Which GPS and NMEA?

[carl170]

I am looking for a GPS unit to hook up to a laptop. I have no experience of GPS at all, but they look reasonably straightforward. I would like to use it when walking and camping too.

I have been following various threads on this forum and understand that the GPS has an (NMEA) port, for transferring data.

Do all GPS units have this data port?

Can anyone recommend a good GPS starter unit?

Any help or links would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Carl

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[perlonious]

hihi
i have a garmin gps 76.........take a look at garmins webb site.....you can compare all thier products.....had mine 2 years now ....dropped it...in water and general abuse.......and all still good as gold.

i believe u can get a cable interface as well....there is also the garmin gps 76 map too...which might be of more use to u on land....

regds brian

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[Cactus]

I have one of those etrex??? yellow jobbies connected to my pc via SeaClear (free!). I have scanned in some charts and used the connector from Garmin to plug it into the serial port of the PC.

It seems to work fine, thing is unless I get a five mile long power cable or a laptop, I can't try moving about with it!

You can also use the connection to download updates to the etrex.


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[supermalc]

I have a Garmin Etrex Legend hand held. Excellent 'toy'. Tells me speed on the boat, and in the car (stopped a couple of tickets). Found my car lost in an enormous car park <grin>.

£2.60 of batteries from Tesco will run on 'daily' use for over a week. It remembers position data etc. so doesn't need to be on all the time.

Can return to within 100 yards, rather than few feet mentioned, but would do that from 100s of miles away.

RAF issued it to their personel. The salesman was issued with one in Kuwait. Training injury saw him working as a shop assistant. Can't get a better advert than that.

<hr width=100% size=1>Malcolm. Just trying to be helpful.

 

[Miker]

I've got my handheld Garmin 12XL linked to my PC. I bought an interface cable over the WEB and downloaded free GPSU software for the PC. If you want more extensive facilities turned on, you have to pay a licence fee. I received some expert advice from this BB about a year ago.

I play around with the waypoints on the PC and then transfer them to the 12XL and from there to my fixed Garmin 120XL, using the 12XL as a backup.

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[tome]

<and in the car (stopped a couple of tickets)>

What's wrong with your speedo? Can't believe you'd rather be watching the tiny screen of an etrex. As for car parks, it'll only work in open air ones.

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[supermalc]

Car speedometers are notoriously inaccurate. Only yesterday I was reading a letter on teletext from a motorist, who had only one offence in many years....because his speedo was slow.

Mine is 5mph fast, so it is handy to know I can drive in safety at 75mph on motorways, without tripping cameras.

As to small numbers, there is a mode for large one, that even I can read without glasses. Perfect eyesight except for close up now. And easier to read than the speedo.

Most men I've shown it to want one, and at least 2 went out and bought one the next day.

<hr width=100% size=1>Malcolm. Just trying to be helpful.