Which GPS

On Mon, 08 Nov 2004 19:39:29 GMT, "Mike Brockhurst"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

Aaaaggggghhhhhh!!!!!

;-)

(Just a wee jokey! :-)

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \

Mike Brockhurst said:

Finally my wife has promised me that elusive GPS for Christmas and I'm all
excited - boys and toys you know - although I keep trying to convince the
wife it is a vital piece of scientific equipment.

Hey, get the wife one too! You may find she'll really like it! :-)

Quoted message said:

Budget is around £150
maximum so which one is best. I've looked at and am impressed by the Geko
301 with the Magellan Sportak close behind. When considering which one I can
tell you I have Memory Map to use to plot routes so is there a preferred one
bearing in mind I will want to utilise all my MM's.

also, there are a lot of Sportrak Pro systems around currently going cheap.
any reason?

I know virtually nothing about GPSs, but while the GPS hounds are
thundering in this direction from other threads I can mention on an
anectodal basis that I have a little Geko 201, which I like very much.
I've not used it in any particularly sophisticated way, but it's very
easy to do the waypoint/route/grab a bearing stuff. It's also very
much lighter on batteries than the Etrex Summit I bought a number of
years ago (and lost...)

Good luck - I'm sure you'll get lots of advice soon :-)

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \

On Mon, 08 Nov 2004 20:00:13 +0000, Peewiglet <[email hidden]>
wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

anectodal basis [...]

Ooh, a nice new word! :-)

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \

"Peewiglet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Mon, 08 Nov 2004 20:00:13 +0000, Peewiglet <[email hidden]>
wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

anectodal basis [...]

Ooh, a nice new word! :-)

"basis" is your word of the month??

druidh

druidh said:

"Peewiglet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Mon, 08 Nov 2004 20:00:13 +0000, Peewiglet <[email hidden]>
wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

anectodal basis [...]

Ooh, a nice new word! :-)

"basis" is your word of the month??

:-) I'm easily excited!

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \

In article <[email hidden]>, Peewiglet
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

druidh said:

"Peewiglet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Mon, 08 Nov 2004 20:00:13 +0000, Peewiglet <[email hidden]>
wrote:

[...]
>anectodal basis [...]

Ooh, a nice new word! :-)

"basis" is your word of the month??

:-) I'm easily excited!

Aren't we all? ;-)

--

Dominic Sexton
http://www.dscs.demon.co.uk/

In article <[email hidden]>, Mike Brockhurst
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Finally my wife has promised me that elusive GPS for Christmas and I'm all
excited - boys and toys you know - although I keep trying to convince the
wife it is a vital piece of scientific equipment. Budget is around £150
maximum so which one is best. I've looked at and am impressed by the Geko
301 with the Magellan Sportak close behind. When considering which one I can
tell you I have Memory Map to use to plot routes so is there a preferred one
bearing in mind I will want to utilise all my MM's.

Check in the MM help file if it deals with Magellan receivers (I expect
it does but best check first).

I'm not sure that you would really benefit much from the Geko 301's
extra capabilities over the 201. For me the compass and barometric
altimeter were of no appeal so I got a 201. Without the extra sensors
GPS still gives you bearings (and direction when moving) and altitude to
about 10m so I feel they are of no great help.

If I were you I would try and find the models you are interested in at a
local shop and have a play with them to see which you prefer when they
are in your hand.

Don't forget that you will also need a cable to connect the GPS to your
PC if you want to transfer data to / from MM.

Quoted message said:

also, there are a lot of Sportrak Pro systems around currently going cheap.
any reason?

I think they have been out a while and these things tend to get cheaper
when the newer models come out. Bit like the basic yellow eTrex which
can be bought cheaply too (but don't get that one!).

--

Dominic Sexton
http://www.dscs.demon.co.uk/

"Dominic Sexton" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Mike Brockhurst
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Finally my wife has promised me that elusive GPS for Christmas and I'm all
excited - boys and toys you know - although I keep trying to convince the
wife it is a vital piece of scientific equipment. Budget is around £150
maximum so which one is best. I've looked at and am impressed by the Geko
301 with the Magellan Sportak close behind. When considering which one I
can
tell you I have Memory Map to use to plot routes so is there a preferred
one
bearing in mind I will want to utilise all my MM's.

Check in the MM help file if it deals with Magellan receivers (I expect it
does but best check first).

I'm not sure that you would really benefit much from the Geko 301's extra
capabilities over the 201. For me the compass and barometric altimeter
were of no appeal so I got a 201. Without the extra sensors GPS still
gives you bearings (and direction when moving) and altitude to about 10m
so I feel they are of no great help.

The 301 does have the advantage of not being in a sick-making colour (though
perhaps more easily lost?). I actually find the compass to be very useful -
especially when being VERY careful about route finding in white-out
conditions.

Quoted message said:

If I were you I would try and find the models you are interested in at a
local shop and have a play with them to see which you prefer when they are
in your hand.

Don't forget that you will also need a cable to connect the GPS to your PC
if you want to transfer data to / from MM.

And if you need to go the USB route, you'll need a USB-converter (which'll
cost about a fiver - don't go for the £45 Garmin one!).

druidh

Mike Brockhurst said:

Finally my wife has promised me that elusive GPS for Christmas and
I'm all excited - boys and toys you know - although I keep trying to
convince the wife it is a vital piece of scientific equipment.

Of course it is! How have you managed without one?

Quoted message said:

Budget
is around £150 maximum so which one is best.

Sorry, you can't get the best for £150.

Quoted message said:

I've looked at and am
impressed by the Geko 301 with the Magellan Sportak close behind.

Either of those is a good choice.

