Magellan or Garmin GPS?
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yotehunter
Inactive
I prefer the Megellan, not for any specific reason. I have heard alot of good things about both. The garmin is alittle cheaper.
Coltdriver
New member
I don't know about Magellan but Garmin provides free software updates to your GPS as long as you can get to the web. They are significant updates that go beyond bug fix and provide entirely new features.
I have one for an airplane and I carry an Etrex hunting.
The ability to down load topo maps to the etrex is nice. The interface to the unit is very intuitive and it passes the don't have to read the manual test to make it work.
I just carry it in my shirt pocket and it picks up the satellites most of the time. Been trying to figure out a way to clip it to my hat or to the outside of my shirt in an upright position to maintain a satellite link all the time.
I have one for an airplane and I carry an Etrex hunting.
The ability to down load topo maps to the etrex is nice. The interface to the unit is very intuitive and it passes the don't have to read the manual test to make it work.
I just carry it in my shirt pocket and it picks up the satellites most of the time. Been trying to figure out a way to clip it to my hat or to the outside of my shirt in an upright position to maintain a satellite link all the time.
I have the Garmin GPS12. Have had it for two years now. I would buy a new Garmin if I needed it. One thing to check for is battery life. They like to eat batteries. Also go with WAAS if you need one that is more accurate. Waas will put you within 3 meters (10 ft) compared to 30 meters (100 ft) W/O.
I've been a die-hard Garmin user since the early 90's (GPS-38, GPS-II, GPS-II+, GPS-III+). I've used them heavily in tough hunting conditions, and I can strongly recommend them (accurate, good battery life, software, waterproof, reliable, etc).
I hunted with a friend using a Meridian Gold. It appeared to have a faster processor and better graphics than my GPS-III+. Seemed to chew up batteries faster though, and it was larger.
I would choose the Vista or Legend. Good map capability in a small light package.
I hunted with a friend using a Meridian Gold. It appeared to have a faster processor and better graphics than my GPS-III+. Seemed to chew up batteries faster though, and it was larger.
I would choose the Vista or Legend. Good map capability in a small light package.
I was out 'Geocaching" with some of the guys, Garmin and Magellan were equally represented. The Garmin boy's seem to find it necessary to wave there units outside the vehicle window to get a good lock. Magellans worked fine inside. I have a basic Mag315 and find it more than adequate for all activities. It does lack detailed maps, but the general consensus is that most maps are pretty crappy anyway and a 2" view screen doesn't need to be any more cluttered.
Garmin has definitely done a better marketing job. Some nice packages including the new RINO which also incorporates an FRS radio.
WAAS around my parts is kind of a waste of time. Reception is poor and slow, sucking the life out of your batteries.
Electronic compass is kind of a nice feature.
Lorance, makes a GPS which is a little bulkier, more designed for marine use but from what I have seen, have superior reception.
Check out discussion forums in www.geocaching.com . I believe there is a pertainant thread is buried in there somewhere
Garmin has definitely done a better marketing job. Some nice packages including the new RINO which also incorporates an FRS radio.
WAAS around my parts is kind of a waste of time. Reception is poor and slow, sucking the life out of your batteries.
Electronic compass is kind of a nice feature.
Lorance, makes a GPS which is a little bulkier, more designed for marine use but from what I have seen, have superior reception.
Check out discussion forums in www.geocaching.com . I believe there is a pertainant thread is buried in there somewhere
beetlefang
New member
I've had a garmin III+ for a while now.
The reason I purchased it was because we were living in a foreign country at the time (I'm in the navy) and we didn't speak the language. It worked well sitting on the dash of my vehicle unless I was in deep/narrow mountain crevices. Then it would sort of 'blank out' until it would reacquire data.
It's very nice and for the most part dependable....but....I still carry a compass. Since we've moved back to the states, I've hunted a WMA with very heavy cover here in Mississippi. At times, the gps suffers the same 'black out'...amongst very tall dense pines. It's nice to know that the road I'm trying to walk back too runs north and south....I can whip out my silva and find it, regardless if the garmin is talking to satelites or not.
I'm not sure about incliment weather. I haven't noticed problems during cloudy days or rainstroms...but I haven't been out in a frog strangler with it either. In very poor weather it may suffer the same 'black out' as mountainous terrain or heavy timber.
-Beetle
The reason I purchased it was because we were living in a foreign country at the time (I'm in the navy) and we didn't speak the language. It worked well sitting on the dash of my vehicle unless I was in deep/narrow mountain crevices. Then it would sort of 'blank out' until it would reacquire data.
It's very nice and for the most part dependable....but....I still carry a compass. Since we've moved back to the states, I've hunted a WMA with very heavy cover here in Mississippi. At times, the gps suffers the same 'black out'...amongst very tall dense pines. It's nice to know that the road I'm trying to walk back too runs north and south....I can whip out my silva and find it, regardless if the garmin is talking to satelites or not.
I'm not sure about incliment weather. I haven't noticed problems during cloudy days or rainstroms...but I haven't been out in a frog strangler with it either. In very poor weather it may suffer the same 'black out' as mountainous terrain or heavy timber.
-Beetle
I don't think you're going to go wrong with either a Garmin or a Magellan. Between the two companies they represent about the best value/price ratio. And I won't even say that one is more expensive than the other. In both companies, the marketing people have done their homework. Comparable models are usually priced identically. Maybe one is $XXX.95 vs. $XXX.99 for the other! 
