GPS Recommendations

Gil,

I have a Garmin "eTrek - Venture" series GPS, it retails for $149. It is not the basic model, but it works great for what I use it for. Their basic model is "eTrek" - it retails for $106. I bet you could get on on Ebay alot cheaper then that price.

Tom

I use the Garmin GPSmap 60C. It comes with crude maps - Garmin makes you buy their topo or street CD's for $90 or so. I bought the Topo CD and loved it - until I lost the key on my old computer - now I can't load anymore maps without the unlock key for the CD - which I don't have. Garmin will sell me a new key.

This GPS unit has a protruding antenna - which works great. It even works under trees (most of the time.) And you can down-load your trips to your computer. You can also mark spots you want to get to on the computer - send that info back to the 60C and let the unit guide you there.

It takes 2 AA batteries which seem to last many hours (12? 24? I don't know.)

It's a lot of fun to use. I wander around pretty good without it, but it's nice to always know where you are and where you came from. It has a fixed amount of memory; mine is filled with all the counties around Lake Michigan from Green Bay to St. Joe in Michigan and I've still got lots of empty memory. It doesn't come with a carrying case - I got one on ebay for $10. And it's a bit large - won't fit in your shirt pocket - unless it's a camo hunting shirt with huge pockets.

I got it on Amazon for $340 a couple of years ago.

being that you have a Garmin I would stick with garmin, I had the e-trex while living in TN to go hiking with, very small an worked great, it would even pick up sitting in my house ., the electronic compass is nice on theses new units

I use a Windows Mobile based Pocket PC with bluetooth GPS. With this combination I can view Topo maps, Satellite imagery and aerial photos of the place I am hunting all while showing my location in the field. More than just a GPS! A tool for seeing whats around you. Nice for picking out old house foundations, trails, roads etc.., Here is a couple of links to good software

http://www.maptech.com/products/pocketNavigator/index.cfm

http://www.backcountrynavigator.com/

Jack

I just picked up a practically new Magellan eXplorist 300 for $50 from a friend. He had three GPS units and has only used this one a couple of times. Its display is pretty basic, but it has a lot of nice features (weather, electronic compass, etc). Technically, if you're just going to use it for metal detecting (like me) then you don't need anything too fancy, just something to point you to your location.

What kind of weather info Okie? Sounds neat!

It shows temp, barometric pressure (as well as whether it's going up, down or steady) and altitude.

My daughter gave me a Garmin eTrex Legend GPS that came with a bunch of accessories. I haven't used it yet, but now that detecting season is over for awhile, now would be a good time to learn how to use it.

The Garmin QUEST is the one I use. Its small enough to carry and has a battery built in it, You can set it for driving or walking. Holds a charge pretty good. And when in the car connect to a speaker charger for voice directions.