What's the best handheld GPS for use in Africa?

The cheapest one you can find. The PH's are such big mooches I have yet to bring one home from Africa.

quote:

The cheapest one you can find. The PH's are such big mooches I have yet to bring one home from Africa.

Good point!

Come on guys, what PH's manage to obtain as "gifts" is too large a subject to cover here.

I just take a Garmin ETrex, which is the cheapest.

In all fairness, I have yet to have a PH come right out and ask for it, but they instantly jump on it when I offfer it up.

Don't forget to take the owner's manual, and lots of batteries for the giveaway.

Not that one is really needed, but they are handy sometimes. It is entertaining to know I am about 9,921 miles from Home!

You won't need a GPS. The PH and/or the trackers have intimate knowledge of the area (or they should) and can tell you which way the vehicle, camp, or other landmark are more quickly than you can figure it out by consulting a GPS.

George

Actually, it is not primarily for use on hunting safaris and I have a pretty good sense of direction. I will probably use it more for my work (I work on a lot road projects in Africa) and I was wondering if anybody knew of which systems might have access to downloaded topo maps of African countries.

Wink,

I would agree with Bill that the standard Garmin E-trex is a good option as it is a light and small GPS. It's not fancy, but then for hunting down there you only need it to mark a waypoint, unlike back at home where topo maps are available, and might be of use. The E-trex comes in more fancy models for this such as the "Vista" and "Legend".

For long distance desert driving and navigation in Africa however, I would go with a larger unit with map capability such as the Garmin GPSMap 276C due to the larger screen (I have the older model, and it worked very well across the whole of africa).

The most important thing is the user interface. I personally think Garmin kicks all the other makers asses when it comes to ease of use. Which is why I have a couple of Garmin GPS's instead of for example Magellen.

Wink,

My above post came in too late to see your specific, non hunting needs.

As I mentioned though, the Garmin GPSMap 276C would be a good option as it has a large screen, yet is handportable and can run on 4 AA batteries. Garmin does have a CD called "Worldmap" which shows most of the main roads in the world, and when you download the most detail for africa, you'll be suprised over the amount of small, insignifigant roads that are also shown. We drove on what can only be called goat tracks and simular in west and north africa that were actually on the GPS from the CD. But then you'll also find that there is a red line where no track exists too in some far off places.

If you need any more detailed advice, send me a PM.

Geo.,

Not to belabor this, but some trackers and some game scouts know exactly where they are and some don't. Same for PH's. A GPS can sure settle arguments in a hurry as to where the Cruiser was left.

If you have to come back to something dead the next morning, knowing exactly where it is can save a lot of time.

I would like to remind you all to re-program your GPS once you are south of the Equator.

Don't do what Walter did, and forget.

This, of course, messed up all his waypoints.

quote:

Originally posted by Will:
I just take a Garmin ETrex, which is the cheapest...

GPS's are for Dorks and Puss's!

Just yanking Will's chain... I took two Etrex's for a PH in Namibia, one to go and a spare, plus the extra belt holster. Simple, small, semi-disposable. $50 flat-fee to get repaired too.

I don't even own one (I have enough trouble with a cell phone and a Blackberry).

But for reasons Will has stated, I've wished I had one several times.

Will has a point. They can be a great help too if you get caught out in the thick stuff @ night. It happened to a guy in camp last year. The PH, tracker & client got on a track & went too late, night comes quick in the jungle. Long story short, they found their way back eventually, about breakfast time.

Ditto the favorable comments about having one in Africa. My limited experience (3 Safari's) is the tracker's are almost as good as a GPS in the daytime. At night, without landmarks etc., they can get as lost as anyone.

I bought a new one about a month ago that I like, the Garmin GPSMAP 76CS. Its display is in color, and has an assortment of great features such as a compass, altimeter, and even the ability to let you know what time of day the fish and game will be moving (as if in Africa that will influence your schedule! )
The only problem I have with it is that on any Garmin GPS getting the detailed topographical info for Africa is hard to find. You can get a lot of stuff for the RSA, but the software enhancements for the other countries does not seem to exist.
I also have a Garmin GPS III Plus, which my Zim PH in 2003 also had. We used his extensively, particularly when heading back to the Land Rover after some extended buff hunt.
The new Garmin 76CS is a great item, but I think you'll find it at its best when traveling in the more populated areas of the world where there has been demand for map upgrades.

I'm a little confused....why would you need to "reprogram" south of the equater...wouldn't the machine just naturally search out the closest birds and triangulate?

You really don't have to do anything, it will recognize that you have moved a few miles from the last place you used it, and ask questions. Painless.

Gamin has specially programmed these for DORKS like me!

I've been leaning towards the Lowrance Hunt. It's not THAT expensive and you don't have to use "proprietary" mapping software like Garmin & Magellan. Plus, it has a digital voice recorder (which I have not been able to verify) so you can add comments at waypoints, etc. And, as the name (Hunt) implies, it's geared around hunting (hunting specific graphic icons).
Better yet, check out the Cabela's website. They have a buying guide within the GPS section.

quote:

The cheapest one you can find. The PH's are such big mooches I have yet to bring one home from Africa

I hope you bartered well with it!

