Handheld GPS

Can any members recommend a handheld GPS from their own personal use
Thanks
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Reply By: Tessysdad - Monday, Sep 08, 2014 at 07:46

Monday, Sep 08, 2014 at 07:46
I have a Garmin Maps 78. It doubles as a Sat Nav but has all you need in a hand-held.
AnswerID: 538768

Reply By: Penchy - Monday, Sep 08, 2014 at 07:59

Monday, Sep 08, 2014 at 07:59
Garmin 62s. Great unit that I use more in the car than anywhere else. Standard maps are pretty good, but I hear oztopo also works very well with these.
AnswerID: 538769

Follow Up By: DesF - Monday, Sep 08, 2014 at 20:02

Monday, Sep 08, 2014 at 20:02
Can vouch for this one , we use it all the time for geocaching, fitted with Garmin Topo. works a treat, good battery life .
Cheers Des.
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Reply By: gerard m2 - Monday, Sep 08, 2014 at 09:39

Monday, Sep 08, 2014 at 09:39
Magellan Explorist 510 is my choice. Most of the Garmin's or Magellan's will do all you need and more.

They are brilliant for Geocaching as well.
AnswerID: 538777

Reply By: Sigmund - Monday, Sep 08, 2014 at 10:07

Monday, Sep 08, 2014 at 10:07
You need to decide whether you want decent map storage and what kinds of maps you will use.

For Garmin you need vector maps. You can d/l Shonky for nix. These are scanned in 1:250k Australian topo maps. OK for general use but not for bushwalking nav. Garmin's topo map is not much better.
AnswerID: 538779

Follow Up By: The Explorer - Monday, Sep 08, 2014 at 10:19

Monday, Sep 08, 2014 at 10:19
Hi

Just to clarify ShonkyMaps is not "scanned in 1:250k Australian topo maps". It is the original digital vector data used to make the raster (and paper) versions of the 250K topo map converted to Garmin's vector format. It is the same base data used for EoTopo.

Cheers
Greg
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Follow Up By: gbc - Monday, Sep 08, 2014 at 13:15

Monday, Sep 08, 2014 at 13:15
I use garmin oztoppo for bushwalkng and hunting? Pretty accurate.

I ended up buying a gpsmap 78sc as I wanted the floating/waterproof bits for using in a kayak and the blue charts for australia/nz.

It is a powerful enough bit of kit, but after using smart phones and the like, the scrolling menus are getting a little dated.

A smart phone/tablet is o.k. for non life threatening gps situations, but I wouldn't want to rely on one.

If walking/kayaking/boating etc - the extra money for the inbuilt gyro etc is well worth the coin.
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Follow Up By: The Explorer - Monday, Sep 08, 2014 at 13:43

Monday, Sep 08, 2014 at 13:43
..Is that Garmins Topo Australia (& NZ also on latest version) or GPSOz's OzTopo you are referring to?

There is no such thing as "garmin oztoppo"...you seem to have combined the names of the two different map products.

Cheers
Greg



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Follow Up By: gbc - Tuesday, Sep 09, 2014 at 05:51

Tuesday, Sep 09, 2014 at 05:51
Being an sc it came with an sd card for the blue charts, and oz toppo was pre loaded into the memory of the unit from new. I had no clue it wasn't a garmin product. As stated, I find the contouring to be quite accurate for hiking etc. the batteries are flat at present so I can't fire it up to confirm.
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Follow Up By: The Explorer - Tuesday, Sep 09, 2014 at 09:30

Tuesday, Sep 09, 2014 at 09:30
No worries, the names are slightly confusing. I used Oztopo in Tasmania once - contours were actually useless in very hilly (steep/highly irregular) terrain - didn't have the required detail. Traditional 25K topo map was the go.

Cheers
Greg
I sent one final shout after him to stick to the track, to which he replied “All right,” That was the last ever seen of Gibson - E Giles 23 April 1874

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Reply By: The Explorer - Monday, Sep 08, 2014 at 10:15

Monday, Sep 08, 2014 at 10:15
Hello

If you are on a budget then I would suggest a Garmin GPSMAP 64. For additional cost the next model ( 64S) up has electronic 3-axis Compass + Barometric Altimeter. The 62 series is much the same but would suggest the 62S as a minimum (i.e. not the 62).

Touch screen garmins (e.g. Oregon 600) are also OK but some prefer "real" buttons as on the 62/64/78 series. They all basically have the same menu and functions so more of a hardware choice than software/capability (apart from a few extras on more expensive models).

If you would like greater versatility regarding raster map choice plus nice sized screen then TwoNav Aventura may suit your needs. Also comes with vector road map of all of Australia so can also be used for street nav. I have used one in the field for several years now and it is the best GPS I have ever had for my purposes (after numerous Magellan and Garmin units) but may not suit everyone, plus a bit expensive at ~$800. It can use any calibrated ecw maps (e.g. topo, geology, vegetation, satellite, air photo) so is hard to beat in this regard, though requires creation of custom maps (i.e. you have convert/calibrate yourself one way or another) in a lot of cases which is not everyone's cup of tea.

Cheers
Greg
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Reply By: Member - graeme W (WA) - Monday, Sep 08, 2014 at 22:35

Monday, Sep 08, 2014 at 22:35
Hi Bowdo.
I would not buy a stand alone hand held gps now, i have two and never use them anymore. Just get a good android phone we are using the kogan latest with inbuilt gps and loaded with oziexplorer, add an sd card and maps of your choice. The only time my magellon explorist is used now is in the boat.
Cheers Graeme.
AnswerID: 538816

Follow Up By: The Explorer - Tuesday, Sep 09, 2014 at 09:26

Tuesday, Sep 09, 2014 at 09:26
Yes - smartphones are an option for some circumstance. My Samsung G3 is however useless in bright light - can't see the screen. Also tried my Tab 3 (10.1) in the bush (WA south west forest) one day and gps reception was appalling (i.e. very slow to locate position), I assume because the GPS chip or whatever it has, is not as good as it could be, possibly OK for more open areas e.g. Pilbara/Goldfields. Anyway, straight back to the dedicated GPS for me for most jobs, for the time being.

Cheers
Greg
I sent one final shout after him to stick to the track, to which he replied “All right,” That was the last ever seen of Gibson - E Giles 23 April 1874

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Reply By: Bowdo - Tuesday, Sep 09, 2014 at 09:49

Tuesday, Sep 09, 2014 at 09:49
Thank you to all the replied. Will look into all your suggestions. Really appreciated
AnswerID: 538829

Follow Up By: Hilux fan - Wednesday, Sep 10, 2014 at 11:31

Wednesday, Sep 10, 2014 at 11:31
Another p[lace to go to for advice is Johnny Appleseed (http://www.ja-gps.com.au/). I've bought a bit of stuff from them and they know their products (well, the Melbourne shop did anyway). If you let them know what you want to use it for and what sort of maps you want, they can recommend a good unit.
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Reply By: Member - Tassiebrocky - Friday, Sep 12, 2014 at 21:21

Friday, Sep 12, 2014 at 21:21
I have found the Holux 132 running oziexplorer CE I have a 16gb card in mine and I can run a fist full of maps in it. The earlier Holux 130 run Memory Maps but the do no support the device any more. The GPS reception is first class and offer a sunlight readable colour touch screen.Holux 132 link
AnswerID: 539033

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