Hand Held GPS

[fish21759]

I am wanting to buy a hand held GPS and don't know what to buy . Are the cheap ones any good or do I have to spend a lot ? Do you have to pay a fee to use then ( monthly fee or yearly fee ) ? How close to an spot can you get when using one ?

Thanks Kevin ><)))*>

[Jerry Blake]

Hey Kevin:

The service is free - the signals are broadcast from satellites 24/7. Get one that is WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) enabled and it will put you right on a brushpile or even a big stump for that matter.

I use a Garmin Geko 301 for pinpointing my brushpiles. It doesn't have mapping on it - only the waypoints that you save. I also have a Garmin Etrex Legend that I use for navigation. It comes with a basic map that has a rough outline of the lakes I fish on but probably not small lakes. It has saved my butt in heavy fog a few times and it does a good job of pinpointing brushpiles too but I like the Geko better for that because it updates faster. The Etrex has major roads and highways on it so you can use it for travel as well.

I have some friends that have the Geko 201 and they are happy with those units as well.

A good way to learn about GPS and to compare units is to go the Garmin website - Garmin. They have a good description of how GPS works, a place where you can compare the features of their various units and even read the owner's manuals for each unit.

A GPS with WAAS will save you a lot of time and trouble getting back to your honey holes and they are well worth the expence. You can get the Geko 201 for around $120, the Etrex for around $160 and the Geko 301 for around $200.

[Ranger375]

Let me know next ime you ar going to be on Lake Shelbyville and I show you my hand held GPS. It is an older unit but as for finding brush piles you have marked will get you within 15 feet. The new unit have a lot of features that mine does not,but for me it is great.

There is no monthly fee. That is one thing the government does not charge for or tax the use of...LOL. Don't suggest it.

To understand GPS a little more check out the post at
http://www.crappie.com/gr8vb3/showthread.php?t=2352
http://www.crappie.com/gr8vb3/showthread.php?t=2022

Also look at Lowrance's tutorial on GPS.
http://www.lowrance.com/Tutorials/GP...utorial_01.asp

I have lowrance GPS so I have their tuttorial bookmarked on puter. Other brands are good it was just that at the time it was in the price range I wanted to pay as the people working for me gave me money for Christmas. Sure miss those special gifts they bought me, but don't miss the w**k....LOL

[Moose1am]

Tool:
Your legend eTrex can download the Garmin Mapsource Fishing Hot Spot maps onto it's enternal memory. You have about 8 MegaBytes of internal memory in the LEGEND GPS.

And today the price has dropped or should I say that now you get more states for the same price. The more states you get the more digital fishing maps you get of different lakes in those states.

Today the USE is divided into just three regions. Before it was ten regions. And Each Region cost 100 bucks basicllly. I paid about 200 bucks for region 9 and 10 to get the IN, OH, IL, TN, KY and MS. Today for 100 bucks I could buy the entire eastern part of the USA from the Garmin Mapsouce people.

Check out the catography sections on www.garmin.com

I have an e-trex legend. It doesn't have a built in map but I love mine. I mark brushpiles and other structure to come back to look at later. Also use it to show boat speed and it leaves a "crumb" trail so I can backtrack where I have gone without getting lost.

It does all i need it to but if you want something with a map on it you will have to spend more money and go with a more advanced unit. I get most of my points and whatnot for new lakes i'm going to fish at www.topozone.com There I can click on the map for that lake as far as points, nav guides, boat ramps.etc... then upload them to my handheld thru the usb port on my computer. Plus, topozone is free!!

[Hoot]

For the past 8 years I've lived in Asia, mainly Hong Kong. Two years ago I bought a Garmin eMap because I was doing a lot of mountain biking and didn't want to get lost.

I've been wanting to use this pretty expensive thing here but found out that I have to re-load the unit with the North American map before it's functional here at home.

The DVD's are about $120 bucks per program like the North American map. Another similar amount for their Central Lakes maps.

Big bucks for me. So I've got a really nice Garmin eMap that worthless. Wish I had bought the less expensive units.

[crap-king]

I have the garmin 76 maps - it works great and BPS has them with a $100 rebate making the final cost $199 that is a great deal
crap-king

[fish21759]

Thanks for all the help guys . Santa will be bringing me one on Christmas . I asked for the Garmin Geko 201 . From what I have read and for the price it should do fine .

Kevin ><)))*>

[Jerry Blake]

Hey Kevin:

You'll want a data cable to connect to your computer to update the software on the Geko and to back-up your waypoints. You'll also want a power cable because they are pretty hard on batteries.

You can get good cables off of eBay a lot cheaper than from Garmin. I've bought several from these people - RNRPLACE

You can get data cables that come with a power connection but I would recommend getting two separate cables. I just use battery power when I'm connected to my computer. It only takes a couple minutes to update the software or download waypoints.

For power I installed a 12-volt outlet (came with an electric fillet knife) under my front deck, taped the power cord into it and brought the cable up through the deck where my graph cables come up. I got the straight cables but they also have the coiled type. I have an extra power cable so I can use the GPS in my truck or someone else’s boat.

You may want a mount for your GPS too but I made mine out of an old cutting board and some velcro - works fine.

[Ranger375]

Jerry

In looking at comparison of the Garmin 'Geko 201' and '301' almost the same unit except 301 has compass and barometric altimeter. How useful do you find these features?

[Moose1am]

The compass will come in handy if you are not moving and want to know which way is North. All GPS can do the direction thing if you are moving. But only a few have an electronic compass that works when you are standing still.


The barometric pressure gauge is useful if you want to know how high you climbed that hill and to do a altitude profile of your track. It's nice to see if the barometer is rising or falling at times as it will help tell you if it's going to rain in a few hours or not. LOL But the weather man can tell you that.

I use the baromether on my eTrax Vista unit to fool around with and to see the last twelve hours pressure readings. It's a play thing for me but fun to compare with the fishing results just for fun.

Jerry

In looking at comparison of the Garmin 'Geko 201' and '301' almost the same unit except 301 has compass and barometric altimeter. How useful do you find these features?