I'm completely out of the loop on the "latest and greatest" GPS hand-held units, but want one for Africa. Primarily just for the fun of documentation.

Which should I buy?

Been looking at them recently. Seems clear that the Garmin 60CSx is about it but then you have to add some maps to get the best AFrican use.

Anyone have some experience?

Regards

Thanks Tim.

I've found that one, but am trying to compare it to teh 60Cx. Other than $60, I'm not sure I understand the differences just yet.

The cheapie Garmin Etrex. I always leave them behind with the Appy or PH.

Of course, if you want to leave behind an expensive one, more power to you!

It's 7288 miles from the camp on the Zambezi to my house.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Will:
The cheapie Garmin Etrex. I always leave them behind with the Appy or PH.
QUOTE]

Second that opinion. Easy to use and carry. Accurate.

The Etrex is bacic and simple to use... Ph also had the same one ...


Mike

Don't forget to reset it once you are south of the Equator.

It is amazing that people don't realize that GPS settings north of the Equator are different than those south of it.

Another Vote for the plain Garmin Etrex. Its easy to use you wont feel bad wehn loosing or breaking it since it not high $$ and it works.

For the adventurer I would recommend Garmin Quest II loaded with Tracks of Africa software and maps. That will give yu all roads tracks that has ever been riven by people with the Quest and I mean all the small two tra roads that are existing in Africa even if it is not a road but just the best way to drive trough the bush etc.We used it extensivley in Angola and without it it would have been a nightmare especially when travelling at night.

We use the Garmin Map 76 in Africa and here in the caribbean. Works just fine either north of the equator or south. Must be because we are about the same latitude north as Zim is south

TomTom Navigator 6 in a mobile. Can really recommend it. It even contains speed trap warnings!

I would highly recommend the Garmin Etrex. After witnessing Garmin's customer service firsthand while working for West Marine, I will say that Garmin has a great product that is backed by a top notch company. I have owned an Etrex for about 3 years now and it is still going strong. For me, the Garmin products also provide the least complicated operation.

You probably ought to explain what you want to use your GPS for so some of the experts can advise you. If you just want to know the direction to camp, where the baits are hung, or how to get back to the vehicle then the Lowrance Hunt is a decent unit. You can install an African map or just use the included map and start putting in waypoints. Soon the map will be "filled in" by your routes and waypoints. I have used the Lowrance Profinder and Hunt in Tanzania, Botswana and South Africa with satisfactory results. I've heard that the Lowrance software is not as user friendly as Garmin but I've used Lowrance for a long time on boats so I'm accustomed to it. MUFASA

It's just more crap you're not going to need.

Those guys generally know where they are at all times.

In four safaris, I've only seen one PH use a GPS.

George

I completely agree with GeorgeS, unless you are going on a self guided hunt to Cameroon you will have no need for a GPS in Africa. The PH and trackers can tell you were you are any time.

Aziz

I have 4 of htem and use them for my work...The Emap, Tom Tom, Etrex and 60CSx.....the Etrex is best for simple stuff basic find your way from point A to point B....The Tom Tom is surprisingly much better at turn by turn navigation and it is dirt cheap...the 60Csx is for someone who wants the functions and topos right on your GPS as opposed to the Etrex. If you take the time to use is the 60 CS or CSX are the best for hardcore outdoor non-road stuff. In Garmin CSX C means color display, S means Barometric Altimeter, and X means it takes a Micro SD card for extra swappable memeory cards. other than that The CS, CX, and CSX are pretty much the same. The CSX has the latest chipset and pcis up Sateliites a little faster than older models....but not much!

Garmin Etrix -- never leave home/camp/truck without it. Just last year we wound up chasing a herd of Cape Buff into an unfamiar area -- PH's GPS batteries failed -- mine was still working and we were able to get out of the mess --- not a bad one - but saved us several miles of walking.
I use one all the time and consider it a piece of equipment that I do not leave with out. I am guessing that those that do not carry or use one may not know how -- just a guess.

If you think you have a need for a GPS then just about any of them will do.

I bring one because I do other things where I am not always with a PH or guide. When I'm driving off-road I want to know which way I went and how to get back if I want to. Also when coming across things that interest me, such as rock paintings or old German fortifications, I want to know the coordinates.

My sons usually carry a GPS, along with a 2-way radio, while I have the same. They are not always with me on the hunt but are off exploring or riding horses with the hosts' children. They know how to use the GPS and can tell me exactly where they are if I need to know.

If you are always going to be with the PH then there is no real need for a GPS.

Namibiahunter

The eTrex will meet virtually all of the average person's needs, and then some. It is small, lightweight and easy to use.