Quoted message said:

When considering which one I can tell you I have Memory Map to use to
plot routes so is there a preferred one bearing in mind I will want
to utilise all my MM's.

Just make sure that MM supports Magellan.

Quoted message said:

also, there are a lot of Sportrak Pro systems around currently going
cheap. any reason?

It could be because Anquet Maps only used to support Garmin (although
they now support Magellan). Could be the same with other software.
Nothing wrong with Magellan, but check software compatability before you
buy.

Poor old Lowrance, great GPS models, but how many support them?

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk
http://www.wildwales.fsnet.co.uk

i have a etrex legend which i am very happy with which i use in conjunction
mm
budget for some nimh batteries and a charger which can be had on ebay for
approx £15

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

i have a etrex legend which i am very happy with which i use in conjunction
mm
budget for some nimh batteries and a charger which can be had on ebay for
approx £15

recently gone to the new colour Legend C. very impressed with it: good
display, getting nearly 40hrs from a pair of Sainsburys AA alkalines, it
is USB by default so far easier (& cheaper) to hook up to a modern PC.
And just all round does the job.

--
Darren

Mike Brockhurst said:

Finally my wife has promised me that elusive GPS for Christmas and I'm all

I've just got the Garmin Foretrex 201. Before buying, I went into this
in a fair bit of depth (of course!) including pitching just such a
question here.

I sat down and thought really hard - unusual for me - about what exactly
I wanted and how I would use it.

I specifically wanted rechargeable batteries and a wrist strap, as I use
it for mtb (handlebar mount available) and running just as much as
walking, so this gives me the best of all worlds. I looked at the
runner's model - Forerunner - but decided that I could work out the
'running specific' data - basically pace in mins/mile - myself.

It's brilliant. Very lightweight, battery life about 10-12 hours on a
charge on full-on mode, can be bettered on battery save. Dead easy to use.

For determining and analysing off-road run/bike routes it's superb - oh,
and its not bad for walking either. :-)

I understand that it's the Geko 201 in a wrist-mounted package.

Oh, and it's MM compatible.

Does what it says on the tin really well, I'm very pleased with it.

Cost me £120, discounted at my friendly local outdoor shop, couldn't
better that on-line

Wonderful bit of kit :-)

Steve

Steve said:

I've just got the Garmin Foretrex 201.

Never heard of that one, or never noticed.

Quoted message said:

I specifically wanted rechargeable batteries and a wrist strap, as I
use it for mtb (handlebar mount available) and running just as much as
walking, so this gives me the best of all worlds.

I bought a handlebar mount for my 60CS. Perhaps overkill, but cool all
the same. It has a stopwatch feature which does laps and lap averages,
incidentally, if you're into that kind of thing.

Fact is, most GPSs will do all the basics, it's really just a question
of deciding what extra features you want.

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk
http://www.wildwales.fsnet.co.uk

On Tue, 09 Nov 2004 01:00:10 +0000, Steve
<[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

Cost me £120, discounted at my friendly local outdoor shop, couldn't
better that on-line

I was very lucky with my Geko 201, and got it on Ebay for just £75.
Someone had bought it in a rush of blood to the head, and realised
before ever actually using it out in the hills that he didn't have a
use for it.

Best wishes,
--
,,
~~PeeWiglet(**)
/ \ / \

Depends on whether you want all the toy features?

I just wanted the basic GPS functions and the Geko 201 has fulfilled
that requirement excellently.

While non-GPS walkers were getting lost the other week around Kidsty
Pike, the GPS assisted greatly.

Mike Brockhurst said:

so which one is best.

I can't give you any help in the direction of models, etc.. What I
feel I can add tho' is an offshoot to the functionality; if I were in
the market for a new GPS (I currently own an Etrex summit) I would
make sure it had enough trackpoints (?terminology?) to keep a full log
of a day's outing.

SteveO

NE Climbers & walkers chat forum;
http://www.thenmc.org.uk/phpBB2/index.php

NMC website: http://www.thenmc.org.uk

In article <[email hidden]>,
SteveO@?.?.invalid writes

Quoted message said:

Mike Brockhurst said:

so which one is best.

I can't give you any help in the direction of models, etc.. What I
feel I can add tho' is an offshoot to the functionality; if I were in
the market for a new GPS (I currently own an Etrex summit) I would
make sure it had enough trackpoints (?terminology?) to keep a full log
of a day's outing.

Unfortunately the Summit has a bug which means it overconsumes
trackpoints. Other units with less trackpoint capacity will easily keep
a full day's log.

Having said that the 10,000 points of my Geko means it lasts for ages
:-)

--

Dominic Sexton
http://www.dscs.demon.co.uk/

The message <[email hidden]>
from SteveO contains these words:

Quoted message said:

I can't give you any help in the direction of models, etc.. What I
feel I can add tho' is an offshoot to the functionality; if I were in
the market for a new GPS (I currently own an Etrex summit) I would
make sure it had enough trackpoints (?terminology?) to keep a full log
of a day's outing.

The Summit is a right pain. I have just moved on to a Vista C. Set to
automatic an easy day out last week filled just 17% of the memory. With
the Summit it would have been a saved track (losing the timestamps)
midway and maybe a gap between that and the active track if I had been a
bit careless with checking the memory. Room for at least a long weekends
walking without saving the track I should think and I am never likely to
do more than that these days.

--
Roger Chapman so far this year 79 summits
New - 51 (Marilyns 14, Sweats 5, Outlying Fells 39)
Repeats - 28 (Marilyns 11, Sweats 21, Wainwrights 16, Outlying Fells 1)

Roger said:

The Summit is a right pain. I have just moved on to a Vista C.

Glad to hear that Roger. Are you happy with your purchase?

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk
http://www.wildwales.fsnet.co.uk