I am kind of thinking of getting a GPS. Anyone have any input on which brand? Seems there are 2 majors, Garmin and Magellan. Is there any side by side testing info? I dont really want the latest and greatest but I want to be able to update maps and download thru my PC. I admit very little knowledge of them but would like to know more without having to buy one first.

One of the things at the Shot Show I was checking on was GPS's.  I believe Garmin to be the superior brand.  In June they are to ship two new models with built in radios and that will communicate with each other.  If you have 5 guys in the field each with one you can see where they are.  They will also have output jacks to work with headsets.  We held off on ordering until they are out.

Well form what Ive seen and heard the Garmin units are nicer, more user friendly. Ive got a Garmin GPSMap 76. Very nice unit. Probably find it for 330 or so online. It has a pre-set basic map with major roads, and has capability to download more from teh Mapsource cd's. It is even WAAS enabled, which is Wide Angel Augmentation System. Which means that it is capable of acheiving 3 meter accuracey. There are only 2 satellites in the sky that produce that signal. One over the atlantic and the other over the pacific. The garmin units are waterproof and are very tough. The customer service at Garmin is also very good. Their web-site has tons of downloads for each unit.Every time a new operating system come sout they put it on the web-site for everyone to download. Also there are the very popular Etrex series by Garmin too. Very compact and easy to use. The vista, Legend, Summit. Each opne has different features so look into it a little further. All in all though I would go with Garmin I guess[;)]

Oh ya, Ive got a basic Etrex for sale if you want it. It doesnt have any download capability though. Let me know if you have any more questions

Comparison of two popular ones - Magellan 315 & Garmin 12XL:

[url]joe.mehaffey.com/mag-315.htm[/url]




Owner's opinions of the 53 most common units:

[url]http://www.epinions.com/otdr-Electronics-All-Hand_Held_GPS/pp_~1/sort_~raw_avg_rating/sort_dir_~des[/url]




How to have fun with the things:

[url]http://www.geocaching.com[/url]





A download for Magellan / Garmin map upgrade):
[url]http://delorme.com/support/multi/multi002.asp?D=59&Q=d&K=&P=8051&C=19[/url]





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I’ve got a Garmin e-Map that I’m very happy with.  

It has a download capability, though you have to buy the rather expensive map software separately.  It has a removable memory chip (which I just upgraded from 8MB to 32MB).  It also has a fairly good-sized B&W screen.

However, it’s not armored or waterproof.  It does have an add-on rubber case that covers everything but the screen – this has to be purchased separately.  

Galyan’s and BestBuy both carry it.  

i like the magellan map 330, but its hard to say which is better without testing them all.

[url]http://www.jesseshuntingpage.com/[/url] has a section on GPSs and reviews several models.

another fun thing to do with GPS is take it on a plane (after you prove your not a terrorist for having it) -- sit next to the window and hold it next to or near the glass, and turn the thing on before you taxi the runway. you will see your speed increase up to 500+mph and watch as you gain altitude over 20k+ feet. and then again as you decelerate to land, its funner on short 1 hour flights.

I was on a flight about 48 hours ago and they distictly mentioned GPS's as something that could not be operated during the flight.  

I've got a GPSIII+ and I love it. The base map is plenty for traveling. Then you can buy MapCD's from Garmin.

Roads and Recreation, Topo, even a Blue Water Cd.

You small portions of those into the unit via the serial port cable. The III has 1.44mb memory, just enough for a local area using topos and Roads, or the V has I think 24mb of memory, for a lot more. Although it's about $200.00 more for that unit.

I also like the rotatable antenna, so that it will continue to track while it's in your pocket. The horizontal or vertical mode can be selected for the display as well.

Love it

M4-AK

I have a Magellan 330M. I bought it about a year ago. At the time it was the best multiuse handheld availible. If you plan on marine use I suggest you look at Magellan. Garmin appears to have some good features, but they are not built for harsh enviroments.