If you are well trained in the use of topo maps, the ones with the topo features are wonderful. But, those really need a larger screen size to be useful, and color is highly desirable. Also, a device touting the ability to determine altitide accurately almost requires the feature that also measures barometric pressure. An accurate altimeter needs the correct barometric pressure to work properly.

And like Saeed points out, bring your operating manual, since you will need to recalibrate the device.

Remember that the more features the unit has, the more power it will require. These things eat batteries, but a feature rich unit will gulp them down.

The number of satellites it can acquire is a measure of accuracy. The more points the unit can resect back to your location the more accurate the measure. In North America, Europe and Asia, there are plenty of satellites up there to rely upon. I have never checked for Southern Africa, but I would imagine that you are not going to get 19 or so satellites as teh inventory. garmin or magellan may be able to give you some advice in that regard. No use buying a unit that has the capability of acquiring 19 satellite signals when there are only 4 satellites available in the location.

quote:

The number of satellites it can acquire is a measure of accuracy. The more points the unit can resect back to your location the more accurate the measure. In North America, Europe and Asia, there are plenty of satellites up there to rely upon. I have never checked for Southern Africa, but I would imagine that you are not going to get 19 or so satellites as teh inventory. garmin or magellan may be able to give you some advice in that regard. No use buying a unit that has the capability of acquiring 19 satellite signals when there are only 4 satellites available in the location.

You might be suprised with how many satellites that one can acquire in South Africa--- it may have something to do with the military action a bit farther North.
As I was lying in a tree blind waiting for Mr. Spots to show up I was amazed as to the number of satellites passing over head -- there were a whole bunch and I mean a bunch! Somebody is doing a lot of looking at things over there if you get my drift!
G

Is this another non-issue topic?

I do not know the flight paths of the satellites but with the cheapy E-Trex and its 4 satellites, I can get back to dead elephants with 15 or 20 feet. And that is close enough.

I would not go with the cheapest E-Trex as they don't have a digital compass. If it does not have a digital compass you have to walk a certian distance at a good pace to pick up the correct bearing. The digital compass is great because it saves time walking in the wrong direction. I have done this while walking around in circles trying to figure out the correct direction. Spend the few extra bucks and go with either the E-Trex Vista or E-Trex Vista HCx

I personally use the E-trex legend, loaded with streetmaps for RSA.It is more compact than the 60 series and does all I need for hunting.

I had a client last week who used the bottom line E-trex, just for mapping the location of the camps and the places he took his trophies. It worked very good for that.

quote:

Originally posted by GeorgeS:
It's just more crap you're not going to need.

Those guys generally know where they are at all times.

George

Whatever you want to believe!

Having walked out of woods in Canada after being separated from my 'guide' and hunting buddy (they got 'disorientated') - I prefer to be self reliant.

Each to there own - but the day I cannot manage 5oz of back up, is the day I take up chess instead of hunting.

Rgds Ian

Well I'm 9033.1 miles from camp in Namibia. I keep that on my Garmin eTrex Venture just so I can call it up from time to time when I need a memory fix.

Why take the thing at all, since the PH and trackers "will never get lost"? Wow, I wish I had that much confidence trusting every aspect of my trip, and life, to the skills of people I've only known for a few weeks at best...

The tracker and or PH would leave me and go fetch the truck after we had cut through a promising block of bush and come back to pick me up. After a few days I noticed that the tracker would walk back along the truck tracks to find the truck rather than cutting back across the block to the truck. One time I realized that by doing this he would have to take about twice as long a walk as if we had gone straight to the truck via GPS. So, I took off and was sitting in the truck when he walked up. The look on his face was worth the price of the GPS unit.

Other than that it helped me get to know the layout of the area I was hunting very quickly. Knowing where I am makes the experience much more satisfying to me personally. More like I'm part of the hunt rather than just a "gun".

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Manion:

And like Saeed points out, bring your operating manual, since you will need to recalibrate the device.

I don't understand this. The first time I turn on the ETrex it tells me I'm not in Kansas anymore (have you moved more than 500 miles, or whatever it asks). Seems pretty simple.

quote:

Originally posted by Will

I don't understand this. The first time I turn on the ETrex it tells me I'm not in Kansas anymore (have you moved more than 500 miles, or whatever it asks). Seems pretty simple

Just follow the yellow brick road.

Namibiahunter

Is there a good map set software that has Southern African maps on it? I am a user of the 60CSx but did not know there were detailed maps that could be loaded for Southern Africa. It looks from this thread that I might be mistaken.

I used a Garmin Etrex Legend to track my hunt and my trip. Now I have it linked to Google Hearth and I can see it on the maps

quote:

Originally posted by Will:


I don't understand this. The first time I turn on the ETrex it tells me I'm not in Kansas anymore (have you moved more than 500 miles, or whatever it asks). Seems pretty simple.

