Kayak Gps wish list..

[spider solo]

What I'm really wishing for is.... a mitten friendly GPS unit that is waterprooof and floats.
Also
I would want it for something like the Northern Forest Canoe Trail and
Charts for the coastal Maine Islands
plus
I would want to be able to add charts for Canada

So Far I think Garmin 76cs, 76csx and 400 offers some of these features
and
I have seen the DELorme Earthmate PN 20 and PN 40 recommended (the PN 20 looked pretty affordable)

it is also my understanding that some units run on rechargeable and others just AA.
If it's a rechargeble it would be nice if it were an option for those trips when you couldn't have a place to recharge it.

So any help sorting out what would do the trick would be much apppreciated .
Any favorite one that have worked out well....or even which ones didn't work out so good...?thanks
spdr

 

[DougPaul]

I'd put the Garmin 76Cx and 76CSx high on my short list.

Both run on AA batts which may be rechargeable (or not).

BTW, the 76CS is not high sensitivity (and thus I would not recommend it).

Doug

 

[Stan]

What I'm really wishing for is.... a mitten friendly GPS unit that is waterprooof and floats.
Also
I would want it for something like the Northern Forest Canoe Trail and
Charts for the coastal Maine Islands
plus
I would want to be able to add charts for Canada

Jeeze! I suppose you want it to tell time, too.

GPS or no, let me know when you're on those trips.

 

[spider solo]

...and if it only had a separate compartment for dental floss as well....

Yes indeed, might even find our way back to the Umbagog campsite .....or there abouts.

Esp. since I did just order up a GPS. (I opted for the 76csx)

 

[DougPaul]

Esp. since I did just order up a GPS. (I opted for the 76csx)

Sounds like a good choice...
Also good for hiking and driving.

Electrically equivalent to a 60CSx--just a different case.

You will also need to get a 2GB microSD card for it. (2GB is the biggest that the unit will use.) They are pretty cheap--a quick check of http://www.pricewatch.com shows a Sandisk card for under $8.

Doug

 

[darren]

Wish you had waited a couple extra days for a reply. I got a Garmin 60csx and I am pretty disappointed with it - especially for kayaking. The unit works well, but the maps - well, they just suck plain and simple. I posted some long rants about it in prior threads - you can search for them. bottom line is if you do not use it in a national park or forest then the local topo maps are useless and for marine use you need to spend hundreds of dollars on blue water maps for the whole east coast. It is a serious rip off.

Delorme allows you to buy and use individual topo maps and marine charts. you can download marine charts for $10 each. OH and.... delorme gives you (depending on the deal at the time) up to a couple hundred dollars worth of free map downloads. So you can download all of the topos and marine charts for your local area pretty much for free. The delorme maps are the real deal - actual scanned marine nav charts. Even at $10 each they are cheaper than buying the hardcopies at West Marine.

If you are only going to hike in the whites or the daks then the Garmin units are the way to go. if you want to do anything else in New England then the Garmin units are a huge rip off.

I'd advise you look into the map issue and return the garmin and get the delorme.

Sorry to be a buzz kill, but this is my serious take on the issue. I was pretty pissed when I figured out the limits of my garmin ($$$) after people talk them up all the time. Based on what I know about you and what you like to do, you will be in the same boat as me - severely map limited and pissed off.

- darren

 

[spider solo]

Well thanks for the heads up, I'll be checking it out further.
I know it gets pretty confusing trying to compare the differnt "bundles" on whose offering what.
I asked much the same question over on a kayaking web site and someone did mention the Earthmate , so I kept trying to decided between the two.

No one spoke up that had one though. and several folks carriered on about how much they liked the 76csx.
So on much the same day you posted your disappointment in your 60 csx another person posted how much he loved his 60csx for the past 4 years.

.... Ahh.... decisions, decisions....
I know when I meet up with people for kayaking, several have shown up with Blue Chart programs loaded into their GPS which I think either GPS can handle

but when I cross over into Canada I get nervous that DE Lorme will be more US based and there was some mention elsewhere that TOPO was a bit awkward to work with
Right now I have Garmin Map Source TOPO CANADA 2004 that I want to load on but....
.... ONE Big Question....
When Earthmate offers TOPO are they the same maps packaged differently depending on whose marketing it ??
I've been wondering that. Are they all using USGS maps or are they using various TOPO's of their own ?

Thinking that a chart is a chart just how the different compaines have different features to use it?

Right now, for kayaking I joined a membership of the St Lawrence Water Trail, (also know as the Blue Route or Route bleue) based mostly on the Maine Island Trail.
Their maps seem based (they are written in French) on what I think are Blue Charts ..simplfied charts with launching places etc, so I'd be looking to see whatever GPS I use might be able to load maps like that since there are uncharted coastal places in between the various towns etc.
It would be nice if I could mark my location on them for future reference and look over where I went etc.

I'll keep doing my home work about the Earthmate 40....

 

[spider solo]

Rather than start another thread, I thought I would ask here....
I notice there is a difference in distance between what the track log will say and the "Trip Computer" page. Any thoughts ?

 

[DougPaul]

Rather than start another thread, I thought I would ask here....
I notice there is a difference in distance between what the track log will say and the "Trip Computer" page. Any thoughts ?

This question has been covered in several prior threads.

