Handheld GPS Help

g5mech · Occasional Visitor Joined: Sep 26, 2003 Posts: 2

I am looking to purchase a hand held GPS. I am new to the GPS world and I know only the basics about them. The number of units available is
overwhelming. I plan on using it for a number of different things. I will
need it for hiking, trail riding on my dirt bike, boating and highway/street navigation. I also travel overseas a few times a year. I would like
to be able to navigate European roads easier. Features that are a must to me other than navigation are durability, waterproof and battery life. When I am out on the trails I tend to fall off my bike on occasion and I do not want to smash my GPS. I also do not want to the battery to die in the middle of my ride. I also have a laptop computer and a Compaq IPAQ that I would like to link the unit to.

I will appreciate any input on models that will suit my needs best.

Dave · Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2003 8:08 pm Post subject:

I'm not going to go into any detail in models at the moment, but if you were mainly using it for off road, rough terrain then I'd say a handheld like a Garmin or Magellan. They're great for trackback features where you can set a marker at your start co-ordinate, and then return to this later. Off-road maps are hard to come by and grayscale screens not that inviting.

From what you say, it sounds like really you want a bit of everything. Using a Pocket PC opens up a word of choice, you can purchase and install Street Routing software for most European or North American countries, you can also install Ordnance Survey maps (if in the UK) which give you paper style topographical maps like you would use in when off road. You can use any GPS Receiver with these products,from a Comapct Flash, to a sleeve, to a Bluetooth Receiver to talk wirelessly. You can even plug in a handheld GPS like a Garmin or Magellan and use the mapping capabilities of Windows Mobiel on the Pocket PC.

All of this isn't cheap if you go that route, complete street routing for UK with Pocket PC will set you back £400+, Europe maps add another £150 to this. That includes a GPS Receiver, but if you then want to look at off-road topo OS maps, then again there's extra expense.

Really it depends on what your budget is, a Garmin/Magellan handheld will be okay if you want to find what street you're on, or you need to get to a waypoint (position), but it's no good for street navigation as it won't tell you where you're going, that you've taken a wrong turn, and won't give you audio navigation, which is what a Pocket PC will do. Let us know your budget and we'll suggest something closer to this.

g5mech · Occasional Visitor Joined: Sep 26, 2003 Posts: 2

I am looking at an initial cost of about $500.00 (US). I plan on purchasing other items later on down the road. I am just starting out. I am aware of the costs of software for the different areas. I have been looking at the magellan meridian and sportrak. I noticed they offer color options. I just do not know if the color is worth the extra money. Since I have a pocket PC, I figured the color screen on that will do for street navigation. I was just wondering if I need the color for the topographical maps when I am off road.

Dave · Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2003 9:20 am Post subject:

If you're looking at these two, I would stick to the Meridian range. The main reason is that it accepts SD storage cards, which will give you a huge storage medium for maps.

The Meridian Color is a nice GPS Receiver, but the colour really does white out when you're out and about, making it hard to see the screen. SporTrak Color is supposed to be a better grade of screen, but you will have storage issues with this.

For US, Magellan now do have a [url]=http://www.magellangps.com/en/products/product.asp?PRODID=113MapSend Topo in the US[/url]. They also have MapSend Streets & Destinations in the US available. You can see a version of the topo map that you might see from the PC here.

We plan to review most of the Garmin and Magellan data products in the near future, but I don't have a date yet.

snobound · Occasional Visitor Joined: Nov 08, 2003 Posts: 2

Hi I live in the US and about 8-9 months ago I purchased a Garmin Etrex Vista I too Ride Dirtbikes and bought it primarily for that reason. Ive noticed in forrest settings it looses signal, trees over head are the culprite. I was considering a Magellan unit but had trouble finding informmation on them in my area. this was brfore pocket gps of course. Mounting it on the handle bar helped with signal but it sticks out. I havnt dropped my bike in awhile so im still scared for the unit perched on the bars(left side). not enough clearance in center below triple clam, using Garmins mount. All in All i love it, its always accurate to w/in 30 ft. provided i have a signal. battery life is good using rechargable NiMH i hope this helps.

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