GPS Systems

Hello,

I am looking at GPS systems. I noticed the new Lowrance has a MMC or SD option. Is that a pretty
good deal?

What about the eTrek? Which version is OK?

Are there any pretty reasonable GPS systems for under $200?

Thanks, Nathan Gifford Tickfaw, LA

 

Garmin has some systems for under $200. I recently purchased 5 of the Garmin eMap Deluxe on-line for
$195 each. They came with an 8 meg memory card and a PC interface cable. They have some maps already
built into them. I purchased the Garmin "MapSource Roads and Recreation" maps for about $100. I
turned the units over to my Survey Crews. We loaded the road maps for our county and the surrounding
4 counties. This only took up about 3 megs of space.

So far I have been happy with the units. I own a Garmin GPS III plus that I purchased about 3 or 4
years ago. It has been a fairly robust system.

I have been able to store destinations in the unit and then turn it over to my wife so she can meet
me at my destination. It has been nice to have an interactive road map.

Good Luck.

William Higley, Sr. Vision R-50

"Nathan" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Hello,
>
> I am looking at GPS systems. I noticed the new Lowrance has a MMC or SD option. Is that a pretty
> good deal?
>
> What about the eTrek? Which version is OK?
>
> Are there any pretty reasonable GPS systems for under $200?
>
> Thanks, Nathan Gifford Tickfaw, LA

 

You could take a look at this page:

http://gpsinformation.net/

But it may have the effect of so confusing and overwhelming you that you will give up on the idea
entirely ;-) I think it is having that effect on me.

johnriley1 (at) rogers.com

 

It looks like a pretty good unit. Opinions?

Nathan Gifford

 

Beware the urge to buy gadgets. Do you REALLY need a gps for your riding style and routes? Do you
want another computer to learn? Will you use more than 10% of the features and capabilities of gps?

Whate else could you buy with that $200 that would make your bikes safer, more comfortable, or more
fun to ride?

You may be one of those rare gearheads who like to dabble with gps. Buy it. But buy the next bigger
one because you will outgrow the entry unit within weeks.

I know lots of people with gps units. I know very few who have taken the time to learn to use them
for more than glorified Cateye Astrales -- but without the cadence feature of the Astrale. My
Astrale was $35.

david boise ID

"Nathan" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Hello,
>
> I am looking at GPS systems. I noticed the new Lowrance has a MMC or SD option. Is that a pretty
> good deal?
>
> What about the eTrek? Which version is OK?
>
> Are there any pretty reasonable GPS systems for under $200?
>
> Thanks, Nathan Gifford Tickfaw, LA

 

This is a very informative web site for people contemplating a GPS. http://gpsinformation.net/

Bob

 

Thanks Dave. Couldn't agree with you more.

No I would not consider getting one just for the bike! I really wish I did not have to get one at
all, but that appears to longer be an option. Good news is that it does not need to be 100% reliable
or that anyone's life depends on it functioning.

So, as long as I must, and I have an option on which one to get, whatta think of the iFinder for
bicycle use? Looks like a decent enough unit judging from what I have read on the Internet....
"David Bogie" <bogiesan[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Beware the urge to buy gadgets. Do you REALLY need a gps for your riding style and routes? Do
> you want another computer to learn? Will you use more than 10% of the features and
> capabilities of gps?
>
> Whate else could you buy with that $200 that would make your bikes safer, more comfortable, or
> more fun to ride?
>
> You may be one of those rare gearheads who like to dabble with gps. Buy it. But buy the next
> bigger one because you will outgrow the entry unit within weeks.
>
> I know lots of people with gps units. I know very few who have taken the time to learn to use them
> for more than glorified Cateye Astrales -- but without the cadence feature of the Astrale. My
> Astrale was $35.
>
> david boise ID
>
> "Nathan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> > Hello,
> >
> > I am looking at GPS systems. I noticed the new Lowrance has a MMC or SD option. Is that a pretty
> > good deal?
> >
> > What about the eTrek? Which version is OK?
> >
> > Are there any pretty reasonable GPS systems for under $200?
> >
> > Thanks, Nathan Gifford Tickfaw, LA

 

> Are there any pretty reasonable GPS systems for under $200?
>

Another idea would be to look at a Garmin Geko 201, I paid about $120. I believe it is the smallest
GPS around and you can buy it with a bike mounting kit. It works very very well for my needs, which
is mainly as a trip computer with numerous display options: Elev, heading, lat/lon, max speed,
speed, mov aver, trip time, time stop, time moving, odometer, etc. It even has a few games on it. It
also has most of the other things you expect in a GPS unit--navigation, maps, routes, .... , but I
rarely use those features. Best of all, it isn't much bigger and doesn't weigh more than some bike
computers.

