Choose a GPS Receiver for Recreational Purposes

How to Choose a GPS Receiver for Recreational Purposes(1)

The hobby of global positioning has become more popular than it ever has been. With the ubiquitous electronics store offering so many choices of GPS receivers, it's hard to know which unit is right for you. This wikiHow will deal with how to make the right choice.

Steps

1.Determine what you will be using the GPS receiver for. Believe it or not, GPS units are designed for a variety of uses, and the feature-set of each unit caters to different usage patterns. Some possible uses are:

Vehicle Navigation - Driving on the road

Off-Road Activities - Hiking, hunting, skiing, etc.

Water Activities - Boating, fishing, etc.

Aviation - Flying a plane

Geocaching - Navigating to waypoints for fun treasure-hunting

2.Decide on the form-factor of your GPS receiver. This essentially describes the shape & size of the technology, or how small of a space you want to use GPS functions in. Some possibilities are:

Handheld - A stand-alone unit that generally fits in one hand, with its own screen and buttons

Laptop sensor - A small, plain "box" that connects to your laptop, and lets software on your laptop do the rest of the work

PDA integrated - If you have a Palm or Windows Mobile PDA, you can get add-on sensors and software for them to do the same job as a laptop, but have it fit in the palm of your hand.

Marine/Vehicle mount - Something which will stay in your vehicle or boat at all times, and only provide vehicle/craft navigation

Wrist mount - Tiny GPSs have been integrated into wrist-watch form, ideal for jogging and other outdoor exercise purposes. Some of these units come with built-in fitness sensors, like heart rate monitors.

3.If you prefer the laptop sensor or PDA integrated types, your choices are limited only to compatibility with your operating system (Palm or Windows), and whether or not you want it to connect wirelessly. Ensure that both your laptop/PDA as well as the GPS unit are Bluetooth enabled if you expect wireless operation between the two. The rest of your functions will be determined by the software you use, which you can acquire independent of your hardware purchase. Despite this, all GPS units of this type will come with a packaged software bundle of some sort.

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