Good GPS unit to buy?

[dart360]

A basic cheap and easy unit to use that has all the features that you want and more is the Etrex legend...Blue clolored unit...Black and white screen. You can load maps on to it..it had elevation, speed, distance all the things you want...Most times Walmart has the kit with the topt maps on sale for less than 100 bucks...I had one for years and then after I outgrew it i went to a 60csx...Only reason was for the colored screen and i got a great deal on it...

 

[snowmanx]

When you get the 530 the maps will be blank ... the screen will be blank.

So as a novice you should determine what you are trying to do.

1 type of map​

If you are going to only use it off road ... then get a "topo" map. These are maps of just terrain.

If you arte gonna use it on just roads then get a road map.

Now of course the best map to get is one that has both topo and roads since the 530 will give you a choice to go to point b by road or off road.

2 resolution of map​

1/24000 is the best resolution you can buy ... actually most map companies get the raw map data from the USGS and put it in a proprietory "software" and resell it.

http://egsc.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/usgsmaps/usgsmaps.html

http://seamless.usgs.gov/tutorial.php

The best known USGS maps are those of the 7.5-minute, 1:24,000-scale quadrangle series. A scale of 1:25,000 is used for maps based on metric units (1 centimeter = 0.25 kilometer). The area portrayed on each sheet ranges from 64 square miles at latitude 30 degrees north to 49 square miles at latitude 49 degrees north.

A scale of 1:24,000 allows considerable detail to be shown in the quadrangle areas. It takes about 57,000 maps to cover the conterminous 48 States, Hawaii, and territories. All of these maps are now for sale to the public. (For Alaska, 7.5-minute maps at 1:24,000 and 1:25,000 scale are available for areas around Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Prudhoe Bay.)

The sheet size is about 22 x 27 inches north of latitude 31 degrees and 23 x 27 inches south of that latitude.


Most new people buy it from who ever map the unit, GARMIN.

So will I even be able to use this unit without any maps?

 

[JohnnyQuestUtah]

you can use it without any maps , although it dose come loaded with a real basic road map, ............the topo maps and a "Ram" mount are great additions.................



peace-

johnny



oh and btw here's a map i made using google earth and some "tracks" from my rino



..

 

[donbrown]

So will I even be able to use this unit without any maps?

You can use the radio , peer to peer, Altimeter, compass, stopwatch, games etc ... to its full capacity / capability.

The unit comes with a very primitive map installed ... One for the entire USA.

You can use the tracking to its full extent but there will be very little road and terrain map detail ... if any depending on how far you zoom in. Remember the GPS can get as accurate as 10 feet but the preloaded software is not even close to that detail. Nothing like the detail shown by the previous poster except for the data downloaded from the unit showing tracking data.

I loaded 24K street and topo maps on a 2GB miniSD card and can only load 2 states on it cause there is so much detail. So depending on the terrain, amount of roads, the limits of the map depends on the internal memory PLUS the mini SD storage card.

By not having detailed maps / topos the detail your GPS unit provides and the map you have. It is like plotting your tracking data onto a map of your province on a standard sheet of paper with the details lost cause the map cannot match the tracking detail.

 

[donbrown]

Since your primary riding area is in Canada ... find people who use Canada maps and get information from them.

Here is a website I found you may be able to get maps from.

http://geogratis.gc.ca/geogratis/en/index.html

http://maps.nrcan.gc.ca/topo_e.php

 

[Ex-Member]

oh and btw here's a map i made using google earth and some "tracks" from my rino

jeeeezus dude, what's your logging interval set at? That thing looks like it's all over the place. Should be a lot smoother.

 

[ovscrider]

garmin vista hcx, just about 200 at walmart.com, slightly smaller screen than the 60 series but cheaper and has expandable memory. If you have a buddy with garmin topo you can download it to multiple units. I have my last 3 years riding all mapped and stored in my computer.

 

[JohnnyQuestUtah]

jeeeezus dude, what's your logging interval set at? That thing looks like it's all over the place. Should be a lot smoother.

I'm generally "all over the place" and not to smooth myself........so hey its all good...............



this track is a bit smother

peace-

johnny