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Which GPS ???

Submitted: Wednesday, Oct 05, 2005 at 00:56

muzzgit (WA)

Hey guys, just getting into buying a GPS and wondering which one? Guy at shop recomended Garmin GPS 72 but I know a lot of you guys are right into this stuff. At this stage I'm not getting into the laptop thing, maybe later.

I wondered about the Uniden GPS105 UHF/GPS all in one, as my UHF is really old.
My mate has the same old UHF but his is going deaf and is looking at replacing it. The GPS105 gives direction to and distance to any other GPS105 talking to each other which could be handy but is the rest of it's features any good.

Yeah I know.... Holden Vs Ford Toyota Vs Nissan Engel Vs Waeco
BFG Vs Cooper Manual Vs Auto Petrol Vs Diesel, but some pointers would be good. Money an issue as always.

Cheers,

Muzz
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AnswerID: 133084   Submitted: Wednesday, Oct 05, 2005 at 02:00

Member - Davoe (Widgiemooltha) replied:

I wouldnt go the uhf/gps for a number of reasons
1) you might get right into either uhf or gps and decide you want to upgrade one which will be harder
2) one might crap itself making repairs/replacement of one or the other a hassel
3) (very important) You cant take it out of the vehicle which is a major use for my gps

Personally I have a garmen etrex which i am pretty happy with donfalls being - no external ariel (not a big worry) and the lats and longs are too small to be seen while driving. Great tough handheld unit though
you dont need to leave perth to go bush
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Reply 1 of 9
FollowupID: 387412   Submitted: Thursday, Oct 06, 2005 at 00:02

muzzgit (WA) posted:

Thanks Davoe. Guy in shop said, "get one with a screen you can read on the go" . He said that type (eTrex) is a good unit but small for use in a car.

As for the 2 in 1 jobbie, they do come in a hand held, but I think you're right about the other things.
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AnswerID: 133087   Submitted: Wednesday, Oct 05, 2005 at 05:06

Shawn replied:

Agree stay away from 2 in 1s.
I have the magellan gold, but now regret not spending the extra to get the magellan colour. Just to differentiate between creek, track and contour lines can be a pain at times. Though can't fault the gold, has more features than I will ever use.
Two of my mates both have garmen units (don't know what type) but have both recently bought the MIO 168 PLUS. Both say it works great, pulls in heaps of satelites. One has loaded complete NSW 1:25,000 onto a 2gig card and navigates using oziexplorer on the unit.The unit comes with Co-pilot v5 on it so can be used as talking gps/street directory for getting around Sydney (etc) as well.
I suppose what I'm saying is, look at a colour screen unit.
Cheers
Shawn

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FollowupID: 387413   Submitted: Thursday, Oct 06, 2005 at 00:06

muzzgit (WA) posted:

Thanks Shawn. The difference in price between the GPS 72 with a monochrome screen (approx $300) and the more up-spec colour screen jobbie (approx $800) means I might have to save a bit longer.
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AnswerID: 133088   Submitted: Wednesday, Oct 05, 2005 at 06:00

Big Woody replied:

Hi Muzz,

I personally would go for any one of the "Map" series Garmin GPS units.

The versitility of this range is great as you can load one or more of any range of maps into the units, from City Navigator for detailed street directory of every city and town in Oz, Metroguide which is similar but has more of a focus on the regional and remote area's, Bluecharts for full marine charts and now there are independant groups such as Tracks4Australia which have developed there own sets of maps focusing on remote tracks and roads (these are free by the way).

I personally have the Garmin GPS Map60CS which gets used in the bush 4wd, motorbikes, and hiking, as well as at sea on my yacht using the Bluecharts. It is waterproof and has a great colour screen that is easy to see in full sunlight.

My brother owns a communications business and has reported negative things about the Uniden GPS/UHF but the primary one is that the GPS does not have many of the key features that you will want to use that will come with any standard GPS unit.

I am not sure of the full range but if I were you I would try and go up one step from the Garmin 72 as I don't think it can take the maps and have a look at one of the 60, 76, 276, etrex legend, or etrex vista units as long as it is a map series unit. I think you will find even the black and white screen Map 76 unit may not be much dearer than the 72 anyway.

Good luck with your choice,

Brett.
Reply 3 of 9
FollowupID: 387416   Submitted: Thursday, Oct 06, 2005 at 00:22

muzzgit (WA) posted:

Thanks Woody. Good points you make.
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AnswerID: 133093   Submitted: Wednesday, Oct 05, 2005 at 06:34

Bob of KAOS replied:

I agree about avoiding the combo.
How much do you want to spend?
Colour screen? Personally I wouldn't go back to monochrome.
Inbuilt mapping? Absolutely, unless the unit is purely for connection to a Laptop.
Turn by turn navigation? Not for bushies (maybe in the 'burbs for taxidrivers).
I have always used Magellan, and in conjunction with the DiscoverAus Streets and Tracks CD gives excellent coverage of the whole of Oz. You can upload up to four detailed regions into the unit at a time. Even if you are out of the detailed regions the Australian Basemap shows main roads, towns etcThe unit can of course also be connected to a computer running OziExplorer with the Natmap Raster and other maps. The pic next to my name is a sceen shot from the Sportrak Color.
So if looking at new the Explorist 500 is $895 (http://www.nextdestination.com.au/products/brand/magellan/?category=26)
A recently superceded Sportrak Color is about $550.
If you already have a PDA with bluetooth/CF slot the cheapest solution might be to add a bluetooth/CF GPS.
Reply 4 of 9
FollowupID: 387417   Submitted: Thursday, Oct 06, 2005 at 00:58

muzzgit (WA) posted:

