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Can anyone please recommend a GPS?


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Hey Everyone, 

 

Ive been thinking that it’s about time I more heavily invested in my passion. Thusly, I’ve been curious about acquiring a gps. 
 

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good handheld gps that won’t break the bank? Is it possible to display USGS Topography and Geological survey maps? I don’t really want to spend more than $300.

 

Any Response would be greatly appreciated. You guys are the best. With gratitude.

-Nick.

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This looks like it might fit the bill for you.  LINK

It has an sd card slot for downloading maps to it. 

 

I have a much older model of the e-trex cheaper version.

While it doesn't have an sd card slot, I am able to upload/download coordinates to it, via a usb cable. 

Mine has worked phenomenally for years.  Good products, in my opinion.

My auto gps units were all garmins. They are still in use. 

 

Good luck. 

 

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    Tim    VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."
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I’ve been recently wondering if a gps is a wise investment myself. I know they were very helpful a few years ago, but with the capabilities of the current smart phones, is a gps worth the hundreds of dollars you could spend for one? 
Do you find yourself using yours a lot Tim? @Fossildude19

The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.  -Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy)

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27 minutes ago, FossilNerd said:

I’ve been recently wondering if a gps is a wise investment myself. I know they were very helpful a few years ago, but with the capabilities of the current smart phones, is a gps worth the hundreds of dollars you could spend for one? 
Do you find yourself using yours a lot Tim? @Fossildude19

Wayne, 

 

Yes, I get a lot of use out of it. I mark all of my fossil sites on it, then upload them to Google Earth. (personal files) 

It really comes in handy when bushwhacking in search of fossil sites. Mine has a track-back feature that I use by marking where I park as a waypoint, then, if I get turned around, I can use that as a guide - it points in the direction of the waypoint, and then will tell you how far away the car is. And of course, you can use it to get back to any site you've saved. They are mildly waterproof, and rugged besides. I have dropped mine more than once with no ill results. 

 

The newer ones are probably nicer, but mine gets the job done.  :) 

The one I linked to would be great, but since I don't bushwhack a lot anymore, I can't see spending the money on it to upgrade. :shrug:

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    Tim    VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  VFOTM APRIL - 2015  

__________________________________________________
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."
John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

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34 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

Wayne, 

 

Yes, I get a lot of use out of it. I mark all of my fossil sites on it, then upload them to Google Earth. (personal files) 

It really comes in handy when bushwhacking in search of fossil sites. Mine has a track-back feature that I use by marking where I park as a waypoint, then, if I get turned around, I can use that as a guide - it points in the direction of the waypoint, and then will tell you how far away the car is. And of course, you can use it to get back to any site you've saved. They are mildly waterproof, and rugged besides. I have dropped mine more than once with no ill results. 

 

The newer ones are probably nicer, but mine gets the job done.  :) 

The one I linked to would be great, but since I don't bushwhack a lot anymore, I can't see spending the money on it to upgrade. :shrug:

That makes sense. I can see where it would come in handy when bushwhacking and to save your spots for quick reference in the future.

 

I usually use my iPhone to get coordinates and then find them on Google Earth. I then print the map waypoint to .pdf and keep it as a reference in my location notes, but all of this is at the house on my personal computer. It works, but isn’t nearly as convenient (or probably accurate) as the gps would be. And it really stinks when you forget to look up the coordinates before heading out. I could move my files to the cloud for more convenience I guess. 

 

Anyway... The gps does sound like a good tool to consider. I don’t bushwhack much either, but it sounds like it would definitely streamline my process and make things more convenient. 
 

Thanks for the insight! :) 

The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.  -Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy)

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5 hours ago, Fossildude19 said:

Wayne, 

 

Yes, I get a lot of use out of it. I mark all of my fossil sites on it, then upload them to Google Earth. (personal files) 

It really comes in handy when bushwhacking in search of fossil sites. Mine has a track-back feature that I use by marking where I park as a waypoint, then, if I get turned around, I can use that as a guide - it points in the direction of the waypoint, and then will tell you how far away the car is. And of course, you can use it to get back to any site you've saved. They are mildly waterproof, and rugged besides. I have dropped mine more than once with no ill results. 

 

The newer ones are probably nicer, but mine gets the job done.  :) 

The one I linked to would be great, but since I don't bushwhack a lot anymore, I can't see spending the money on it to upgrade. :shrug:

Thanks for the response! Bushwhacking is the perfect word!

 

Foliage coverage here is so thick that even google maps are almost completely useless when searching for localities from satellite images. Even still, when I get there, considerable effort is put in to find these exposures in a sea of dense undergrowth.I think it’d be really helpful to be able to look up localities on GE then transfer those coordinates to my gps. Especially seeing as how this exposure could be covered by pants once I get there.

 

I like the Garmin you sent to me in that link. I was also eyeballing the Garmin eTrex 32x aswell. 


Thanks again,

-Nick.

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I have a Garmin GPSMAP 64sx but I have not used it yet. I could have benefited from this during past trips to locate specific spots that I had identified on maps. Im excited to give this a try soon.
 

I am struggling with loading geologic maps on my Garmin though. I would appreciate any guidance on how to load these on the Garmin. It would be great if I could see layers for topo, geologic exposure, and land ownership.

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I too have thought about a GPS unit. Do you find dead areas for Cell phone reception? In the Michigan U.P. the Cell phone I had was mostly roaming for a service. Where as a GPS wouldn't have that problem.

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I would say that if you are doing field exploration, a cell phone cant come close to a dedicated GPS.  Cell phones primarily use cell towers for location and SOME use limited satellite signal for location augmentation.  There are plenty of locations where my phone gives widely varying (by up to a mile!) coords.  The App makes a big difference in accuracy as well.  To top it all off, modern smart-phones are quite fragile.  Now compare it to a dedicated mapping GPS unit.  I had a Garmin E-trex (which was a very nice but limited unit) followed by  the predecessor to the Garmin MAP64sx.  That is a fabulous unit which I highly recommend.  I used mine far wide for several years followed by a year in Iraq and it came through it all only minor cosmetic wear.  Id still be using it today, but I left it in my truck with cheap batteries in it, they leaked into the circuit board.

 

Phones are fine if you are working road cuts, but I do not recommend then for deep field work or heavy use.

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"There is no shortage of fossils. There is only a shortage of paleontologists to study them." - Larry Martin

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6 hours ago, hadrosauridae said:

Phones are fine if you are working road cuts, but I do not recommend then for deep field work or heavy use.

I think this is why I’m still debating on getting a gps. I mainly hunt road cuts and my phone seems adequate enough, but it could be a case of me not knowing what I’m missing. That’s why I asked if @Fossildude19 saw much use out of his.
 

You and he both make valid points as to why it would be a worthy investment, and I have a birthday coming up in a few months.  :zzzzscratchchin:

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The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.  -Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy)

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