gps

[Mastercraft241]

hey guys, I dont know much about gps's but i just bought a performance boat and i need one.... is there any good ones out for around 250 or so? is it worth to buy now or later? I dont know if they're cheaper now or if technology advances that much in 7 months......


Thanks in advance,
-Jay

[The Big Al]

You can get a good buy under 250.00

Find one with large MPH display

http://www.thegpsstore.com/?utm_id=2&utm_term=gps+store

Good place to start!

[live2ride31]

i just bought the garmin e-trex vista cx and i love it. i found it brand new on ebay for 235.00 shipped. but since i was new to the gps scene i went on this website and read about all of them first. i found it very helpful in finding the right one for me...http://www.consumersearch.com/www/electronics/gps/index.html

[transomstand]

If you are only using it as a speedometer, buy an $85 etrex. If your going to use it for other things, then you have to consider what features are best for you.
With all the boating events going on around here, I'll be travelling a bit more in the future, and I'm still amazed at what a mapping gps will do for you. I went to the Rondack Romp this year, which is REALLY out in the sticks, my gps (Garmin V) took me right to the motel driveway. I don't even carry a road map anymore.
If your considering a unit with more features, the best advice I can give is, buy a "bundle package" that has all accesories you will need, so you don't have to buy additional stuff to use it, and make sure it has the map software you need. I also like to buy a top of the line unit that's about to be discontinued, they seem to be the most heavily discounted, maybe 50% off it's original price.

Pete

[Mastercraft241]

just mph, i have a built in nav in 2 of my cars and i have a portale for my other, so its really just for my boat, although it would be nice to have one that has a map and everything, i have one on my mothers boat and i just never use it, so i think im going for a color handheld with just mph, rpm and that kinda of stuff. Thanks for the advice so far, i will check all those sites out asap. the Etrex seems PERFECT! Do they have it in color by any chance?????? :)

Thanks,
-JAY

[transomstand]

Yep



http://www.garmin.com/products/etrexVenturecx/index.jsp


Poke around at the Garmin site, every question you have will be answered, even ones you didn't think to ask.

Pete

[Mastercraft241]

im checked it out, alot of guys are saying it has a little screen.... little tough for boaters but im still looking. I apreciate all the help so far guys, THANKS!! i am honestly buying it only to check out my speed, all the other stuff is just extras so me. THANKS AGAIN!!!!

[Mastercraft241]

thanks guy, i went and bought the xtrex venture cx, the color... i got it at shop.com . I bought it with a 50 dollar rebate. the non color was 100 bucks and for the extra 65 bucks i rather have the color and extra features incase i need them.

[stokernick]

why didn't you just buy a GPS Speedo from Livorsi,Garmin,or Nordskog and have it permanently on your dash???

[Mastercraft241]

because i didnt want to drill anything into my boat, i dont want it to be to crowded or have something look out of place. Also it was something like 215 bucks and that didnt include installation. I got my gps which is color for 167 bucks and just as accurate.

[SUPERBASH]

hey guys......... i just bought a performance boat .......
-Jay

Congrats Jay. What kind of performance boat did you just buy ??? haha !http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/9973/bashey7.gif (http://imageshack.us)

[pyro]

I have a first-generation Vista and I love it. I loaded a bunch of lake images into it with my computer for boating.

It's fun to hook it up to the laptop on the road and watch the dot move on the map in 'Streets.'

[Mastercraft241]

23 foot concord ls7, 24'4 w/ platform..... we'll race next season bash..... if ur up for it. I also though that i really rather have the color gps and be handheld which which amost 100-150 bucks cheaper then to start drilling into my dash and make the dash really crowded. Im happy with the colored gps, its going to be alot easier to read then old version.

[stokernick]

what do you have in your dash that another 2'' hole would make it crowded??

[Mastercraft241]

you may see a little open space but its achually not that big, its set up nicley and i really dont want to make it seem any more crowded . Heres a pic maybe it would put things in perspctive a little:o. The radio isnt mounted on top of the dash anymore and the mirror is taken off of the windshield. i now mounted a mirror where the radio was.

[stokernick]

what are the two 2'' guages on either side of the steering wheel
?Tach and reg. speedo?Remove speedo and replace with GPS! I guess I'm just a thick-headed,stubborn Taurus!!

