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Hand Held Gps


Tiny_Dancer

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looking into getting a GPS off ebay for when im out in the SF's just wondering what you guys have and what do you think of them? garmin, etc

cheers

TD,

I use a Garmin Explorist 400 - its basic but does what it should and gets me "there n' back"....3-400 when I got it few years back.

On the other hand, a mate just purchased the Magellan Triton 2000 - its awesome....and it should be for the $1K+! price tag.

We used it just the other week in a new forest way down south. What's impressive is the colour touch screen, voice recording and camera. We attached several pics and voice messages to way points for future reference - eg. found some good pig sign, mark location, take a pic, leave a voice message regarding the location, conditions, time of day etc. All handy notes to recall later and use the next time or pass onto a hunting buddy who plans to go there in the future.

...lots of choices, so shop around.

Muz

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I went for a Garmin GPS Map60, went for the black and white version as the batteries last longer. Seems to do what I need with no real hassles. Downloaded the honky maps which is a free topo map download and i believe the gamecouncil maps are compatible also with the Garmins.

Cheers,

Waldo

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I bought the cheapest Garmin eTrex (the yellow one) from Bing Lee for $125. It does not have in built maps but lasts 15 - 17 hours on 2AA batteries. Had to learn a few things about using it in conjunction with paper maps. Like setting your gps to UTM coordinates - oz map grids use UTM coordinates (Using UTM)

Its best to learn to do this anyway, as you find that paper maps do not run out of batteries (but they can get wet - so put the in a clear sealable plastic sleeve).

I have also hooked it up to my IPAQ (I already own one) to show my position more conveniently.

post-8773-1244197880_thumb.jpg

But that ends up costing you extra.

$50 for garmin serial cable (mine was free as I made it myself from old mouse cable). Watch out if you have a newer IPAQ PDA as they no longer support serial port directly from GPS. So you need a Serial to USB convertor @ $25 (ebay - you must get one with prolific chipset to work with PDA), and an IPAQ host cable $55. Then you will need map software oziexplorer ($40) or memory maps to show topo.

A GPS with bluetooth would save these costs.

If I were buying one again I would consider one that you can load in topo maps. Decent ones seem to start about $399

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I'd recommend the Garmin GPS 60 range, but more specific the earlier black and white screen ones. I have a GPS60 and love it.

The batteries last longer then those with colour screens, the packaging stats 28 hours for the GPS60 and GPS Map 60. In reality, I've put in one pack of batteries when I got it. I've spent a fair bit of time playing with out plus a hunting trip and it shows well over half a charge left. I reckon a good 10 hours to far.

One other thing to look for is the antenna. The GPS 60 range have a good quad helix antenna that sticks out the top of it.

The cheaper GPS's use a patch antenna, which doesn't work as well. And you'll notice this MORE in the bush with tree cover and hills etc. I know the GPS 60 has a good antenna, a good battery life, a good easy to use design and built strong/water resistant.

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TD,

I use a Garmin Explorist 400 - its basic but does what it should and gets me "there n' back"....3-400 when I got it few years back.

On the other hand, a mate just purchased the Magellan Triton 2000 - its awesome....and it should be for the $1K+! price tag.

We used it just the other week in a new forest way down south. What's impressive is the colour touch screen, voice recording and camera. We attached several pics and voice messages to way points for future reference - eg. found some good pig sign, mark location, take a pic, leave a voice message regarding the location, conditions, time of day etc. All handy notes to recall later and use the next time or pass onto a hunting buddy who plans to go there in the future.

...lots of choices, so shop around.

Muz

I thought the explorist range was made by magellan?

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Why is it the best? A chart plotter? As in a marine chart plotter? As in something I'd never ever use in my lifetime? Or do you mean it plots your track on the screen? Which even my non-mapping unit does!

What about the large screen that uses up battery power? I only need to read basic infomation off it and my eye sight is good.

Try not to say it's the best, rather give reasons why it's a good unit and also any known bad points you've discovered. Then let the public decide which is best for their needs.

