GPS help

[tombstone]

Jeff, ask Whit about Lake Bobby Reed. It is an offshoot of Lake Lawyer.

oh you are talking about what used to be public land known as old river until the levee board got more money thatn they knew what to do with and started snuggling up to all the other money people.

after talking to other people, it seems I am not the only one who thinks half of what the levee board does is illegal and that they are often overstepping their bounds. yall feel free to hi jack my gps thread. this is good stuff too.

[deltadukman]

Word to the wise: don't trust your gps compass. It relies on movement (triangulation between satellites) to properly indicate direction, unlike a regular compass which relies on magnetic force.

You stand still with a gps and turn around and it'll more than likely indicate the direction you were going when you stopped the first time.

Jeff, ask Whit about Lake Bobby Reed. It is an offshoot of Lake Lawyer.

That is correct, on the cheaper ones. But the ones with the electronic compass will correct itself without the person actually moving. You can tak it and spin it in your hand and it will correct itself.

[Wingman]

Well if a $350 Rhino won't work right, I'd rather take my chances with a $10 Walmart compass.

[dukhntn]

Electronic compass also detect magnetic fields, does not rely on satelite

[matt.courtney7]

buy a lowrance. like mine a lot better than the garmin i used to have. it broke and was a piece anyway. awesome maps and elec compass on the lowrance

[MemphisStockBroker]

With a GPS unit, you are buying memory and connection speed. And in the Garmin line, if you want to map out stuff, you need to buy a unit with "MAP" in the name.

After two years of research, I purchased a Garmin GPSmap60c with an additional TOPO software.

My reasoning:

The MAP part :I wanted to be able to map out where I was hunting. I store all of it on my computer. I put Jr Broker out in a stand, and drive to another stand. I KNOW how far apart we are, even through the woods. Comes into play when we are shooting .270's at deer

The C part: readout is in color. Might not be a big deal for you youngsters, but as you get older and your eyes start to go, the color screen is invaluable.

The unit is small enough to put in my pocket, but big enough for me to use the buttons and see the screen.
I keep the north Mississppi TOPO map loaded on it. When I went to Wyoming, I downloaded that map to the GPS unit.

It does a good job hooking up and will show you which satellites it is hooked up to, and how strong each connection is.

It is semi water proof...
It gives me sunrise / sunset info for where i am, no matter where I am.

When I am going on a trip, it will map out where I need to go, and give me turn-by-turn directions. When Jr. was playing ball at Backwoods High school, it would tell me exactly where to go. Kept momma off my booty allot !!

And it will do more than I will ever be able to figure out.

Garmin seems to have good customer service...

Don't go cheap when buying one, or you will be upgrading really fast.

[tombstone]

thanks stockbroker, great info!

After reading everyones input, it seems as though it is like anyhting else. You get what you pay for. I had initially been content thinking the plain old etrex was sufficient, but the first post ruled it out with the compass remark that was echoed by many.

[crowder critter]

I have a hand held GPS for personal use (marking crappie mats in particular) and the accuracy is terrible. I can put my cap down in the yard, stand on top of it and mark it, and I am lucky to get back within 20-30 feet of it on a good day and that is with me looking at where i know it is. Just imagine trying to find a mat in 10 feet of open water. I normally just drag my line until I hang it if the gps gets me in the neighborhood.

Now for work, I have a Garmin GPSMap 276C with Mapsource software and this thing is the bomb. It has a color screen, great detail, and will talk to you if you want it too.

[MemphisStockBroker]

More info than you could ever want:

http://gpsinformation.net/

[jtdumallard]

i deal with garmin on a daily basis and i will be the first to say that their customer service is by FAR the best compaired to other GPS companys

[deltadukman]

Another thing that my father found out was that with his Magellan series the cd's will not let you load them on the computer and forget about the software. You have to keep up with the disk everytime you use it. You lose one and you have to buy the whole set again. Plus they don't, or at least when he bought it, have a USB cable that adapts to the common PC. They have a 9- pin connector which almost no computer uses anymore. So you have to go to Radio shack and buy a $50.00 9-Pin into a USB for use with a laptop or USB ported computer. Believe me, spend the money.

[Double R 2]

I've been using the Garmin Map76 for years and am fixing to pull the trigger on a new map76cx with memory upgrade. I've done everything I've ever need, personally and professionally.

[dukhntn]

Any of y'all ever do this with your GPS?

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/

[randall25x]

Ive also got the Garmin GPSMap 60csx. It is a great unit, got the US recreational lakes with fishing hot spots software. Shows lake detail, bottom structure, etc... I love mine and would def. recommend getting color with expandable memory.

[deltadukman]

I've been using the Garmin Map76 for years and am fixing to pull the trigger on a new map76cx with memory upgrade. I've done everything I've ever need, personally and professionally.

You use a GPS to hunt with. That is so unsportsmanlike. Whatever happened to using a sundial and the moss on the trees and a forked stick to find water. People these days. I can't believe you. I'll go out on a limb and bet you go to Argentina a few times and slaughter doves and parakeets and show blood and numbers. I'm sick of all this.