GPS advice for the lost gift giver?

November 27, 2006 7:56 AM

I've heard my boyfriend mention that he would like a GPS unit several times over the last year, so I am planning on getting him one for the holidays. I don't think he's looked into them in any great detail, and I am boggled by the options.

He's the type who is captivated with maps and stats like altitude. We live in Manhattan and this would primarily be used for urban exploring and geo-caching, with occasional jaunts to Paris, London, and road trips to Tennessee and Texas. I am willing to spend up to $300, and would like to get something that would offer more utility and upgradability in the long run. He's a PC user. I've looked at previous threads but they don't seem to fit the situation.

posted by kimdog to technology (19 comments total)

I've liked the eTrex Legend Cx (Garmin), by watching where you buy it comes just under your price point, just, the other Garmins are ok as well,
posted by edgeways at 8:04 AM on November 27, 2006

d'oh ment to add a link ... link
posted by edgeways at 8:05 AM on November 27, 2006

I've had trouble using an etrex in Manhattan. The internal patch antenna did not seem up to the task until I found myself in a really open space (see central park). Just something you may want to check out.
posted by UESMark at 8:08 AM on November 27, 2006

Decide what form factor and capability you want. Does he need maps? Fitness tracking? Directions? Databases of restaurants? How big a device will he be happy with? Me, I have a Garmin Forerunner made in a watch form factor, because all I want is a thing that remembers where I am so I can upload a track later. But in a car you want maps. Different markets.

Manhattan's a big problem with the tall buildings. Without line of sight to the horizon in a couple of directions GPS devices don't work well. You can mitigate this somewhat with better antennaes, which means bigger / more batteries.

Be sure to buy something made recently. A new GPS chipset came into common use in the past six months that apparently works a lot better, particularly urban canyons.
posted by Nelson at 8:15 AM on November 27, 2006

GPS is only sometimes useful as a stand-alone piece of equipment. The key word is NMEA, which is a protocol that allows GPS receivers to talk to other equipment. You would like to use lots of different kinds of maps instead of being locked in to one kind, so investigate carefully what kind of data your bf wants to use. Arcsoft "shapefiles" are the default for a lot of GIS information.

Glonass is kind of useless and more than twelve GPS channels are similarly so; once the usable constellation is above eight SVs you get no further benefit. WAAS helps.

For urban environments the keyword is multipath rejection. GPS requires a view of the sky above maybe 15 degrees above the horizon. Buildings compromise that and hard flat reflectors like buildings create multipath. Occlude the sky and add reflectors and that's why it has so much trouble in cities.
posted by jet_silver at 8:48 AM on November 27, 2006

The GPS Chipset Nelson mentions is called the SirfStar III, and it really is the bees knees.

Be sure that whatever GPS unit you buy, it has a SirfStar III in it. Because a GPS is no good if it can't lock on to some satellites.

I apologize, I don't have any other useful advice.
posted by fake at 8:50 AM on November 27, 2006

Thanks... this is all really helpful advice. While I was finding lots of info about tree cover, I couldn't find as much info about what to use in an urban environment.
posted by kimdog at 8:58 AM on November 27, 2006

REI has a GPS Finder that asks a few questions about what you want to do and tells you what GPS features correspond to those answers. The models that it suggests as a best fit will be limited to those models that REI stocks, but the questions and explanations may still be helpful.
posted by -harlequin- at 8:58 AM on November 27, 2006

I write software for GPSes and therefore have quite a collection of handheld units.

I'd definitely highly recommend the Garmin eTrex Vista cx. That's the top of the line unit in Garmin's eTrex range. It is very good. Failing that an eTrek Legend cx is also very respectable.

Almost any modern handheld GPS is find for geocaching, the etrex vista does automatica routing which is very handy on roadtrips or in unfamiliar terrain.