[Mastercraft241]

thats achually a good idea but 2 things come into mind. Money and finding something to match it. It would be at least 300-400 bucks to put that gps in and it wont have half the features of the model i got.

[stokernick]

well,good luck with your choice,thanks for induliging me,and bring it to the Ct.RiverRun and meet the ''crew''!

[transomstand]

I guess I'm just a thick-headed,stubborn Taurus!!

I think Fly has mentioned that:D :D

[Mastercraft241]

i just got the etrex in and i feel absolutley ripped off. I put batteries in it, let it connect to the satellite, which took about 5-10 minutes. After that ridiculous 5-10 standing outside in the cold weather i put it on so i can check out some speeds. I start walking and its reading 0mph and the run time is staying at 0. So i stop and all the sudden it goes to 1.1 mph 2.3 mph and starts throwing out number like that for about 30 seconds then stops. So that was wierd. I end up taking my truck for a ride and take the gps. I cruise for about 10-15 minutes and i put my cruise on 25mph. This thing is jumping from 23mph to 22mph meanwhile my speedomoter reads 25..... Then about 2-3 minutes later it goes to 25 and starts going to 25.2- 25.7 constant going back and forth and between. Maybe this just happens for the first couple times or maybe its a piece of junk. All i know if its a piece of S*** then im sending this back and getting one put into my dashboard.

[stokernick]

they need 3 points[satellites] to get your speed,the gps will be right ,not your vehicle,and re-read your manual,they are the tits .another side note,I use NiH rechargable batteries,they last longer etc.less than $10 @WallMarts for 4 KodakAA.

[Mastercraft241]

so i have to wait 15 minutes to wait for 3 satelites to connect just to read my mph correctly? it was skipping anyways it wasnt steadily going up.

[live2ride31]

i usually just turn mine on about 10-15 minutes before i use mine and it works great after that...i was confused at first with mine too but it defenitely is accurate with speed. mine also jumps a little but it steadys out very quick once i stop accelerating so quickly. you should also be able to check your top speed on your trip computer even if the speed never comes up on the display. i hit 73.1 on my trip computer but i only saw 72.8 on the screen. and like stroker said, rechargables are a great investment. i use the 2500mah energizer and they will run my vista for 18+hours. good luck..................dave

[Mastercraft241]

I'll go try that but i think im going to end up returning it. I appreciate all the information and the time you guys spent to respond to my questions. I just dont think im ready to pay 215.00 dollars to wait 15 minutes everytime i wanna go for a ride. I think im going to check out redoing all my guages and put in a gps gauge in there and add a wheel. I know im skipping from $215 to just over 600 but my boats at the factory and its better to do it now then later.

[live2ride31]

one if the in-dash speedo also takes 15 minutes to work....then youll probably be even more pissed and you wont see your decimals. every tenth counts...good luck..............................dave

[Mastercraft241]

ive seen some with decimals and i rather it take 15 minutes to work and achually work then use this piece or garbage. I turned it on let it sit for 20 minutes and let the satelite connect then i went outside walked around and it pulled the same stunt. So im sending it back today.

[ronnyd8719]

Here is something I have done. It is the cheapest of all and a very big viewing area. I have a older laptop. I purchased delombre with the sat. ant. and the software for $100.00. It works great. You can put it in the truck to find your way to the lake and then in the boat to mark that hot spot you were catching all them fish in practice. Hopefully they are still there on tourement day. You can get to the same spot by marking the spot on the computer and note the fish you got with the size time of day and weather. It is a big help to mark all this down. I have not seen a GPS unit that can do all this, but they may be out there i just have not seen them. It has helped me pick up on the fish trend faster than before I had it. You can save the info from year to year and start forcasting the fishing. I have not had mine that long, but I did take some info. from my journal and hopefully in a year are to I will be able to tell what the fish should be doing on a day/ weather conditions/temp/ etc. I hope I helped you out are I may have made it harder to make a choice.
Ron

[A Fn Noob]

If it was new out of the box, the internal battery may have been weak. Most GPS recievers have an internal lithium battery to shorten warm-up times, and can give a reasonable fix even if reception is poor. If that battery is drained, it could take several minutes to get a 'fix'. Otherwise it would be about 45 seconds.
Thats what they mean when they refer to cold-start/warm-start.
I dont know what gps chipset they are using in these speedos, but most likely its the same (Sirf based) gps-module as any other gps unit.

