GPS questions

[quadfamily]

My wife wants to know what I want for Christmas. I've been wanting a GPS unit for a while now. I would use it to make new trails and find my way back on unfamiliar trails. I want to make some trails to get from point A to point B. I can get to point B in my car but I want to go through the woods and come out in the right spot. So I figure if I took the GPS to point B and marked that spot I could find point B on my quad by going through the woods. Sound right?? Well anyway I was wanting some people with experience with these things to give me some advice as to whether this is possible, what kind I need, brand, features to look for where to get a good deal on one and an idea of pricing. Thanks for the help!

[cheetah]

I was thinking about doing the same thing. I think they make little handheld ones now don't they?:confused:

[CHAUNCY]

I want one for the dunes

[Crazy4bluEx]

im in the same boat as you 2, i've been thinking about purchasing one, but i wasn't really sure of the POSITIVE advantages, really, could someone clarify this?

*K*

I would recomend Garmin. Ther are about four different models for just off road use ( without street mapping) for around $150 to $200 that will work just fine., basically you set waypoints along your path, it will tell you direction and how far to your previous waypoints. some give speed and estimated time to your next point. on huge rides they would work well. the thing about the Garmins, is that they are about the same size as a cell phone so they would be easy to carry. hope this helps out. if you need more info let me know, see what I can do.. i used to sell these...but now I install mobile audio and security but I could get info from work.

[Ben]

I am putting up a review of Garmin's smallest GPS unit tomorrow - the Etrex. I use it all the time for my trail rides.

[Leo]

Originally posted by Ben
I am putting up a review of Garmin's smallest GPS unit tomorrow - the Etrex. I use it all the time for my trail rides.

ditto, I have the cheapo Etrex (~$110).. works great!

if you drove to point B where you wanted to come out of the woods in a car, all you have to do is mark it as a waypoint.. then no matter where you go just select that waypoint and 'goto' and a little compass arrow will guide you right to it!

we use them a lot hunting, all the watches are marked out so that anyone that happens to go with us who isn't really familiar with the terrain can just take the gps and it'll take him right to where he needs to be (and back to camp again afterwards)..

pretty neat stuff... I thing the basic version is fine, it all boils down to how much you want to spend :)

Leo

[DeDo]

My wife bought me the ETREX GPS - its yellow and was around $150...

I bought the bar clamps from EMS and unfortunatley it never worked... It shuts off after a time which makes it tough (impossible) to track where you are going...

I even tried hanging it around my neck thinking the vibrations were too much - it still shuts off. I swapped it out for a new one and it does the same thing...

I call Garmin and they offered to send a 12v adapter to used instead of battaries... Last time I checked my 400 did not have a 12v outlet...

Has anyone else had this problem? If so, how did you fix it...

DeDo

[Doibugu2]

Your 400 runs on 12 volt, so you could install a powerpoint if you really wanted. Just get power directly from your battery put an inline fuse in, and your good to go. Heck you could even charge your cell phone while you rode if you wanted. But it is possible.

[quadfamily]

This is great, keep the info coming guys! I don't want a unit that keeps shutting off all the time on me. Does anyone have a recommendation of a unit that works a little better? Leo, Ben, does yours shut off like DeDo's?? DeDo, what do you think is causing yours to shut off, batteries rattling around and losing contact momentarily?? How does that street map thing work? Do you have to subscribe to some kind of service or something? Actually I don't think I need the maps anyway, just kind of curious. Thanks again everybody and lets keep this going because it's good information. Oh yeah, one last thing, does the Etrex give you your speed?

yea guys im about to get one and if i got the quad mount how hard is it to detach....do you have to remove the whole piece or can you just remove the gps? because i do alot of water riding or will it hurt it to get water on it?

[Ben]

I actually mounted mine on my old Rancher with Velcro - it worked great. Oldnumberseven has a GPS handlebar mount that he claims works wonderfully. Mine never switches off but sometimes looses contact with the satelittles under very dense tree cover - it always finds itself quickly once the trees thin out, however.

[Ryan300ex]

I have a Garmin GPS 3 Plus. It is really good but i got it in 98, so some of it is a little outta date, i may sell if i get a reasonable offer, it is really nice and in perfect condition, i still have every thing that came with it also, All the Garmins are good in my opinion, my friend just got a GPS 5 plus and its really nice, if your interested in my Garmin GPS 3 Plus Email me at Roll400ex@aol.com

[Texan32]

i think Dedo's problem is how the gps is configured from the factory. Not positive on this one, but alot of battery opperated devices have and automatic shut off. So, if you don't interact with the device for so long, it shuts off to conserve battery power.

Dedo, try hooking yours up to a 12 powersupply and see if it still shuts down. Some gizmoes sence the input power and will stay on indefiately. I peresonally have a 12 plug on the bottom of my airbox. Got it at wally world for a couple of bucks. Works great for airing up tires (automotive style pump) when someone pops a beed on the trail.

Leo is dead on. "Way point" is a gee wiz way to say "location marker". The GPS will memorize the exast long. and lat. of the location you tell it to. If i'm not mistaken, you can name each waypoint individually.

[DeDo]

i went out and took some pics of the handlebar mount and the unit itself...

before i post the pic, i want to answer some stuff mentioned in previous posts...

(1) the GPS has no built in "power save" - it goes against the whole concept of the thing to stay on and track...

