What Gps Do I Get?

[Cec120]

Buying a new gps with a mapping system because im struggling with my old unit.

I hunt state forrests and they say they have exclusion/hunting zones you can download to garmin navs, prob is i dont know what to get with so many options.

Any help greatly appreciated

[Fireman_DJ]

Personally I'm a fan of the Garmin GPS 60 range. I have a GPS 60 (older non-mapping unit, but new enough to take USB).

Also had a play with the newer GPS Map 60's (color screens, digital compass etc).

The big question really is, what do you want the unit to do for you? I wanted something to point the right direction and give me a grid to use on a paper map. Mine does this well. The next one I'll get will be a mapping unit with digital compass. All the other features I don't really need.

Expandable memory is a handy thing to have with mapping units, in-case you want a LOT of maps on it. You can't change your mind later on that feature.

[len]

Don't buy Magellan - non existent support or backup

[Sambar 9.3]

GPS map60 csx, too good of a unit.

[Dan67]

I'm on my second Garmin. While they are amazing bits of kit, and you can download all the maps etc... all I really want from my GPS is a grid reference. I have to carry a paper map anyway as a backup. So, if I were buying again, I'd get a small, light, waterproof, cheaper GPS, with a long battery life, and only the most basic function (i.e. what coordinates am I at?). I don't really want or need digital maps.

I'm not a TOTAL hypocrite - My first Garmin was second hand - the second was a surprise gift.

[Fireman_DJ]

Cheaper units do come with cheaper patch antennas, which don't work as well as the quad helix antenna in the Garmin GPS 60 range. Also, better GPS's have more sensitive radio receivers. This means a better position fix in dense forest or hilly terrain. It often means the difference between a 3D signal, a 2D signal and no signal at all.

[Joe Kerr]

I find the garmin seem to have more intuitive menus.

[Adios]

I agree that a Garmin is a better unit.

If you rely on downloaded waypoints to map out an exclusion zone you are taking one risk and that is what if a waypoint is wrong , what if many of them are wrong ? It is unlikely to happen but assembling grid references to establish a waypoint takes some precision and it is easy to make a mistake and exclusion zones do change .

Before setting out you should check them against the latest GC maps to makes sure they look to be in the right places .

[Joe Kerr]

If you rely on downloaded waypoints to map out an exclusion zone you are taking one risk and that is what if a waypoint is wrong , what if many of them are wrong ? It is unlikely to happen but assembling grid references to establish a waypoint takes some precision and it is easy to make a mistake and exclusion zones do change .

Before setting out you should check them against the latest GC maps to makes sure they look to be in the right places.

Good advice. the MAIN thing if your wanting to use a GPS to make sure your within a legal to hunt / fish area - is to ensure that the map or chart datum on your GPS is set to the same as the Map or Chart that the authorities have drawn and published their waypoints too.

Actual on ground position can vary by up to 200 meters roughly just by altering map / chart datums. Then as long as your careful entering your way points data - and check the final look of it against the published maps / charts and positions you should be good to go.

The caveat on that, for those of us who navigate vessels at sea for example - is that your chart / gps / chart plotter position etc is only ever your secondary not primary means of navigation, the technology confirms what you already know from manual plotting of courses on charts...

Sometimes something as simple as a clock time error on a satellite can throw out the physical position on the ground by large margins...

GPS isn't always perfect, its pretty bloody good but not failsafe.

Cheers!

Edited September 23, 2012 by Joe Kerr

[AltonaHunter]

I ordered a garmin rino 650 two pack just the other day. The offer is still on at dick smith online for $600 for the two units or $540 for one. Its a 5w uhf too. Go halves with a mate and get it for $300 each. Have a look at utube to see some of its features. You can see other users on your map and even txt msg up to 13 characters at a time. You can also put shonky maps on the unit or do as I have and "procure" the proper topo map off the net. Ill let you know what I think of it when it arrives, hopefully tomorrow.

[jindydiver]

I agree that a Garmin is a better unit.

If you rely on downloaded waypoints to map out an exclusion zone you are taking one risk and that is what if a waypoint is wrong , what if many of them are wrong ? It is unlikely to happen but assembling grid references to establish a waypoint takes some precision and it is easy to make a mistake and exclusion zones do change .

Before setting out you should check them against the latest GC maps to makes sure they look to be in the right places .

