Posted: 6/3/2008 10:31:43 PM EDT
Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx or the Magellan Triton 2000 I've been using my iPaq pocket PC with a bluetooth GPS receiver for a few of years. It's time for a change but I am not sure which handheld GPS to get. The two list above are the only ones that I am really interested in. |
+1. In a previous life I was involved with GPS design. Garmin offers the best GPS receiver chipset available to consumers. It is also made in the USA (Olathe KS) and is top notch equipment. They also make GPS for high end civil aviation. I've owned and operated a Garmin eTrex Legend C and CX, and the original Legend before it. The only gripe I have is that Garmin went to a proprietary data interchange format a few years back so it makes it difficult to interface to non-Garmin software. But get Garmin if you can. Especially if you are buying it as opposed to getting it as a gift. IMHO the only chipset that compares with the Garmin is Rockwell Collins but I don't think you will find Collins chipsets in consumer products. 
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I'm way behind the times. My first GPS was an Eagle Explorer. My dad bought it for fishing trips in Quebec around 1996 or so. I actually haven't used one since the late 90s. On the plus side, by always staying a few steps behind the technology curve, I'll be really impressed with what I can get for my money when I do decide to get something new. 
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The hot chip for GPS is SirfStar III, which I know is used on the 60Csx and may also be used on the Tritons. Anything with it will work very well, leaving the choice up to design/ergonomics and software features. cursory info |
Is it just chipset is made here? My newly bought 60CSX has made in Taiwan on it. My old Garmin GPS says made in the US so I was kinda bummed. At least it didn't say made in china. I just upgraded from a old Garmin GPS V and it works well and has been pretty easy to use although it took me a bit to figure out how to swap between the street and Topo maps. I bought the bigger 2 gig memory chip for it so I can carry both the street and Topo maps for CA, AZ and NV. |
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SirfStar & MediaTek chipsets control satellite decoding, both are very good. Everything is made everywhere anymore, so hard to judge that (sadly) Try GPS Passion for reviews of specific units. |
A big thanks to everyone for the info. I also done some review reading and it looks like the Magellan Triton has some serious issues. Mostly negative reviews. The biggest gripe I seen for the Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx was the maps., pretty costly. Guess I'll stick with my iPaq a little longer to see if I run across something else that catches my eye. Once again, thank you. 
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