is gps useful?

[Moe (fl)]

Have been thinking to get me a handheld gps. Do ya all have/use gps for keeping track of your sites/finds?

Is it really useful or overkill?

thanks for the opinions.

Happy Holidays!

Moe

 

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[dkw]

GPS has saved me a lot of time in finding sites that no longer have any visible signs. One of my methods is to overlay an old plat map on to a Google Earth image. I can then get the coordinates of the homesite by holding the mouse over the house icon on the map overlay. The old plat maps aren't usually super accurate on the house location but they're close enough to put you in the right area. The bits of glass topside and targets in the ground will let you know when you're on top of it.

 

[Sandman]

Using a GPS system can guide you into areas like Dkw said and it can also help you find your way back to your car. If you get one with the maps of streets and such, the scale goes down very small so you could map out your grid for hunting a prime piece of ground. Course it isn't necessary, but how much is your time worth?

I have found the Garmin's to be extremely excellent GPS's for the price.

 

[gollum]

Depends on what you are going to use it for.

If you want to mark exact locations of items dug, then NO, it won't do you any good.

Military Grade GPS can locate to within an inch or so, while Civilian can get you to within a few feet (or yards). The government can control just how accurate the gps information released for civilian use is. In times of heightened alerts, you might notice that gps accuracy is not very good.

If you want to mark old home sites, or areas where you detect, it is great.

Best-Mike

 

[thompy]

i use mine to help locate some old gold mines, at least get me close enough to search them out, my trouble im guessing coridinates as close as possibale from a old map, lots of very large cedar trees, and hills, the garmin seams quite slow in these conditions.

 

[golddigger14s]

In response to gollum: The accuracy of civilan and military GPS is the same. President Clinton had the inaccucacy program turned off (the one good thing he did!). I'm in the military and use my own GPS (Garmin) which tracks 12 satelites, my current military GPS (PLGR) only tracks 5.

 

[Old Dog]

We use the GPS to plot the trail the Spanish used by marking each sign and monument on a map. this gives us a reference to go back to when needed.
It is also a good way to plot a large site for reference with photos later.

especially nice when the weather won't let you get out and do more footwork. Using GPS coordinates you can sort out an actual direction of travel.
Also very cool to try with a 3D virtual map.

OD

 

[diggerfororo]

I think they are the best thing since sliced bread; but if you don't need to know how to get somewhere or how to get back, then I guess you don't need one.

Les

 

[CWnut]

gps is a great tool to use if you understand it's shortcomings. Civilian gps is accurate to about 15 meters(50 feet) they say, i have found them to be more accurate than that, at times. Terrain, tree canopy, tall buildings and so on will affect the reading. log on to www.gpsnuts.com for more info.

 

[Moe (fl)]

Thanks for the responses!

A couple of questions:

- is the magellan 210 explorist any good? It has 22MB memory. I have read that some GPS units allow you to insert an SD card for more memory. Is the extra memory a plus or not needed in most situations?

- I read that some units are only accurate to within 50 meters in most areas. The manufacturers claim that these units are accurate to 3 meters (10 feet). Which is correct in most real life situations?

I want a gps for storing locations and then uploading the data to a computer for plotting the locations on a map.

thanks.
Moe

 

[golddigger14s]

Accuracy is about 3 meters with good satalite veiw. Remember trees, mountains and buildings can block satalites affecting accuracy.

 

[JOE(USA)]

Moe (fl),

Yes, I use a GPS for detecting. I have a Garmin Vista Cx, it has color screen, Altimeter, Contour maps etc. and I love it. Really helpful detecting in large fields, woods or even large beaches. Pass on the cheap ones get a good one!
Joe

 

[CWnut]

Again i refer you to www.gpsnuts.com. Accuracy of gps units is not set in stone and can vary from 15 meters to 200 meters depending on a lot of variables. best accuracy is achieved by taking several readings from the same location and averaging the numbers. However as i said earlier i have found that one reading is usually sufficient. 3 meter accuracy is available if you have WAAS function on your unit and the unit can "see" one of the satellites which orbit the earth around the equator. Again, terrain and manmade features can block these signals.

 

[rmptr]

I wasn't too far offshore fishing with friends and the fog came in quickly...
The only thing we could tell was up & down.

A handheld GPS brought us exactly to the harbor entrance in 40ft visibility.

Saved our bisquits!

R M P T R

 

[Moe (fl)]

Does anyone have the Garmin Etrex Legend?

I read several good reviews and it seems to do the job. My only concern is that it has only 8MB of memory. No SD cards or color display.

thanks,
Moe

 

[thompy]

i personally dont like the legend, seems really slow at picking up sat. a buddy has one as well as my father, but i have also seen the good reviews, i just recieved the exploriest 210, had the 100 and liked that better than the legend, folks were going to pick me a legend for christmas, told them i would like a magellan, but from what ive read magellens custmer service reall blows

 

[hsjrev]

i personally dont like the legend, seems really slow at picking up sat. a buddy has one as well as my father, but i have also seen the good reviews, i just recieved the exploriest 210, had the 100 and liked that better than the legend, folks were going to pick me a legend for christmas, told them i would like a magellan, but from what ive read magellens custmer service reall blows

The Garmin eTrex units were upgraged to the new high sensitivity "H" series this past summer. The new ones pick up sats a lot quicker and work much better under trees or around tall buildings/canyons. Look for the words "High Sensitivity" above the display screen and an "H" in the model number such as "etrex legend HCx" to make sure you get the new reciever chip.

 

[Moe (fl)]

Thanks Hsjrev.

The Etrex Legend I was looking at does not have the H chip so I guess I will pass this model. The other two GPS I am looking at are the Magellan Explorist 210 and 500 LE.

Moe