Handheld GPS units

[bubba]

I got a really nice handheld Garmin GPS for Christmas, and I can't seem to figure out how this thing works.. Its not like a car GPS with the maps all loaded.. My oldest son is in Boy Scouts and we do a lot of hiking and camping.. I was looking for something to help on hikes, maybe with trail systems loaded, or something along those lines.. I've been doing some reading and it looks like I have to load the maps for the area I want to be walking in... Anyone have one of these units that can give me a place to start getting set up.. I've got the Garmin GPSMap 62S...

[loman4ec]

Is it a portable car GPS or a special one for walking? I use a portable Garman car GPS and it is a lifesaver.

[bubba]

Walking model.. it does on/off road, and marine.. I've got a Garmin in the car and its great if you know where you are going.. This new one is meant more for off road/walking...

[JBVending]

I have a portable Megellan I use for a rail buggy on back roads and trails. It uses a tracker system, that maps where I go so I can back track to get home. Maybe yours has something like that under menu?

JB

[Creighton]

Ken,
Been in the high end GPS biz for years. We will get this going :-) For hiking and such you will want Topo (scanned USGS 1:24000 Quadrangle) maps on the unit. Preliminary look shows there is a Garmin GPSMAP 62 ST(T=Topo). Might save some time if you can exchange the 62 S for a 62 ST. Cousins kid is an engineer at Garmin so we have a resource above "press 1" for support.

I'll poke around some more on this particular model and post back. If you want PM your number and I'll give you a call.

>*EDIT for clarification*<
Garmin is grouping their maps by region. 1 region will cost $100. That's the price difference between a 62 S and 62 ST. Best to keep the 62 S and add the region(s) you need. Will not effect the "global basemap" in the 62 S. Nice looking unit.
Don't believe a bit of the "works in forest/urban canyon" hype. Obstructed signal will cause substantial positional errors. The EPE (estimated positional error) value will alert you to unfavorable conditions.     

Creighton
 

[bubba]

JB.. this does have the tracker feature.. I was expecting it to be able to work like a road GPS and plan trail hikes and stuff... Most of the trails and camping we do is in either county, state or federal park areas.. I was expecting to be able to punch it in for trails like you can for street directions..  Sand Rail??

Creighton.. thats awesome.. Thanks.. Check your pm.. I did manage to acquire a copy of the 2008 Topo maps, which I think I read its a bit better than the 24k for road use.. I'm a bit disappointed in the price for their map setup after paying that much for the unit. I will probably do the $30/year for the birds eye view which sounds pretty cool. I did some research on units and for the features and money, this was a good unit.. The antenna system is pretty amazing. I'm picking up satellite signal in my basement.. I found a forum for these that has some good info..

[mznb1u]

Ken,

I have a fairly basic Garmin GPS 72 handheld that I use for the tracker system and for fishing.  I haven't spent a lot of additional time trying to figure out the rest of it.  Depending on the parks that you will be visiting, a lot of them are now posting way points on their web-sites/maps.  With most of these hand-helds, you can enter a way point and the unit will direct you to it.

If you have not checked it out already, you need to look into geocaching (geo-cashing).  Your boys will love it.  It is a great way to check out different areas and a lot of fun.  Check http://www.geocaching.com/

  Tim

[bubba]

Thanks Tim... We have done some Geocaching in the past.. That was one of the features I made sure this had.. I haven't been to the site yet to look up any cache spots, but thats on my list..

[JBVending]

Yep, sand rail or dune buggy, just don't have any sand dunes in Ky so I call it a rail buggy.

JB