GPS Devices Life

An awesome GPS - Garmin Emap Handheld GPS Receiver I received the standard Garmin eMap for my birthday and from the moment I turned it on I have been amazed by it. T...

Welcome to year 3001 - Garmin Emap Handheld GPS Receiver WOW! I remember back in the say when I used to drive with the wheel in one hand and a map in the other. Well my fr...

GPS devices used to be the ultimate hi-tech gadgets that were not the most practical thing around. Without a grid reference map at hand it was an interesting piece of equipment that only told you your latitude and longitude, heading and speed (and what use is all that in reality?). Its use was limited to specialized back-country needs and commercial applications.

Now just look at what you can get! Devices like the Garmin eMap, with displays that show all the features found on a map are small, attractive, eminently practical and most important, affordable. The path from niche enthusiast and professional use to widespread appeal has never been as short as the path that consumer GPS devices have taken.

Features

I purchased the eMap Deluxe, which comes with an 8 MB data card (for storing downloaded maps and trip info) and a serial cable for connecting to your PC. Additionally I purchased a car cigarette lighter adapter, leatherette protective case and the Mapsource Roads and Recreation CD.

The controls are easy to use, and with the help of onscreen menus, commands are simple to navigate. I will not go into too much detail about the functions, suffice it to say that there is a lot of information available from this small package (5.5" x 2.4" x 0.8"). The display can show detail from 3000 miles down to 500ft across the screen and is backlit for night viewing (although the buttons are not, luckily they are fairly intuitive).

The eMap can track up to 12 satellites simultaneously with 3 being the minimum to calculate your position (4 to include altitude) and can be accurate to within 15 ft. Obviously more satellites means greater accuracy.

The built in base map contains all rivers, lakes, state and county lines, towns, airports, major highways, state roads and most secondary roads. A lot of info. The Roads and Recreation CD (and other CDs like the Topo and Metro disks) allow you to download far more detailed info directly into the eMap from your computer, and are highly recommended.

Using the eMap

It could not be simpler, or more fun, to use. A cursory glance through the quick start guide is good enough to figure out how to use the basics, but a serious read of the comprehensive manual is needed to take advantage of all the eMap features.

We received our eMap the night before leaving for a 4 wheeling trip to Nevada for ghost town exploring. It took less than 15 minutes to figure out how to download the supplemental data from the Road and Recreation CD for 25 counties (including San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara, some of the most developed areas in the country). Everywhere we might go, and the data card was only 31% full.

You can adjust the amount of detail shown on the display, and in the highest setting it was showing private driveways on country roads! The most amazing thing to us was how practical it was for ghost town hunting. Every one we went looking for was included in the database, so searching was a matter of driving until the eMap told us we were in the middle of the town, stop, and look around for ruins. It made things very simple. (The ghost town icons were very cute too)

The eMap shows your current position as a triangle (pointing in the direction you are facing) in the middle of the display, which updates and redraws the map around you as you move. It can show your current speed and movement direction, logs time travelled, distance and time to destination, and it will leave electronic "breadcrumbs" showing where you have been (very handy for retracing your steps when the dirt road turns into a burro trail).

Cons

Battery life is not unlimited, officially 12 hours, although there are ways to extend it somewhat by turning off features.

We have seen some bizarre top speeds recorded by the unit, like 679 mph, while driving in my Nissan Pathfinder. I speculate this is caused by position errors, when the accuracy improves (due to extra satellites coming into range) the indicated position suddenly jumps to where it should be. As the jump could be a hundred yards or so, the unit may see that as a blindingly fast move. It is not a big problem, and usually good for a chuckle.

The eMap should not be taken white-water rafting, officially it is only rain-resistant. I think that means any water will destroy it. Even taking it back country hiking could be chancy, but placing it inside a heavy-duty Ziploc bag should do to the trick.

Although the most obvious application for this product is to use it while driving, it can be a major distraction for the driver. I would strongly advise you to bring a navigator along, or pull over!

As with all GPS devices, clear skies overhead are required for satellite acquisition. Tall buildings and trees will block GPS signals, as will the roof of your car. Due to having large windows around you this is not too much of a problem unless the unit is on the floor or under something (like a book). A plug in antenna is available for car use that will alleviate this problem.

While you can download data points from 3rd party mapping programs, the only maps that can be loaded are the Garmin Mapsource ones, the database is proprietary. This is not surprising, Garmin is not the only company that forces you to buy their own mapping software.

One final limitation, the eMap does not have the ability to map a path between two addresses, which some of the more expensive units will do. But considering the price, and the fact that it fits in your hand, we are not complaining.

Pricing Issues

The basic eMap is available everywhere for under $200. But to get the most value out of the unit you will need some add-ons. It is a good idea to buy the Deluxe, which includes the data cable and the 8 MB card. Separately these retail for over $270, as a package it can be found for under $240. The Mapsource CDs are not cheap, so choose wisely. If you are going to use the eMap mostly for recreational driving, then the Roads and Recreation is highly recommended. For business trips the Metroguide gives you unbelievable detail for cities, but the 8 MB card will hold data for only one major city at a time. If you were to buy it for this kind of use, then a 16 MB card is also available. The Topographical maps are well suited for hiking and mountain biking use. Other accessories are available, mounts for dashboards and windscreens as well as previously mentioned external antennas.

Summary

The eMap is terrific, and I can heartily recommend it to anyone. It is very practical, and if you get lost while using one of these, you are hopeless. One big benefit- it gives your passenger something to play with during long trips. My fiance thinks I bought it for her, and has asked when we will be going 4 wheeling again. Now how many guys can expect that kind of interest?

Better than SEX - Garmin Emap Handheld GPS Receiver I received the EMap for Christmas and WOW! It let's you see exactly where you are in world. To get highly detail...

Garmin eMap deluxe - Garmin Emap Handheld GPS Receiver I purchased the Garmin eMap last week and received it day before yesterday in the mail. Right out of the box I was...

External antenna is pricey but worth it - Garmin Emap Handheld GPS Receiver The eMap works great as long as there is nothing obstructing the line of site between the eMap and the satellites....

Great Travel companion - Garmin Emap Handheld GPS Receiver I can't say enough about this model, I don't have the other more recent models to compare, but this I do know "it ...

Reception is POOR - Garmin Emap Handheld GPS Receiver Don"t even think about it. I was very disappointed with this handheld You can't plug it into a cigarette lighte...

Excellent GPS receiver - Garmin Emap Handheld GPS Receiver The Garman Emap GPS receiver is what I have been looking for in a GPS for a long time. A GPS without a map is not ...

An Excellent First GPS - Garmin Emap Handheld GPS Receiver

the future of maps is here: emap!! - Garmin Emap Handheld GPS Receiver

Tags: ACR, Garmin, gps device, handheld gps, Navigator