Teach me GPS 101

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Okay, I admit it. I am GPS illiterate. I would like to get DH a budget GPS system (now everyone repeat here, BUDGET GPS system) for his birthday. I will then need to program it to take us to his birthday destination. The kids and I would like to take him away for the weekend. Please give me your experiences, costs, and recommendations. Thanks in advance.

 

[DrCavin]

Garmin & any that are the wide-screen. IMO the speaking of the street name is annoying, so I got a unit that does not speak the street name. It does tell you to turn left/right when approaching the turn.

Look on Amazon for some great deals. It will contain Points Of Interests, so you should be able to find where your going. You can also enter in the address & it will take you

 

[jel0511]

GPS's vary depending on the features you want. You did say you wanted budget, this was the cheapest I could find. So if this isn't in your budget, then a GPS probably isn't the gift for you. They're pretty easy to figure out and program your destination. This one looks like a good deal for the price, though it looks like it doesn't come with any mounting hardware, or power cord, which is essential. You don't want to be relying on it and have the batteries go..... Good luck with your quest. I bought DH one when they first came out and I spent a fortune for one!
http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-200W-4...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1245783724&sr=1-46

 

[luvmyfam444]

I have a hand-helod Garmin that's super easy to use & about $100 @ Walmart. Super easy to type in coordinates & then you follow the arrows to where to turn (No voice) -we use it for Geocaching....

LOVE the idea of surprising him on the trip that way....great idea!

 

[sbell111]

Okay, I admit it. I am GPS illiterate. I would like to get DH a budget GPS system (now everyone repeat here, BUDGET GPS system) for his birthday. I will then need to program it to take us to his birthday destination. The kids and I would like to take him away for the weekend. Please give me your experiences, costs, and recommendations. Thanks in advance.

Before we can help you, we need to know what you are looking for.

Are you looking for a unit solely for on-road navigation, or will he be using it for hiking, fishing, or geocaching?

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

GPS's vary depending on the features you want. You did say you wanted budget, this was the cheapest I could find. So if this isn't in your budget, then a GPS probably isn't the gift for you. They're pretty easy to figure out and program your destination. This one looks like a good deal for the price, though it looks like it doesn't come with any mounting hardware, or power cord, which is essential. You don't want to be relying on it and have the batteries go..... Good luck with your quest. I bought DH one when they first came out and I spent a fortune for one!
http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-200W-4...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1245783724&sr=1-46

This is definetely within my budget, I didn't want to get to the $250.00 and up territory....

So it looks good to me, would this be good?

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Before we can help you, we need to know what you are looking for.

Are you looking for a unit solely for on-road navigation, or will he be using it for hiking, fishing, or geocaching?

Lets just start with on-road navigation cause I don't even know what geocaching is...

 

[mum4jenn]

Look on Ebay. They have some TomToms for under $100. I have the TomTom ONE 3rd edition and I love it and it is easy to use.

 

[golfgal]

I have a friend that got a GPS from EBay and after she bought all of the power cords and everything she needed to run the unit that didn't come with it she ended up spending more then it would have cost new. Just an FYI.

You can find plenty of nice units under $150 now. The more expensive ones typically are bluetooth capable and while handy, not all that necessary. I have a Sony nav-u that I got at Christmas and it is very user friendly. One quirk with the GPS is it tends to like to make you take U-Turns a lot. You do need to keep your maps updated annually or so (hook it up to the computer and download).