Garmin seems to have the best user interface for handheld GPSes. They're easy to use and are configurable. Magellan on the other hand have ugly, clunky interfaces that get in your way.
posted by schwa at 9:57 AM on November 27, 2006

Your BF sounds kinda like me.... Does he use a laptop or a PDA? There are some solutions that will work with them. Laptops are awkward outside of a vehicle, but the PDA (like a Dell Axiom) is a nice compromise with the GPS card - especially with a mapping solution like Tom-tom. The extra screen resolution does not hurt either.

I personally use a Magellan Gold, but I live in a rural area, and don't have the issues with sky access. Shortcomings of my older technology are due to the form factor i.e., the small screen makes device based mapping difficult, if not impossible. Therefore a PC is required for route planning.

As Nelson said above;

1. Vehicular requirements? (audio capability needed? - additional hardware requirements?)
2. Background map requirements? (restaurants, etc)
3. Altitude requirements? (for climbing/hiking)
4. Boating/water ways necessary?

This link
may provide some additional help.

Good luck!
posted by fox_terrier_guy at 10:18 AM on November 27, 2006

Ack. I didn't link. My bad.

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/sm-gps-buyers-guide--bg-222879.html

Ok, now how to use the preview button again?
posted by fox_terrier_guy at 10:22 AM on November 27, 2006

Dear lord, whatever you do keep the receipt and make sure the store you by it from has a no questions asked return policy.

If he's done a lot of research, he has in mind the features he wants. Unless your prepared for some covert ops to discover what he wants, it's gonna be near impossible to get him the one he specifically wants the most. If they were all "good enough" for him he wouldn't be doing all the research.

While I don't know how quickly he would take you up on the offer for the ability to return it, even if he doesn't, the thought and acknowledgment that you didn't just go out and buy the first GPS you found will go a long way.

//Had GF buy me too many pieces of technology without paying attention to what I wanted from it.

<---Bitter
posted by JakeLL at 11:54 AM on November 27, 2006

Jakell's advice is so important!
posted by Neiltupper at 1:01 PM on November 27, 2006

JakeLL's advice is so important!
posted by Neiltupper at 1:01 PM on November 27, 2006

Damn doubles!
posted by Neiltupper at 1:03 PM on November 27, 2006

I don't think that he's really researched GPS units at all. I think it's just one of those pleasurable abstracts thats been rolling around in his head, which is why I think it would be a great surprise gift. So I'll probably use the above recommendations to find the most serviceable unit I can for city conditions, and absolutely make sure it's returnable!

I know for certain that it needs to be hand held, with a nice screen, and great maps. I'll also take into consideration the issues around our "urban canyons" with regards to antennas and WAAS and SirfStar III.

Thanks again.
posted by kimdog at 1:42 PM on November 27, 2006

As a former employee of Rand McNally I feel a need to chime in. A lot of great advice here. I'll just offer the following:

Avoid Delorme or old ETAK GPS units. While they may be tempting to buy because they're so cheap (you will find a few tempting ones floating around out there) they use a proprietary data formats. More headache than they are worth.

If you purchase a stand-alone GPS unit (a self-contained unit with maps on the device), make sure it can interface with a laptop. Most, if not all handheld units, allow for you to connect to a laptop and have some mapping software read the NMEA data and display it on a map.

For $300 you can get a great unit that your boyfriend will love.

Good luck.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 2:34 PM on November 27, 2006

Only things I'd add to schwa's completely excellent advice is the following (and I'm coming at this from the perspective not of a software developer, but as someone who knows something of the constellation of satellites that whirl and dance above us and make GPS happen): differential error correction & the ability to change map projections if, say, he takes the thing overseas.

Apologies if this is total geekspeak.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 4:53 PM on November 27, 2006

Just a follow-up. I ended up getting the Garmin eTrex Vista CX, and he loves loves loves it! And even in the city he can generally pick up enough satellites to get a reading. So thanks for all the great advice.
posted by kimdog at 5:21 PM on January 4, 2007