I dont like the screen size of those little etrex/legend units, but they are very tough, and reliable.

If anyone needs the M ap sour ce with E ast C o a st Lakes and F ishi ng H ot spots(no unlock required) , pm me, I will hook you up ;) It can run on Laptop with any gps, or the maps can be imported to any g@rmin reciever, which gives you street-level maps. Am I allowed to say that here?

[Mastercraft241]

Eh, right now id have to say im looking for the most accurate handheld gps out. I dont want to go crazy, just looking for the most accurate.

[DAVEO]

I use the magellan explorer. It is great. about 150$

[Techno]

Check how many sats read on one of your car GPSs. If that isn't the problem.
Maybe you just have a bad unit? When you return it see if you can try another one.

As for dash units they don't take much time at all. Mine reads the 1st sat pretty quick. Hunting down all of them takes a few minutes but its working before then. The only prob I can see is looking at it more than the water.

Ok it ain't really a dash unit... but it only cost 300+ bucks and I can read it.
http://i16.tinypic.com/2ladn5d.jpg

[ronnyd8719]

With the laptop I use I have no problems. I can mark where the fish were biting and the time. I was just letting people know a older laptop and a earthmate is a great unit to have, but I understand about the looking at the laptop more than the water.HAHA

[sho305]

I have the cheap etrex and it works great. What will happen is the first time it may take a long time to get going because it does not know where you are on the earth. When you start it up the second time it should remember the last location and look for the proper satellites first and be faster to 'boot up.' If you move it with it off it may take a little longer. Mine takes a couple minutes to get locked in. It can't see through anything over head like trees/roofs/etc. so that will make it take longer...but they work great on water because there are none. I don't think there are any instant on gps units unless they stay on internally?

Some of them also have a setting for how often they update and that can affect how they read, how much lag they have. If you are hiking for example, there is little need for constant updating using up batteries just update every second or three....going 100mph is just the opposite. They have the capacity to update in hundreths of seconds depending on the model and they average those points. They toss bad points out, or the newer ones do. They are very accurate and you will know if it is not, but that is getting rare these days.

The only errors I have seen is on roads where altitude changes. Up here they don't seem to read altitude as well and sometimes you can see your speed drop a little going up or down a hill before it figures out you are climbing/dropping as well as moving forward. Maybe 1-2mph max for a short time. That is laying on my dash also.

Yes the DeLorme is a fantastic product and very easy to use. You can record your trips, add locations/notes to maps, add routes to maps, even import points into maps and it shows all the usual gas stations and what not. Other products can do more technical stuff, but DeLorme rules on the roads in real use for a fair price.

I've also seen a new one that goes on your wrist, I wonder if anyone here has used it yet.

[ronnyd8719]

Do you know if you can get a Delorme for the coast waters. I have not seen one as of yet. It works on the water shows the lake and all, but if you go offshore it will not give you ETA. It will give you ETA on the roads and is good to about 5 minutes. I live in the flat lands. Land that was deposited by the mississippi river( I think I have that right.) So I am about 4 feet about sea level most of the time. I like having all the advantages of having a computer, but it is hard to keep dry if it starts to rain. Being able to put the time, location, bait, color,weather conditions and water temp. help to get on the fish a little faster than not having the info. The info is right there. Save the file as the lake you are on and all the info is there. A water proof unit would be nice. Is yours waterproof??
Thanks for the feedback. It is always welcome.
Ron

[sho305]

I used Delorme to document cell sites, we were in a vehicle. I also had an Excel window open all the time and entered more detailed information in a spreadsheet that was saved with the map file. They might make a waterproof laptop but I bet you pay for it. I don't know about the water mapping, I do know that with roads they update a lot. When we got a new version it had a lot more stuff on it. It was made to be easy to use so they leave some things out....we pushed it for all it was worth, I made excel sheets for the import codes and could make up my own files to place markers on the maps. They tell you how if you ask, but you still have to convert some other database to do it. I was even able to push drive test data into it, made a pretty map full of pretty colors the customer loved. That was a huge file.

ETA, you mean arrival time? It could be how they figure travel in the software does not make it possible to calculate in free space like water is...though it should be able to with waypoints and speed. Like I said, they left some stuff out. We used other mapping software like MapInfo, you could do anything on it but it was very difficult to use and learn. I never used that with GPS live. A raw gps log file is very interesting, it is really thinking hard in there.