What GPS system do you use?

[nwoods]

I have the 540c, then I bought the software, then I had to buy the card reader (what a crock of *&$#!), and I still can't use it. I figured out how to burn a map to the SD card, but I cannot figure out how to get the 540c to read it.

I've have this unit for about 4 months now, and have not once been able to use it. Most frustrating piece of "technology" I own, bar none.

 

[4x4v8]

1. Company and Model Number: Lowrance iway500

2. Price you paid: Cant remember, but too much at the time

3. Type of area you "explore"....desert, forest, city......etc: used ONLY for city driving and long distance road driving

4. Durability (How long you have had it): 3 years...still as solid as day one after dropping it many times.

5. The Good: Big color screen. Very road friendly.

6. The Bad: In cities with large buildings (Manhattan, downtown Toronto) it goes crazy and cant find its position. It is ONLY for road use. When I go off on trails, it gets confused and starts placing you on random streets that are close by.

 

[modelbuilder]

Garmin Etrex Legend HCx

1. Garmin eTrex Legend HCx

2. Bought it for $189...regularly $250. Bought the bundle pack from Best Buy...comes with City Navigator 2008 DVD and a free update to the 2009 DVD. Car adapter, windshield mount, and wrist strap, plus a 128mb SD card. Color screen as well.

3. Desert, Forest, City Driving

4. Had it for about three days....looks to be durable.

5. Great for navigating on the roads, used it for a bit of geocaching as well.

6. Small screen...but it's a hand held so what do you expect!

 

[modelbuilder]

Can we make this thread a sticky?

 

[cjmitchell5]

I'm up to four now.
1. Company and Model Number
Garmin eTrex

2. Price you paid
Mom got it for me with her Marlboro Miles, lol, how white trash am I?
3. Type of area you "explore"....desert, forest, city......etc
Used it for everything from hiking, offroad, boating, aircraft, geocaching, I currently carry it in my survival vest when I fly.
4. Durability (How long you have had it)
Excellent. I break stuff and I've had this since 1999ish.
5. The Good
Durability and simplicity.
6. The Bad
No map data, no color screen. You still have to know how to read maps for anything other than homing.

1. Company and Model Number
Garmin Rino 120

2. Price you paid
Class IX (what GPS?)
3. Type of area you "explore"....desert, forest, city......etc
rudimentary maps. I've used it for offroading in forest and kayaking.
4. Durability (How long you have had it)
2005. Pretty good. Not as waterproof as claimed. It didn't kill it but I had to open it up and let it dry out.
5. The Good
FRS/GMRS radio / GPS in one. Some map data can be upgraded. Some "neato" features for communication and built in games.
6. The Bad
No color screen. Not quite waterproof.

1. Company and Model Number
Garmin iQue 3600

2. Price you paid
$379
3. Type of area you "explore"....desert, forest, city......etc
Everywhere now, it's car mounted navigation.
4. Durability (How long you have had it)
2006. Decent, I haven't broken it and it's not designed to be rugged.
5. The Good
This is a PDA that runs Palm OS with a built in GPS antenna. It has a car mount kit w/ speaker so you have voice guided navigation and changeable maps.
6. The Bad
Battery life is a real issue at this point. It has an internal battery that just doesn't seem to keep much charge anymore. Not really designed for outdoors use.

1. Company and Model Number
Garmin Forerunner 301

2. Price you paid
$162
3. Type of area you "explore"....desert, forest, city......etc
Running and biking trails or city streets.
4. Durability (How long you have had it)
2007. Seems pretty water-resistant, been in the rain a few times.
5. The Good
Heart rate monitor and GPS. Lots of training software. I think you can upload maps too, I just never have.
6. The Bad
GPS signal can be lost at times due to the antenna being on your wrist facing sideways as you run. I also have difficulty with the wireless HR monitor at times maintaining it's connection w/ the unit. All in all a good unit that has been improved upon w/ newer versions.

 

[One4adventure]

1. Company and Model Number; iQue 3600 Garmin

2. Price you paid ; $400 with the car mount

3. Type of area you "explore" ;City and forest

4. Durability (How long you have had it); since they were released 2004? took it swimming once and it lived!!

5. The Good; load your own topo maps and software

6. The Bad ; small display, crashes sometimes, battery

Cheers,
Chris

 

[Jeep or Tacoma]

Gps

In 1989 I had a sony which isn't made any more butit was pretty cool It had dirt roads on it in anza borrego.
I have use in the past 2 lowrance units a 540 and a bigger one with a 7 inch screen. Can't remember the model it was also very good but pretty expensive 1000. They are very tough and have topography, and dirt roads which is what I need and want.
I currently have Garmin with a 7 inch screen. You have to shift back and forth between maps for the road and the topo maps and the topo map is off from the street map. So I don't like that. I would go back to the Lowrance in a heart beat.
So who makes GPS with topo maps dirt roads etc that is big enough to read with out running into a tree?