GPS recommendations please

[ccmmcc]

I have to agree with the recommendation of the Garmin eTrex Vista HCx. I have had one for about 3 years and I am getting great satellite reception. I also have the Garmin Mapsource National Parks East and it is very detailed for the Smokies.

[Stonefly]

I ordered the Garmin eTrex Summit HC today, as an anniversary gift from my company. Is it going to be useful for fishing in the park etc? Do any of the comments about the Vista apply to this model too?

Thanks.

sb

[Grannyknot]

Originally Posted by Stonefly

I ordered the Garmin eTrex Summit HC today, as an anniversary gift from my company. Is it going to be useful for fishing in the park etc? Do any of the comments about the Vista apply to this model too?

Thanks.

sb

Stonefly, I think the entire eTrex series are known to be very reliable units. The only downfall I can see in the Summit is that there seems to be no slot for an SD card, which just means you won't be able to load the enitre park on the unit, just a few selected quads.

Have fun with it, I learn something new about mine every time I use it.

[MadisonBoats]

I purchased the Garmin - Oregon 400i last year and used it extensively on my fishing trips.

PROS:
-Excellent satellite accuracy and fast tracking
-Waterproof
-Designed for inland waterways
-Touchscreen

CONS:
-I ended up having to get it replaced about a month ago because it would no longer find satellites.
-Temp mode only works with a NEMA Cord (hardwired to a sensor)
-Loves the taste of rechargeable batteries (one charge=one day)
-Has picture mode; but, no camera (kind of worthless unless your tagging locations)
-No log mode (text-comments)

*I would probably skip this model on the next go around.

[Stonefly]

Originally Posted by Grannyknot

Stonefly, I think the entire eTrex series are known to be very reliable units. The only downfall I can see in the Summit is that there seems to be no slot for an SD card, which just means you won't be able to load the enitre park on the unit, just a few selected quads.

Have fun with it, I learn something new about mine every time I use it.

I downloaded the manual,and I see you're right about the SD card. I thought this model had a slot for it, but now I see it has to be the Vista HC or the Legend HC.

My brother has a Magellan that he says has saved his bacon a few times.

I'll just have to see how it goes.

sb

[Stonefly]

I think the internal memory of the Summit HC is 24mb.

I found the National Parks East 24K map available from various sellers at about $75-90, shows it is compatible with this unit, but naturally there's something I don't understand. The size of this particular map looks to be 309mb. So how does that "fit" on the GPS unit?

The ultimate question remains, will this unit with no SD card be sufficient to use for fishing in the park and NF areas?

sb

[Grannyknot]

Originally Posted by Stonefly

I think the internal memory of the Summit HC is 24mb.

I found the National Parks East 24K map available from various sellers at about $75-90, shows it is compatible with this unit, but naturally there's something I don't understand. The size of this particular map looks to be 309mb. So how does that "fit" on the GPS unit?

Stonefly, you are correct, the internal memory is 24mb. The national parks east is 309mb, which contains every national park in the eastern US and some national forests. The image below is from the Garmin mapsource software. I don't know if you can tell by the picture, but the park is divided up into quads, which you choose individually to load onto the unit. You should be able to load a good portion of the park.

Originally Posted by Stonefly

The ultimate question remains, will this unit with no SD card be sufficient to use for fishing in the park and NF areas? sb

For the park, yes, it will be helpful. It has very detailed coverage of the park, its points of interest, trails, campgrounds, and summits.

However Garmin is lacking, in my opinion, in its coverage of the national forests. Nantahala has pretty good coverage, Cherokee NF has ok coverage (spotty), and Pisgah has almost nothing (even on the 100k US topo).

Hope this helps. Feel free to email me with any questions you have.
Cody_Edrington at yahoo dot com.

[Stonefly]

Granny - Thanks very much, gave me some better understanding.

Seems clear the Vista HC would be a better choice than the Summit, but that one wasn't available from the supplier my company uses for these awards/gifts.

sb

[mcfly]

Go with the Garmin, carry extra batteries, and don't waste your money on a maps package. Buy a waterproof topo map and learn how to use the combination.

I picked up the unit you are looking at bundled with topo software, but have found the software impractical for actual navigating. So, from the advice from my military father, I carry a topo map along with the unit.

[txbrown]

I have a Magellan Explorist 600 and the MapSend Topo software and love it The Explorist has the SD card with color display and I have very detailed maps loaded onto it. I use it to mark individual fishing spots, parking areas, etc. in the Park and Tellico area, then download to computer and print overview and very detailed maps with commentary. Several of my fishing buddies want copies of the Tellico maps. When you pair the maps with photos, it makes for a nice fishing journal.