> I've read the preserved thread regarding GPS software and the fine > points of various chart/map suppliers and download > techniques. However, > the thread doesn't say much about GPS devices, and is from > 1999 anyway; > I presume a few things have changed. > > Lisa W. Lisa, what will you use it for? Serious navigation or playing? Just on the water, or hiking/biking etc as well? It would help to get a bit more granular regarding your intended uses. But, it should be stated (and I'm sure you are well aware) that any electronic device should not be the sole means of navigation. You took the navigation class, so you have a leg up on many people already regarding that sort of thing. I use my Garmin eTrex for the features such as trip distance, speed, etc. Works great. I do what little actual navigation I need to do manually, but I check it with the GPS to get a warm fuzzy that I'm on the right track, and that my manual navigation skills are growing. The most I've relied on it was a canoe trip last summer, along the border of W. Virgina and Maryland on the Upper Potomac River. There were camp sites just off the river, following the C&O Canal Tow Path, and without the GPS would have had an almost impossible time figuring out where they were. Almost all of them are not visible from the water, so you need to know when/where to land and look on foot. This was done with leg distances and Coordinates - not electronic maps. Worked well. My budget was, and still is, very tight, so I had to limit myself to a simple unit that did the few things that I really wanted, versus the fun stuff, like the maps. I think you'll find that the map feature is very popular and if used for actual navigation, will be a huge benefit. There are debates about the eTrex's claim to be "waterproof", particularly regarding the actual electronics versus the battery compartment. I've had no problem, and have submersed it only once during a canoe mishap. It has, however, been subjected to a fair amount of salty sea spray and some breaking waves. I intend to get a bag for it, but so far, no problems. The eTrex is small, light weight and easy to use. No complaints, but I haven't been a very demanding or rugged user, either. You might also hit some of the Geocaching sites to get opinions on GPS units. Those folks figuratively live and die by their GPS units, so should have some valuable insight and advice. By the way, I used to provide the family with a wish list. Now, I go buy all my gifts, give them to my wife who distributes them to people (the kids, parents, etc) who give them to me. They all think my wife did the shopping, though, so I still have to act surprised. But, I'm now getting EXACTLY what I wanted!!!! Good luck and Merry Christmas. Rick - Poquoson, VA Dave G. - if you run into a "Sylvia", "McCall" or "Barbour" around town, don't tell them about my dirty little Christmas shopping secret! :-) *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Dec 03 2002 - 09:29:44 PST
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:31:00 PDT