I took a look at the Garmin GPSmap 76 on their web site, as well as the previews they give of the Worldmap CD. Looks good to me. The Worldmap database even shows our base camp at Mwadui Mine in Northern Tanzania since there is an airstrip there! The combo costs 520 Euros in France (tax included). Thanks for the good advice given in the previous posts. I think I will now also look at the Lowrance Hunter specific GPS mentioned above as well for personal use.

E-trex is very fast to lock-on.It is my third GPS and the best

e-trex is the one I got too. Nice piece of harware. I do think that one of the map versions might meet your needs better. The reprograming simply means that it will take a bit longer to power up that first time. It will sit for a bit longer and then ask you if you have traveled hundreds of miles since you last powered up? You say yes and it knows to look for all signals out there and not just for the satelites it already "knows". It will then operate normally.

I always like to put the main camp in as a waypoint when starting a hunt. I have never needed it yet. Hope I don't. Accidents can happen to the PH and/or tracker. It could be possible to really need it. Not likely though. Good hunting.

I would recommend any land GPS made by GARMIN. I use a GPS every day of the week since I fly for a living and the best GPS for aviation use is a GARMIN so you know what would be my pick!!!

Enigma

I took the Lowrance with the Global Map option. As stated earlier, there is very little detail in Tanzania on the map. I found that if you start putting waypoints the map begins to fill in between the waypoints. This was a help in figuring out the relationship from one bait to another and where camp was in relation to other waypoints.

I own an E-trex legend. Easy to use and great fun.
There is also a world wide game you can play with your GPS called Geocaching
It will give you some field practice with your GPS and it provides a bit of fun!

One of the best resources around is at http://www.travelbygps.com/authoring.php They have dozens of links.

http://www.gpsmaps.co.za/ provides custom mapping for South Africa.

http://www.tracks4africa.com/default.asp provides free maps of South Africa for the Garmin.

http://mightygps.com/africasouth.htm has maps for a large section of africa for sale.

While it may not be needed because of PH's and trakkers, it can help enhance your memories. I was given a GPS as a gift a few years ago. Took it along on a bird hunt as a joke. Since then, I always have it when in the field. If for no other reason, it allows me log what happened and where. I can pull up waypoints and tracks from a bear hunt a year ago, or a grouse hunt 3 years ago. While I may not need it while I am actually hunting, I find it nice to be able to see the actual path I took some time later.

You do need to be aware of local laws. The last time I checked, it was illegal to bring a GPS into Russia. I am not sure what other countries may have restrictions. Certainly, the USA is unique in that detailed topo maps have been available via the USGS for many years.

Thanks, 375AI.
One caveat re the use of 2nd party software: It is my UNDERSTANDING (as opposed to "knowledge") that only the Lowrance is compatable with 2nd party software. Maybe someone else can shed some light on this???

Almostacowboy,

You are mistaken in this case, as at least Garmin can use several of the 2nd party software such as Fugawi and Que Vadis(sp?). I'm not sure about Magellen though. I've also had the RSA maps from http://www.gpsmaps.co.za/ in my GPS thanks to some kind South African we met in Pretoria that let us "borrow" it.

ErikD-
Do you have a Garmin? Which model, if so?

quote:

Originally posted by almostacowboy:
Thanks, 375AI.
One caveat re the use of 2nd party software: It is my UNDERSTANDING (as opposed to "knowledge") that only the Lowrance is compatable with 2nd party software. Maybe someone else can shed some light on this???

I have used my Garmin with my Maptech software. I have also used it with one of the driving directions software packages for real-time tracking or trip planning. Off the top of my head I do not recall which one.

Almostacowboy,

I have a Garmin GPSMap 12, and the slightly bigger Garmin GPSMap 176C (which now evolved into the 276CS). The 176C is the one I used for navigation throughout africa, and that I had the "borrowed" RSA maps in.

Also, both have "3rd party" 1:50000 topo maps from the Norwegian govt. that work very well.

Now, see??? I learned something worthwhile today....and it had nothing to do with Mark Sullivan
So much for the "expert" at Sports Chalet!
Thanks, guys

So almost 10 years later what GPS do you have and what maps?

All of my GPS units are Garmin. I really like their stuff and with their Mapsource software I download my tracks and waypoints to my computer and can pull them up on Google Earth and actually see the places I have hunted.

I have marked kills and special places for about the last 15 years and it's neat to look at them on Google Earth.


.

quote:

Originally posted by JTEX:
All of my GPS units are Garmin.
I have marked kills and special places for about the last 15 years and it's neat to look at them on Google Earth..

Marking things like camp, kill sites and points of interest was my only reason for bringing mine with me. I wanted to be able to share those spots later on google earth. Worked great!

On the 70K-acre Namibian game farm two months ago, the Garmin GPSmap 62s came in handy to find the shortest way through the thornveld to the nearest dirt track. I loaded Garmin South Africa's road maps for Zambia to the Cape onto it and used it driving around Cape Town and in Natal on various trips.

Regards