Archives for November 2005

Garmin eTrex Legend Review

November 24, 2005 By Rich Owings Leave a Comment

Etrex_legend

UPDATE: This model has been discontinued. For more current recommendations, please refer to our handheld GPS buyers guide or our Garmin handheld GPS comparison chart.

The Garmin eTrex Legend is an entry level mapping receiver. A good choice for the outdoor enthusiast, the Legend can accommodate products like MapSource USA TOPO for backcountry maps and MetroGuide to show points of interest on the road, but it will not provide turn-by-turn automatic routing. You’ll need to step up to the Legend C for that.

If numbers are any reflection of its popularity, that can be seen by the fact that well over 100 people have reviewed it at Amazon, where they gave an average 4 out of 5 star review to the eTrex Legend.

Compare prices on the Garmin eTrex Legend

Here’s what other people are saying about the Legend:

One of my favorite sites, GPSinformation.net, has this review of the eTrex Legend, Vista and Venture.
At OutdoorReview.com, 16 people gave a 4.19 out of 5 rating in their Garmin eTrex Legend review.
Over at CNet, 15 people gave an 8.2 out of a possible 10 rating in their Garmin eTrex Legend review.
A video review of the Garmin Legend.

Here are some additional resources that may prove useful:

For a detailed look, check out this PDF version of the eTrex Legend manual.
Want to see how the Legend stacks up against other handhelds? Use this handy Garmin GPS comparison tool.
And here is a link to a very active etrex message forum on Yahoo.

Compare prices on the Garmin eTrex Legend at these merchants:

Check the current Garmin eTrex Legend price at Amazon.com.
Find the low price on an eTrex Legend at GPS Now.com, where shipping is free on orders over $99 (and the upgrade to overnight
shipping is dirt cheap!). Order by 5 p.m. Central Time for same day
shipment.
Check the deals on Garmin GPS receivers at REI.com, where satisfaction is guaranteed and members get 10% back on eligible purchases.
Get the Garmin eTrex Legend for an amazing price at eBay.

The official Garmin eTrex Legend web page.

Recommended accessories:

Other reviews:

Filed Under: Garmin, Garmin handheld GPS, GPS Reviews, Handheld/Sport, Hardware

Garmin Forerunner 201 Review

November 22, 2005 By Rich Owings Leave a Comment

Forerunner_201

UPDATE: This model has been discontinued. For more current recommendations, please refer to our GPS for runners post.

Awhile back I reviewed the Forerunner 301. Today we’re going to look at its little brother, the Garmin Forerunner 201. Basically the same model, minus the heart rate monitor, this Forerunner shares most of the advantages and disadvantages of the 301. At a mere 2.75 ounces, it is ideal for runners, hikers or cyclists looking for a lightweight device. If your primary interest is in training and tracking your athletic performance, the 201 is a good choice. If you plan to do some serious navigation, I’d recommend something with more features than the Forerunner series. Sure, they’ll navigate to a waypoint or along a route, and create a track as you go along, but just about any other GPS receiver will provide you more options in this regard.

It certainly is a popular receiver, if numbers are any guide. A whopping 211 reviewers at Amazon gave the Forerunner 201 an average 4 out of 5 stars.

Filed Under: Garmin handheld GPS, GPS Reviews Tagged With: Garmin Forerunner 201, GPS for runners

GPS Trip Report: Southern California Deserts

November 21, 2005 By Rich Owings Leave a Comment

I’ve posted several PhotoFusion pages from the recent Southern California desert trip my wife and I took. Check this link out for more on geocoded photos, including how to use the PhotoFusion pages. Here are the links along with the .gpx files for anyone interested:

Oh yeah, if you want the whole trip report, I’ve posted it over on the SoCal Mtbr.com board.

Filed Under: Trip report (TR)

Garmin StreetPilot 2720 Review

November 21, 2005 By Rich Owings Leave a Comment

Streetpilot_2720_4

UPDATE: Most of the several generations old StreetPilot series, including this model, has been discontinued. For a more current recommendation, check out our Auto GPS buyers guide or go straight to our Garmin nuvi comparison chart.

