Which GPS?

[fishinphyl]

Okay, tis the season again So I need to find "Mr. Impossible to Buy For" an Xmas gift. He has mentioned it would be nice to have a GPS when we have been fishing. So I need some ideas.

Now we only fish, hopefully one day on the weekends, so do not need top of the line. Also he still has not figured out how to use the universal remote for the new cable system so this has to be easy to use. I know nothing about them so I need some suggestions. :confused

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Phyl

[Scoot]

If you're comparing apples to apples (i.e. WAAS capable unit to WAAS capable unit) all the units are basically the same in terms of accuracy. However, you'll get different reported accuracies because different companies choose to use different formulas to calculate accuracy. It's kind of silly.
However, apples to apples they are all about the same.
Scoot

[waterwolff]

Rangerdog the garmin 76 series floats

[Steve Foss]

My Garmin E-Trext's accurate to within 15 feet, depending on satellite reception. With all the satellites locked in, it's brought me to within 9 feet of the target. Sometimes, it's more like 20 feet. Just depends.

[DTro]

Just thought I'd toss in my opinion. I was at the same place last year (which to buy). I decided on the magellan 315 and am glad I did. First of all it floats (big plus for me LOL) Second it uses only two AA's, which makes it quite a bit lighter, as the batteries equate for most of the weight. For what I use it for (marking reefs, fishing hotspots, deer stands, camp, etc) mapping is worthless. I also purchased the National Geographic TOPO CD ROM for Minnesota. This works great! I find a point of interest (reef,trail,hill,pond,stream,etc) enter the coordinates and bingo I'm there. The CD was $99 but a very good investment.
To sum it up. If you just want to mark waypoints or backtrack your route I would stick with the lower end units. My pick is the 315.

[Guest]

Just thought I would throw my two cents in, I have been using a garmin e-trex, the plain jane yellow one, got it for about $110. It is water proof, when I use it in a boat, I just loop the lanyard through about a piece of pipe insulation, the non/split type, and it floats, (total additional cost $0.50) It's a decent little unit, works great to bring me back to my hotspots, nice and small, light, 2AA and decent battery life. I have used it in the boundary waters, combined with downloading all of the portages and campsites to mapping software (the PC cable makes this very simple) combined with the free-ware program easyGPS, and you have unlimited waypoint storage. Accuracy depends on sattelite reception, 10 to 50 feet is about average for me.

[RangerDog]

Waterwolf,

The Garmin 76 and the 76S both float. These are 2 of Garmin's higher end units. The 76S has a digital compass, which is really nice. They are very similar to the Magellan’s.

[Scoot]

Phyl,

This isn't the one I suggested in my previous posts, but for $85, how can you go wrong??? If the address below doesn't work, check out the used goods wanted or for sale forum.

http://fishingminnesota.com/ubb/Forum10/HTML/001738.html

[fishinphyl]

Well, I received an email from Amazon that they had free shipping. So I checked out the site and they had a good price on the yellow Garmin - did not have the 12. After I realized that he would probably try to use this on horseback trips to AZ this winter I decided to go with the cheaper one - because he is taking a green horse this year. I checked the ratings on it and listened to you guys and decided to just try this one. They had the Legends one for $69 off, but some people said that "You better not drop them because they break easily" So I just went this way. Plus I managed to order some toys at the same time.

Thanks so much for all your ideas!!!!!!!

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Phyl

[WallEYES]

FISHINPHYL
Word of warning.....yous gets what yous pay for!

[fishinphyl]

I know, but I figure he will break it or loose it before he does anything else with it.

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Phyl

[Guest]

I would vote for the garmin 12, but some friends have the cheaper models, and like them. They don't cry as loud as I would if they dropped it down the ice hole!

[SXViper]

I purchased a Magellan Sporttrak Pro this fall. It is an awesome unit. It is waterproof and floats. Has a 9mb base map and 23md of downloadable memory. A;so has a digital compass. The base map is very detailed has all the lakes in my area and small towns too. I also got the cd rom with it. Really detailed map.

[Swill]

I agree with SXViper...I too purchased the SportTrak and it rocks. Whichever gps unit you purchase make sure it has WASP. WASP uses elevation data so you will get a more accurate position. The refresh rate is also quick so you will not have to wait forever for your second waypoint to refresh..which is cool when you are tracking a sunken island and you need to find mr walleye...

[Guest]

Just bringing it to the top!!!!
Happy New Year!!!