Quick question. Anyone have a GPS unit? If so what brand is it, do you like it, how much was it and would you recommend it to someone else ?
Sorry I am rambled !

 

Garmin GPS 12 here.

Love it. Use it to map trails that I have travelled. Use it to lay out dog sled trails in the winter. Use it for all kinds of stuff.

Used it to guide rescue helicopters in to injured dog sledders this winter.

It goes for about $249 Canadian.

DJ

 

I use a GPS 12 also and it has all the bells & whistles you'd ever need including PC interface options. I have mounts for each of my quads for it. It was a bout $140 locally at an outdoor sport store.

 

Lowrance GlobalNav 12. I bought it becasue of price $129.00. I haven't as yet, built the mount for my Rancher, but on my Recon, I used it constantly.

They are extremely useful when breaking new trails, or when you find, just the right spot for a tree strand or turkey set up.

I'm not real sure that brand matters that much, but they are worth the money.

 

Had a Garmin GPS12. Great device. Wife got me the Garmin E-Map for X-mas. E-Map has live mapping on the display, but only comes with a roadway base map. Bought the Topo CD-rom and downloded maps in my area complete with trails, contours, creeks, etc. Garmin sells a handle bar mount so you can snap in on to the handlebars while riding. It's great and you don't have to keep referring to the map with coordinates. If you go this direction, get the kit with the 8MB memory chip, which is needed to download topo maps. Good luck.

 

Great information guys I really appreciate it.
Thanks,

Triston

 

Hey guys: I still have the Magellan i got with my '98 Honda. I imagine they have improved somewhat. I bought the 12v conversion to run off my accessory plug. This unit seems to take about a minute to update your location when you are moving and turning. Also i was trying to see how close i could get to my landmark and i could'nt get it to confirm the exact location i set. Are the Garmin units like this? This is the only GPS i have ever used. Thanks for the info in advance. Ralph

 

I have thought of purchasing one, but I have never learned how to read one. Are they hard to read? I have heard that they come with a manual that is about 4" thick.

What are some good brands?

Thank
rjmlakota - 99 KingQuad!!!!

 

garmin 111 plus, love it!!!!

 

Okay, I'll take a stab at the last few questions, however, please forgive me if I'm not altogether accurate. It's been some time since I studied my manual. First, the GPS satellite system was put up by the military and the signals include a purposeful error causing inacccuracies of ~50'-300'. Supposedly, this keeps our enemies from using GPS against us, but the logic escapes me considering nuclear weapon impact at those distances. Second, the inaccuracy could be caused by the older GPS use of fewer satellite channels, compared to newer 12 channel units that track more (up to 12) satellites and newer units probably "sample" faster providing more current positioning updates. Bottom line is that newer GPS can be more accurate, but all GPS is subject to the purposeful (and arguably illogical) error in satellite signals. One more footnote: A "differential receiver" can be appended to GPS to eliminate the error, but its application is not practical for those of us that use them in the woods; more for water navigation within receiving distance of the differential transmitter.
Difficulty in using GPS does depend on the user's understanding of navigation and map reading. Older units give you coordinates, requiring that you find your position (or waymark) on a map; good stuff to learn at your local library or on the internet. Detail of the map makes a big difference in positioning accuracy. A few thousand feet doesn't seem like that much on a map, but when your in the woods, it's enough to be lost or almost impossible to find a landmark. (Didn't Roosevelt say "the map is not the road"?? Boy was he right!) USGS ("topo")maps seem to be the best for us "woods explorers" and are available in different scales (level of detail). The latest "live mapping" GPS models are, in my opinion, the easiest for practical usage since you look at a map on the display with some sort of icon representing your current position. These models, with downloaded topo maps, offer "zoom in" of around eight levels of detail; great for finding landmarks or whatever. Considering the technology we get to tap into, the newer "mapping" GPS offers cheap access to incredible navagational technology. As far as I know, Garmin offers the most reasonable handheld unit at around $300 (E-Map with 8MB chip and PC interface cable for downloading topo maps) You also still need to buy the Topo CD-rom from Garmin for about $150. My prior version of Topo software was not compatible (figures). For more info, do a Yahoo search for GPS and you will find some good independent review sites for GPS equipment. Hope this helps.