[OSM-newbies] looking for a good introductory GPS unit

[Craig Wallace]

On 01/05/2011 23:11, Andrew Salzberg wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm looking to contribute to OSM and looking for the cheapest, reliable
> unit that has a USB interface.  I'm also wondering what the difference
> is b/w using a mobile phone GPS unit (can that be done while 'offline' -
> ie, in a country where i don't have cell service) and something like a
> Garmin handheld - accuracy? cost?

This does depend on what specific devices you are comparing, but in general:
The Garmin handhelds are much more rugged and waterproof than a phone. 
So a good idea if you will be using it for hiking or cycling etc, when 
it might get wet or knocked.
The Garmins have better battery life (about 20 hours), whereas most 
phones will probably only last about 5 hours with GPS on. Also, as the 
Garmins use standard AA batteries, its easy to carry a few spares.

Accuracy: the recent Garmins (with high sensitivity receivers) are 
pretty good, probably better than most phones. I don't know if there's 
any phones that are especially accurate.

Cost: there are now a few cheap Android phones with GPS (eg Orange San 
Francisco / ZTE Blade), so maybe a bit cheaper than a mapping Garmin. 
This has proper GPS, so it will work when you don't have a phone signal. 
I think some phones only do positioning based on the phone towers, so 
won't work when you don't have a signal, worth checking this for any 
specific models. If you want mapping, there's a range of Android 
applications that let you download OSM based maps onto the phone, so you 
can use them offline, without needing phone coverage.

For a specific recommendation, I think the eTrex Legend HCx is a good 
choice. Andy Allan has a useful summary of why: 
http://www.gravitystorm.co.uk/shine/gps-recommendations/
(though I don't think its worth paying the extra for a Vista HCx)

> I work in transportation so ideally I'd also like a unit that's great
> for storing a fair bit of detailed tracklog data that could be used for
> reconstructing things like speeds, times spent moving/not moving, etc.

The Garmins that take memory cards (eg the Legend/Vista HCx) can be set 
to record the tracklog on the card. So if you add something like a 1GB 
card you can log thousands of hours at 1 point per second. So you can 
get the details for time/speed from that.

Craig