I'm a BIG fan of the DeLorme PN-20, the ability to have digital maps, scanned maps, aerial and sat photos, and the tracks/trails feature make it easy and fun to use. DeLorme customer support is really good and they have made major upgrades to the firmware available to customers for free.
I like the Garmin 60CSX, get a Micro SD at 2GB & get TOPO USA or TOPO Canada depending where you are, if using for vehicle get CN 2009, although I don't like it for Auto Navigation much prefer the Nuvi 750 with desktop routing, the 60CSX does not have voice only sound alerts.
If you love to fool with gadgets there are enough options to keep you busy for a while.
Go here to learn as much as possible from others on these & other units.
Chevy 2500 Diesel/Allison,Retrax Tonneau,Weston Platinium Steps, Michelin 265 Skins,Prodigy Brake Controller,Garmin 2620 GPS, Garmin 60CSX, Garmin Nuvi 750. Former Titanium 32E37Ds, soon to be Funfinder RV 210WBS or 230DS
Just a quick question. Can any of the handhelds be used in a private airplane to supplement VFR navigation?
Oh, and don't worry. I would never use the handheld's altimeter for flying. I'm positive the FAA regs are much stricter concerning the airplane's altimeter verses anything the programmers would put into the GPS units.
It seems that alot of you have the 60CSX. I am open to other brands, but Garmin is what pops into mind when I think of handhelds.
Engineer9860 wrote: Thanks for the replies everyone.
Just a quick question. Can any of the handhelds be used in a private airplane to supplement VFR navigation?
Oh, and don't worry. I would never use the handheld's altimeter for flying. I'm positive the FAA regs are much stricter concerning the airplane's altimeter verses anything the programmers would put into the GPS units.
It seems that alot of you have the 60CSX. I am open to other brands, but Garmin is what pops into mind when I think of handhelds.
No.. none of the handhelds should be used for aviation. They simply do not have the information you need to VFR nav. I would look into one of the Garmin aviation units that actually contain VFR information. The handhelds contain marine points but I don't think you want to be flying under water
Engineer9860 wrote: Would everyone tell me what handheld GPS units they have/use/prefer.
Also, what features are nice to have, and what are worthless?
I am looking to purchase one of the more higher end Garmin units, and I am wondering how accurate their barometric altimiter is? Can I expect +or- 100', or should they be more accurate than that?
Thanks-
I have used a variety of GPS handhelds, I use them for hiking/backpacking and geocaching and also regularly use them for auto-nav.
I currently use both a Garmin 60CSX and a Magellan Meridian Platinum. Both are fine units, though the MeriPlat is past its prime now.
Feature I really like to have:
1) Electronic compass (there are times you want a direction and really don't want to move ... having used a GPS with and without this feature, I consider it now a must have).
2) Barometer ... it's nice to have, provides another dimension of information which can occasionally be useful, I like tracking elevation gains and losses during a hike.
3) Mapping. I want a nice topo map on the display when hiking and detailed road map when driving.
4) SD card. Let's you store large amounts of map data at once.
5) Long battery life. It can never be long enough.
6) Waterproof, shockproof, etc. Solid lanyard design (biggest complain I had on the MeriPlat was very poorly engineered lanyard attachment).
7) Color screen ... much more enjoyable. Not just big, but look at resolution.
If I were buying today, I would seriously consider the colorado ... for features not listed above, including some new and upcoming Geocaching capabilities. It's also just really cool. ;-)
Engineer9860 wrote: Would everyone tell me what handheld GPS units they have/use/prefer.
Also, what features are nice to have, and what are worthless?
I am looking to purchase one of the more higher end Garmin units, and I am wondering how accurate their barometric altimiter is? Can I expect +or- 100', or should they be more accurate than that?
Thanks-
I have used a variety of GPS handhelds, I use them for hiking/backpacking and geocaching and also regularly use them for auto-nav.
I currently use both a Garmin 60CSX and a Magellan Meridian Platinum. Both are fine units, though the MeriPlat is past its prime now.
Feature I really like to have:
1) Electronic compass (there are times you want a direction and really don't want to move ... having used a GPS with and without this feature, I consider it now a must have).
2) Barometer ... it's nice to have, provides another dimension of information which can occasionally be useful, I like tracking elevation gains and losses during a hike.
3) Mapping. I want a nice topo map on the display when hiking and detailed road map when driving.
4) SD card. Let's you store large amounts of map data at once.
5) Long battery life. It can never be long enough.
6) Waterproof, shockproof, etc. Solid lanyard design (biggest complain I had on the MeriPlat was very poorly engineered lanyard attachment).
7) Color screen ... much more enjoyable. Not just big, but look at resolution.
If I were buying today, I would seriously consider the colorado ... for features not listed above, including some new and upcoming Geocaching capabilities. It's also just really cool. ;-)
Nice answer to the question & pretty well covers all bases, I might add get yourself a good protective case & a good shield for the display, I have used Invisible shield & last one was by boxwave which I like better than the Invisible shield.
I use Duracell rechargeable batteries, but the newer Sanyo Eneloop Rechargeable Batteries are highly recommended.
The lanyard is essential, I tripped in a stream last year while fishing trout, fell down & if not for the lanyard hooked into my belt I would have been out my 60CSX
One additional advantage of the Garmin 60CSx - it is one of the few handheld GPS receivers that uses the newer SIRF chip set (faster & more sensitive) and provides a serial output. My DSLR camera can be connected to the serial output of the 60CSx so that the location of every picture is recorded as part of the EXIF data. This is useful when trying to remember where the picture was taken...
TVNAV.com is offering "remanufactured" Garmin 60CSx's for $275.00. I've bought reman Garmin units and others from this company in the past -- no problems.
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