Author Topic: Barebones unit? (Read 800 times)

CJ · « **on:** December 04, 2004, 10:27:03 AM »

I have an old Magellan 2000 i bought new years ago. I was very disappointed in the performance. So much so I never bothered taking it in the woods. Worked fine at the park, fine on the water, but throw a few trees overhead and forget it. Never gets a lock. I see some reccomended units as I browse here, but it seems most are discontinued. Any barebone standouts with
1 Not a lot of extra stuff. Basically camp to stand and back or stand to deer and back in the dark.
2 Good performance under tree cover.
Do you still need to be moving for the newer units to work?
Thanks for any input.

Siskiyou · « **Reply #1 on:** December 05, 2004, 07:20:43 AM »

See if I can answer a few of your qts.
1. Recommend that you stick with a low end Garmin or Magellan. There are a couple of other manufactures that are producing low-end gps units. But customers are returning a lot of them, according to the "smoke signals.

2. Good performance under tree cover is tricky. I came back and edited this. I was going to suggest that you try the Garmin GPS12, but after reading a review between the Magellan 2000 and the GPS12 I do not have a recommendation. Will the 2000 take an external antenna? A few serious gps users are using external antenna. Graybeard says his GPS12XL works great under trees.

The larger units normally have a larger antenna, therefore better satellite reception. Reception is not a static thing. It verys during the day, the week and the month depending on the obit of the different satellites. I suspect the Satellite reception is tough in the Grand canyon. There is no horizon.

3. You can get a static Lat/Long from a setting gps, but you must still be moving to get direction and speed from basic gps units. If you have a gps with a trip computer you can set the computer function to get your average speed while moving. Never give up your old magnetic compass. Works when you are stopped and does not require batteries. After a long cold day it is still working.

I suspect I might edit this again. A little more research is in the works.

Will Bison · « **Reply #2 on:** December 08, 2004, 08:12:59 AM »

I have three units and have been doing some comparisons with them. The units are the Mag 315, Mag Gold and the Sportrac.

In heavy tree cover they all fail and give erratic info. In moderate cover the 315 always sees at least one more bird than the other two. On an open hill top the 315 will still see better.

On a flight from CA to HI I went as flight engineer/navigator and we put each of the units in the astrodome. They all worked the same. I suspect the reason was that we had a totally unobstructed view of the horizon. When I mounted them in the cockpit the 315 again came out on top. From the cockpit the view is obstructed by the metal structure.

Last Summer we took all three out in the Carson Sink or 40 Mile Desert for some archaeology work. The view is unobstructed for ten miles in all directions. Not so much as a blade of grass and as flat as a table top (yuck). All three worked the same.

My guess is, and it's just a guess, that the 315 with it's antenna design works just a bit better. Trees/obstructed view are just something to be reckoned with. The technology is still new and it's going to have some bugs but it sure beats what I had when I started navigating 45 years ago.

Dave in WV · « **Reply #3 on:** December 09, 2004, 03:23:19 AM »

I just bought my first GPS unit. I absorbed what Siskiyou and some others had to say. I changed my mind from getting a basic unit after Siskiyou pointed out how he updates his unit's software with his computer. That's a good point to consider. The manufacturers add things to the software from time to time and free upgrades can get your unit better. I did some online comparisons between units and the ones with the compass display that works when you aren't moving seem to use more energy. For that reason I chose a unit without that feature. If you're using a topo map you can get the altitude for your position from it and if you're out where you an get lost you should have a compass for backup any way. :wink:

Siskiyou · « **Reply #4 on:** December 10, 2004, 07:57:59 AM »

Dave in WV: Have you taken that new 60C and tried it or do you have to wait until Christmas Day?

While I fedback that CJ stick with the basic Garmin or Magellan, if he wants a basic unit that is the way to go. BUT, I'll stick to my earlier recommendation that go for a gps that offers more. The Garmin Legend is one of those. Some places are still asking over two hundred dollars for it, I am seeing it for $149.+ at retail stores and on the Internet. Check out the adds.

As I stated in another post, my wife understands me, computer memory, and our past history. When she asked me what I want for Christmas I told her that I wanted another gps with more memory. I can get about 35 topo maps on my Garmin Legend. Some of my hunting and fishing areas cover a major part of the North State. I manage it by uploading and downloading maps. The Legend has a great Base Map what I have fallen back on, but it is nice to have more detail maps.

I told her that I want the Colored Legend C with more memory. And many other new features. But knowing me she thinks I should have should get one with more memory. I was quick to show her the 60C and it's higher price. She says it is cheaper in the long run to take the bigger step.(Like Dave in WV) She realizes that one of this days somebody is going create the 1MB gps and I be looking at it.

Dave in WV · « **Reply #5 on:** December 11, 2004, 03:34:43 AM »

Siskiyou, I'm waiting until Christmas to really get into "playing" with my GPS. I did update it. A friend had a really bad climbing tree stand accident. His wife's aunt now demands anyone hunting on her property carry one of their radios with them. It took the rescue party several hours to find Jerry. The original land owner was the one that knew where to look. Once again a radio and a GPS would have been a help. When you find a good spot radio the lat/long in or have it written down and left before huinting. Jerry likes the same spots to hunt.

Siskiyou · « **Reply #6 on:** December 11, 2004, 05:44:03 AM »

Dave: It has to be tough looking for an hunter whom I assume is in full camo down on the ground or hung up in a tree. Even if you are lit-up in blaze orange somebody needs to know where to look.

I try and keep my wife up do date on my general hunting locations. This fall while camping out I called an old friends house to give them my updated location. I go his wife and she clearly understood Lat/Long. She works for the Forest Service.

I just checked my handheld radio's to make sure the batteries out of them.

Looking forward to your comments on the 60C.