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Hand Held GPS

jayhuntjayhunt Member Posts: 61 ✭✭
edited July 2002 in General Discussion
I am looking for any input on a GPS unit. Keep in mind I am looking for ease of use and affordabilty. Thanks in advance.
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Comments

  • jayhuntjayhunt Member Posts: 61 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I was wondering which hand held GPS is the best for me. I'm in the Army and will be in an infantry unit and figured it would help out patrolling thru the woods. I'd hate to be that LT that get's his troops lost. I appreciate your help. I can always count on you guys.
    Thanks,
    Jay
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  • E.WilliamsE.Williams Member Posts: 1,101 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Get a Magellan

    Eric S. Williams
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  • will270winwill270win Member Posts: 4,845
    edited November -1
    A Magellan GPS 315 will do everything you need for a patrol or three.


    ~Secret Select Society Of Suave Stylish Smoking Jackets~
    Will270win@nraonline.com
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  • muleymuley Member Posts: 1,583 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Last year during archery elk hunting, I was in a unit that was unfamiliar to me. While returning to camp, my senses told me to go in one direction and my Magellan 315 said the opposite. I decided to trust the GPS and it took me right to my coffee pot. I won't go hunting without it and for the money I think it's the best.
    muley

    **I love the smell of Hoppes #9 in the morning**
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  • daddodaddo Member Posts: 3,408
    edited November -1
    You would best learn to read compass and map 1st. They don't need batteries.
    Magellan is the best.
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  • n/an/a Member Posts: 168,427 ✭
    edited November -1
    What ever happened to Map Reading and Land navigation classes in the army,?

    What if your batteries fail, what if one of the satelites goes on the fritz,?

    Then what ya gonna do?

    Learn how to read a Map and use a Compass..

    "A wise man is a man that realizes just how little he knows"
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  • AlpineAlpine Member Posts: 15,092 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Currently every one of my three hand held GPS units is tracking 6 satellites. Don't really care if one satellite goes down.
    Map reading and a compass are great, unless it's dark. Then what are you going to do?
    I have two Magellans and one Garmin. All work well and lock up fast for a position.
    Besides the Army has those super accurate units that lock up at one meter. Why would you want a civilian model that would only get you 3 meter accuracy?

    "If you ain't got pictures, I wasn't there."
    ?The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.?
    Margaret Thatcher

    "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."
    Mark Twain
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  • daddodaddo Member Posts: 3,408
    edited November -1
    There are many wonderful devices called flashlights/maplights, in green,red, blue and yellow colors to read maps with and will burn for hours, or a watch with a indiglo face will work.
    The important thing is- a gps can fail in more ways than one, and if so, you had better have a map and compass and the ability to use it before you need it.
    A gps can only track when you are moving.
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  • AlpineAlpine Member Posts: 15,092 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    The point being: in the dark you cannot see the terrian, to match it to the map. Not just seeing the map.

    "If you ain't got pictures, I wasn't there."
    ?The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.?
    Margaret Thatcher

    "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."
    Mark Twain
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  • 96harley96harley Member Posts: 3,992 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Transfer to the Navy
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  • daddodaddo Member Posts: 3,408
    edited November -1
    Alpine- If you begin your trek with the map/compass, a good navigator need not see the terrain and will know where he is at all times within yards. How do you think the experts have traveled at night for many wars before gps? This is nothing new- it is work- but the gps just made it easier!
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  • gruntledgruntled Member Posts: 8,218 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    If you get lost in a practice run, that's what the practice is for.
    What good will it do you to cheat if you don't learn anything?
    Now if you are talking about for real then it might be a good idea to have a small back-up unit. You might want one that creates a trail of where you have been rather than one that needs to download maps or that only has a road map of the US.
    I learned to fly by following a map first & then how to use Nav aids
    later. You never know when the radio might fail.

    Edited by - gruntled on 07/22/2002 00:55:07
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  • leeblackmanleeblackman Member Posts: 5,303 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Just go to walmart, and start with the cheapest one, buy it, try it, and take it back and get the next one. Just keep repeating the process until you try one you like. Thats what I did.

    If I'm wrong please correct me, I won't be offended.

    The sound of a 12 gauge pump clears a house fatser than Rosie O eats a Big Mac !
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  • leeblackmanleeblackman Member Posts: 5,303 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Do it all the time with stuff I only need to use once. Buy it at walmart, use it, and take it back the next day. Its like a rental agency, but you get your money back.

    If I'm wrong please correct me, I won't be offended.

    The sound of a 12 gauge pump clears a house fatser than Rosie O eats a Big Mac !
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  • jayhuntjayhunt Member Posts: 61 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    First of all, It would be stupid to suggest that the United States Army would commission someone without any Land Nav training and second of all it would be stupid if the technology is out there and we in the military just ignored it. I can read a map and compass just fine. I do know all of my TAC officers and TAC NCO's in OCS use GPS's. It's just comforting to have another reference besides the map and compass. Every infantry officer that I have met in the past 2-3 yrs has hand held GPS's and for who ever said "what if the batteries run out?" I think that in my ruck sack of 40-50lbs I can manage to carry a couple of AA batteries. The issued GPS systems are huge and heavy and I've heard the civilian hand held GPS are just as accurate. Thanks for all the help and smartass comments
    Jay

    Character-doing what is right when no one is watching. 2LT HUNT
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  • Shootist3006Shootist3006 Member Posts: 4,171
    edited November -1
    Jay, I wouldn't worry about it. The Land Warrior system will include a built-in GPS Of course, the system will add about 45 lbs to the basic load out but what's a few lbs more or less. The only real problem will be the 5 lbs it adds to the helmet!!

    In the mean time (while waiting for LWS) get a Magellan. While I can agree philosophically with daddo that map/compass reading is better, I sure wish I had GPS when stumbling through the brush (esp. when calling in arty )

    Quod principi placuit legis habet vigorem.Semper Fidelis
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  • mulletguter53mulletguter53 Member Posts: 83 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I deliver boats on the E coast and Caribbean . Most are equipped with state of the art GPS . I always carry my Garmin 48 . It has come in real handy especially after lightning strikes . It has taken a beating over the last 3 or 4 years but keeps on ticking . Magellans are also very good units . And yes I know how to use a compass , watch and sextant . They are not too useful going through a reef at night .
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  • RickstirRickstir Member Posts: 574 ✭
    edited November -1
    One senario for when the SHTF is for the skybirds to go bye-bye. Communications attack. First, learn to do it by hand, then rely on technology.

    Like in the NFL, defense is the key.
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