GPS recievers

[Craig.]

well, i am looking into the possability of buying a GPS reciever before i move to the states so i basically dont get lost:) I was wondering if anyone here has any experiance with them and which would be a good choice, without costing me an arm and a leg. And obviously gonna have to buy one from the US as all the ones here seem to be for here only.
Cheers for any help. This seems to be more complicated than it should be:)

[loomex]

I have an older (3 years) megellan blazer12 GPS. Its not a moving map, just shows the coor., speed and alt.
while I am travelling I just push a button to remember the position so I can backtrack.
When I went to Florida last Fall, I programed all the changes in interstates and direction using lat and log.coordinates in the GPS. worked lik a charm.
Expect to pay from $100-$500. The more expensive ones are going to have a moving map.
Check on-line for any good deals also

Chris

[Hagar]

Two things occur to me here.

If it won't work where you are there is no way to check it out. It might be best to wait until you get where you're going & purchase one locally. This might also be cheaper.
A GPS seems an expensive option & is basically a luxury. Surely a decent map would be much cheaper & just as good. You can usually pick them up free. I would think there are far more important things to spend your money on.

[Craig.]

LOL.
I dont work well with maps easier with something just blurting out where to go or a little arrow on a screen pointing the direction:).
As for waiting, i am most likely going over there early summer to visit colleges maybe as early as may, i plan to pick one up then if i dont find one sooner. I know some you can buy that can be used in multiple countries but again they tend to be rather pricey. But the thing is, first trip my dad will likely be going with me so he knows the road system and is good with maps. But the second trip i am gonna be on my own, and Memphis to Booneville is about 100 miles. I should know the route off the top of my head i have done it enough, but i am just no good at navigating memphis it self.

[Hagar]

No offence Craig but you must be made of money. I've driven all over the UK & various places in the US & never needed a GPS, never even seen one close up. If you want to learn to fly properly you'd better get used to map-reading. It might come in useful. People seem to rely far too much on this type of navaid these days. IMHO

[Craig.]

made of money no. got my birthday coming up soon. will have money left over after paying for college, mix the two together should have enough to get one. I am gonna be 4000 miles away from anyone i know and i just wanna make things as easy as possible. As for learning to read maps i can read them, i can use them but not well, when you add in driving in what would be a totally new enviroment i am very likely to get lost:)

[Woodlouse2002]

God damn it boy, whats wrong with a compass?

Seriously though, having used GPS's for navigation, you need a map to go with them. The ones with scrolling maps cost an absolute fortune and after that you have to pay into the hundreds for maps in other locations, countries etc. Just get an OS map and a compass with which you can take accurate bearings with and you'll never get lost!!!

[Lethal.Ambition]

What the heck?!!!

Just make sure you scratch each lamp post so you can backtrack if you get lost. Its free, easy, and the best way!

[Craig.]

Thank guys:)
LOL slight problem with backtracking when lost though, i would never get to my destination:)
and as for maps and compass. My last attempt at this was during a 6th form team building trip in wales. It was a night orienteering(sp?) challenge, no big deal done these hundreds of times in scouts years before. Only problem was we gave the compass to someone who said they had experiance with this to. The course was only 800 yards and although pitch black with only a small torch to see the map should have been easy. Of course the person reading the compass was reading it wrong and we had to go by just the map in the end, and even then i couldnt help. We ended up almost a mile deep into an unknown wooded area and had the torch gone dead we would have prob never gotten out:)
Moral of the story, a map and compass are only useful when you know how to use them both correctly and only when you know exactly where you are:)

Side note, i have found a PDA with a GPS intergrated with a US road map installed with it. Its fully moving and with the added functions of the PDA its quite good value. Still $400 from walmart though.

[loomex]

Make sure you go to the magellan web site and garmin web site. You sometimes can find a "refurbished" model selling for a great deal less than a new one. and they still warrenty them like the new ones.

When I first got my GPS, I tried to explain to my wife what it was. Being "Gizmo Challenged" I finaily told here that it's my $100 compass. She was rather happy I had it a few times when we got lost driving in the Nevada desert.

It looks like I am the only one here that uses and recommends one

[Craig.]

each to his own i suppose:)
Personally i like going along with technology(i admit it) but i wont go overboard on something and dont need to worry so much about being completely upto date.

[Scorpiоn]

Now I feel all warm and fuzzy!  I'm quite good with a map alone!