Selecting a GPS Unit

The category of GPS receivers generates many of the technical service phone calls that we take on a daily basis. With so many GPS options, it is easy to get confused. Here is an easy way to breakdown the units, along with a few questions to ask yourself to help determine which GPS is right for you.
First you must determine the type of accuracy you would like your GPS receiver to have. There are units available with or without WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System). WAAS basically means that when the GPS unit is fixing your position it is using a known point on the ground to measure against. WAAS increases the accuracy of the GPS unit. GPS units that are WAAS enabled will be able to reach accuracies of up to +/-3 meters. The accuracy listed by the GPS manufacturer is always the best case scenario. Units that are not WAAS enabled can hope to achieve an accuracy of +/-15 meters. Almost all of the GPS units the Ben Meadows Company offers are WAAS enabled. In fact, we only offer two that are not. The Garmin 12, our part number 100576 and the Garmin 12XL, our part number 100449 are the only two that do not have this feature.
The next question to ask yourself is: What do you realistically see yourself doing with this unit? It is best to determine early on if you are thinking that in the future you would like to add maps to this unit for use in the field and potentially in the car. There are a number of good plotter units with no capability to add maps. They either have a limited base map preloaded in them or they will only store waypoints. These units are fine for many customers. However, many customers call a year or two after their GPS purchase asking if they can add more memory to a GPS unit. There are two types of expandable memory available. Some units have a fixed amount of internal memory. There are also GPS units that accept a memory card and then the memory is infinitely expandable. All of the Garmin units that have available memory for map expansion have a fixed amount of memory available. The Brunton units have both types of memory: there is 8MB of fixed and both of their units will accept memory cards. The Magellan units that have the ability to expand memory have an either/or system. Some of the units will only accept memory cards, or they only have fixed memory. See Table
Now that the first two questions have been answered we can move on the last two. The next question we seem to be taking quite a bit lately: Do you want to be able to take an area calculation directly on the screen? If your answer is yes, you would like be able to see the acres you walked on the screen you would need to choose from the following units. See Table
The last question to ask yourself about is the extras—the bells and whistles and how many that you feel that you need. There are options that have color screens, there are options that have a barometer and an altimeter and there are options that have a compass. Depending on the work or play that you are using the GPS unit for, some, all or none of these maybe very options for you. The color screens are nice since they are able to very clearly differentiate between the different boundary types. This is especially nice when there are very subtle changes that on the grayscale screen maybe difficult to see. The barometer is a great feature that allows you to watch for changing weather patterns. The altimeter is makes it easy to mark your elevation as well as latitude and longitude. The elevation reading just gives you an extra point to help locate yourself while you are in the field. Finally, the compass feature is nice since it will be working even when you are standing still. To see the different units where these options are available, See Table.

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Please Note: The information contained in this publication is intended for general information purposes only. This publication is not a substitute for review of the applicable government regulations and standards, and should not be construed as legal advice or opinion. Readers with specific questions should refer to the cited regulation or consult with an attorney.