GPS Units

DOUGHBOYDD2500HD

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Aug 3, 2005
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Does anyone know anything about these? Which ones are good and stuff? I am trying to buy one for my family as a christmas gift even if its not under the tree on time. Thanks for any help.
 
Garmin has the edge in history, and are genrally teh least buggy...there are some that have more bells and whistles though..

But I have had a Garmin Pro in my boat (with GPS) for 6 years...it has held up well
 
If you have a laptop or tablet I highly recommend skipping the devices and checking out DeLorme's USB or Bluetooth Earthmate and TOPO USA 6.0. It will cost you hundreds less and you have many more capabilities.
 
The Bluetoothies are nice and work really well w/ a pda.
But if yer getting one for the family I'd go w/ a regular gps.
Depending what yer getting it for.....(hiking, geocaching)...the regular units will be more user friendly. In other words, they can take more abuse.
I have a Garmin Etrex (basic yellow) it works as good as any.
I have a Garmin Venture (Etrex pretty much) in a drawer w/ screen scamble...rumor has it they'll fix it for free.
My personal unit is a Garmin Legend...bells and whistles in a small package.

I let any and all use either.....my 10 year old loves to geocache...and dropping hasn't hurt either.

The big thing is what do you wanna spend.

The Legend came from Gander Mountain in a package w/ topozone mapping software for 200 bucks.

I think the legend is the least expensive you can get w/ full mapping capabilites.


Matt
 
i'm looking for a gps unit also and know nothing about them. i want to be able to map out some roads and locations on some hunting property and transfer the coordinates to a map. i assume i need one with the mapping feature??

doughboy, i've been looking at the garmin gpsmap 60 but it's a little more expensive than what i want to spend....
 
I've got the Lowrance iWay 500 and love it. It's got the whole US already loaded and 10 GB free for mp3s. Most importantly it completely waterproof and has a My Trails feature :driver:
 
99burban said:
I have heard garmin is a good one.
Click to expand...

It depends on what you are using it for. We took on a routing initiative at work and the Garmin units were less than stellar. In fact we are trying to figure out what to do with the 35 units we purchased. I am still convinced that my Delormes Earthmate/laptop combo does much better than a Garmin based on our experiences with various Garmin units.
 
Joel said:
I am still convinced that my Delormes Earthmate/laptop combo does much better than a Garmin based on our experiences with various Garmin units.
Click to expand...


But like you said...it depends on use. Laptops are hard to handle in the woods and the blutoothies ( or cabled versions ) are useless w/ out them.
But, the do word w/ PDA's.

Help us help you......whacha using it for???


Matt
 
Lizooki said:
But like you said...it depends on use. Laptops are hard to handle in the woods and the blutoothies ( or cabled versions ) are useless w/ out them.
But, the do word w/ PDA's.

Help us help you......whacha using it for???


Matt
Click to expand...

We have a field staff of close to 500 that visit patients in their homes. One of our biggest issues is getting them to those homes for their first visit and with that many people we could save the company a ton of money on mileage. So, we purchased three different Garmin models and gave them to a select bunch of people to make sure they would get used properly but they have had issues getting the units to pick up satellites. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. I have taken a few with me to verify that it isn't user error and it doesn't appear to be as I have had the same issues with dropping and not being able to pick up satellites at random. They do all have laptops so I am thinking that might be a better option. I personally have been using an Earthmate and TOPO USA for a couple years and haven't experienced any of the issues we have seen with the Garmins.
 
The biggest issue is mounting for the antenna on these.

I think I have seen/used/played with every unit out there.
Having a father-in-law that works in the field, (and being a bit of a geek) helps with that.
Whenever a new device comes out, he tends to pick up 1 or 2 for his engineers to test/tear down/evaluate.
If it's just for driving, the TomTom's reall are about the easiest to use, and depending on your car's windshield seem to have great reception.
If you have a vehicle with a more "vertical" windshield, (not really a jeep, since the soft top doesn't interfere that much) the reception can suck. In his 300c the reception really seems to be great for most of them. The Garmin's are quick to respond, but not always the best route. I really liked his radio since it pulled the traffic reports etc. (It's a newer version of the MyGig in DCX's stuff, he works for Harmon/Becker)
Now granted being able to watch the DVD and get directions, might make you miss some turns, but hey, that's the challenge.

Now, if you're looking for something to tote with you, or use offroad, then handhelds are where to go. And I like the Garmin "Nuvi" unit.
But once again, if the roof of the car blocks the view to the sat, then well, no reception.
(Or if you're in a parking deck, etc etc)

Cheers
 
Maybe so but to qualify my non-scientific testing I mounted my Earthmate in the same place as the Garmin units. But again, my experience is limited to just these units.
 
for the cost of a new delorme bluetooth logger you can get a nice used ipaq off ebay to go wth it and still save $ over most of the other GPS devices out there yes you have to down load maps to the Ipaq froma computer but in my book the Delorme is the best out there.
 
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