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Post by Woody Williams on Oct 16, 2009 13:25:23 GMT -5
Since I do a lot of hunting alone, me and the wife thinks it would be a good idea if she knew the location of where I am at down to a few feet, especially in Illinois.
Plus, I need to mark some stand locations for the Illinois gun hunts for people that have never been there before.
Questions:
1) Are the present GPSs accurate enough to get within a few feet of the reading?
2) How simple are they to operate? IOW - do I have to read the directions first?
3) If so, what is a good in-expensive (yeah, I'm a cheap skate!) hand held GPS ?
4) Where is the best place to buy?
All help is appreciated..
TIA....
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Post by oldhoyt on Oct 16, 2009 13:35:37 GMT -5
I'll bet the new ones are better than they used to be. I played around with one about 7-8 years ago, and it was pretty good as long as you had a relatively open canopy, like you will most times in the firearms seasons. If you're on a field edge, so much the better. Even the older one i used would easily get you within shouting distance of someone you are trying to find.
If you have a computer and can get on a GIS website, it's easy to locate your stands and get the coordinates, so you can create stored points for each stand. You can probably install the USGS or even Aerial Photo maps on the GPS and create points graphically, or by going to the stand and storing a point using the GPS.
They are pretty easy to operate, but I would certainly read the directions unless you had someone to show you how to use it. They are all similar I'm sure, but probably a little different from brand to brand.
If this thing might really be relied on to get you out of a sticky spot, I'd probably opt for the mid to higher end of the price range as opposed to the lower. I haven't looked at prices forever. Always carry a spare set of batteries.
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Post by HuntMeister on Oct 16, 2009 13:39:51 GMT -5
Since I do a lot of hunting alone, me and the wife thinks it would be a good idea if she knew the location of where I am at down to a few feet, especially in Illinois. Plus, I need to mark some stand locations for the Illinois gun hunts for people that have never been there before. Questions:1) Are the present GPSs accurate enough to get within a few feet of the reading? If it is WAAS enabled it will get you very close, mine tells me just how close to the foot and it seems to be correct anytime I've ever checked it.2) How simple are they to operate? IOW - do I have to read the directions first? IMHO this varies greatly. Yes you need to read the destructions! Dad has an I-Finder that I wouldn't give a plug nickel for due to it being very difficult to operate. Although it IS a very nice unit with many features. I have a Garmin E-trex Legend that I believe is one of the easiest to operate.3) If so, what is a good in-expensive (yeah, I'm a cheap skate!) hand held GPS ? I have to go with the Etrex series.4) Where is the best place to buy?All help is appreciated.. The Etrex is sold at many placesTIA.... Here is a google link for some quick price comparison... www.google.com/products?q=garmin+etrex+legend&hl=en&aq=f
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Post by stevein on Oct 16, 2009 13:40:59 GMT -5
I have an older Magellan 310. Basically point A to B. It has given me good service with just one problem. The ON/OFF button is too easy to hit. The govt used to move the locations around so you could not pinpoint target, they don't do that any more. I am confidant mine could get me close enough to a tree stand to locate. Drawbacks with mine are you have to be moving at least 2MPH for any degree of accuracy. I mark parking spots and have had no trouble finding them. I am sure the new ones have more features and are more user friendly. You really need to use it to gain confidence in it. I used mine to mark a slope where turkeys had been feeding in HNF and had no trouble walking to the spot in the dark the next day.
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Post by Hoosier Hunter on Oct 16, 2009 14:18:05 GMT -5
I have a Garmin 60Cx and absoluetly love it. It'll take me to my tree. It has been valuable in getting me out of unfamiliar places more than once. When I first bought it I tested it by hiding a basketball in the woods, marking it in the GPS, then let the kids use the GPS and bring it back. They did it in no time! I've used it in the deeps woods of New Hampshire to Canada to the wilderness of Idaho. Best part about it is that I found it very simple. With Google Earth Plus you can upload all your GPS way points into Google Earth. I've did scouting on Google Earth for Crane NSA, took the coords of where I wanted to go and place in the GPS and it put me right on the spot. It also performs great on the road with turn by turn instructions. It'll even give you the business's your looking for with addresses and phone numbers. If you are indeed a "cheap skate" it may not be for you. Although you can do much better than buying it off Garmin Direct. buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=145&pID=309
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Post by Woody Williams on Oct 16, 2009 14:30:40 GMT -5
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Post by swilk on Oct 16, 2009 15:03:48 GMT -5
I have the Garmin 60csx and it is accurate to within 20ft or less.
Dark timber in Colorado was not enough to kill the signal ..... in fact I can sit inside my house and easily lock on to satellites.
The maps are pretty detailed and you can actually download all the information to your laptop/PC and then view everything in Google Earth.
It is without a doubt the handiest scouting/hunting tool I have ever purchased.
Downside ..... it aint cheap.
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Post by swilk on Oct 16, 2009 15:08:08 GMT -5
1) Are the present GPSs accurate enough to get within a few feet of the reading? Yes. The newest units are very accurate. I would put the antenna strength of the Garmin units at the top of the pile .... its all about signal strength. The better the signal the more accurate it is.