That being said, like Coltdriver, I prefer the Garmins because the one advantage they do have over Magellan is that Garmin stores all of their programing in flash memory vs. being permanantly burned in with the Magellans. Garmin then offers free downloadable upgrades on their website. That way you always have the "newest" version of any particular product. IT's only a software upgrade BTW. It doesn't let you do anything like upgrade a III to a III+ (even if they do look like the same unit.) In my case I have a Garmin StreetPilot that I use in my cars, a Garmin 295 in my plane, along with my original Garmin 45 (Which was before they used flash memory) for hunting and geocaching. The StreetPilot has been upgraded about three times since I bought it. The most significant upgrade was to add a (then totally new) feature that allowed you to list upcoming exits when you are traveling a route and look at the services available at each one. The original software allowed you to look at the "nearest" services however not organized by direction and not listed by exit. Over all, a pretty cool upgrade for free!
BTW, both the Garmins and Magellans allow you to load maps to flash memory in their mapping units, so again, no particular advantage there. What I refered to in the previous paragraph is that the Garmin operating system can be upgraded.
As far as which models get better reception, it again comes down to a question more of models than manufacturers. Both companies make models with active (think powered) and passive antennas. In good signal conditions it doesn't make any difference which you have. With poor signal reception the active antenna has an advantage. Antenna placement "clear view" is much more important than whether the antenna is active/passive. BTW, some units use either type antenna and unit price doesn't seem to play a major part. My Garmin 45, the least expensive unit I own, has an active antenna. The StreetPilot and 295 both use a passive antenna on the unit however the remote antenna is active! One of the electronic engineers here at work (who's very happy with his Magellan) says that the only reason that the remote is active is that the wire to it tends to act as an antenna itself and pick up electronic noise. The active antenna keeps the GPS signal above the noise and keeps you from losing weak signals. BTW, while the signal has to be strong enough to be undistorted, position is determined from the information encoded in the signal, not signal strength.
OTOH, the determining factor between Magellan and Garmin may just be whichever model you can get the best deal on! Either way, ENJOY!
I really meant for this to be a quick reply. Does it show that I'm an engineer? 
Tom
That being said, like Coltdriver, I prefer the Garmins because the one advantage they do have over Magellan is that Garmin stores all of their programing in flash memory vs. being permanantly burned in with the Magellans. Garmin then offers free downloadable upgrades on their website. That way you always have the "newest" version of any particular product. IT's only a software upgrade BTW. It doesn't let you do anything like upgrade a III to a III+ (even if they do look like the same unit.) In my case I have a Garmin StreetPilot that I use in my cars, a Garmin 295 in my plane, along with my original Garmin 45 (Which was before they used flash memory) for hunting and geocaching. The StreetPilot has been upgraded about three times since I bought it. The most significant upgrade was to add a (then totally new) feature that allowed you to list upcoming exits when you are traveling a route and look at the services available at each one. The original software allowed you to look at the "nearest" services however not organized by direction and not listed by exit. Over all, a pretty cool upgrade for free!
BTW, both the Garmins and Magellans allow you to load maps to flash memory in their mapping units, so again, no particular advantage there. What I refered to in the previous paragraph is that the Garmin operating system can be upgraded.
As far as which models get better reception, it again comes down to a question more of models than manufacturers. Both companies make models with active (think powered) and passive antennas. In good signal conditions it doesn't make any difference which you have. With poor signal reception the active antenna has an advantage. Antenna placement "clear view" is much more important than whether the antenna is active/passive. BTW, some units use either type antenna and unit price doesn't seem to play a major part. My Garmin 45, the least expensive unit I own, has an active antenna. The StreetPilot and 295 both use a passive antenna on the unit however the remote antenna is active! One of the electronic engineers here at work (who's very happy with his Magellan) says that the only reason that the remote is active is that the wire to it tends to act as an antenna itself and pick up electronic noise. The active antenna keeps the GPS signal above the noise and keeps you from losing weak signals. BTW, while the signal has to be strong enough to be undistorted, position is determined from the information encoded in the signal, not signal strength.
OTOH, the determining factor between Magellan and Garmin may just be whichever model you can get the best deal on! Either way, ENJOY!
I really meant for this to be a quick reply.
Does it show that I'm an engineer? Tom
beetlefang,
Interference with GPS signals seems to be a really strange thing. In general the better the "sky view" the better the reception. Clouds, rain, and snow don't really have any effect. Leaf cover however has a major effect on reception and rain+leaves=wet leaves which really kills reception.
Why water in the air has little effect until it hits a leaf I don't know. I do a lot of offroading and I've also noticed in the fall that the autumn leaves don't effect the signal as much as summer's green leaves do. Again, it's the engineer in me that I sometimes go around watching the signal strength page instead of the position or map pages! On a dashboard mounted unit even windshield slope has a major effect on reception. The farthe forward you can get the antenna from the leading edge of the roof the better reception will be. Metal roofs totally stop direct GPS signals. OTOH, one of my cars has an acrylic roof and the GPS will work stuck in a cupholder on the console.
Tom
I have 2 Garmin units, an eTrex and Legend. I picked up the Legend after looking over some of the mapping software that's out, added Garmins Topo and Metro MapSource CD-ROMs. Awesome package. The smaller Garmin unit do seem to be a little more "clear view" sensitive, but only slightly. I would really think about spending a little more money and getting a unit that will work with the mapping CDs. They really are fantastic!
PS. Forgot to add Garmin has a rebate offer going that could make the price gap even smaller.
PS. Forgot to add Garmin has a rebate offer going that could make the price gap even smaller.
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