Hand Held GPS Altimeters, how?

[Sundowner]

GPS--Best All Around?

I'd like to upgrade from my Magellan. What's the best all around unit for flying as well as driving (for $1000 or less)? I'd like all the capabilities such as a database so I don't have to enter everything manually, external antenna, easy-to-see/read screen, external power adaptor, etc. I saw some favorable comments on another post about the Garmin 195 and III Pilot. Any other opinions? Thanks!

 

[aggiepilot87]

Snoopy, the eTrek has essentially all the same features as the 12 but weighs ~40% less. The display is about 30% smaller for the eTrek but is 4-level gray versus b&w for the 12. The eTrek has higher screen resolution (128 x 64 v. 100 x 64). The eTrek has ~50% more tracklog memory. The eTrek uses batteries at about half the rate of the 12.

Go to the Garmin site and make your own comparison (link below).

http://www2.garmin.com/outdoor/compare.jsp

Wiggums - The eTrek will also do the projected waypoint.

Mine stays in my flight bag as a backup. Yes, it's a pain to enter the points, but I just have a couple dozen airports. I use it to check students on dual cross countries and other times I want to double check my location versus the instruments already in the plane.

 

[VFR on Top]

Better still, use this guy's website to extract a subset of waypoints from the FAA database into something you can then use a utility like Waypoint+ or G7toWin to upload the waypoints to your GPS unit.

Presto, the poor man's aviation GPS.

 

[snoopy_1]

Aggie, I have flown with both of them, the etrex does not display a nav screen like the gps12 does. the etrex nav screen is an arrow www.garmin.com/graphics/etrexScr3.gif

the 12 displays 5 different nav screens, the exact same ones the gps92 aviation unit displays, check it out yourself and u will see. the etrex is a poor excuse of a gps, the 12 is alot more useful to a pilot.
here are links to download a free manual to both the gps 12 and the etrex and you will see how much better the 12 is for 20 dollars more than the etrex.
http://www.garmin.com/manuals/gps12.pdf
http://www.garmin.com/manuals/etrex.pdf

 

[aggiepilot87]

You're right about the screen selections on the eTrek, Snoopy. They're pretty basic.

Thanks for the link, VFR on Top. I thought for sure if Magellan could do it, Garmin could too. I'll try that one tonight at home.

Sundowner, you can't go wrong with the Garmin products. I've owned and used others. Garmin's quality and user friendliness is best, IMHO.