Good (reliable) handheld GPS unit?

[grandpa]

Give me some opinions based upon your experience with handheld GPS units, willya?

 

I have a Garmin eTrex Legend, and while it's a nice size, and does what I want, it's a real pain in the ass because I have to take it apart every few months to clean the ribbon cable that connects the GPS part to the diaplay part so I don't have to continually "dope-slap" it to get all the display elements to show.

 

Any other Garmins work better than this, How about Magellan?

 

Based upon this, I'm not likely to buy another Garmin.

 

thanks,

 

Dave

 

 

[Cobra_Commander]

Most of the mountain rescue and sar teams in Oregon have been running Garmin units for over a decade now, with minimal problems, for what that's worth.

 

Units I used over the years, no real problems:

 

48, 12, 12xl, Geko 201, GPSMAP 60cx

 

Sorry to hear about your bad luck.

[DavidHiers]

I use a 3 y/o gecko with the barometer.

 

It works fine, but the antenna is so small you don't get much signal under a canopy (even a light one).

[OrganDonor]

Garman GPS 60 - Works great, never had any of the problems you experienced. How old is the unit in question.

[grandpa]

Most of the mountain rescue and sar teams in Oregon have been running Garmin units for over a decade now, with minimal problems, for what that's worth.

 

Well, that seems to indicate that Garmin CAN be a good unit. This one is about 3 years old, and I've since read that the eTrex model line seems to be prone to this problem. What I'd like to know is what other make/models do you folks use that give no problems?

 

Thanks for the replies so far.

 

 

[locorogue]

I have the Garmin 60csx, and i couldnt be happier. 60csx has the new 'sirf 3' chip.

[OlympicMtnBoy]

I have the little Garmin Geko with the barometer too. I've had it for about four years now and it's been through a lot of crap unprotected in my pack and pocket through all sorts of conditions. I managed to scratch the screen when I stupidly put a crystal in the same pocket and walked around with it rubbing, but nothing else has gone wrong with it yet. It doesn't have the greatest reception as mentioned above, but works for my purposes 95% of the time.

[mike1]

I have the Magellan SportTrak. It's a base model, no bells and whistles but used it on a rescue team for years and I really like it. One feature I like in particular is that I can customize the screen a bit so I have one screen that gives Lat./Long. & UTM on a split screen.

[skyclimb]

I will always purchase Garmin. I use my GPS everyday, all day long in the mountains doing contract forestry work. Time is very important to me, as time is money. The Garmin legend, and the cheaper blue unit are what I use now. I have used the $2000 magellen units for super high accuracy contracts, but IMHO they are no better than the Garmin. I work along side guys who use the new Rhino units, which have features like 2-way radios, however these cost $500. Eventually you will loose a GPS if you use it a lot, so why pay for all the frills, if the accuracy will be the same. Garmin is industry trusted, sounds like you got a lemon.

Edit: don't buy a geko, as switching between datums is a major problem...for instance the geko can't goto NAD27 CONUS, so your lat/longs or UTM's will be off from the map you are using. This error could put you .10 miles easily. Many of the older guys I have worked with also have had trouble reading the screens on the Gecko unit.

Edited March 1, 2008 by skyclimb

[Brewer]

Another vote for the Garmin 60CSx. The thing holds onto a satellite signal like a crackwhore holding onto her pipe in a booking room. Or something like that.

 

The electronic compass, altimeter, and expandable memory are nice too.

[PaulB]

Edit: don't buy a geko, as switching between datums is a major problem...for instance the geko can't goto NAD27 CONUS, so your lat/longs or UTM's will be off from the map you are using. This error could put you .10 miles easily.

 

It takes about 10 seconds to change the datum on a Geko. Gekos support all the major datums.

 

If all you need is a GPS to check your position once in awhile, or for the occasional bit of whiteout navigation, the Geko 201 & 301 will fit the bill.

[Maine-iac]

I've got a Magellan eXplorist 200. It is at least 4 years old, and doesn't receive the best signal in dense woods (are there any that do?) and it has no topo map or any bells/whistles on it, but since i feel im solid with my map/compass i just use it as a back up. It works great and has quite good battery life. GPS is nice, but map and compass is where it is at. I have also managed to log 21961 miles on it but i guess thats what happen if you like to know where you are while flying....

[mike1]

I've got a Magellan eXplorist 200. It is at least 4 years old, and doesn't receive the best signal in dense woods (are there any that do?)....

Not yet, but there are more satellites being put up all the time. If you ever see one in the future that says it's using Glonass (Russian satellites), or Galileo Satellites, you can bet that the accuracy will increase as well as the ability to capture and maintain satellite signals.

[trad_guy]

Hi Dave-

Here is my idea:

http://www.traditionalmountaineering.org/FAQ_Best_GPS.htm

 

We use the Geco 201 allot, too, with a USGS Quad map, of course.

--trad_guy

[grandpa]

Thank you, I wasn't aware of this model, and it looks like what I want, no extras, just navigation.

 

Grandpa Dave

[Chris_Moorehead]

I've got a Magellan eXplorist 200. It is at least 4 years old, and doesn't receive the best signal in dense woods (are there any that do?)

 

I have a Garmin eTrex Vista Hcx and I can get a decent signal (~20ft) inside my house. Tree coverage is not a problem at all for this unit.