-ons, like boat mounts and power cords or external anteneas is what'll set you back in your seat. They don't have to cost that much in MHO. I got a VHS instuction video before I bought the GPS. Gave me a better idea of what'd it do before I spent the hard earned cash....Bob

jasid · « **Reply #24 on:** Feb 27, 2003, 03:43 PM »

check www.maptech.com for some nice stuff!

hawkeyejr · « **Reply #25 on:** Feb 27, 2003, 07:32 PM »

i beleive garmin has a new gps out this year that is also a frs radio it is called the rhino and sells at walmart for $168 it looks like a good unit well worth the money

gahen · « **Reply #26 on:** Feb 28, 2003, 10:31 AM »

walleye_hunter, I went through the same thing before cristmas
and found a web sight called www.thegpsstore.com and they had the best price I found. I got a Magellan Meridian. This is a mapping unit and is vary easy to us. I checked and they still have the same package for $229.00, this includes the GPS, a 32 mb card, and the streets and destination cd. or you can get just the gps for I think it was $169.00. I also found a web sight called www.gps4fun.com that has run tests on all of the gps units on the market, this really helped me in finding the one that I wanted. Hope this helps you out.
Gary

Barleydog · « **Reply #27 on:** Feb 28, 2003, 11:40 AM »

Baginwal, You know I played with my unit this past summer. What I did was mark a bouy, (dead center) in a boating channel that I commonly use. I then ran out 3 times throughout the day and the following month. The accuracy was outstanding! I was consistantly drawn to the same spot within 6' twice dead center! I know that my accuracy depended greatly on the amount of sattelites locking onto the unit at one time. But for technical accuracy, not a problem at all. I would advise letting the unit read if you are within feet of your target on the ice. It should get you really really close to the hole you fished the week before. I mount my unit to a support bracket on my boat next to the graph. I have no problem with botton control and as far as power goes, the cigarette lighter adapter works great thus leaving your batteries fresh. As I stated in the prior post, go with the RAM mounting units. They have plenty of access to the side buttons and hold this unit extremely tight! The ETrex lacks buttons on the face, but that's why it's so small and compact. Ease of use is what you were concerned with, this is a unit that could be easily used by most elementary school students. I use this unit trolling and it has proven to be a real winner on my boat! Consistantly putting me on top of great marks and bottom structure, worth the money if your a knuckledragger like me

.

Plug-n-play,
I phoned my hunting partner concerning your topic you stated concerning finding the GPS via sattelite. If he is able to locate this unit, he owes you a case of beer!!! Knowing his maintenance record with batteries, don't bet on it! Thanks for the imformation! -Barleydog

kenelz · « **Reply #28 on:** Feb 28, 2003, 04:04 PM »

The subject of this thread was affordability for ice fishing. To me....to spend an extra hundred bucks to get 0-5 yards closer with the WAAS units is a matter of your judgment, but a no brainer for me, there is always something else I could use that money for. If I mark a spot a few miles out, when I go back to that lake using my ETrex, I am usually within twenty feet, when I see my old iced over hole bingo! (provideing it didnt snow and blow over, LOL).

Plug-N-Play · « **Reply #29 on:** Feb 28, 2003, 05:49 PM »

Barleydog....I would think finding it would be the koolest thing. Just knowing you did would be enough reward for me. Don't forget to tell me if you do 8)...Bob

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Author Topic: Who is the leader in gps for affordability? (Read 8355 times)

walley_hunter

creeker

jasid

gahen