Handheld GPS Units: Eagle, Garmin Come Up Short

Instead, we liked Magellan’s GPS 2000 unit in this head-to-head test of $150 navigation electronics.

The Magellan GPS 2000 sells for $138.88. It’s both water-proof and accurate.

Handheld GPS receivers have gradually improved to the point that hunters have begun relying on them as field tools as important as knives and boots. Particularly useful when employed in scouting new terrain, the handhelds offer the hunter a bounty of instantly available electronic information that other means of orientation can’t deliver. Not only can the units tell you where you are, they can point out where you’ve been, where you want to go next, and the right heading to traverse to get from point A to B.

We recently tested three handheld GPS units to see which one best incorporated the points we deemed most important: speed, weatherproofness, accuracy, and user features. Our test models were the Magellan GPS 2000, $138.88, the Eagle Explorer, $148.88, and the Garmin GPS 38, $138.88. Of the trio, we believe the Magellan is the clear winner because it worked—we couldn’t get the Garmin to acquire a signal—and because it featured a water-resistant design the Eagle lacked.

How They Work
GPS is shorthand for Global Positioning System, a network of high-frequency satellite transmitters stationed in space. By reading the time and location from three or more of the 24 satellites in the system, the unit can triangulate your location with great accuracy. The radio frequency the transmitters use is line of sight, which means the unit must have a clear view of the sky, thus the satellites, to get a fix on your location. Another factor that influences GPS position and navigation capacities is called selective availability, or SA. SA means that the Department of Defense, whose satellites transmit the GPS signals, injects errors into the system to reduce its accuracy for civilians and foreign users. Thus, SA causes reading errors up to 100 meters horizontally and 150 meters vertically in everyday use, and unless the unit can pick up ground-based correction signals (called DGPS), the best accuracy you can reasonably expect is for the unit to pinpoint your location to within 50 to 100 meters.

To test the units’ accuracy, we found a USGS marker used as a surveying benchmark and compared its location marks to the readings on the units. Also, we placed the units on a car dashboard and checked how well they calculated our bearing and speed and their ability to return to the starting point of a 60-mile highway trip. We followed the same protocol on a 3-mile walking trip. Furthermore, we went through the exhausting routine of traversing the feature screens built into the units to assess their ease of use. In both cases, we also noted how long it took for the readings to appear and how often they were updated.

Here’s what we found:

Initialization and TTFF
The initial set-up of your GPS allows the unit to orient itself to the satellite grid. Said simply, the auto-initialization process worked smoothly and easily on all three units. For instance, the first time we powered up the Magellan, an initialization screen appeared, prompting us to enter our location by country and city, or by entering latitude and longitude, if available. Once this data was input, the rest of the initialization took only 45 seconds for the Magellan. A similar process booted up the Eagle and Garmin units in 30 seconds. Once initialized, all three units displayed our position less than 0.1 minute away from our benchmark location.

Next, we compared the units’ time to first fix, or TTFF. During our driving test, in which the units were left on the car dashboard as we drove a highway course, the Magellan and Eagle units updated our location and speed every second. When we turned the units off and made them reaquire their signals, it usually took the Eagle and Magellan units between 30 and 45 seconds to get a fix. We couldn’t get the Garmin to operate inside the vehicle. During a walk-around test, the Garmin switched back on and began supplying readings. We found its TTFF to be comparable to the other units.

Assessing Features
While evaluating the units, we tried to keep in mind how hunters actually use their GPS, giving less weight to amazing capabilities we’d probably never use out in the field. In our estimation, the units’ most important functions are to calculate location accurately and promptly, store waypoints, and compute bearings to and from different points. In nearly every case, these units gave us much more to think about than we thought necessary.

The Magellan GPS 2000 weighed 10 ounces and measured 6.6 inches in height, 2.3 inches in width, and was 1.3 inches deep. Its documentation said the unit was waterproof and could operate in a temperature range from 14 to 140 degrees. It used four 1.5-volt AA batteries, which fit into an O-ring-enclosed sleeve at the bottom of the unit. Its backlit LCD screen is 1.4 inches wide and 1.8 inches tall. It has a 12-channel receiver (which means it can get readings from 12 satellites at a time).

The unit’s rubber-backed buttons were big enough and spaced far enough apart to operate even with gloves on. Though we thought the Magellan’s operation was straightforward, we think there are too many menus built into the unit. It ships with a 72-page owners manual, which the hunter needs to navigate (pun intended) the submenus. We would rather have a pared-down unit that calculated the basics and cost half as much.

The 12-channel Eagle Explorer weighed 14 ounces and measured 6.5 inches in height, 2.25 inches in width, and was 1.5 inches deep. Its documentation said the unit was waterproof, but no temperature range was offered. It used four 1.5-volt AA batteries, which fit into the bottom of the unit. Its backlit LCD screen was 1.4 inches wide and 2.2 inches tall. We thought its buttons were too closely spaced for easy operation with gloves. Though not as complicated as the Magellan, it too had too many menus to learn easily. It ships with a 47-page manual. A camo version ($164.88) is also available.

The Garmin GPS 38 weighed 9.5 ounces and measured 6.1 inches in height, 2 inches in width, and was 1.2 inches deep. The waterproof unit was designed to operate between 5 to 158 degrees. It used four 1.5-volt AA batteries, which into the bottom of the unit. Its backlit LCD screen was 1.5 inches wide and 2.2 inches tall. We thought its buttons were spaced for easy operation with gloves, but their location at the top of the screen obscured the display. Like the others, it takes the better part of a day to investigate its features. It ships with a 62-page manual.

Guns, Gear & Game Recommends
• The $138.88 Magellan GPS 2000 had accuracy and speed on par with the $148.88 Eagle Explorer and $138.88 Garmin GPS 38. Moreover, it operated properly in a car, which we think could be one of the more valuable uses of the device. The Garmin didn’t. Also, its power box supplied power to the unit during a shower test. The Explorer didn’t. So, though we think it is overfeatured and too expensive for what most hunters need, the GPS 2000 is the best choice of this trio.

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-by GGG Staff