There is no risk if you download the KMZ file from the Game Council site.

[Cec120]

Ok so i will go with the garmin 60, and yes i will be downloading the latest map systems the GC offers before i go.

[jindydiver]

Ok so i will go with the garmin 60, and yes i will be downloading the latest map systems the GC offers before i go.

If you have the cash go the 62s

http://www.ja-gps.com.au/Garmin/gpsmap-62s/

[Adios]

There is no risk if you download the KMZ file from the Game Council site.

That is not correct any data can be in inaccurate if they did it wrong . The wrong people die because the Military gets a few numbers wrong in a targeting reference.

If you just accept it is correct every time then you lay yourself open . The Police will not accept it as an excuse if you end up shooting in an exclusion zone . Oh!don't blame me my KMZ file was no good Officer .

Good navigation is about being absolutely sure of the accuracy of any data . As I said it is unlikely but I don't want to risk my guns on some workers skills at the GC.

If you at least check it against the other GC maps and it looks good you are better covered if it don't look right you can check further .

Edited September 23, 2012 by Happy Jack

[jindydiver]

Have you had a look at the KMZ data on the GC website? It is an overlay map made from the exact same map you are given with your written permission. For the KMZ to be wrong the written permission must also be wrong. You would be relying on exactly the same info the GC and the Police rely on when enforcing the exclusion zone on your written permission.

If you are told the detailed map you get with your written permission is the legal document you must refer to when deciding where to hunt and the custom map overlay of that same document provided by the GC is the same on your GPS as it is on the enforcement officers GPS you can expect that when you run into the guy deep in the guts of some tall timber you are going to be agreeing as one about where you stand legally. After all the two maps rely on the exact same data in their construction and you can see the GC download is as accurate as any map is as soon as you open it in Basecamp. You can also bet that if it wasn't accurate the GC would be told pretty quickly after they release it, people who use those maps are checking to see they are georeferenced correctly.

I know this as facts. In Hampton forest an incident showed us how this will work. A fellow has a block backing on to the forest and he doesn't have a back fence to his place (he wanted to feel like the whole forest was his back yard). A hunter wandered down stalking some goats and he shot one that ran on to the private block. The hunter ended up having words with the land owner (who is not a supporter of the GC) about whether the goat was shot on private land or in the forest. The police attended, as did the GC, and the same data you are provided with by the GC was used in both the GC and Police GPS units to determine the hunter (and the goat) were in the forest when the goat was shot.

When it comes to decide what info I want to use to keep myself within the law I will always go with the same info the enforcement officers are going to use to determine if I am within the law.

Edited September 23, 2012 by jindydiver

[Joe Kerr]

Just downloading the file from GC doesn't ensure its accurate in your GPS. You have to know what map (chart for marine) datum the game council overlay and map are produced in, and you have to have YOUR gps set to that same datum - otherwise as sated you can be anything up to a couple hundred meters out on the ground. You also can't assume that any ranger, policeman or GC official knows how to navigate, as far as getting his GPS settings right. Some of the younger tech savvy ones might while older guys unfamiliar with the technology might NOT be so well up on it. Depending on the authority - they might have their own individually owned GPS unit - and have it set right to the correct datum for that particular job and that map - while if its a larger authority where gear is kept in the safe and shared, the last guy who used it may have set it to a different datum for a different aged map, doing some forestry work etc, and the next guy never knew he had to alter the datum, when he downloaded the new maps for the current job.

I.e. being a "qualified navigator" is not a prerequisite for a policeman or forester for example - most of them get pretty good at it, with experience...and because the technology is now a lot cheaper and more readily available a LOT of the younger guys fresh outta Uni etc will understand it who are exerts on GIS a lot better than some of the older guys (like me for eg) who did their studies back before the pocket calculator and digital watch were invented.

In my case it was only doing Master 5 at a mature age that got me qualified in navigation - non of my work in Forestry or Wild Life Officer roles covered chart (& map) datums on GPS for example.

Lastly if you've been around long enough (as I have), I have been out in the field (and at sea) on 2 occasions in the last 20 years where GPS failed me.

