Thanks for the in comprehensive comparison of the Garmin GPS units. A similar comparison chart is available from REI and is a quick reference to the features, capabilities and limits of each unit.
While we're on this subject, would any one like to comment on the different software programs used in conjunction with GPS units? I have both the Garmin MapSource (1: 100,000 scale) and the TOPO! program (1: 24,000 scale) sold under the National Geographic label for individual states. Both programs are easy to use and both have lots of nice features. What I would prefer is a combination of the two so I could have access to all the features in one interface.
Anybody have any comments, good or bad, about these programs?
BTW, if you do a little shopping around, you can find pretty good deals on the Garmin units. We recently bought two Etrex Legends for $140.00 each and I've found the Vista for under $250.00
Best, John Gwilliam
At 04:07 PM 4/7/2004, Matson, Robert wrote:
Hi All,
Wanted to thank Ron Baalke for posting the link to a Garmin GPS comparison website:
http://www.gpsnow.com/gpscmpm.htm
For those that haven't checked it out, perhaps my analysis will save you some time as far as the selection of a GPS unit best-suited for meteorite recovery work.
First, my requirements:
1. Large # of track points -- at least 2000. For a 1-day trip, and 8 hours of active hunting, I would need 480 track points at 1-minute temporal resolution. So 2000 track points would support trips of up to 4 days without computer access.
2. WAAS accuracy a must.
3. Waypoints (for marking find locations) -- would like at least 500 active at a given time; for multi-day trips at multiple locations, it would be nice to have 1000.
4. PC interface: USB preferred; 9-pin serial acceptable.
5. Battery life: the longer the better
6. Display: the greater the # of pixels, the better
Other features which are nice to have, but not critical:
1. Electronic compass 2. 2-way radio with position reporting 3. Detachable or external antenna hookup
13 units are compared at this site, three of which (the most expensive ones) are dash-mounted, so that leaves 10. Battery life is only 1.5-5 hours on the Garmin iQue 3600, which is the most expensive of the handheld models. This is because it has a lot of extra bells and whistles (PDA, voice recorder, MP3 player). It also uses a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which adds to the expense if you need to carry an extra one along. Nice unit, but overkill on features and not optimum for meteorite hunting.
That leaves 9 units, which can be separated into two groups -- those with electronic compass and barometric altimeter, and those without:
No compass/altimeter:
Track Way- Inter- Batt. Approx. Garmin Unit Pnts. Pnts. face Life Pixels Colors Price ------------ ----- ----- ------ ----- ------ ------ ------ 1. eTrex Legend 10000 1000 9-pin 18 46080 4-gray $200 2. Rino 120 2048 500 9-pin 15 25600 4-gray $250 3. GPSMAP 76 10000 1000 9-pin 16 43200 4-gray $300 4. V Deluxe 3000 500 9-pin 25 40960 4-gray $400 5. GPSMAP 60C 10000 1000 USB 30 38400 256 $450
With compass & altimeter:
Track Way- Inter- Batt. Approx. Garmin Unit Pnts. Pnts. face Life Pixels Colors Price ------------ ----- ----- ------ ----- ------ ------ ------ 6. eTrex Vista 10000 1000 9-pin 12 46080 4-gray $300 7. Rino 130 2048 500 9-pin 14 25600 4-gray $350 8. GPSMAP 76S 10000 1000 9-pin 10 43200 4-gray $400 9. GPSMAP 60CS 10000 1000 USB 30 38400 256 $500
The compass feature is nice, but I don't think you'd need the altimeter for meteorite hunting. However, if you're planning to use the GPS for backpacking, the altimeter would be a nice feature. Basically you pay an extra $100 for the altimeter/compass option ($50 extra for the GPSMAP 60CS vs. 60C).
The V Deluxe has a detachable GPS antenna and includes a MapSource CD-ROM (MapSource North America City Select). Fancy maps are fine for driving navigation or trail hiking, but you'll find they're of little use for wilderness meteorite hunting. The places you're most likely to find meteorites are the very places that tend to be devoid of interesting map features, so if you're only using the GPS for meteorite hunting, I wouldn't spend a lot of extra money on the mapping capabilities.
One thing that looks odd in these lists is that the eTrex appears to be a better deal than the GPSMAP 76. It has the same # of track points and waypoints, 4-gray-scale display and 9-pin interface, but the eTrex has slightly MORE pixels and a little longer battery life and yet costs $100 less! The reason for the disparity is a "feature" I failed to include -- screen size. The GPSMAP 76 has a 52% larger display than the eTrex (it also has an external antenna hookup and more route features).
That's one problem with the Rino units -- the display is puny: only 1.4" x 1.4". On this basis alone, I probably wouldn't buy one. This is unfortunate, because they do have that nice 2-way radio and position reporting feature.
The eTrex display isn't much better -- 2.1" x 1.1" versus 2.2" x 1.6" for the GPSMAP 76.
Based on all this, my Garmin GPS recommendation would be the GPSMAP 76 (or GPSMAP 76S if you want the altimeter/compass). If you have young eyes, you can probably get away with spending $100 less for the eTrex.
One other cool feature of the GPSMAP 76's: they float! Also, I just checked the "too low to advertise price" at the above website -- you can get the GPSMAP 76 there for only $256.90 including shipping! (The 76S is only $316.90 including shipping.) That's a pretty good deal.
--Rob
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