I am a first time buyer in the market for a hand held GPS. What are the options and features I should consider? How about prices? I will be using it mainly for speed measurement.
TX19, I just bought a Garmin Etrex for $119.00 at REI (outdoors store). It has max speed, average speed, track, distance, elapsed time, altitude, current bearing, sunrise, sunset,all you need. The max speed locks in until you reset it. It does not have a compass direction unless you are moving, and no maps but if all you want is accurate speed, it is fine.
DetroitJim
I have the Garmin E-map. lots of features. Can download all the maps into it also. One nice thing is that in the future if you want you can adapt it to a head unit and have your boat speedometer be a gps unit.
I'm setting up my boat that way now.
They cost somewhere around $300
Good luck
Why do you want a GPS? Plan on getting lost? Just kidding. I personnaly use a stalker radar gun for test and tune sessions. Gps is a great tool don't get me wrong but if you have heavy cloud cover than they can be very slow and inaccurate for speed readings. Of corse Iam also talking about the cheap hand held models. They have more sophisticated models in the several thousand dollar range that are quicker but man they are expensive. And don't you dare drop it. The stalker radar gun is instant and in my opinion the better way to go. Also, you can use it by yourself while on a speed run. Anyway, just my 2 peso's worth. PEACE
The GPS would be far more usefull than a radar gun. The gun will give you speed only. The GPS, while not good for acceleration tests, will give you good steady state speeds along with the versatility of all the other nav features. Heavy clouds should not appreciably affect the GPS reception. Solid terrain will. Poor antennas will affect reception and thus satellite acquisition. I would avoid the units that go for $150 or less simply because many have speed limitations set at less than 100 mph. Most others will read to more than that. Check out the specs if you can find them. Personally I like the Garmin line, although must of their accesories are proprietary.
Thanks for the info!
Another consideration is sampling rate. If the sampling rate is high (3 or more times per second) than you will smoke through batteries, but have very accurate, fast refresh times for speed runs. If the refresh rate is variable, that is the best of both worlds. Look for multiple channels in the neighborhood of 8 or more, and you should be set up.
Another very nice thing about some GPS' is the track feature. If you spend any time in unfamiliar waters, you can drive a safe course with it recording your track, and then follow that track later (read..."at night")and feel relatively safe with your plotting. Plus, knowing your exact plot helps tell others with a GPS where you are, especially if they are in other boats, and trying to find your spot.
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