Handheld GPS Questions and Recommendations (1 Viewer)

Hi

I have never owned and barely used handheld GPS before, so I'm a complete novice. Can I pick everyone's brains please?

This is what I think I want....

I'm no thicko when it comes to electronic devices and can usually pick up any gadget and get it working without the instructions. However, the GPS's I've used in the past seem a little difficult to get to grabs with - difficult to find what you want to do via convoluted menus. As such, I'm looking for one that's easy to use. I can't remember which ones I've tried in the past but it was an oldish Garmin.

My main use will be to mark and find places for flowers. As such, I'll need it to be sensitive enough to use in woods as well as the open. It will need to be very accurate too.

I would prefer it to be colour, and quite light.

I want an all-in-one unit, not a PDA + separate receiver.

I don't need it to navigate me on roads, as I have a car satnav already. I don't particularly need it to work out walking routes either - or do I?

The Gramin 60CSx has been recommended on another thread - would this fit the bill for me?

One question, which may seem stupid; I see that maps are available for all these units (and the ones for the 60CSx seem to be criticised for their lack of detail) - do I need to buy these or does it work without them? Are these just for working out routes and stuff or are they essential to get the best out of it?

Which High Street shops sell these things, as I'd prefer to see one in use before I buy?


Thanks for all information in advance

Sean

The 60CSX is a great unit but based on your description, it might be more than you need. If you don't need street or topo maps, you could get away with using a basic Garmin eTrex. Granted, it doesn't have a color screen but if you just want to mark spots so you can return to them later, then you don't need the color. The color screen is useful when using street or topo maps.

Will you be heading off trail or into large wilderness areas? Then topo maps could be useful. If you are sticking to smaller parks and preserves with established trails, then you really don't need them. I can't speak for the accuracy of Garmin maps in the UK. The maps in the US are pretty good.

The 60CSX will work without the mapping software. It has a base-map built in which shows the major highways. Garmin has also made major improvements to their quick reference guide. It makes getting started quite easy.

One thing to keep in mind is that nearly all consumer handheld GPS units will have an accuracy of about +/- 10 feet.

I think a Garmin eTrex unit would be best, you really don't need anything more expensive. Performance in woodlands can be dodgy, though, so it depends on how accurate you want it to be. I use an eTrex in various woodlands and can usually get a 'displayed' accuracy of about 6-7m - even in an open field a Garmin eTrex doesn't seem to get better than 5m anyway. If you want better accuracy, you will be paying thousands for a separate base-station and unit, so 5m is probably as good as you'll get. This seems about right when I eventually plot the locations in a GIS (mapping software on a computer). Or, at any rate, it's acceptable for my needs.

You don't really need any maps on the unit, as you only really need the logged coordinates - on an eTrex you can log positions with one button, so it's not hard. You can then download all the locations onto a PC when you get home, but you need to make a note of which one is what in a pocket notebook. When I'm logging locations, I often just get the unit to give me coordinates, then note these on a recording sheet there and then. But horses for courses.

Battery life is quite good with an eTrex, lasting a few days of constant use. It can take 5-10 mins to find enough satellites and get decent registrations when you start a session, and you will need to keep it where it can keep in touch with satellites (so not in the bottom of a bag). It might only be accurate down to 10m in woodlands on some occasions, but an eTrex will do if you're working on a regional or landscape level, or in large woods. If you're trying to plot eg every false oxlip in a small wood, then you'll need professional level gear, as a satnav/personal GPS just wont do it. These are way beyond the pocket of personal users.

A Garmin eTrex shouldn't cost more than 100 quid (and probably more like 70). They sell them in most outdoors shops - try Blacks or Millets. Argos might do them too, and Currys.

If you are looking at an Etrex, make sure you get one of the recent "H" versions with the high sensitivity receiver, rather than any of the older models that may be going cheap. The older ones will give trouble under trees, especially if it's wet.

andrew_s said:

If you are looking at an Etrex, make sure you get one of the recent "H" versions with the high sensitivity receiver, rather than any of the older models that may be going cheap. The older ones will give trouble under trees, especially if it's wet.

Click to expand...

Yes, I forgot to mention that, though I don't think the old models are generally available in retail anymore.

