Car/boat GPS

markhait

markhait

Joined
Jan 14, 2007
Messages
297
I just got back from a week camping. We stayed at a friends property in their trailer. I know for most you wouldn't consider that camping, but with a 2 year old and a 6 year old, it was enough roughing it :-)

Anyway....we were in an area that was totally unfamiliar to us and finding our way around was a bit tricky. We managed, but I'm sure a GPS would have made it better.
Also...we had our boat for fishing and were on a unfamiliar lake. I was a bit nervous about going out too far as the lake was decent size and had many ears jetting off of the main body. Of course, this is where I wanted to go fishing and it made me nervous about finding our way back.

Anyway...is there a good gps that would work for BOTH auto and boat?
For the boat, I basically only want to be able to mark way points, so that I can get from my fishing spot back to the launch. For the car I want the usual stuff most GPS units come with. Turn by turn not necessary.

Thanks for your help!
 
I am so smitten with the Garmin GPS60 series that I made my business became a Garmin dealer. The Garmin GPS60 series (the 60CSx has all the bells and whistles) is probably ideal for your needs. I use mine for road travel in the car as well as the fishing boat. It is highly rated on the REI website and other sites I visit.
 
Garmin's your better bet.

I've never worked with a Magellan, but have repeatedly heard--I think without exception--to avoid them. Any Magellan users here can confirm or deny what I've heard.

Garmin makes a wide variety of receivers, so check out their website to find those that work for both maritime and land-based needs!
 
I have the Lowrance iway 600c. It is water proof. It works fabulously. Their customer service is wonderful as well.
 
Right now only GPS I have is a Garmin Nuvi 350 ..works great for the truck but not desigh for the trails....I am looking a the 60csx I think it is ?
 
On several hunting forums I've NEVER heard a bad word about the Garmin 60csx.

That said, the Garmin Rino series is great also. They are a radio/GPS combo, and the best feature is they will transmit their position to other Rino users each time they hit the 'talk' button. You can then choose to 'Go to' the contact that transmitted. The radios are combatable with regular Motorola type radios as well, but obviously the other types of radios neither transmit or receive GPS locations.

The better Rinos have weather radios, alarm clocks, text message (to other Rinos), and can download both street maps or topo maps.

Down side is Garmin bangs you fairly hard for side items like car chargers, ear buds, maps, etc. Still, I have two and am very happy with them.
 
dougo83 said:
Am I the only one that thinks GPS is cheating?
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At what?

At navigation or waypointing?

It's a freaking amazing tool. If anyone is concerned about the use of technology for navigation, I'll be quick to remind that a compass is therefore cheating and one should be using the sun and stars. ;)

At marking a good fishing location?

No different than resecting. Just faster.
 
Watchful said:
At what?

At navigation or waypointing?

It's a freaking amazing tool. If anyone is concerned about the use of technology for navigation, I'll be quick to remind that a compass is therefore cheating and one should be using the sun and stars. ;)

At marking a good fishing location?

No different than resecting. Just faster.
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Yea..i know, I am just one of those who prefers to learn to do stuff the old way. I think GPS is just a big waste of money for something a compass and a map can do, but that's me. However, I am investing in a SPOT to make some of my more backwoods treks easier to track.
 
Doug,

Things a compass and map can do that a GPS system can't:

  • Provide a clear picture over a larger geographic area than a small GPS screen
  • Beckon, tease, and tantalize: hey, there's a neat waterfall just around that gentle wooded hill. A GPS receiver probably won't show that.
  • Scream like mad that your hiking plans are disastrous: a good topo map will reveal that the little valley you wanted to go into has no easy way out.
  • Measure inclination in degrees. Use the compass like a protractor to determine the average gradient of that hill before you commit.
  • Better determine the location of a distant object when you're not really sure where it is.
  • Work forever without a recharge
  • Work below ground, if your map covers passages (even if it doesn't, your compass probably still works and that's better than nothing)

Things GPS can do that a compass and map cannot:

  • Determine your exact location within a second or two, without stare at a map and mentally retrace your route
  • Eliminate dead reckoning
  • Instantly store and save a position so you (or someone else) can return there later. You can mark locations on a map, but nowhere near as quickly. And of course, many receivers will let you upload a series of waypoints so that they can be emailed to a pal so he can recreate your hike step by step...without you losing your map!
  • Work in the dead of night, a blinding snowstorm, or high windy rain when visibility is otherwise down to zero: a compass and map becomes dangerously limited by your ability to unfold a map and see the heading
  • Provide reasonably accurate altitude
  • Work at the highest latitudes, when a compass starts to flip out (including the poles!)
  • Unlike most compasses, work reliable in different hemispheres or at the equator
  • Work off the map. Once you hike off the edge of your map, that map's useless. If you're covering a lot of ground--say by air--you'd need either a lot of maps or a single handheld receiver.
Probably a few in either category I missed. But you notice a pattern: neither tool replaces the other. That's probably the biggest misconception about GPS. Anyone who uses one as a substitute for the other is taking on an enormous risk. Put the two together, and you have an awesome combination.

Try one--and really use it--and you'll be hooked.
 
dougo83 said:
Am I the only one that thinks GPS is cheating?
Click to expand...

Move from So Fl where everything is in a nice N/S, E/W grid and the sun is always pretty much E/W axis to Upstate SC where NONE of the roads are straight and just sorta follow the direction they are supposed to be headed in (WNW for N), and the sun is more in the S than E or W and you want one in a big hurry.:confused::eek:

I'm big on maps and compass' also, but this is just a very confusing area to get around in.

I'll be getting a 260W today for the truck. Not handheld, but enough for the moment.

