What GPS system do you use?

[modelbuilder]

Thought it might be nice to get everyone to share in one massive thread what kind of GPS system you use.

1. Company and Model Number

2. Price you paid

3. Type of area you "explore"....desert, forest, city......etc

4. Durability (How long you have had it)

5. The Good

6. The Bad

 

[olympiccop2002]

I use a non-expo worthy TomTom One. I think I paid $200 for it or so. I've used it while driving around Florida, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. I use it on the highway and in towns. Had it for a couple of years. I don't think it would be worth a darn for off highway/roadway. It lost signal for awhile in FL which is where I needed it most... Otherwise I like it.

Bjorn

 

[adventureduo]

1. Lowrance Baja 540c

2. $500.00 + $100 map card

3. Desert, Forest, everything. Don't use it at all in the city.

4. Durability is very high on this unit, made for off road use. Ran it for about a year on wash board roads, no problems so far.

5. The Good is the screen size and detailed maps (with optional map card)

6. The Bad is Lowrance support sucks, not much after market software. Big and bulky unit.

 

[KG6BWS]

1. Lowrance Baja 540c

2. $500.00 + $100 map card

3. Desert, Forest, everything. Don't use it at all in the city.

4. Durability is very high on this unit, made for off road use. Ran it for about a year on wash board roads, no problems so far.

5. The Good is the screen size and detailed maps (with optional map card)

6. The Bad is Lowrance support sucks, not much after market software. Big and bulky unit.

i use the same. the only thing i have to add, is that putting in waypoints sucks!!! hell, inputting anything sucks. other than that, i love the screen size and the maps.

 

[dhackney]

1. Company and Model Number
a. Garmin 276c (primary), Garmin 276c (backup) - The 276c mounts in the "glove box" of our cab dash. The primary 276c is from West Marine and has added marine capability.
b. Garmin 60csx (my motorcycle and photo backpack)
c. Garmin 60csx (wife's motorcycle and ditch bag)

2. Price you paid
Don't remember.

3. Type of area you "explore"....desert, forest, city......etc
Primary 276c has been to the Caribbean and around the San Diego / Catalina area sailing. While in our vehicles it has crossed the U.S. twice and been around the western US during our test. In South America it has been through Patagonia (some of the word's worst roads) down to Ushuaia and back up to Peru. We've been through some of the world's wettest rain forests and the world's driest desert.
The 60csx hand helds have been with us on motorcycle rides and treks in the same areas.

4. Durability (How long you have had it)
Primary 276c - over 3 years. Primary 276c battery circuit failed in April 2008. It still works as long as it is plugged into a power supply.
Backup 276c has never been fired up, it is less than four months old.
60csx were new in October 2006. No issues.

5. The Good.

• Durable. Rugged.
• Lots of software/forum/etc. support.
• Lots of mounts/accessory/etc. support and availability.
• Popular all over the world so you can buy retail maps/parts/accessories just about everywhere.
• Ability to easily interface to computers to capture tracks, waypoints, etc.
• Excellent receiver performance in the new generation products (60csx).
• Upgraded UI/OS in the new generation products (60csx).
• World Map v4 is worth the money. Great asset out here.
• I've been using Garmin GPS receivers ever since their very first consumer units. Since I knew the menu system, etc. and they worked for me in off-road motorcycling environments I never had any reason to change to another brand.

6. The Bad

• Small screen size on 276c. Tough for me to read since I had my eyes operated on and set for driving/distance vision.
• It took Garmin FOREVER to wake up and smell the coffee of the USB interface. I think they can still be lethargic to innovate and keep up with the market.
• High priced map sets at retail.
• I think Garmin's high mapset prices and sometimes ridiculously complicated strategies to enforce software keys, etc. have driven the market to shareware map sets much quicker than it ever would have if Garmin had kept the prices and the user experience reasonable.
• MapSource can be fairly criticized as under-engineered. It could be so much more with so little relative effort/investment.

 

[robert]

Old school here- still using a Garmin GPSIII+ and more commonly, paper maps and a Delorme. I can't recall what I paid for it but I got it off Ebay used after the GPSV came out. I've used it on my bike, my motorcycle and in several vehicles including a boat. It's been soaked, dropped and generally abused and still works fine for those rare times I actually use it.

I keep saying I'm going to upgrade, but as little as I use a GPS it works fine.

 

[davegonz]

Kenwood/Garmin

1. Company and Model Number: Kenwood DDX-8017 with Kenwood KNA-G510 GPS Box (Garmin made)

2. Price you paid: Too much

3. Type of area used in: City, off road, beach

4. Durability: (How long you have had it): A couple of months...no problems so far.

5. The Good: Large, clear, crisp screen and SD card updateable maps (free map upgrade from Garmin). Can also use topo maps via the SD card slot. The system also looks factory in my Toyota Land Cruiser.