Gulf War 1 with Stormin Norman I was at sea when the yanks attacked Iraq and messed with the domestic GPS signals... they did the same on 9/11/01, when the Twin Towers were hit - because I was at navigation school on the day after (our time) which was the afternoon of the attacks US time, AND I had my Garmin Etrek Summit hand held GPS with me.... and again the Yanks Military messed with the GPS data from the satellites and my GPS couldn't find the cheeks of its own but with both hands!. The electronic fluxgate compass told me north was south and vice versa for e.g - just as happened at sea back during Gulf War 1 - if I had listened to my GPS (and not my magnetic compass) I'd have sailed south to Antarctica instead of north to home port.

You just can't always rely upon GPS to be 100% accurate - I know most folks do now days, what with car based gps nav units, but experience and qualifications will teach you otherwise eventually. The units themselves come with instructions that say - the GPS should ONLY EVER be used to conform what you already know, about your position - they are a back up and NOT TO BE USED AS YOUR PRIMARY SOURCE OF NAVIGATION INFORMATION.

AT sea this gets kinda important especially at new moon nights and during fog events etc even more so if you don't have overlay radar.

If you don't know what the navigational aid memoir "true virgins make dull companions" is all about, then you need to bone up on your navigation skills, if you want to be able to talk about, who's in the right and who's in the wrong, with the relevant authorities - I've met plenty foresters (and wildlife officers for that matter) who get bushed if you turn em around twice in the forest.

You can't just accept that the authorities always get it right - most times they might, but you can't bank on it. The marine rescue guys (and Pilots of course) who have their Nav Quals are a lot more likely too get it right.

Datums (chart & map) trips up a lot of otherwise intelligent and well meaning law enforcement types as well as fishers and hunters and other outdoors types who might not have qualifications & vast experience in navigation.

How many can actually navigate manually without a GPS on a chart or map? When manually laying out a course - where do you measure your distance scale from, the top or side of the chart / map, or the scale printed on it, and why and can you trust an electronic copy's scale?)

Cheers!

Edited September 24, 2012 by Joe Kerr

[jindydiver]

Just downloading the file from GC doesn't ensure its accurate in your GPS. You have to know what map (chart for marine) datum the game council overlay and map are produced in, and you have to have YOUR gps set to that same datum - otherwise as sated you can be anything up to a couple hundred meters out on the ground. You also can't assume that any ranger, policeman or GC official knows how to navigate, as far as getting his GPS settings right. Some of the younger tech savvy ones might while older guys unfamiliar with the technology might NOT be so well up on it. Depending on the authority - they might have their own individually owned GPS unit - and have it set right to the correct datum for that particular job and that map - while if its a larger authority where gear is kept in the safe and shared, the last guy who used it may have set it to a different datum for a different aged map, doing some forestry work etc, and the next guy never knew he had to alter the datum, when he downloaded the new maps for the current job.

You are confusing the issues here. It matters not one bit what datum your GPS is set to if you are relying on the maps loaded into your GPS from the GC. If that cursor is inside the forest boundary then you can have confidence that you are also, datum settings on your GPS do not change your position relative to the map displayed. What they do is change the reported position figures in the format you ask for and this only has any effect if you are using this written data to find your location on a paper map you may be using in conjunction with the GPS.

Walk outside with your GPS, take note of where the cursor is on your map screen, and change the datum to a different Aus datum and see for yourself. The cursor will not move one meter. Go all out, change it to Bermuda (with the Clark spheroid) and see it still does not move.

The whole GPS system works on ONE datum and all the maps you load are georeferenced in that same datum, as is the cursor on your screen. What setting the datum on your unit does is prime the converter/calculator so that the data displayed is written in the format you want to use with your paper maps. It is of course a good idea to have those paper maps and have your GPS datum set to match those maps, but this is a different issue to the calibration of the maps installed on your GPS unit (which is what we are talking about). Go back in the thread and see that Happy Jack posted....

I agree that a Garmin is a better unit.

If you rely on downloaded waypoints to map out an exclusion zone you are taking one risk and that is what if a waypoint is wrong , what if many of them are wrong ? It is unlikely to happen but assembling grid references to establish a waypoint takes some precision and it is easy to make a mistake and exclusion zones do change .

Before setting out you should check them against the latest GC maps to makes sure they look to be in the right places .

I am pointing out that the map Happy Jack is saying we should check our download against IS THE SAME MAP, and it is the only map you can rely on for exclusion zone info because it is the map the GC rely on to regulate those exclusion zones.