My Dad has a Garmin on his boat. Very nice and handy when He's been trolling in the Gulf Stream and totally out of sight of land. Of course, he was doing that before GPS, but it sure does simplify things.

Rob
 
Watchful said:
Doug,

But you notice a pattern: neither tool replaces the other. That's probably the biggest misconception about GPS. Anyone who uses one as a substitute for the other is taking on an enormous risk. Put the two together, and you have an awesome combination.

Try one--and really use it--and you'll be hooked.
Click to expand...

Seeing that the compass, and before that, the sextant, were in use long before GPS was even a glimmer in some technician's eye, I would have to say that it is just another modern convinience that is unnecessary. If compass and map worked for 100's of years, why woldn't it work now. You do bring up some valid upsides to GPS for those who don't know how to read a map and compass. I have tried them and found them to be a waste of money. Like I said, that's just me. Open water, backwoods, mountains, I'll stake my paycheck with the map and compass against GPS.
 
Watchful said:
Garmin's your better bet.

I've never worked with a Magellan, but have repeatedly heard--I think without exception--to avoid them. Any Magellan users here can confirm or deny what I've heard.
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Avoid them?! Handle one first before you go on hearsay and pass along false info. Most people who have issues with Magellan (or any GPS unit for that matter) are 1. First time users or 2. Technologically stupid and have no business using one.

The new Magellan Triton series are top notch units using the SirfSTAR III chip set which means quicker lock on time and better reception under cover. I get reception and full bars in my house using a Triton 500. This unit can also have National Geographic topo mas uploaded to it. The user interface is easy to use and navigate and has a wide screen. The compact size makes it great for hiking. This unit also has 3 different "profiles" that can be used...marine, hiking, geocaching (for those that are into it). I have had my unit for 6 months and have it has worked flawlessly. Using it with the Vantage Point software and included USB cable makes it easy to transfer maps and data as well as media.
 
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wetdog1911 said:
and the sun is more in the S than E or W and you want one in a big hurry.:confused::eek:
I'm big on maps and compass' also, but this is just a very confusing area to get around in.
Rob
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Unless something changed since I went to bed last night, the sun always rises in the east. That means that after 12pm, if you're looking at the sun, you're going west. What's the confusion?

Just to clarify, after I left Boy Scouts, along with a handful of others, we decided to workl our own nav skills with the help of former Scouts from years past when they actually taught stuff. Most of these guys were our dads and grandads. We learned all about day/night nav using stars, moon, sun, etc. And how to nav by looking at plant life, moss grows on the north side of trees in some of the middle latitudes, things like that.

Never needed GPS for anything. Yea, marking waypoints might be grand, but when I go out in the woods, I prefer to keep my destination known to me alone. It keeps it quiet that way.
 
Ken C. said:
Avoid them?! Handle one first before you go on hearsay and pass along false info.
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No argument from me. I disavowed any experience with a Magellan in my post, and was actually hoping someone would post anything to the contrary. I appreciate you supplying the model number and description. The OP should therefore ignore my "false info" (as you're right to call it), and look into it. But Garmin's still the better bet. :)
dougo83 said:
Seeing that the compass, and before that, the sextant, were in use long before GPS was even a glimmer in some technician's eye, I would have to say that it is just another modern convinience that is unnecessary.
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Obviously, I won't change your mind. But I bet you use a lot "unnecessary modern conveniences" daily. Most people find GPS increasingly useful.

dougo83 said:
Unless something changed since I went to bed last night, the sun always rises in the east. That means that after 12pm, if you're looking at the sun, you're going west. What's the confusion?
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You don't navigate by sun much, because Wetdog is right. In the Northern hemisphere, it rises in the East, which he doesn't say otherwise, drifts into the Southern sky (its height in the Southern sky is related to your latitude and season), and sets West. In Florida, between about 1000 and 1400, the Sun is so far overhead that you aren't going to tell quickly enough where the shadows point. It's not as easy as you claim. For a guy like Wetdog, whom I'm assume uses a GPS when driving, maps aren't going to cut it when you're turned around. A GPS receiver will give him his bearing and location almost instantly.
dougo83 said:
We learned all about day/night nav using stars, moon, sun, etc. And how to nav by looking at plant life, moss grows on the north side of trees in some of the middle latitudes, things like that.
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Doug, I like ya, but that's not entirely correct, even in the middle latitudes. One of the reasons the BSA scrapped land nav is because it was jam-packed with myths like moss and grasslines, etc. It was so obviously written by goes in the Northeast that a few critical techniques often became useless outside the original 48 states. Moss will readily grow wherever it can avoid light--in forests, that can be in all directions, and in clearings, on neither side of the tree. Be very cautious when relying on information like that. There's a whole lot more to improvised methods than you suggest.
dougo83 said:
Yea, marking waypoints might be grand, but when I go out in the woods, I prefer to keep my destination known to me alone. It keeps it quiet that way.
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You missed my point by a mile...maybe your compass is off? ;) Waypoints aren't about leaving trails for others to find, or telling you how to go one way and one way alone. It's an improvement over resecting and intersection, and eliminates dead reckoning. There's no "noise," no "sharing," so I'm not sure where you're headed with your observation--other than an apparent reluctance to try something useful, I fear.

Straighten me out--what's the source of your hesitation? It doesn't seem to fit you.
 
For other readers, please note I have the greatest respect for him, and I hope he doesn't think I'm calling him out.
 
Watchful said:
For other readers, please note I have the greatest respect for him, and I hope he doesn't think I'm calling him out.
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Nah, Watchful, we are all entitled to our own here. I may give GPS another round, I was looking earlier at a few, but I really doubt it will stick. I actually prefer the more primitive manners of nav when possible. It's so much more fun that way IMO.
 
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