Cheers Bob, this is exactly what I've been looking for. Peoples reasons for using particular brands, models. Everyone's response has given me valuable info. I will look at both what you have said as well as what has been written on the response below and make some more enquiries at da shop.
FollowUp 1 of 1
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AnswerID: 133112   Submitted: Wednesday, Oct 05, 2005 at 09:28

nrb1748 replied:

Muzz,

For a very basic and robust GPS that works OK both in a vehicle and in the hand, the Garmin GPS 72 is OK. Seems to work better than the basic Garmin GPS 76.
Reply 5 of 9
AnswerID: 133119   Submitted: Wednesday, Oct 05, 2005 at 10:00

Utemad replied:

For primarily in car use get a PDA with either CF or Bluetooth GPS. This will get you a bigger screen with heaps of different mapping options including voice navigation with auto routing and being able to scan your own maps (for State Forests etc) with OziExplorer CE. No need to buy expensive corporate mapping software as with Magellan/Garmin. Plus you can use th PDA for other things. All this can be had very cheap off Ebay.

For hiking and stuff away from your car or a power source then go with a traditional GPS. I've had a Garmin Etrex Legend for a couple of years without any issues. However as I never bothered buying the MapSource software for it I should have just got the Venture model. Same but without the software storage space. These are water proof and have much better battery life than a PDA. Used to use it with a laptop before I got the PDA/CF GPS.

There are lots out there but they're for different uses and different people. Don't be conned into getting a you beaut flashy model just because your mates have one when it probably just sits in a draw at home.
Reply 6 of 9
FollowupID: 387418   Submitted: Thursday, Oct 06, 2005 at 01:17

muzzgit (WA) posted:

Utemad, thanks for your input, very helpfull. The guy at the shop showed me the eTrex model and showed me the benefit of the bigger GPS 72 type units. Apart from being easier to use (one button to press to save waypoints etc;) the screen is bigger (easier to read).

I've known this guy for a few years and he wouldn't give me a bum steer, he knows his stuff, has owned the shop for years and is a real tech head. Some of the stuff he talked about went straight over my head but didn't help like I thought it would, that's why I asked for help from the forumites.

When you say "expensive mapping software" do you mean NATMAP etc?
FollowUp 1 of 3
FollowupID: 387455   Submitted: Thursday, Oct 06, 2005 at 09:13

Bonz (Vic) posted:

muzz I had a Garmin 76 great unit but upgraded to a Map60CS as the colour screen is MUCH better and I wanted maps, it also has both USB & serial connections which I found very handy.

Dont make the mistake like I did and buy lower ($300) then want something extra. If you can, borrow one for at least a month and see how you'll use it. I would go to the shop you intend to buy from, tell the guy you need one for a month trial and then see what he says. Give him a deposit if he wants one, after all you'll have use of a unit.

Suck it and see I believe its called. Wish i could have gone that way.

Still I sold the 76 for $200 secondhand, c'est la vie...

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FollowUp 2 of 3
FollowupID: 387936   Submitted: Sunday, Oct 09, 2005 at 18:00

Utemad posted:

By expensive mapping software I meant Garmin MapSource and I think Magellan is DiscoverAus or something like that. Natmap is not a programme as such for GPS but a collection of maps you can use with OziExplorer.

On my Etrex Legend you can save a waypoint with one button as well. If you click the joystick button then it goes straight to the waypoint save screen. You can then change the name etc (it just numbers them as a default name) but when you click the stick it is actually saved.

Some of the cheaper ones don't have the ability to connect to a computer (not sure of the price points though). Without this connection you can't save your waypoints/tracks etc to your computer or make them on a programe and upload them to your GPS or use your GPS for moving map on a laptop.

A bigger screen model like a 76C would be good but I much prefer to use the Etrex out of the car (lighter and fits in pocket and better battery life than a PDA or 76C) and use the PDA with either Destinator or Ozi CE in the car or even out of it sometimes. I have used a 76C and even though the screen is bigger than my Legend and colour I don't think it is that much better to use although I believe the 76 is slightly more configurable than the Etrex as well. If you want the better screen then get the PDA option IMHO.

I also think it would be a good idea to borrow someones GPS and see if it does what you want. I borrowed someones before I bought my Etrex and have lent it to others for the same reason.

It is easy to get overwhelmed when buying one so read up heaps first so you don't make a rash decision.
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AnswerID: 133305   Submitted: Thursday, Oct 06, 2005 at 17:12

Charcoal RS replied:

Not a colour screen, but I use a Magellan Platinum. Got it cheap on Ebay and has been great so far.
Reply 7 of 9
AnswerID: 133537   Submitted: Friday, Oct 07, 2005 at 21:18

STAYAT replied:

I have used an Etrex travelling through our WA and found it good at the time. Had to set my route each night on my laptop using Explorer though. At the time seemed the right way to go.
I updated 10 months ago to a Navman PIN, using SmartV3, great if you have a stret name in towns, Sydney, melbourne , Adelaide etc. but not the answer going Off road. I use Explorer CE for all my country travelling now as I can set my route on the Navman screen. Then watch the actual map of the area as I travel. Very handy to know where rivers and creeks are if you need water. Also highlights many buildings, homestaeds.
This is a travellers best friend, and doesn't argue from the passenger seat.
Enjoy life...
Reply 8 of 9
AnswerID: 133847   Submitted: Monday, Oct 10, 2005 at 01:41

Niko replied:

The Combo GPS/UHF cannot be used outside of Australia as the GPS won't work overseas. This may include NZ but what it does mean is if you decide to go overseas to use the handheld version you will find the GPS will not work at all. I know this for a fact as someone in USA bought 4 of them and none of them work. Uniden have produced two of the most useless electronic gadgets on earth with the GPS205 and GPS105. Just don't go there!
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