To call this GPS award winning is no overstatement. The Garmin StreetPilot 2720 was recognized in Popular Science as one of the best of “what’s new for 2005” and it’s also a winner of PC Magazine’s Editors’ Choice award.

The StreetPilot 2720 updates the older StreetPilot 2620, adding an improved, higher resolution screen and optional FM traffic services (see below). It also adds text-to-speech functionality, so it can call out upcoming street names and points of interest (POIs). Step up to the StreetPilot 2730 and you get XM radio compatibility, including weather and XM NavTraffic options.

There are dozens of reader reviews of the StreetPilot 2720 at Amazon.

Compare prices on the Garmin StreetPilot 2720

Filed Under: Auto, Garmin, Garmin auto GPS, GPS Reviews, Hardware

Garmin US TOPO 24K Review

November 20, 2005 By Rich Owings 5 Comments

24kcomparison_2

UPDATE: This product has been discontinued. Read my review of Garmin’s new nationwide Topo US 24K maps.

One of the frustrating things about backcountry use of GPS is having to live with "as the crow flies" routing. That’s not so bad when you’re off-trail, but on trail, I’d prefer my GPS tell me that its five trail miles to the destination rather than three "as the crow flies" miles. The crow can fly, but I can’t.

On one of my last outings, I had a chance to try out Garmin’s US TOPO 24K which shows contour intervals closer to USGS 1:24,000 scale maps than their USA TOPO (1:100K) product, hence the name. During one outing, I happened to be on the dividing line between these two coverages, as captured in the screen shot to the left.

Clearly, this enhanced level of detail is desirable, but having routable trails excites me just as much. I couldn’t trick my GPS into capturing a screen shot of a route, Us_topo_24k_route_1 but the image to the right comes from the MapSource desktop. You can see that the software routed along the highway and a trail, but that it had to do "line of sight" routing where one trail was not on the map. It was really nice to know just how far I had to go to the next junction.

The formal name of this product is US TOPO 24K – National Parks, and you can purchase it for the eastern, central or western U.S. But as I discovered on this trip, it covers more than just national parks. The images shown here were not captured in national parks, but in the San Bernardino National Forest.

Filed Under: Garmin, Software, Software Reviews

Garmin eTrex Venture Review

November 19, 2005 By Rich Owings Leave a Comment

Etrex_venture_7

UPDATE: This model has been discontinued. For more current recommendations, please refer to our handheld GPS buyers guide or our Garmin handheld GPS comparison chart.

The Garmin eTrex Venture was the first GPS I ever purchased. I chose it because, unlike the basic eTrex, the Venture comes with a cable allowing you to connect it to your PC, for only a few dollars more. I eventually upgraded to a mapping unit, but I still think the eTrex Venture is a good choice for a GPS newbie, or for anyone on a limited budget.

28 reviewers gave the eTrex Venture an average 4-1/2 out of 5 star rating on Amazon.

Here’s what others are saying:

Filed Under: Garmin, Garmin handheld GPS, GPS Reviews, Handheld/Sport

Creating Custom Maps for Lowrance GPS Receivers

November 16, 2005 By Rich Owings Leave a Comment

In another of our continuing series of the best of the boards, this jewel comes to us from Groundspeak, the geocaching message board. In a Lowrance vs. Garmin response, I said…

…if you want to create your own maps, you can do this with the 60CS. With the H20, you can only add tracks. Lots of them, granted, but it is still a significant limitation, especially if you want to add contours.

To which Hoary, a geocacher from Massachusetts said…

There is a significant progress in regards of building your own maps for Lowrance iFinder. More details in Yahoo! MapCreate Format Group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mapcreate_format/

Sure enough, information is posted there on a new tool, MP2LCM. I covered how to obtain data and create MP files in my book, GPS Mapping – Make Your Own Maps, but the ability to transfer those custom maps to current Lowrance units is a new development. Now I haven’t tried this yet, so if you have, chime in and let us hear your thoughts. Congratulations to the MapCreate Format group for all their efforts.

