PORTABLE GPS

[golfer1]

I AM SURE MANY OF YOU HAVE A PORTABLE GPS SYSTEM. I AM LOKING TO BUY ONE AND AM LOOKING FOR PROS AND CONS FROM THOSE OF YOU THAT CURRENTLY HAVE ONE. WHAT FEATURES DO YOU LIKE, AND WHICH ONES ARE PRETTY MUCH USELESS. Garmin, Magellan, and TomTom seem to be the most common.

[H. John Kohl]

I think the first question you have to answer is how are you going to use it. Is it for mobile use or hand use geocashing?
If mobile then screen size comes into play as well as map update capability.
I have a different brand because I tied mine into my ham radio.
All three mentioned seem to be the popular ones.
good luck

[Waynem]

I heard on the news tonight that if the Air Force does not launch more satellites, we are all SOL for GPS starting in about 2010. The commentator stated that there is to much popular demand for it to go under, but who knows.

Go cheap.

[KTManiac]

I like my Garmin 60CSx handheld. I has great sat reception under heavy tree canopy, is "waterproof", and works great on my dual sport bike for off road riding. It does auto-routing and recalculates routes if you decide to go a different way, saves tracks and has a Trac-back feature to retrace your steps. It does way more stuff than I need it to do, really.

Downsides:
Map sets are spendy, and proprietary.
Pretty small screen.
It is a fairly old model. (but I feel it is better than the newer Garmin "Oregon" & "Colorado" units, for what I use it for)

Find some folks that are local to you, ask for their opinion and try their units out. Go to stores and ask them to demonstrate different ones for you. Pretty soon you will find the one that fits your needs best.

[wersqu]

We love our Garmin NUVI 350. We find we use it more for all the stuff in it like shopping, eating, rest areas. area attractions etc. Plus you can never really get lost with it. The only drawback is ( at least for us technology challenged people) if you don't go the most direct way you still have to know where you are going. It routes you back to the larger highways. There may be a way around this within the unit but we just program in a town or two up the road instead of our main destination until we get close. Two years old now with no problems.

[akf15e]

quote:Originally posted by Waynem

I heard on the news tonight that if the Air Force does not launch more satellites, we are all SOL for GPS starting in about 2010. The commentator stated that there is to much popular demand for it to go under, but who knows.

Go cheap.

That's why I don't have one. All I need is a map, a compass, and my keen male sense of direction!

Oh yeah, and my DW to tell me to ask for directions when I get lost.

[illapah]

I like Garmin. I have nuvi 680 and Oregon handheld.

[Art-n-Marge]

For a portable I use the same Garmin as KTManiac but for backpacking and slow moving methods of travel. I do not use it for Navigation because it does not have a database of points of interest and stuff like that. But I don't need that when I backpack (besides, there are no Taco Bells in the High Sierras so there's no point.)

I can connect the Garmin into my laptop, then use Trailer Life Directory Navigator to track my position on the maps in the program. But then there's too many cables and it's too bulky.
When I am a passenger I used it once and acted as navigator for my buddy who was driving, but TLDN does not have much of a database either (just campground and RV related stuff).

When I travel I use Pioneer's AVIC-Z1 (now there's a Z2 and I think a Z3 coming out soon). It is an expensive, feature rich Unit, that does too much.

Whatever you decide to use, find a way to disable the "movement" safeguards or you will become irritated if you have to change destination, options, or use other features and won't be able to because they get turned off if your vehicle is moving. I often have a passenger who is capable of operating the device, so what's up with that. I found a way to disable mine and can use all parts of all features any time I need to. Don't worry, I keep safe even though DW might not think so. It beats pulling off the road and stopping each time I need to use a movement disabled feature.

[tim43]

We use a Garmin Street Pilot 2720 which I update annually and it has served us well.

[Fire5er]

We like our Garmin Nuvi 255W for the truck and Garmin 60CSx handheld for Geocashing. Both are very good at acquiring satellite signals quickly, very intuitive operations, and the 60CSx works well under heavy tree canopy covering...which is important if you will be hiking in wooded areas.

