Garmin Handheld GPS

[FisherBuddy]

In another topic I asked about boat GPS equipment. I'm not at all familiar with what kind of units to use out on the sea. But I have to share that I have a Garmin handheld unit (purchased mainly for hunting season) that has come in handy more than once while fishing some of the lakes around TN. If you're looking for a unit I can honestly say being able to download maps onto this little thing and carry it around has been nice.

[Schoe]

Fisherbuddy, I too have a Garmin like yours and don't do electronics very well and follow directions. If someone shows me I can catch on some. I have found that I am not the only one with this problem.
There's a Paul's sporting goods in Davenport Ia. that is going to have a Garmin rep. to give a seminar on using the hand held GPSs this spring which I plan to attend if I'm in town when it takes place. Maybe I'll catch on, Schoe

[wewamohawk]

schoe i have one that i ordered for my fish finder but have never hooked it up yet i will get working soon i hope i also not to good electronics themohawk

[nosnag]

I have the Garmin Quest.Bought it last year and just could'nt figure it out with the manual the give you.Just bought the instructional training DVD for it from Cabellas.Maybe I'll be able to gain some knowledge from watching, and hands on with it.Wish me luck.Maybe if I get the hang of it I'll go for a marine GPS next.:D

BILL

[Tee]

I had to learn to use a hand held as part of flight crew training. It isn't that difficult to operate it, the PROBLEM is learning to "trust" it.
I have one I use for hunting with stand locations marked. When I have show people how they work, they would argue and bet large sums of money (that they didn't have) that "that da** gadget is lying", only to be really embarrased a few minutes later to find out it was correct.

I am going to "attempt" to help Schoe with his at Kentucky Lake..........
anyone wanna wish me luck????? :rolleyes:

[Schoe]

"Tee", I didn't have a real good association with my teachers in school. Schoe

[Tee]

I can see us now........ be like Boy Scout training....

boats everywhere but where they are suppose to be

[Catbird]

Tee,
I will have my Magellan along on that trip also. I will try to give you a hand teaching Schoe. I will have a local map downloaded so that may help him translate what he is seeing on the GPS.

[Catbird]

Just thought I would tell this story:

Another hobby that my wife and I do is Geocaching. For those not familiar with Geocaching, basically someone goes out in the woods (usually state parks, tree lines, city parks, etc.) and will hide a tuperware bowl, ammo can, or anything else waterproof. They will record the GPS coordinates of their hide. There is a website where they log this info plus hints and/or landmarks. Armed with this info, you try to find the unknown location. The containers are usually stocked with worthless trinkets. You take a trinket and then leave one for the next geocacher.

Anyway, while at Scioto National Forest, we were on one of these quests. It was a particular hard one to find with very rough terrain. On the way to the find, we walked a long lumber road and made a 90 degree turn and headed straight up a mountain. The climb took at least and 1.5 hours. This all took place during darkness. On the climb up there were a lot of cliffs, briar patches, and down lumber to circumvent but basically it was a direct path as far as I could tell. After finding the geocache, and a short rest it was time to head back to the truck. Both the GPS and our flashlights batteries were getting low.

I knew on the way up that we hadn't crossed any valleys so all we had to do was make a straight line down the mountain and pick up the old logging road. We started off using the GPS and headed back down. After a short time, we could of sworn that the GPS was wrong. Going by it, we kept having to climb across the mountain through different gulleys instead of just heading down. With one of the flashlight dead and the other one dim, we had to make a decission. Should we head the way we knew to go or rely on the GPS? Since I knew how easy that we could of gotten twisted around in the climbing, I decided to trust the GPS because we didn't want to spend the night lost in the woods. Worst case senario, if the batteries went dead, at least we would be closer to where we started from. Even though it seemed like the wrong direction we kept going the direction the GPS said. The GPS was right and we found the logging road and made it back to the truck. If we hadn't trusted it, no telling where we would of came out.

[Schoe]

Catbird, I glad you also know how to operate a GPS. Between you and "Tee" I may be able to pick up some good instructions. Schoe

[Catbird]

I am going to be bringing my fish fryer setup as well. Also, I am bringing a gas grill that anyone is welcome to use. We haven't talked much about food yet other than we will pick up most perishables when we get there. Whatever anyone wants to do is okay by me.

[Catbird]

I usually treat fishing the same as when I am working. I hate to take time out to eat. I have started to at least take a couple of slim jims along though. I started that last year with my son.

[Tee]

I'll bring some steaks for everyone for 1 night. I'll get and exact count the wek before.

[Schoe]

You da Man "Mr Tee" Schoe

[Tee]

did you say "TATER SALAD"?????????????????
Capt, jus t let us know what "her higness"... er I mean Ms Sue needs to be there for her to bring the tater salad! (red carpet, condo for the week, jewels, etc)



PLEASE FORGIVE ME< I WAS HAVING A FOOD FLASH :D

[FisherBuddy]

some day my goal is to buy a garmin 60cs ive been waiting 2 years for the price to come down. grrr maybe some day i can have it. -

Sorry to start a topic and then drop off the fact of the web. I'm on a new shift and haven't gotten it down just yet.

Anywho, Colby, the 60CS is really nice. Mine's the Legend. I spent $300 on it around Christmas a couple years ago, but it does the downloads and talks to you (if you want) as you drive around. You can program in (through a computer interface with maps) where you want to go and/or just navigate the map. It also tracks time and distance with the trip and waypoint manager (http://www.garmin.com/cartography/mapSource/tripandwaypoint.jsp). Really nice feature.

[FisherBuddy]

Fisherbuddy, I too have a Garmin like yours and don't do electronics very well and follow directions. If someone shows me I can catch on some. I have found that I am not the only one with this problem.
There's a Paul's sporting goods in Davenport Ia. that is going to have a Garmin rep. to give a seminar on using the hand held GPSs this spring which I plan to attend if I'm in town when it takes place. Maybe I'll catch on, Schoe

Schoe,

The one thing I really liked about Garmin (besides they're a name I know) is that their site has the manuals in a downloadable form. See: http://www.garmin.com/products/manual.jsp?product=999-99999-00&camefrom=mapsource

They also have a good knowledge base of frequently asked questions. See:
http://www.garmin.com/support/faqs/?webPage=Cartography

Maybe you can check these out and they'll help. :)

[FisherBuddy]

Another hobby that my wife and I do is Geocaching. For those not familiar with Geocaching, basically someone goes out in the woods (usually state parks, tree lines, city parks, etc.) and will hide a tuperware bowl, ammo can, or anything else waterproof. They will record the GPS coordinates of their hide. There is a website where they log this info plus hints and/or landmarks.

Catbird, we've done this type of thing with a group of Rockcrawlers. We ride over some rought terrain, break a few parts, have a little fun, then find something somewhere along the way and mark it. We put it in an email loop we're on and the next group to go that way finds it (or tries to). We don't really use "things" so much as landmarks, but it's a lot of fun.