I wanted a GPS for walking routes and was going to buy a basic non mapping system but luckily I abandonded my usual conservatism and bought a 60Csx with Topo mapping and Fugawi Digital maps for route planning.
Topo is fine for me as I live in Cornwall and southern Topo covers up to Wales, Fugawi similarly covers a large area for £40 from Amazon.
I also have a subscription to Google Earth so I can dump GPS data to it and see where I've been and what I missed.
When I'm off on a day out I can mark my waypoints with bus numbers or location of railway stations, when I arrive I mark toilets, chippies etc - I already have custom points of interest loaded for my area...English heritage, National Trust, Churches & Graveyards.....built in POI get me to Banks, Attractions, Geographical features &tons of odd things...Topo also has street names, paths, bridleways and of course contours.
When you find something of interest you just press the 'mark' key and enter a description.
I find it particularly useful when a plan goes wrong - I went to Lostwithiel intending to walk to Fowey via the river only to find the route impassable, the GPS autorouted me down the narrowest of country lanes and showed me diversions via the Saints Way - it can be told you are a pedestrian and will calculate appropriate times of arrival.

I will also recommend the 60CSx. I've had it for a couple of years now and use it for hiking and backpacking. Now I use it for birding, especially when I'm going to a place I haven't been to before. It has a nice tracking feature (as do most handheld GPS units) that tracks the path you've taken and allows you to retrace your path back. I've added topo maps which helps in the field a lot as well. In fact, I've added City Navigator maps for US & Europe and used it to navigate by during a trip to France two summers ago. I think it's one of the best units out there. It has a very sensitive receiver and has always worked very well in the woods under tree cover. I think the new eTrex "H" versions use the same type of receiver as the 60CSx. The color screen of the 60CSx is excellent and the menus and controls are much more intuitive than the eTrex in my opinion. Gets good battery life as well. Hope I helped a bit in you decision.

Hi,
I just discovered sth. interesting you can do with a simple GPS-device (such as etrex). You can store tracks (a point is saved every few meters or every few seconds) while you are out with your GPS and your digital camera. Then at home you can download the tracks and photos and use free software such as www.locr.com/ or software.copiks.se/photomapper/ that writes the GPS-coordinates in the exif-information of your photos (that is where time and other parameters of the photo are stored). That means that your photo has the coordinates of the place where it has been taken attached, and you can easily have displayed the location of the photo in google earth or flickr etc.
The software matches the photos and the coordinates by the time they have been taken, so you should make sure that the clocks are set identically. (the software also allows for time correction).
Really nice feature...

PS: for accuracy you cannot get more precise than 5-15 m with a GPS below a few 1000$. But for most uses other than geodetic surveying that should be largely enough. I did not know that they have more sensitive recievers now that work under trees as well. that is great, so far the precision always was much worse in forest.

Sean,

Have a look on wiggle.co.uk site first before buying.

dalat said:

so far the precision always was much worse in forest.

Click to expand...

it still is. But it's better than it was.

Thanks for your advice everyone.

Couple more questions - has anyone seen or used a Stamp Active 10 unit? It was reviewed on the Gadget Show on Channel five and they put it way above a Garmin (not sure which model) and it did look very user-friendly and impressive.

Also, my TomTom One can save locations as favourites. Does anyone know how I can look back into those favourites and obtain the grid ref/latitude longditude?

Regards

Sean

Regards

Sean

Whether the Satmap Active 10 is better or not depends on what you want out of a GPS.

It uses the 1:50,000 or 1:25,000 OS maps the same as MemoryMap, Fugawi etc do on a PC or PDA. These are just a picture on the screen, so you can't use them for automatic routing in the manner of a TomTom or 60CSx. Your navigation is limited to following a preset route, like a non-mapping GPS but with added background. On the other hand the OS background maps have a lot more information on them than the vector maps that Garmin use. If you want, you could use one like a paper map that you didn't have to keep refolding or putting away to keep dry rather than following a set route.

Note that the OS 1:50,000 (etc) mapping is not dead accurate in GPS terms - roads can be up to 50m out from their true positions. This is because many features are drawn bigger than their true size, and things are moved slightly so they don't overlap.

PS
I gather that the Active 10 is a work in progress. If you get one now, you'll probably need to do a couple of firmware upgrades over the next year or so.

Thanks Andrew - especially for reading through my poor typing of "Satmap".

I have now ordered a 60CSx, so will report back on how easy it was to use, good it was at its job etc.

Can anyone answer my TomTom question?

Cheers

Sean