Recommended Receivers
NOT SURE which GPS receiver to buy from the wide array of choices? Annadel Press can help. After teaching GPS classes for over 6 years, we have seen students try to use nearly every model receiver on the market. We've seen what works and what doesn't (for example, PDA-based receivers are particularly troublesome in the outdoors because their screens are nearly impossible to view in daylight and their batteries expire rapidly.) These recommendations apply strictly to outdoor uses such as hiking, backpacking, geocaching, hunting, fishing, etc. We don't make recommendations for such uses as highway, marine, or aircraft navigation. And of course, they are based strictly on our own experiences. You may be perfectly satisfied with many other receivers not listed here.
While not the only good choices, the receivers listed below represent a reasonable cross-section from entry-level units to full-featured mapping receivers. We have had excellent success with Garmin receivers, but those from Magellan are very capable. Not every model is equally useful. The models here, in our opinion, represent the best choices across a range of prices. Click on the links below and you'll be taken directly to the product page on the Amazon.com web site via our participation in the Amazon.com Associates Program. Through this program you can buy directly from Amazon.com. If you're thinking of buying over the Internet, we recommend Amazon as a trusted seller with an excellent reputation and competitive prices. If you would rather get hands-on experience before making a purchase, you can also find many of these receivers at your local outdoor retailer.
Updated 1/06
| Garmin eTrex Family The basic yellow eTrex is an excellent entry-level receiver with all the basic features you need but not a lot of extras (it doesn't have mapping capability). The Legend is the least expensive mapping receiver, with 8 MB of memory. Its built-in basemap is often good enough to give you an idea of what roads to take to get to a geocache or trailhead. If not, you can load more detailed maps from optional MapSource software products. The Vista is the full-featured member of the eTrex family. It includes 24 MB of memory, a barometric altimeter, and a magnetic compass--plenty of power for virtually all outdoor applications. All these receivers use grayscale displays. They connect to a computer using the relatively slow serial port interface. |
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| Garmin eTrex Vista C/Cx, Legend C/Cx The Legend C and Vista C offer outstanding color displays and connect to a computer using the much faster USB connector. They each have 24 MB internal memory, and the Vista C includes a barometric altimeter and magnetic compass. Their user interfaces have been updated to resemble the GPSMAP 60 series, and both include the dedicated geocaching mode first introduced on the 60C. The Vista Cx and Legend Cx offer removable microSD memory cards. They come standard with 32MB memory and can accept all cards up to the current limit of 512 MB. |
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Garmin GPSMAP 60/60C/60CS, GPS 60 |
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| Garmin GPSMAP 60Cx/60CSx These latest additions to the GPSMAP 60-series are identical to the 60C and 60CS, but with removable microSD memory and a more sensitive SiRF receiver that acquires satellites faster and works better under heavy tree cover. Comes with 64MB memory card and can accept memory up to the current maximum of 512MB. Probably the best all-around receivers in this class on the market today. |
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| Garmin Geko 201/301 The Geko is the smallest, lightest receiver currently on the market. The 201 is the minimum recommended receiver (the 101 lacks too many features) and the 301 adds a barometric altimeter and magnetic compass. |
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| Magellan Meridian Color/Meridian Gold The SporTrak series has recently been discontinued, as have most models of the Meridian series. The Meridian Color and Meridian Gold remain at this time, each with an internal 16 MB basemap. To load more detailed maps, you can add up to to 128 MB of memory using optional plug-in SD cards. Although a bit large for outdoor use and lacking any built-in user-programmable memory (you have to use optional cards), its low price may be attractive to some users.powerful units that well exceed minimum requirements for recommended receivers |
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Magellan Explorist Series |
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| Magnetic Compasses If you've read Outdoor Navigation with GPS, you'll understand that even with a GPS receiver you should still carry a magnetic compass to find bearings. Yes, you can use the magnetic compass built into some of the more expensive GPS receivers, but you still need a backup so you're not out of luck when your batteries fail or you damage your receiver. You'll find many compasses at your local outdoor store and on Amazon.com, but either of the two simple baseplate compasses shown above are really all you'll ever need. Both have adjustable declination so you can always find bearings referenced to true north. And if you prefer to work with magnetic bearings, just leave the declination set to zero. The Brunton Classic is inexpensive but has everything you're likely to need. The Suunto GPS Global Plotter includes scales for reading UTM coordinates from topographic maps, and you'll never get confused about the direction of travel--the arrowhead is built directly into the plastic base. Neither of these are mirror compasses, as I don't recommend them for most people, but if you really want a mirror compass, I've also listed the Suunto MC-2G Global Navigator. Not only is it a mirror compass with adjustable declination, its global needle is claimed to work in all 5 of the earth's compass zones. If you're going to spend the money for a mirror compass, you might as well go with the best! |