2) How simple are they to operate? IOW - do I have to read the directions first? Basic commands are pretty simple .... to get the most out of it you would need to read the instructions.
3) If so, what is a good in-expensive (yeah, I'm a cheap skate!) hand held GPS ? when was the last time "good" and "in-expensive" went together?
4) Where is the best place to buy? EBay
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Post by raporter on Oct 16, 2009 15:28:12 GMT -5
Woody as a cyber challenged person let me tell you what I have done. I have an ETrex Venture HC. Got it mainly for fishing and really struggled to learn how to use it other than my tracks and boat speed. Decided it was time I learned how to use this thing so I did something I have never done. I TOOK MY DESTRUCTION BOOKLET TO MY TREESTAND AND PLAYED WITH IT THERE. It was not nearly as complicated as it seemed but yes you do need to read the book and play with it. I did just what you are wanting to do. I named each of my stands and wrote the names on a notepad with the coordinates next to each one. I bought mine from Amazon April of last year for $140 with free shipping. I have had no problems with losing satelite conection in the woods but do lose it when I come in our house which has a metal roof. Hey if I can do it anyone can...
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Post by jkd on Oct 16, 2009 16:06:21 GMT -5
Woody - the high cost units are the ones that are going to have things like road or topo map displays, ability to upload/download maps and some have thermometer/altimeter/barometer capabilities... My son got one of the basic Garmin eTrex H models, and although it doesn't display topo maps, it does waypoints, satellite compass, trip data (speed, distance, time), and coordinate location to <20', and elevation. Once you've got your coordinates, it's easy to match them up on a USGS topo map hardcopy, or as mentioned, on google earth. We've used it to mark waypoints while tracking deer, and I carried it last year while turkey hunting alone in Splinter Ridge... good basic unit and easy to use... as mentioned, the compass thing is accurate as long as your moving, but I like an old fashioned lensatic for compass headings... otherwise, the eTrex series has about the best value based on what I saw last year when we priced stuff... buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=144&pID=8705
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Post by TagTeamHunter on Oct 16, 2009 16:27:01 GMT -5
I have an eTRex Model also ($99.00 at Dick's year ago or so). Great little unit, no problems with it.
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Post by wileyonetoo on Oct 16, 2009 17:24:20 GMT -5
I don't know much about handheld GPS units. I have purchased a couple for vehicles and the best place I found to purchase one was www.buydig.com
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Post by crazybuck on Oct 16, 2009 17:55:48 GMT -5
GPS units are accurate to a meter at the present time. It can also be used with ground based radar to be accurate enough for surveying. I have two hand held units (Lowrance) and a auto unit (Garmin). My earliest model Lowrance has been my favorite. It is a little on the big side, but it has advantages. It has a very good internal antenna. Many units will lose contact with the satellites when you are in a valley. My Lowrance almost always will reconnect to the satellites. I would recommend that you do some research online of the chipsets that are in these units. The last time I did, the Sirf II was given one of the highest ratings. The more satellites they will lock onto the better. What bothers me with most units is that the text is too small and very hard to read. My early unit had very large text, but now they want to cram too much into the small screens. I think Garmin is the best as far as auto units go. I lean toward Lowrance in the field units. When I was shopping for a car unit, I tested some in an Office Depot. The Garmins would lock on almost immediatly. The TomToms wouldn't even hardly lock on. When I shop electronics I use AMAZON.com. You don't know what store it is coming from, but you can usually get some great prices. GPS technology is great. Jump In!
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Post by West28 on Oct 16, 2009 18:34:24 GMT -5
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Post by mark on Oct 16, 2009 23:43:01 GMT -5
woody. i can have you . working the garman eTRex. in 5 min like a pro. i have used it for a few years its got me out of some tight spot. you can go on .google earth. and put your coordinates. for free and it will show you exactly where you were . cost is about 100.
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Post by bsutravis on Oct 17, 2009 4:17:16 GMT -5
Another vote for the eTRex model...... I have the Legend model and it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the more expensive models, but for marking your truck, stands, camp etc., it will always bring you home. The only issue I've had is when I'm turkey hunting and if I get down in a ravine or REALLY thick trees I'll need to move to a more clear view of the sky for it to lock onto the satellites and be able to figure out where I am. Plenty on Ebay under $100: shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m38.l1313&_nkw=garmin+etrex&_sacat=See-All-Categories
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Post by Woody Williams on Oct 17, 2009 12:15:43 GMT -5
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Post by HuntMeister on Oct 17, 2009 12:24:33 GMT -5
Woody, I believe that the CD is for 3 models. Venture, Legend and Vista are all three different models of the Etrex series.[size=2][/size]
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Post by Woody Williams on Oct 18, 2009 12:52:00 GMT -5
"Monochrome screen" is just plain old black and white right?
Would I be better off getting a color screen?
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Post by Hoosier Hunter on Oct 18, 2009 13:11:16 GMT -5
"Monochrome screen" is just plain old black and white right? Would I be better off getting a color screen? Yes that's B&W. Color is nice but usually adds to the price.
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