[Dave e Victoria]

quote:Originally posted by Waynem

I heard on the news tonight that if the Air Force does not launch more satellites, we are all SOL for GPS starting in about 2010. The commentator stated that there is to much popular demand for it to go under, but who knows.

Go cheap.

I don't think we have to worry, The entire civil aviation community including airline traffic is dependent on GPS at full up capability. There is no way the government will let the capability disappear.
Dave

[richfaa]

We have three of them. Garman nuvi 200, garman nuvi 205 and garman gps-18. Can you tell we are partial to Garman. We used Garman in the FAA(air traffic control) and we are impressed with their technology, software and reliability. The GPS18 is a receiver that looks like a hockey puck and feeds into the laptop. You can tell it you are a big truck where most of the others will give you a choice between walking, bike and car. The Ford and 3400 are none of those. Just about all of them in a similar price range do the same things.

[cdaniels]

We started out with the Magellen Roadmaster 6000 and we loved it. But when trying to handle it you can not help but hit buttons which means everything changes. We love that it speaks the road you are on. It was about $500.00 3-4 years ago, and can be updated. Last Xmas we got a smaller Garmin for about $100.00 and all touch tone. It does not have all the bells and whistles that the Magellen has but works just as well. Both have different features that we like on each one. We still use both depending on which vehicle we are in.

[KTManiac]

quote:Originally posted by Art-n-Marge

For a portable I use the same Garmin as KTManiac but for backpacking and slow moving methods of travel. I do not use it for Navigation because it does not have a database of points of interest and stuff like that. But I don't need that when I backpack (besides, there are no Taco Bells in the High Sierras so there's no point.)

Not so, it depends on what map sets you have installed on the unit.

I guess you don't have Garmin's "City Navigator" maps on yours, because I have every "Taco Bell" lat/lon location, address, and phone number in all 50 States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It's incredible, there must be about a bazillion POI's in City Navigator, all findable by searching by different catagories - Food, Lodging, Fuel, Shopping, Hospitals, Cities, Addresses, Attractions, Intersections, Banking, Entertainment, Recreation, Community, Transpotation, Auto Services - all sub-searchable by, name, nearest, symbol, different location.

[Glenn and Lorraine]

quote:Originally posted by akf15e

That's why I don't have one. All I need is a map, a compass, and my keen male sense of direction!

Oh yeah, and my DW to tell me to ask for directions when I get lost.

My sentiments exactly.
BTW..I NEVER get lost, just slightly disoriented.

[rames14]

First, by portable, do you mean in-vehicle or handheld? Almost all GPS units, with the exception of in-dash units, are "portable". If you are looking for a unit for both vehicle and walking/hiking/hunting applications I would highly recommend the Garmin GPS60CSX. It has many useful features for hiking but will also do a good job in-vehicle with the right mapset. The problem is the memory does not allow you to load the entire country at one time - you can load about seven states at a time using Map Source. If I were buying a new GPS today (I use the Garmin 680 inv-vehicle)for the truck, I would look at the Garmin GPS 7XX series. Go to www.gpsreview.net for some good reviews on GPS. The reason I like the new 7XX series is the capability to do true route planning, the advanced turn feature and the overall usability of Garmins. It has a good WUF factor. (Wife Usability Factor). Nuff said.

[golfer1]

Let me clarify my use. This unit is for vehicle use only. No hiking for me. Thanks for the input so far. Keepem coming

[cmawendy]

We have a TomTom and we swear by it...

[sreigle]

I really like my Garmin StreetPilot 2720 because it can hold up to 2500 waypoints and 50 routes at one time. I can use the included MapSource to plan my routes, then upload them through an included usb cable to the unit. I also like the Garmin user friendly and smart interface better than the other brands I tried. But maybe that's just me.

[Scottyscott]

I have a Tom Tom. I love it! Maps and calculationsd are right on! I can even upload new voices .... Ozzy Osborne is now directing me. lol