On the negative side, since it's so small, the display screen isn't huge. So if you do want to use
the mapping feature displays, you probably want a bigger unit with a bigger display. It also runs on
"AAA" batteries--which means they only last about 12 hours or so if you leave it on continuously.

Brian

 

"brian hughes" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

>>
>> Are there any pretty reasonable GPS systems for under $200?
>>
>
> Another idea would be to look at a Garmin Geko 201, I paid about $120. I believe it is the
> smallest GPS around and you can buy it with a bike mounting kit. It works very very well for my
> needs, which is mainly as a trip computer with numerous display options: Elev, heading, lat/lon,
> max speed, speed, mov aver, trip time, time stop, time moving, odometer, etc. It even has a few
> games on it. It also has most of the other things you expect in a GPS unit--navigation, maps,
> routes, .... , but I rarely use those features. Best of all, it isn't much bigger and doesn't
> weigh more than some bike computers.

I have a Garmin E-trex Legend. Should you want a bigger screen, you can also connect to a
laptop computer. I'm not suggesting this particular set- up for a bike...but if that's what you
want to do...(~:

Personally, I think a GPS is way too much money and messing around if you aren't going to use the
navigation functions. A simple bike computer that is quite accurate can be had for like U$20.
Under some circumstances, the GPS will not give as accurate an account of speed and distance as a
bike computer.

rorschandt

 

"Nathan" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Hello,
>
> I am looking at GPS systems. I noticed the new Lowrance has a MMC or SD option. Is that a pretty
> good deal?
>
> What about the eTrek? Which version is OK?
>
> Are there any pretty reasonable GPS systems for under $200?
>
> Thanks, Nathan Gifford Tickfaw, LA

Not sure about under $300 but I have a Garmin III+ which works pretty well, seems to have a slightly
bigger screen than any eTrek I've seen

 

I think the eTrex Legend sells for under $200. I have to be honest, I have the Vista but rarely look
at the Map. Generally I just program routes and waypoints using Mapsource, and then go by the course
pointer. I can count on my fingers the number of times the map has actually come in handy.

--
--Scott [email protected] Cut the "tail" to send email.

"William Higley, Sr." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Garmin has some systems for under $200. I recently purchased 5 of the
Garmin
> eMap Deluxe on-line for $195 each. They came with an 8 meg memory card and
a
> PC interface cable. They have some maps already built into them. I
purchased
> the Garmin "MapSource Roads and Recreation" maps for about $100. I turned the units over to my
> Survey Crews. We loaded the road maps for our county and the surrounding 4 counties. This only
> took up about 3 megs of space.
>
> So far I have been happy with the units. I own a Garmin GPS III plus that
I
> purchased about 3 or 4 years ago. It has been a fairly robust system.
>
> I have been able to store destinations in the unit and then turn it over
to
> my wife so she can meet me at my destination. It has been nice to have an interactive road map.
>
> Good Luck.
>
> William Higley, Sr. Vision R-50
>
> "Nathan" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> > Hello,
> >
> > I am looking at GPS systems. I noticed the new Lowrance has a MMC or SD option. Is that a pretty
> > good deal?
> >
> > What about the eTrek? Which version is OK?
> >
> > Are there any pretty reasonable GPS systems for under $200?
> >
> > Thanks, Nathan Gifford Tickfaw, LA
> >
>

 

ror:

Then there's the battery problem. The bike computer battery is small, and will last a season. The
GPS batteries are usually AAs and last a few hours. I've also had the GPS stop working if I go over
a bump, because the battery loses contact for an instant. Have tried all kinds of things to keep
that from happening, but nothing is really reliable.

--
--Scott [email protected] Cut the "tail" to send email.

"rorschandt" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "brian hughes" <[email protected]> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
>
> >>
> >> Are there any pretty reasonable GPS systems for under $200?
> >>
> >
> > Another idea would be to look at a Garmin Geko 201, I paid about $120. I believe it is the
> > smallest GPS around and you can buy it with a bike mounting kit. It works very very well for my
> > needs, which is mainly as a trip computer with numerous display options: Elev, heading, lat/lon,
> > max speed, speed, mov aver, trip time, time stop, time moving, odometer, etc. It even has a few
> > games on it. It also has most of the other things you expect in a GPS unit--navigation, maps,
> > routes, .... , but I rarely use those features. Best of all, it isn't much bigger and doesn't
> > weigh more than some bike computers.
>
>
> I have a Garmin E-trex Legend. Should you want a bigger screen, you can also connect to a laptop
> computer. I'm not suggesting this particular set- up for a bike...but if that's what you want to
> do...(~:
>
> Personally, I think a GPS is way too much money and messing around if you aren't going to use the
> navigation functions. A simple bike computer that is quite accurate can be had for like U$20.
> Under some circumstances, the GPS will not give as accurate an account of speed and distance as a
> bike computer.
>
> rorschandt

 

rorschandt <[email protected]> wrote:
: I have a Garmin E-trex Legend. Should you want a bigger screen, you can also connect to a laptop
: computer. I'm not suggesting this particular set- up for a bike...but if that's what you want to
: do...(~:

Well, bikes are obsolete anyway

Why don't we just connect all the sensors - GPS, wheel & crank, radio network - to a PC and have a
nice integrated system which automatically produces complicated statistics about your rides? Not all
PCs are big noisy boxes that consume 300W... and then there are other kinds of computers as well...