(2) i believe because garmin was willing to send me a free 12v adapter that there must have been some issue with people have a similar problem. these things cost around $20 so i do not think they were just being nice (although tech support was very good and the people were responsive).

i think the problem is, like someone mentioned, the batteries jumping around. the thing works great in the car and just sitting still.

(3) it does tell speed (along with a bunch of other stuff). it is very, very accurate, too. the one i have is water "resistant" which i though would be good on the quad - have not had it stay on long enough to see what it can take.

the pics:

here is the unit, mounted

[DeDo]

another,

side view...

[DeDo]

finally, the handlebar mount... this is pretty rugged - it works well and locks the unit in very tight...

[DeDo]

here is one more - you can judge the size based on this pic...

[Doibugu2]

Since you have it mounted right there, you might be able to steal power from your lights, and get a constant power from there. And you could use your light switch as the on and off, which would be pretty cool. Just a thought though.

[Ben]

Dedo - mind if I use a couple of those pics in the review of the Etrex?

[quadfamily]

how do you put a name on each waypoint? I don't see any type of keyboard.

u prolly scroll threw the letters

[Leo]

Originally posted by DeDo
My wife bought me the ETREX GPS - its yellow and was around $150...

I bought the bar clamps from EMS and unfortunatley it never worked... It shuts off after a time which makes it tough (impossible) to track where you are going...

I even tried hanging it around my neck thinking the vibrations were too much - it still shuts off. I swapped it out for a new one and it does the same thing...

I call Garmin and they offered to send a 12v adapter to used instead of battaries... Last time I checked my 400 did not have a 12v outlet...

Has anyone else had this problem? If so, how did you fix it...

DeDo

page around until you come up to the options page.. there should be an option for mode (or something like that).. make sure it's set to "regular" and not "battery saver".. might want to check that setting.. I can grab mine from the truck and give you step by step info if you can't find it..

BTW, it would be farily simple to wire up a 12v outlet to your 400EX..

Leo

[DGR Designs]

the E-trex is a nice unit and it is water proof but the vibrations kill the batteries faster. just hook up a power outlet. problem solved. good unit for atving. watch that mount tho if a tree branch comes at it your expensive GPS unit is in two or more pieces. keep it in your pocket thats what i do.

[RideBlue]

I have a Garmin Etrex Legend with the Garmin handlebar mount that works great for trail riding.

I had the same problem with the unit shutting off intermittently. I solved the problem by sticking a couple thin (very thin) pieces of foam rubber with adhesive to the inside of the battery cover to firmly hold the batteries. Cleaned the contacts real good with very fine steel wool to get the corrosion off and it worked like brand new. Supposedly, the vibration of a quad/dirtbike causes the batteries to move and the result is a dark corrosion on the contacts.

Get one. You'll love it.

[pbarr86]

I have a Magellan Meridian Platinum, the thing is just awesome.
The two most popular units are the Magellan and the Garmin (It's kinda like the Chevy/Ford, Honda/Yamaha battle)

http://www.magellangps.com/en/

http://www.garmin.com/outdoor/

I have attached the links for you. It all depends on how much you want to spend, what types of bells and whistles you are looking for.

Why did I get the Platinum, the screen is bigger so it's easier for me to see while in my car, on the atv or hiking. It has a better antenna than the garmin which helps keep contact w/ the sattelites even under pretty heavy tree cover, it's water-proof, it floats and it has expandable memory (up to 128mb for loading maps)

Check out the websites and compare. The Platinum "retails for $399.99" but I got it at shopharmony.com for $239.00

Good luck,
Paul

[lil400exman]

ok ok ok i am surveyor and i can answer all your questions about gps:
1. street maping is provided via computer get a map on your caomp usually a cd atlas is provided so you can download it into the gps reciever also about turnung off the machine goes into a energy saving mode casue there not the most eenviromentally easy going things and out in the feild you dont want dead batteries somehting i did with trails in my area i made a rough map of it then put that into softdesk 8 downloaded it to my geodimeter gps system and now i know whattrial is what and all so it works well to get the full use out of gps thos you need a topographic map too.

garmin magellean aka walmart brands are good for the weekend exploerer i use 9,000+ dollar systems so.... you get the idea also with the cheaper the model the harder recpetion it is to get... you need yo get a goood one 200+ garmin to get reception in the woods imo garmin are more accurate i measured it via a topcon gts b 331a and it came in with in 2 seconds continually of my topcon....... just food for thought.....pj:) any other questions just ask.....;)

[Dune Surfer]

I had a Garmin e-trex legend, I didn't like it. I would shut off and lose contact with satalites (sp), I am going to try a maggelan sport pro. about the same price and has a handlebar mount available

[SGA]

I got a garmin gps 3. its nice, but I wish the screen was bigger. i've used it all over the southeast in the truck and on the quad. Yes, you can be at any place , hit waypoint(if you wish to return to that spot) and go. A waypoint is the place you save so you can return to it. You can add about 200 different waypoints on mine i belive. Each waypoint has its own number or you can name it (camp, main gate, truck, Deerstand # 1, 2, 3, etc) Select the waypoint you want to go to, hit go to, and follow the arrow.If you need to go to the left, the arrow will point to the left and so on. The waypoint can be 500 feet away or 5000 miles away, it doesn't matter. follow the arrow and you will get there. It has a built in compass, speed, max speed and a ton of other stuff.

[quadfamily]

how much does the Garmin GPS-3 cost?