Lakeshore Posted July 10, 2009 Report Posted July 10, 2009 Hey guys, I am currently looking at different models of handheld GPS units. I have been looking at Garmin, Magellan, eTrex, and Lowarance. Me and my kids are interested in geocaching and I also need a unit for on the water marking. I am really confused by all the selections, types?? features. I have between 250-300 to spend. I know that this is not a lot, but it fits my budget right now. For those geocachers on the board and for all the users of GPS technology, what should I be looking for as far as features go, any particular makes and models. Your help is greatly appreciated!!
Twocoda Posted July 10, 2009 Report Posted July 10, 2009 (edited) The first priority in my mind when it comes to GPS units .....is it user friendly ...do you have to scroll through pages and pages to get to a mark....or place a mark ....over the years i have tested/ bought and taught fisherman how to use thier units.... Magellan is what i use for the extremely friendly user interface and direct touch buttons...of "mark" and "goto"..it really cant get any easier... I have a friend that i fish with and have to teach him every year how to use his etrex unit Edited July 10, 2009 by Twocoda
tschirk Posted July 10, 2009 Report Posted July 10, 2009 Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!! Garmin!!!
Lakeshore Posted July 10, 2009 Author Report Posted July 10, 2009 (edited) I just got off the bass pro website DeLorme Earthmate PN-20 GPS Magellan Triton 400 Garmin eTrex Legend HCX Garmin eTrex Vista HCX I just might stop and check these out. Anyone own any of these?? Personal Opinions?? Ted--- I guess your vote is Garmin... Edited July 10, 2009 by Lakeshore
danc Posted July 10, 2009 Report Posted July 10, 2009 Be prepared to spend several hundred $$$$ for maps. A decent topo map and a lake chart map will probably cost you $150.00 or so, each. And get a Garmin.
Jonny Posted July 10, 2009 Report Posted July 10, 2009 Garmin etrex has worked well for me over the years.
Uncle Buck Posted July 10, 2009 Report Posted July 10, 2009 Garmin and make sure it will take a memory card... i've got a GPSMAP 76 and it's only 8mb of memory.. definitely not enough
Radnine Posted July 10, 2009 Report Posted July 10, 2009 I have a Lowrance H2OC that takes a PHD to run. I was also out in Erie last weekend and the GPS didn't jive with the sonar by about 10 feet! (Navstar Gold Map card). I am taking it to Cameron Lake this week and will check it for accuracy there. If it is out I will be returning both units (cause it adds up to $500 of useless). Can you tell how impressed I am so far? Jim
fish_finder Posted July 10, 2009 Report Posted July 10, 2009 I use a garmin E-trex......no complaints whatsoever. Battery life is excellent.....2 aa's, 12 to 16 hours
Jonny Posted July 10, 2009 Report Posted July 10, 2009 I have a Lowrance H2OC that takes a PHD to run. I was also out in Erie last weekend and the GPS didn't jive with the sonar by about 10 feet! (Navstar Gold Map card). As I understand it, an error of about 3m radius is pretty accurate. I didn't think it could get any better than that.
Fisherpete Posted July 10, 2009 Report Posted July 10, 2009 Regarding the accuracy issue, I think he means the depth, ie sonar says 20 feet, GPS map says 30...?
gogu392 Posted July 10, 2009 Report Posted July 10, 2009 (edited) The Cadilac of handled GPS, geocaching for land was Garmin 60CSX in last years. This is not my opinion, GPS experts opinions, Google for that and you will find it. For Water and Land handled you have to check Garmin Colorado or Oregon series. These series already surpass the performances of 60CSX. These toys are GOOOOOODDD. Worth the extra money. See: http://www.garmin.com/garmin/cms/site/us/onthetrail Edited July 10, 2009 by Gogu
Radnine Posted July 10, 2009 Report Posted July 10, 2009 Regarding the accuracy issue, I think he means the depth, ie sonar says 20 feet, GPS map says 30...? Bingo! The GPS said I should be sitting on a great break and the depth reader (fish finder) was no where near that depth. I then scouted about for quite a bit looking for said depth and never did find it. I understand slightly different depths from map chips to actual conditions but this was out by a bunch. Like I said, I will give it a go this week (I don't want to be guilty of throwing the baby out with the bath water) on a smaller lake where I can afford to play around a bit. Jim
Fisherman Posted July 10, 2009 Report Posted July 10, 2009 Well there's two ways of looking at the discrepency. 1. Your present F/F (H2OC) is out to lunch,(doubt it), you said after searching you were unable to find the depth you were looking that was shown on the GPS. 2. GPS can be miserably innacurate at times, so if your GPS is false you may have been out of the indicated area by more than what you thought. Like you indicated, Map chips can be out, sometimes by more than what's expected. Remember a while back some guy just about drove off a small cliff following GPS instructions. Eas way to checlk the F/F, take graduated lengths of rope or fishing line, measure the depth with your F/F and then use the line for compare accuracy. As for the GPS, do some land based exact locting to confirm its accuracy without the chip.
Radnine Posted July 10, 2009 Report Posted July 10, 2009 I have a Lowrance H2OC that takes a PHD to run. I was also out in Erie last weekend and the GPS didn't jive with the sonar by about 10 feet! (Navstar Gold Map card).I am taking it to Cameron Lake this week and will check it for accuracy there. If it is out I will be returning both units (cause it adds up to $500 of useless). Can you tell how impressed I am so far? Jim Sorry, I have just re-read this and realized that it is not very clear. The H2OC that I refer to is my hand held GPS made by Lowrance. My fish finder is also a Lowrance (but I think that is irrelevant). And when I talk about taking both units back, I am talking about the GPS and the map card as they are separate purchases. Which is something else that the original poster needs to know about; When you purchase a hand held you are purchasing a small processor that has very little useful (for fishing, and driving in Canada) information on it. to make it usable you need to purchase a separate map card or chip, in my case worth almost as much as the unit itself. Jim
jace Posted July 10, 2009 Report Posted July 10, 2009 (edited) Bingo!The GPS said I should be sitting on a great break and the depth reader (fish finder) was no where near that depth. I then scouted about for quite a bit looking for said depth and never did find it. This is why the better sounder/gps combo units have DGPSr, not gpsr. Even if your handheld unit was at maximum resolution with lots of satellite locks, the best you're going to get is +/- 30ft (10ft with WAAS which you probably didn't have). Thats a 60foot circle around you. Standard DGPSr receivers are good down to about +/- 5 feet accuracy which reduces the kind of discrepency you saw. and then there are the surveying DGPSr's which are accurate to under an inch in error (1/2 -1/4" ? ). Then add in the error from your sounder and you've got a lot of possibilities for the 10' depth discrepency Oh yeah, get a garmin. It's the brand most use if you check the big geocaching sites. They've gone through more units than the average gps user and are usually the first to jump on new models. Edited July 10, 2009 by j ace
Twocoda Posted July 10, 2009 Report Posted July 10, 2009 might want to ensure your transducer is level for the sonar before you take anything back...just a thought
Rodwrap Posted July 11, 2009 Report Posted July 11, 2009 Boy, I dunno.. I bought a lowrance H2OC this spring & the Canada chip. We spent a week on Chemong / Buckhorn & the thing performed beautifully. It even showed hazards where there were bouys LAST YEAR !! ( gone now).
danbouck Posted July 11, 2009 Report Posted July 11, 2009 I have had a Magellan for years and it's been great!
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