For those folks that are going to ask if I've seen the Behemoth page and posting the link to
it, yes, I've read about it... I notice the symptoms of the syndrome but I can stop at any
time I want...

--
Risto Varanka | http://www.helsinki.fi/~rvaranka/ varis at no spam please iki fi

 

Well its iFinder....Paid $149.00. + $30 for 64MB SD card.

I do not know if its the best for the money, but it is a start.

Tips are still welcomed (like mapping s/w).

Thanks to all for the help, Nathan Gifford Tickfaw, LA USA

 

rorschandt <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>... [...] > A simple bike computer that
> is quite accurate can be had for like U$20. Under some circumstances, the GPS will not give as
> accurate an account of speed and distance as a bike computer.

I am sure there will be people who will say that they have a bike computer that is very acurate,
reliable, easy to use, etc. but that has not been my experience.

A recumbent often means a long wire kit. And if you have more than one recumbent, that means more
long wire kits. And they only work on bikes; you can't use them for walking.

OTOH I have been known to ride under a few trees from time to time!

Johnriley1 (at) rogers.com

 

[email protected] (David Bogie) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> Beware the urge to buy gadgets. Do you REALLY need a gps for your riding style and routes? Do
> you want another computer to learn? Will you use more than 10% of the features and
> capabilities of gps?
>
> Whate else could you buy with that $200 that would make your bikes safer, more comfortable, or
> more fun to ride?
>
> You may be one of those rare gearheads who like to dabble with gps. Buy it. But buy the next
> bigger one because you will outgrow the entry unit within weeks.
>
> I know lots of people with gps units. I know very few who have taken the time to learn to use them
> for more than glorified Cateye Astrales -- but without the cadence feature of the Astrale. My
> Astrale was $35.
>
> david boise ID

My GPS was $100 and I use it on 4 different bikes as well as on my kayak and while hiking/walking.
An Astrale would be useless on the water and hiking trails. I say get the GPS if you have multiple
activities you want to keep track of.

>
> "Nathan" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> > Hello,
> >
> > I am looking at GPS systems. I noticed the new Lowrance has a MMC or SD option. Is that a pretty
> > good deal?
> >
> > What about the eTrek? Which version is OK?
> >
> > Are there any pretty reasonable GPS systems for under $200?
> >
> > Thanks, Nathan Gifford Tickfaw, LA

 

> Personally, I think a GPS is way too much money and messing around if you aren't going to use the
> navigation functions. A simple bike computer that is quite accurate can be had for like U$20.
> Under some circumstances, the GPS will not give as accurate an account of speed and distance as a
> bike computer.

Probably so in most cases, but I really wanted to see elevation, since I ride in mountain areas. No
$20 bike computer has elevation. Plus I own 4 bikes and ride them all, and they all have different
wheel sizes. It's nice to just take the GPS unit with you and not worry about calibrating a bike
computer (or 4 of them).

BTW, the Geko also has an RS-232 interface (but the cable costs extra), so you can still have plenty
of fun with it if you're really into techno geeky stuff.

Brian

 

"Freewheeling" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> ror:
>
> Then there's the battery problem. The bike computer battery is small, and will last a season. The
> GPS batteries are usually AAs and last a few
hours.
> I've also had the GPS stop working if I go over a bump, because the
battery
> loses contact for an instant. Have tried all kinds of things to keep that from happening, but
> nothing is really reliable.

If thats a Garmin they make a "sport" kit for it, it's a spring piece that goes between
the batteries

 

"Freewheeling" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I think the eTrex Legend sells for under $200. I have to be honest, I
have
> the Vista but rarely look at the Map. Generally I just program routes and waypoints using
> Mapsource, and then go by the course pointer. I can count on my fingers the number of times the
> map has actually come in handy.
>
> --
> --Scott [email protected] Cut the "tail" to send email.

Since I do a lot of city riding I love the map, gives me alternative route options

 

brian hughes wrote:
>
> ... It also runs on "AAA" batteries...

Also known as LR-03.

Tom Sherman - Various HPV's Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)