Marie-Rose
Senior Nomad
Posts: 894
Registered: 10-2-2003
Location: Victoria, B.C. and Todos Santos
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Mood: Worried...
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GPS
I've heard much about GPS lately and now my husb. seems quite interested. I'd like to surprise him with one for Christmas. Can anyone give me some
advice. The price range is incredible. He would use it for land navigation...out in the boonies and city driving. There are some now that are part
of the palm pilot type of handhelds. Some actually give verbal directions....help!!
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jk
Junior Nomad
Posts: 43
Registered: 8-23-2003
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I am committed to Garmin because of my investment in their maps. Magellen may be good too, but I am stuck with Garmen. I would suggest either the
Garmen Etrex Legend if your objectives are to use it while hiking or boating and want a "cheaper" model. The Legend has 8MB of memory that can store
Garmen maps, should you choose to buy them.
I also own an iQue which is definitely the unit to use while driving, but is significantly more expensive and really requires the purchase of
additional accessories to truly make it useful. The unit includes audio directions to the location of your choice and full access to the Garmen North
American City maps--a value in and of itself.
The downside is the limited battery time--only an hour or so. If you are in a car and buy the "car kit" for another $70 or so bucks, you can use the
adapter to run the system off your car battery. It also pays to buy another memory card so you can load enough maps from the CD provided for your
computer to be useful. It all adds up to an investment of $600-700 bucks or more to make it truly functional.
Best of luck, JK
[Edited on 12-17-2003 by jk]
[Edited on 12-17-2003 by jk]
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Neal Johns
Super Nomad
Posts: 1687
Registered: 10-31-2002
Location: Lytle Creek, CA
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Mood: In love!
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It depends on $$
All of them will give your location.
In order of price:
1. First time user, major roads shown on screen only: Garmin Geko (three versions, more bell and whistles = more $$
2. Medium price, with ability to show minor roads: Garmin Vista (can be loaded with roads, topo lines, detailed city maps - purchased separately).
3. Higher priced, bigger screen for car or hiking: iQue 3600 (a combined PDA and GPS with Voice Turn Right/Left guidance, see jk's post.
More details, see:
http://www.garmin.com/outdoor/
For general GPS info and reviews, see:
http://gpsinformation.net
My favorite shop (excellent phone service/advice and good prices is http://www.tvnav.com
[Edited on 12-17-2003 by Neal Johns]
[Edited on 12-17-2003 by Neal Johns]
My motto:
Never let a Dragon pass by without pulling its tail!
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frizkie
Nomad
Posts: 293
Registered: 9-29-2003
Location: Victoria, BC, Canada & El Chorro, Baja Sur
Member Is Offline
Mood: tranquilo
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Re GPS Camping Book
Hola Marie-Rose, I just happened to come across that camping book I mentioned to you with the GPS co-ordinates in it. Title: Traveller's Guide to
Camping Mexico's Baja Authors: Mike and Terri Church. Call me if you'd like to have a look at it. It is copyrighted 2001........B
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Marie-Rose
Senior Nomad
Posts: 894
Registered: 10-2-2003
Location: Victoria, B.C. and Todos Santos
Member Is Offline
Mood: Worried...
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Thanks Barb...will be in touch.
Another question about GPS...I was told that since we will be bringing our laptop with us, we should just buy the antenae for on the van and buy the
software maps for the computer...bigger picture and more detailed info?? The iQue here in Canada will run about $700.00 Can plus all the map software.
The antanae system and maps will be around $500.
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Neal Johns
Super Nomad
Posts: 1687
Registered: 10-31-2002
Location: Lytle Creek, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: In love!
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If you are willing to hold it (or mount it), a laptop with something like Delorme's Street Atlas 2004 http://www.delorme.com/streetatlasusa/default.asp (which includes Canada) hooked to any cheap GPS that has an output port (not just an antenna)
works great.
With a program like OziExplorer http://www.oziexplorer.com/ , you can scan any paper map (Baja!) that is not available on software and use this laptop setup. The best of both
worlds - a small hiking GPS and a big display for car use.
My motto:
Never let a Dragon pass by without pulling its tail!
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