Now that I have the money to actually purchase some GPS equipment (approximately $150/unit), I thought it would be a good idea to investigate what equipment is available, what features each unit has, and what ratings (if any) I could find about them. While there are many brands, the most popular are from Garmin and Magellan. Prices range from $70 to $400.
I began my search for the "perfect" unit through my network on Twitter. I heard back from six teachers using handheld units with their students. Garmin came out as the preferred brand with the Legend and Vista as the more popular models. The results of my mini (unscientific) survey are below:
ddraper: Garmin Vista (said simple to use, nice color screen)
chrischampion: Garmin Vista (said simple to use, works with Mac and MacCaching)
cnansen: Garmin eTrex Legend and Magellan Triton 200
roswellgirl: Magellan Explorist 300 (good basic unit, about $100)
wssmith: Garmin eTrex Legend (easy to use; uses with elementary students)
wdrexler: Garmin eTrex Legend
As I only had six responses, I felt I needed more information before I could make an educated decision. I remembered that Dr. Christie (I blogged about her before) had a pretty nice site about GPS equipment. Sure enough she had a comparison chart comparing the different brands and models and advises educators "to consider price AND available features that match curricular objectives". Her comparison chart highlights features such as price, screen type/size, accuracy range, internal memory, battery life, and weight. She also looks to see if the units have a built in compass.
On a 5-point scale, her highest marks (4.5/5) went to the Garmin eTrex H for its reasonable price. The Legend and Vista only got 3 stars each, and while their ratings were lower, they have added features I like. Both the Legend and Vista have better accuracy than the eTrex H (within 10 feet vs. 20 feet), and the Vista has a built in electronic compass. Another factor I must consider is compatability - many of the units have a serial interface. I need a USB interface to work with a Mac. I think I'll retweet my colleagues and ask what platform they use as it would help in making this decision.
So for now, I am leaning toward the eTrex but am not sure of the model yet. A colleague has lent me a Legend that I hope to explore this weekend. If anyone has any recommendations, I'd be most appreciative!
Christie, Alice. (2007). Dr. Alice Christie's GPS Comparison Chart. Retrieved on April 18, 2008 from http://www.alicechristie.org/geocaching/compare/gps_comp.html.
3 comments:
I continue to be so excited for you and your geocache quest. As I looked at the comparison chart it seems that the Magellan eXporist 400 has much of what you said you were wanting at a price closer to your budget. It has the compass you want, also works with usb. I also would think the sd card would be best because of the versatility. You may able to get parents to provide sd cards. Of course, as with most of technology, the higher the price the more features combined you receive. I know that when I am looking at new technology to purchase I find that I am always wavering between features that are most important and price. Of course the best thing would be to ask for a demo unit to try. Is that possible? Wouldn’t hurt to ask. It always amazes me how big business will send demos to corporations in hopes for a sale, but doesn’t extend the same offer to education. Now that I’m off topic, as I think I told you before, that for my husband’s personal GPS I did go with a Garmin.
I also wanted to know if there was a converter for the serial cable for the mac? I know that for some of the projectors we use with our macs we have a converter cable, it doesn’t go to the usb port but I think a serial port we have on our iBooks. I’ll have to check at school tomorrow. The cable is from Apple.
I'm so thrilled that your hard work is paying off! It has been really neat to follow you on the beginning of this journey which had such a happy ending with your winning the grant! I don't know much about the specific devices you are looking at but I do have a Garmin navigation system in my car and it is one of the neatest thing I've ever had the opportunity to use. It is clear and easy to use. I feel like it works really fast too (so when I make a wrong turn it catches up with me in seconds). I think those characteristics would be valuable in the device you are looking for so I'll go ahead and put my vote in for the Garmin model. As I said before, I'll continue to look for updates on your blog to see how things are going. I have no doubt that with dedication like yours, you and your students will experience lots of success. Thanks for introducing me to the concept of geocaching!
Unfortunately I cannot be of any assistance to you in your search for the best GPS unit. Everything I know about them has come from you this semester. Thanks for sharing your valuable wealth of knowledge with us. I think we have all learned alot. Good luck in your quest...I look foward to updates next year when you are actually getting to use your GPS devices!
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