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I know you've already settled on one TD, but for others who may read this thread for research there's a couple of points to keep in mind (especially for the Newbies out there ;) )

Never rely wholey on your GPS. Learn how to read a map, learn about triangulation, how to use a compass, about bearings etc. I've lost count of how many times I've heard of fellas I know having their GPS' die on them either because of some sort of fault (who here has had a computer crash on them?) or because for whatever reason the batteries have died. Luckily none have yet suffered because of it (except for their pride).

Really ask the question: do I need all the bells and whistles? Sure a colour screen that records every move you've made in the last 3 weeks, takes photos, has a voice recorder, tells you how many pi$$ stops you've made and so on and so forth would be great fun to have - personally for the sake of a small notepad and pencil (always carry a camera with me anyway) I can think of a whole raft of things I'd prefer to spend the $1k on!

All I use is an old second hand Garmin etrex (same as the photo above), a map case and a good compass. I always make a point of finding my location using the map and compass and then confirm it with the GPS. There's no way I'd do it the other way around.

And one thing I forgot to mention is that GPS isn't a guaranteed system. It's run by the US Dept. of Defence and if the $hit hit the fan with N Korea, China or whoever, I don't think they'd have the slightest concern in re-introducing their coded errors. I recall one time driving down the Hume Highway near Gundagai on our way to a Sambar hunt when NATO were bombing the bejesus out of someone in the Serbia region. We turned on the GPS (was more of a novelty back then) only to have it tell us we were about 100km away from our actual location!

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I went for a Garmin GPS Map60, went for the black and white version as the batteries last longer. Seems to do what I need with no real hassles. Downloaded the honky maps which is a free topo map download and i believe the gamecouncil maps are compatible also with the Garmins.

Cheers,

Waldo

Gday Waldo could you give me a little more info on the honky map you downloaded? ive done a google search but came up empty, i also have a gps 60 and still using the $hit factory loaded map and would love to upgrade just dont want to spend a few hundred on it.

cheers

Adam

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All I use is an old second hand Garmin etrex (same as the photo above), a map case and a good compass. I always make a point of finding my location using the map and compass and then confirm it with the GPS. There's no way I'd do it the other way around.

And one thing I forgot to mention is that GPS isn't a guaranteed system. It's run by the US Dept. of Defence and if the $hit hit the fan with N Korea, China or whoever, I don't think they'd have the slightest concern in re-introducing their coded errors. I recall one time driving down the Hume Highway near Gundagai on our way to a Sambar hunt when NATO were bombing the bejesus out of someone in the Serbia region. We turned on the GPS (was more of a novelty back then) only to have it tell us we were about 100km away from our actual location!

Sorry, finger trouble with that last post.

That's a good point about using the GPS as a backup instead of as your primary means of navigation. With all these modern units offering colour topographic displays it can be easy to fall into the trap of relying on them and not carrying a map at all.

To reinforce the point, modern airliners use independent nav systems which are updated by the GPS provided the GPS is within tolerance. Not the other way around. The position is also crosschecked by the pilots using a map.

Anyone heading out bush should have at least a basic understanding of navigating with a map and compass. That way when you drop the GPS and break it or the batteries die, you can go back to the basics. Topographic maps of Australia are available from the following website for $9.25 : www.ga.gov.au/

Having said that, I just ordered a Garmin 300 with the Aust topo map. Well, I like my toys. What can I say?

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I just use the basic Garmin etrex, i have it as back up if i happen to get waylaid. I wasn't after the more expensive versions that have the map capacity. It has proven to be very reliable

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does anyone know if you can put a memory card into the garmin GPS 60?

The GPS60Cx has a slot for a micro sd card. You can load maps, tracks and waypoints on the card before inserting, and you can store them on the card when you use the GPS

The ordinary GPS60 does not have this capacity.

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The GPS60 doesn't have the need for a memory card. It's got onboard memeory big enough for what it does (waypoints and track logs etc) and plugs in via USB to your computer (well, the newer GPS60's do, I think an older revision didn't have USB support, but required a serial plug instead).

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what ever model choice you make - make sure it's a Garmin.. Waterproof and 'bang' proof.. Have had mine for a while and it has saved me from some cold sleepless nights out bush :-P

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