Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting GPS envy!

Well, I've had the PN40 for a few days now. For $30/year you can download unlimited aerial photos or USGS quads, not to mention other data types. I'm really amazed at what this unit can do; blown away in fact. I've been running a barebones etrex for more years than I can remember, and it's served me well for what I needed. I can see how this unit will make me a better hunter, particularly when hitting new country with the photos and topo overlay. It's super easy to get right to those funnels and other spots that it might take a while to find if you were without this technology. I'm glad I waited...was gonna get the Garmin 60csx as I had played with a buddies...but this one is better yet.

I may have to take a trip down to Polson and check it out. I'm still running an old school Magellan and USGS quadrangles.

You know how hard it is to find aerial photo's in Montana??

If one really wants the best? A Trimble GeoXT. Can display any aerial photo or map one can think of in full color. I can see individual trees, rocks, and fence posts on the 25 square mile image loaded in the one on my desk. With software one can determine positions to within about 3 or 4 inches. Comes in really handy if one happens to drop a dime out in the woods. About 5 grand and another 2.5 grand for accompanying software. Rest assured, however, it will not fit in a shirt pocket. Your Garmin friend will be impressed.

Dan: Try your local county planning office, BLM, NRCS, or USFS office and ask to see their GIS person. There are NAIP images available for the entire US that have 1/2 meter resolution (4 pixels per squre meter). I have the images for my county in electronic form (about 10,000 square miles). It amounts to about 20 gigs, so it would be good to pack a portable hard drive. I was lucky and got mine for fee, but I suspect one can get them for his county or state for 30 to $100. ONe can tell if his rig was home or the kid left the lawn mower in the yard when the image was taken.

Hmmmmm ...very interesting. I recently got one of those $199 Vista bundles and have been trying to figure this all out. Unfortunately, I am technologically challenged when it comes to computers/mapping software and programs. You guys are way ahead of me so here's a question for ya.

Can anyone tell me how I can overlay a topo map with an aerial of the same area and then mark land status boundaries for a Garmin Vista?

Is there a way to do it for a specific area(to help keep the memory space down) Or should I buy the card for the whole state?

I don't need the kind of scale 1minute is talking about, nor do I have the coin for it. But having everything roughly on one map is a really neat idea, if its possible to get......

Thanks,

OSD

We used the Garmin Colorado last year on an elk hunt just east of Pagosa Springs. That thing was wicked but ate batteries like it was going out of style.

Another vote of confidence for the Garmin 60csx. I sheepishly have to admit that mine has saved me a couple times. It holds signal under the heaviest tree canopies. I like the bigger screen and the menu's are intuitive. No regrets here at all.

Can't do it with a Vista (or any of the Etrex or 60 series).

You can do it with all the new Oregon & Dakota Series via Google Earth.

Also can do it with the Delorme units via their own software & their aerial maps.

MM

I had never heard of the Delorme PN-40 until this thread, so I can't comment on it, but I did want to point out that you can buy it at Amazon for $234 at the moment.

http://www.amazon.com/DeLorme-Earth...lectronics&qid=1260199176&sr=8-1

I use a Garmin 76csx and am happy with it. I chose it over the 60csx because it supposedly floats, but I've never dropped it in the water, so that feature may not have been necessary. You never know, though.

I've looked at the Delorme units........the screen display is very good, but a bit on the small side, especially compared to the new Garmin Oregon's.

The only real criticisms I seen in various reviews of them is that due to the amount/complexity of the menu system not being as intuitive as Garmin, the learning curve is a bit long & the other major issue being the restricted & slow download rate of maps from Delorme when you buy the unlimited maps download.

I'd really like to hear from some here who've bought the unlimited download package & can tell what their experience is.

MM

I've had no issues with downloads. Obviously the bigger the area you cut out to download the longer it takes per download. The downloads I've done have been available to add to my map data within a few minutes.

Thanks...............That's good news; the Delorme is a nice unit, best, brightest screen I've seen. Just wish it was a bit bigger.

MM

Also have had no issues with downloading from Delorme. I got to use the PN040 a lot this year and am totally pleased with it. Having the sat photos overlaid on topo is the catz azz, as an earlier poster commented. I went into some areas cold this year and having that info in my hand made me feel like I knew what I was doing and where I was going (though the elk and deer are still laffin).

No matter which Etrex you get, make double sure it is a HCx model, much better receiver, and the color models are sure easy to see in the sunlight.

Thanks MM.....

Just got the Delorme 40 for <$230 on Yahoo w/free shipping.
With power kit and case <$300
I've always been a Garmin owner but time for a change. This will be replacing a Garmin V, I've had since 1999.
Looks like it will take some learning.

I have the Garmin 60csx and while the unit is very good, IMHO the topomaps suck big style...

The new Garmin's are able to us "real" topo maps ie those from Ordinance Survey, but from the reviews I've read, the units still have a few bugs in them..

I'm seriously thinking about switching to an Active 10, which is a PDA based GPS which just about smokes anything Garmin or Magellan produce.





The only down side is that they are expensive, especially if you want to buy OS Mapping for a lot of different areas..But the mapping *is* excellent..Below is a small extract from an OS, and when loaded onto the newer GPS such as the Active 10 or Colorado, it is duplicated exactly on the display..


The makers of the Active 10 are also thinking about putting balistic software on it, or tweaking the existing software that you can down load your own onto it..

I like my Garmin Etrex Vista with a public land topo map by the Hunting GPS Maps guy.




They have pretty much all of the Western States now

yep.

I like the idea of the Rino 530HCX, but make sure your buddies aren't all cheap Pr**ks and you end up having the only one in camp. I have no complaints with mine, but it sure would be alot nicer if your entire crew had them.