Forum menu
Anything out there (last years model etc) cheap & cheerful that I can use just to record more accurately than my phone? The phone drops GPS signal far to easily, & battery life is suffering, especially when riding solo and listening to audio.
So not even a recommendation for the Garmin 200 or maybe Gtrek 2 unit?
Brytons are probably the cheapest and are ok. I found my Garmin lost signal as much as my phone did. Maybe try a cheap phone just for tracking
is that your budget? there are lots of gps units out there. do you want it to just track where you have been or navigate you somewhere? personally I wouldn't buy a garmin for poor customer support but each to there own. Another option is to buy a cheap and cheerful phone with replaceable batteries, if it's not connected to the phone signal that will save a bit of juice and you can still listen to the audio
I use a Garmin Edge 200 and never missed a beat in the 1.5 years of ownership.
The only issue I have with it, is that [b]sometimes[/b] it struggles to find a satellite. I nearly missed mapping the Great North Run at the weekend. Sat trying to find a Satellite for half an hour whilst waiting to get to the start but luckily just before I was due to start running it found it.
http://www.holux-uk.co.uk/holux-gpsport-260.php?it=215
I had one until I lost it, has barometer and altimeter and found it to be fantastically accurate compared to both my iphone and Galaxy s3
That's my budget or less (preferably) 2nd hand, only looking to record/log, not interested in it navigating for me. Drawn to a GPS, as I assume it would have better GPS chipset and polling. I've already tried using my old 3GS but it was more unreliable than my iphone 4, so not interested in using another old phone (unless there one with great GPS functionality). Cheers for the replies
Handtec have a 'newly overhauled' Etrex 10, for £57 (though currently out of stock). http://www.handtec.co.uk/garmin-etrex-noh-010-n0970-00.html
Or about £77 from Amazon.
It should be pretty accurate - it has the latest GPS chipset, with support for EGNOS and Glonass etc. And good battery life - about 24 hours on a pair of AA rechargeables.
I've been using an iGotU GPS logger for the last 4 years... it's a tiny little box with one on-off button which you stick in your pack.
The PC interface allows you to set up smart logging e.g. 1 datapoint a second when you are moving 10kph or faster, otherwise one datapoint every 3 seconds. USB charged... not sure how long the battery lasts but I've had it run 12.5 hours OK. At the end of your ride you have to download to your PC - I then export to a GPX and load into Strava/Veloviewer.
Looks like you can still get [url= http://tinyurl.com/nosb33e ]them[/url] for about £40.
I use an IGotU too. Had it years and no complaints really.
Garmin 200 I found really good considering I only paid about £70 for it new.
I've since got a sat navving one but I still go back to the 200 if I don't need any of the more advanced bits as it's loads smaller, simpler and lasts longer.
Only issue I have with it is it's very slow at finding satellites, takes a good few minutes normally so I have to remember to turn it on whilst getting ready for a ride.
Ok, its a lot more than your budget, but I just bought a Garmin eTrex 20 (£120) and I have to say its fantastic! Using some free open source maps (which are actually better than the Garmin ones for round here) I've managed to plot some really good rides, and it records all the data you need.
I'm not really a gadget person (I still have an old style 'buttons' mobile phone) but my riding's definitely benefited from this acquirement.
I had an iGotU before I had a smart phone. It worked well but a phone is much less faff, on modern phones I've not found that running Strava really uses that much battery or had a problem losing gps signal.
I've also got an Etrex20 but I prefer using my phone for navigating. I've been using the Back country navigator app which I've found to be very good.
For me the Etrex is not at all user friendly and the screen is to small.