6. The Bad: Clunky ipod integration.

 

[Nullifier]

1. Lowrance Baja 540c

2. $500.00 + $100 map card

3. Desert, Forest, everything. Don't use it at all in the city.

4. Durability is very high on this unit, made for off road use. Ran it for about a year on wash board roads, no problems so far.

5. The Good is the screen size and detailed maps (with optional map card)

6. The Bad is Lowrance support sucks, not much after market software. Big and bulky unit.

I have the 480c and like it as well.

 

[toy_tek]

1. Company and Model Number
Garmin 60CSX

2. Price you paid
Approx $400 (2006) + $80 Topo + $20 sd card

3. Type of area you "explore"....desert, forest, city......etc
Local desert, dunes

4. Durability (How long you have had it)
2 years. No functional problems even when used in the sand mounted on a quad handlebar. I did scratch the screen while it was in my backpack.

5. The Good
Size, accuracy, battery life (when screen is dimmed), reception.

6. The Bad
* Screen scratches easy (duh-my fault) not replaceable (their fault). I was able to micro-mesh the screen back to basically factory clear.
* Difficult to name anything on the trail quickly. Inputting characters (and numbers) is counter-intuitive for me.
* Battery life when screen is bright (day use) is about 8 hours. If you're really out there (backpacking) this might be a hindrance.

 

[absolute]

1. Company and Model Number
Garmin 60CSX
Garmin eTrex Basic
Garmin GPS 18
(Wife has TomTom)

2. Price you paid
$400
$100
$100 + PC

3. Type of area you "explore"....desert, forest, city......etc
Deserts, Mountains, Forests and City Use

4. Durability (How long you have had it)
Up to 5 years on those models
eTrex mainly used on Dirt Bikes, Quads, Bicycles...etc.
18 is used mainly in Pickup on Laptops

5. The Good
All function for what I purchased them for. The 18 is fun to play with but really just a neat gizmo for me. 60CSx is the most versatile and used the most for my exploring. eTrex is cheap and don't care I if it gets hurt playing!

6. The Bad
Batteries on CSx.
Laptop needed for 18

 

[spressomon]

i use the same. the only thing i have to add, is that putting in waypoints sucks!!! hell, inputting anything sucks. other than that, i love the screen size and the maps.

Ditto and ditto. I still haven't figured how to outsmart it when it comes time to down load my tracks to the SD card. I can deal with the bulk as it is pure joy to use off-road especially compared to any other GPS out there. But, as you stated, getting data backed up to the card is terrible.

Gotta be me . I suppose I'll figure it one of these days and wonder what was so damn difficult :smilies27

 

[AzRover]

1. Company and Model Number: Lowerance 5200c

2. Price you paid: $300, was on clearance at Cabellas, saved $200. The one in Az had a lot of GPS units marked down in the "Bargain Cave" the last time I was there.

3. Type of area you "explore"....desert, forest, city......etc: Desert and city.

4. Durability (How long you have had it): Only a few months, so far so good.

5. The Good: Big screen!!! Exelent reception, lost signal about 1/4 mile in to tunnel.

6. The Bad: Base maps dont have much detail. Have to spend $100 for map software, and and there are errors in the maps.
I got one with an external antenna so I would get good reception. The reception is so good, one with an internal antenna would work just as well, without all the installation work.


:safari-rig:

 

[latinoguy]

Thought it might be nice to get everyone to share in one massive thread what kind of GPS system you use.

1. Company and Model Number
Garmin Vista GPS (black & white screen) Acer Laptop...Garmin Topo Mapping Software

2. Price you paid (free from a friend ) Laptop Mount $60 off ebay...Already had the laptop... Garmin Topo Map, Bought used for a good price...

3. Type of area you "explore" So Cal Deserts, AZ, Mexico

4. Durability (How long you have had it) 4 months...just getting familiar with GPS in general

5. The Good high tech toys...not sure they are required for frequented traveled short trails but I am sure good for more remote locals like the Mohave Road...and Baja

6. The Bad

Attrack attention to thieves?


link to my set up...
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v...GPS Mount/?action=view&current=IMG_0013B.jpg

 

[Blueboy]

1. Company and Model Number
Garmin 276C

2. Price you paid
Don't remember!

3. Type of area you "explore"....desert, forest, city......etc
all including using it in Brasil, Chile, and Argentina

4. Durability (How long you have had it)
great!! it has seen the humidity of the rain forest, the coldness of the night desert, and the potholes of Sao Paulo

5. The Good
ease of use - for me the screen is a good size, yet, in is mounted close due to the flat windshields of the Rovers

6. The Bad
lack of 3rd party map support

all in all though, a nice unit that always has worked for me

 

[spressomon]

Baja 540C update: Did a little 4-day foray last weekend and the Baja 540C wouldn't acquire a fix. Did their "soft reset", "hard reset" and even updated the firmware to no avail. Lowrance's phone # was busy all day yesterday (that's the part of having something made by Lowrance: Their support SUCKS!) so sent an e-mail...we'll see how long it takes for them to reply and ultimately get it fixed (warranty).