The trip computer distance is based upon 1/second position estimates and guesses as to whether you are moving or stationary. The trip log distance is based upon the entire tracklog, but the tracklog is generally sampled less often than 1/second. (The tracklog sampling is a setable parameter.)

Doug

 

[Remix]

I got the Garmin Colarado. The pluses include a tide table and blue charts navigation maps which have the buoys, landings, and peak tide velocities that you can find on the NOAA maps.

The big minus is that you have to take the thing out of whatever waterproof container you are using to operate it. Not too good in big swells and whenever both your hands should be on the paddle ..... Another big minus is the display brightness, which is terrible.

I will typically leave it on screen with velocity (speed) made good and directional indicator to home.

Its has been helpful to me as I gauge the effect of tide and wind on big recreational touring yak.

 

[DougPaul]

I got the Garmin Colarado. The pluses include a tide table and blue charts navigation maps which have the buoys, landings, and peak tide velocities that you can find on the NOAA maps.

FWIW, according the the Garmin website the 76Cx and 76CSx also include the tide tables. (My 60CSx also seems to include them, in spite of the website claiming to the contrary.)

The tide tables can also be loaded into Garmin mapping GPSes via MapSource. (They are loaded into the GPS just like another map.) See http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?product=010-00199-00, "Download Recommended MapSource US Tides Software".
(You need an existing installation of MapSource.)

Blue Charts can also be loaded into other mapping GPSes with MapSource.

Not arguing against the Colorado here, just noting that the tide tables and Blue Charts are not limited to the Colorado series.

Doug

 

[spider solo]

update

just a little update...here it is about 3 months after I got the Garmin 76csx..it worked fine... for awhile. ..but now it has lost it's ability to interface with the computer.
That was a major selling point.
Calling Garmin was useless... After the guy gets me to pull out the computer to check the back for USB ports ...after the 3rd time I said "hey pal I'm not dragging that computer out again".
I'm not going to be crawling around on my hands and knees so I can pull out the computer and wrestle it onto my lap just to check the wires on the back.
(Esp since I have a laptop that I could just plug into a hellva lot easier)

Finally I had to hang up on the guy. I've got about $700 tied up with the GPS and assorted mapping. I suggested either they make a product that works or they're just dicking me around checking cable connections...

Needles to say the "session" did not go well.

Oh well, can't say I wasn't warned....

 

[Peakbagr]

My experiences with Garmin techs:

Don't call on a Monday or Friday afternoon, too many callers.
I have run into only one tech that really didn't really know the product and how to answer my questions. Then, I just politely ended the call and called back. They have sent extra cables, waterproof plugs, and one tech in particular was so helpful I sent an attaboy to her supervisor and a Garmin hat appeared in my mail 3 days later. (guess I'm easy to bribe ).

Like all companies, you can get a new tech or one using a script, but maybe I've been just plain lucky. The techs I've spoken to have been patient and top notch.

 

[DougPaul]

Calling Garmin was useless...

Garmin's reputation for technical support is generally pretty good. (Of course this does not mean that all of their support people are good.)

Don't forget that they have no idea how skilled their callers are. And many of their support calls are due to user error. (It must be a frustrating job--the nicer you are to them, the more helpful they are likely to be.)

(Scary story 1: a friend who works at Microsoft told me that the single most common question to their customer support line was "Where is the any key?".

Scary story 2: when I worked in a TV shop we occasionally set a repair tech out to fix a set when the only problem was that it required plugging in.)

Just because the symptom is that the GPS will not talk to the computer does not necessarily mean that the GPS is at fault.

Things that can go wrong:
* Computer hardware
* Computer software (both OS and user)
* Cable
* GPS hardware
* GPS software
* GPS state

Repair steps:
* 1: Make sure the computer and cable are ok. (This is what the Garmin tech was trying to do.) Tactics: try a different computer and/or a different cable. Try a different USB device or a different GPS.
* 2: check the GPS batteries.
* 3: Test the GPS. Connect it to a different computer.
* 4: Remove the microSD card. Sometimes bad data on the card will cause problems.
* 5: If the GPS appears to be the problem, try resetting it. (There is a key sequence that will reset. A Master Reset will erase waypoints, tracks.)

Other questions:
* Is the cable plugged in properly?
* Might there be water in the GPS?
* The GPS will indicate that it is on USB power when plugged in. (This only verifies the power connection, not the data lines.)
* Is the computer software ok?

If the GPS hardware is faulty, Garmin or the store where you bought it should replace it if it is still under warranty. Otherwise Garmin will replace it for a fee.

Doug

 

[Remix]

I dont know what it is but manufacturers seem to want to want to blame bad USB ports before issuing an RMA.

A brand new IPOD came dead on arrival, and I actually had to find a Apple store to get this resolved. The only other choice they gave me was to install it on a new computer because "my usb ports were bad" (The situation was resolved when they gave me a new IPOD at the apple store-the tech diagnosed the defective IPOD within 1 minute)

A button failed on a logitech mouse and they refused to issue an RMA until I plugged the usb cord into another computer and witnessed the same behavior. Of course I did, . But it two 4 week periods to get Logitech to honor their warranty and send a new mouse.

I think you have to grin and bear their tech support to advance the process as far as it will go, and then keep bothering them until they are certain you are not going to give up.