I.e. being a "qualified navigator" is not a prerequisite for a policeman or forester for example - most of them get pretty good at it, with experience...and because the technology is now a lot cheaper and more readily available a LOT of the younger guys fresh outta Uni etc will understand it who are exerts on GIS a lot better than some of the older guys (like me for eg) who did their studies back before the pocket calculator and digital watch were invented.

In my case it was only doing Master 5 at a mature age that got me qualified in navigation - non of my work in Forestry or Wild Life Officer roles covered chart (& map) datums on GPS for example.

Lastly if you've been around long enough (as I have), I have been out in the field (and at sea) on 2 occasions in the last 20 years where GPS failed me.

When I did my coxswains we did not have the benefit of GPS, you either got it right or you could get it very, very wrong.

But this isn't about what is appropriate for navigation at sea, or indeed for navigation that might be needed to save your life out hunting, it is about the OP wanting to buy the correct GPS so he can make good use of the available technology and have a hunt in a public forest without falling foul of the law.

[Joe Kerr]

It matters not one bit what datum your GPS is set to if you are relying on the maps loaded into your GPS from the GC.

Mick, lets just agree to disagree on this one.

I have a boat parked on its trailer, outside with Furuno GPS chartplotter, and chart chip. When i turn it on its hows the vessel location as in my yard. When I alter the datum on the plotter - the chart overlay shows the vessel a street away (up to 150 yards approx if you zoom in).

Admittedly marine charts aren't great for such measurements in suburbia - however this one has the navigable waters of the swan river nearbye so is quite accurate when zoomed right in.

There are not a great deal of changes between recent datums BUT some of the older ones AGD 84 for example to the new datums - can be up to 200 meters out in the position on ground.

Sorry, we just don't agree is all, - no need to get into a argument about it, lets just agree to disagree.

The question is about which one to buy after all - the thing about arguing with authorities - is another question entirely i.e a derail (albeit an interesting one) and perhaps the worthy subject of a new thread. No blood, no foul - play on. ;o)

Cheers!

[danh124]

I use gps a lot in my current employment and although I am not interested in getting involved in the current datum argument I will say that it should be a consideration when you set up your gps, try it on the ground. Set your unit to wgs84 and mark you position as a waypoint, now change the datum to adg66 and see where the waypoint is in relation to your position.

So if you are using a Kmz file that is made using wgs84 information in a gps that is set to adg66 for example and you may find yourself hunting in the wrong area accidentally.

Also I have just brought a harming legend hcx for $200 brand new, the new line of etrex has come in and there are some massive bargains to be had.

This unit used to be in the $400 range.

It has the ability to run the game council maps and other digital maps, it also has micro sd card for storing digital maps.

A good reliable unit brand new at a good price (due to it recently being superceaded)

Good luck mate.

[jindydiver]

Mick, lets just agree to disagree on this one.

I have a boat parked on its trailer, outside with Furuno GPS chartplotter, and chart chip. When i turn it on its hows the vessel location as in my yard. When I alter the datum on the plotter - the chart overlay shows the vessel a street away (up to 150 yards approx if you zoom in).

Admittedly marine charts aren't great for such measurements in suburbia - however this one has the navigable waters of the swan river nearbye so is quite accurate when zoomed right in.

There are not a great deal of changes between recent datums BUT some of the older ones AGD 84 for example to the new datums - can be up to 200 meters out in the position on ground.

Sorry, we just don't agree is all, - no need to get into a argument about it, lets just agree to disagree.

The question is about which one to buy after all - the thing about arguing with authorities - is another question entirely i.e a derail (albeit an interesting one) and perhaps the worthy subject of a new thread. No blood, no foul - play on. ;o)

Cheers!

I don't know how you can use your chartplotter as an example in our discussion (not an argument LOL ) when the OP is asking about GPS units (Garmin by default) compatible with the GC maps available on their website.

If setting the datum on a the Garmin mapping units changed the position of the cursor on the map displayed it would make the mapping display useless if you were also using a paper map of a different datum. You could just imagine the confusion if someone loaded the GC maps (originally in '94) and they were carrying the most recent map available from CMA (many are still '66), either the cursor would not be displaying their location correctly on the screen, or the data provided would have them marking there paper map in the wrong spot. It would be patently ridiculous for the Garmin mapping GPS units to work like that especially when the best practice is to have a paper map with you.