Filed Under: Best of the boards, Lowrance, Software

GPS Reception in Canyons

November 13, 2005 By Rich Owings Leave a Comment

Sheep_canyon_1 I just returned from vacation, during which time I tested a Garmin GPSMap 60CS and Magellan Meridian Platinum side-by-side to check for accuracy in a canyon. Canyons, both natural and urban are notorious for the phenomenon known as multipath — the reflection of signals off canyon walls. GPS receivers work by calculating the time it takes for signals to be received from GPS satellites, so signals bouncing off canyon walls are delayed slightly, thereby introducing error.

The test was conducted in Sheep Canyon (picture at right), in Anza Borrego Desert State Park. Sheep Canyon is not a tight slot canyon, but it is a canyon nonetheless. I must have had good satellite coverage, because I never lost the signal lock the entire day.

Anza_borrego_tracks_1 To see visual evidence of the difference between reception in the two units, check out the tracks on the aerial photo to the left. The Garmin track is in red, the Magellan in blue. I have one caveat here…It appears that the Garmin collected much more detail, but the Magellan is my wife’s GPSr, and I’m not as familiar with it. Once I saw this image, I checked and discovered that the Magellan was not set to acquire as detailed of a tracklog as possible. Apart from that, the most interesting thing I see is that both units recorded at least one stray track point, far away from our position. On the basis of this, I’d rate their performance as comparable.

This canyon wasn’t tight enough to reduce reception much, but the topography did contribute to the stray track points. You can visit my other website to see the entire tracklog and geocoded photos, and this page on GPS Tracklog provides more information on geocoding photos with TopoFusion. Finally, stay tuned; over the next week or so I’ll have some more posts related to our GPS vacation.

Filed Under: Garmin, Hardware, Magellan, Trip report (TR)

Garmin StreetPilot c330 Review

November 10, 2005 By Rich Owings 4 Comments

Streetpilot_c330

The Garmin StreetPilot c330 is a popular automotive navigation device, from a company known for great customer service and intuitive menus.

Unlike the c320, the c330 comes preloaded with City Select maps for North America or Europe. Step up to the c340 and the unit will announce upcoming street names and add optional FM TMC traffic alerts.

Over 100 users have contributed reviews of the StreetPilot c330 at Amazon.

Compare prices on the Garmin StreetPilot c330

Here’s what others are saying:

Filed Under: Auto, Garmin, Garmin auto GPS, GPS Reviews

Garmin Forerunner 301 Review

November 7, 2005 By Rich Owings Leave a Comment

Forerunner_301

UPDATE: This model has been discontinued. For more current recommendations, please refer to our GPS for runners post.

Hands on with the Garmin Forerunner 301

I had the opportunity to try out a Garmin Forerunner 301 recently when I used it to test out the online mapping software provided by Motionbased.com. The Forerunner is a very nice, lightweight (only 2.6 ounces!) GPS receiver that straps to your wrist. Ideal for runners, this flagship Forerunner model includes a heart rate monitor as well.

Now I go at outdoor activities fairly aggressively, but I consider myself an explorer, not an athelete in training. And while the Forerunner was a lot of fun, it is best suited for those wanting to track their heart rate and performance. It is not a great navigation device. Sure, it can point you in the direction of a waypoint, or navigate along a route, but most GPS receivers have much more flexibility when it comes to navigation. The 301 suffers from a limit of 100 waypoints, and you cannot upload tracks to it. But here’s an amazing statistic…the 301 is the top selling GPS on Amazon! I’m betting there are a lot of runners and lightweight backpackers who consider this the ideal receiver.

Filed Under: Garmin handheld GPS, GPS Reviews Tagged With: Garmin Forerunner 301, GPS for runners