I'm no rocket scientist, but I fail to see why you'd need to tell it you're in the southern hemisphere. That being said, if my GPS (rino) takes to long to acquire, it will ask me if I've moved locations since the last time it was powered up. This is because it knows the approximate time and what the satellite constellation should be over your head in your location. It may be be that the SW switch to change locations it also notes hemisphere. If one needs to let if know the hemisphere, how does it work when wandering about the equator. Especially if you're turning it on and off. Might kinda F U up. Or is there an 'error margin' overlap?

quote:

Originally posted by Woodmnctry:
You might be suprised with how many satellites that one can acquire in South Africa--- it may have something to do with the military action a bit farther North.
As I was lying in a tree blind waiting for Mr. Spots to show up I was amazed as to the number of satellites passing over head -- there were a whole bunch and I mean a bunch! Somebody is doing a lot of looking at things over there if you get my drift!
G

The GPS satellites and the one you were seeing from your blind are probably different ones. The GPS satellites are in fixed and know orbits. I think that they are also very high (11K miles?). There in 12 hour orbits and even if you could see them, movement would be heard to distinguish. They don't move from these orbits (other than minuscule amounts and corrections are sent out with the individual signals). Otherwise the location fixing wouldn't work. You probably had good a GPS acquisition of most of the satellites in your constellation, due to lack of terrain issues.

The satellites you saw were likely low orbit spy satellites and can have their orbits adjusted to get them to pass over areas of interest. I'm sure that they were doing what you thought.

But what do I know...?

Here's a interesting website that allows you to plot satellites. There's quite a cloud of these things over our heads.

http://science.nasa.gov/realtime/satlookup.aspx?sc=1994-016A

I keep seeing mention of the Garmin eTrex; then I looked over on Cabela's and saw there are quite a few different versions of eTrex.

Is there a specific model being recommended, or just a blanket endorsement of the line?

I have the Vista. I use when hunting in thick terrain in the states. I wanted a GPS with a built in electronic compass. Without the electronic compass, you need to be walking at a certain speed in order for the unit to know what direction you are headed.

It seemed to me that I just had to walk a few feet for the compass on the cheapie eTrex to work.

In good terrain that's about right. In thick or very rocky areas with heavy tree cover, I have trouble unless I use the e-compass.

The GPS sattelites are all orbiting in a 10,900Nautical mile orbit and are thus incapable of "spying" on anything.


"spy" satellites are in the very lowest of orbits, so low in fact that atmospheric drag severely limits their ultimate service life (they have a nasty tendency to deorbit themselves)

AD

As I once learned in the bush of Mozambique, black trackers and game scout can get lost after dark. After that trip I never leave camp without a Garmin Etrex. Simple to use, light weight and takes up very little space for the comfort it can provide. Spending a big portion of the night and then walking around darkest Africa with a fresh buffalo skull and skin in an area I had seen lion tracks and elephant tracks all day would not have been necessary if I would've had a GPS.

All the PHs I have hunted with in dangerous game areas have all used GPS units.

Perry

i like the Garmin Rino; built in radio and locate any other party members with another rino

i have a garmin 60 csx i use in maine and love it . turn it on and stick it in the side of my pack when i leave the truck in unfamilar terrATory. otherwisw mark the truck and then turn it off til needed.
the police cheif i hunt with got turned around at dusk and if he hadent here our voices hed still be therer. has flashlight died so couldent read compas . love my 60 csx brian

Cabelas currently has the Garmin Etrex Vista on sale for $180 ($215-260 list). This model is B&W, updatable maps, barometric altimeter and digital compass.

I have done it in the past, but when I am trudging back to the vehicle I am not sure I really wanted to know how long a way I had to go yet!

quote:

Originally posted by cable68:
I keep seeing mention of the Garmin eTrex; then I looked over on Cabela's and saw there are quite a few different versions of eTrex.

Is there a specific model being recommended, or just a blanket endorsement of the line?

The Garmin E-Trex Vista HCx is the one you want. It's the latest and greatest with electronic compass, barometric altimeter, color mapping via a micro SD map card and high sensitivity antenna. It's also small and light so you can stash it just about anywhere. It does essentially everything that the garmin 60CSX does but in a smaller and lighter package, plus the vista HCX has a bit better reception from all accounts. The 60CSX is a good unit, but it's bigger and is being discontinued in the next few months in favor of updated technology.

Amazon is usually the cheapest price to be found on the E-Trex Vista HCx, $234 with free shipping when I just checked, Cabela's wants $299 for it. Garmin's names are all very similar so be sure you're comparing the same unit when you price shop.