What's a good handheld GPS for general recon and rough locations?
I started using the Garmin Oregon last season. It's a discontinued model but it works good and batteries last. Also cheaper that some of the new models. I like the project waypoint feature when searching for originals on the fly.
Garman offers several units that there are free map downloads available across the internet.
> What's a good handheld GPS for general recon and rough locations?
I would say pretty much anything on the market would meet those requirements. If you have a few coins and want to invest in something nice, the Montana 600/650 series are pretty nice units.
There's a new Garmin that's out that runs under Android. One of my sons has one and it will accept Lambert Conformal Conic parameters for State Plane Coordinate systems.
I don't know what it costs, but that's what I'd buy if I wanted a new one.
Thanks for the replies. Do any of these units have the capability to upload lat & longs via cable?
I bought a Magellan Explorist for the simple reason it is the only one I could find that displays the distance to way point in feet for anything under a mile. If that is important to you?
Truthfully, with the popularity of the smartphone, I am surprised that there is still a market for handheld GPS units.
My vote is the iPhone.
Too many benefits to list that come in handy for a surveyor.
I have always though of them as being kind of fragile. But in reality, if you get a waterproof case, they are actually pretty rugged. You don't see very many handheld GPS units getting drop tested off a 3 story building.
I have had mine fly off the bed of my truck going 45 MPH, more than once. It still looks like new. Used the GPS locator to drive back and find it 20 minutes later.
"My vote is the iPhone."
How do you get Lat./Longs. or SPC's from your iPhone? How do you control the datum?
I don't know for sure, but I'd guess it might be possible with the HP-41 software working on your iPhone. If you could trap the coordinates then everything else would be straightforward.
That's a big if, though ...
As an example, last week I used my iphone to recover about 1 dozen control points set in 1987. I used Arcmap Desktop PC software and the Avenza PDF Maps app.
To do this I...
1.) Scanned the topographic aerial hard copy map that showed the control.
2.) Since the control is in an assumed local coordinate system, I had to geo-reference the scanned image in my GIS program. I used the NAIP aerial imagery to match mark fence corners, building corners, ect. You could also measure the coordinates of known points in the field and use those for "control".
3.) Published data to a geo-PDF and e-mailed it to myself. Arcmap sends the data as Lat. Long. WGS84
On my iPhone...
1.) Open my E-Mail.
2.) Open attachment in Avenza PDF Maps (free app.).
3.) Navigate visually to control symbol.
4.) Listen with metal locator, recover control.
I generally found the control within 15' of where I navigated to. Sometimes, I had to use the measuring tool to "scale" distances from fences or natural features to get a better search location.
There are other tools 
As far as displaying the lat./long.
The coordinates for the cross hairs (center of map) is displayed. As I pan around the map, it updates the lat./long of the cross hairs. If I want to see the lat. long. of my position, I tap on the locator symbol and the map re-centers on my position. You can set it to display 6 different lat./long. formats as well as UTM or MGRSUSNG
I have done similar for property corner searches. I scan one of my reference documents...say a past record of survey and geo-reference it to an aerial using fences, roads, and ditches for "control". I have also used sub-meter GPS to locate a few known monuments. I can then walk to the search location using the record of survey as a back drop.
It's not perfect, but it is just as accurate as any other consumer grade GPS.
"How do you get Lat./Longs. or SPC's from your iPhone?"
Sorry, didn't exactly answer your question.
You can create waypoints, giving them
1.)Name
2.)Associated geo-referenced photos
3.)Edit the coordinates of the waypoint
4.)Create attribute schemas
5.)Export to PC as .KML, .GPX, or .CSV via. iTunes, E-Mail, or Dropbox.
Great free app.
Not sure about state plane coordinates.
Hand Held GPS - which to choose?
between the Garmin Montana 650t, Garmin Monterra, and the Magellen Explorist 610 -
which do you think is best suited for approx survey locations?
I'm talking navigating to points uploaded, and also for locating found points to store as waypoints then download?
thanks - I know these are in the 500-700 range, but the old black + white eTrex Vista needs a replacement.
If you are looking at recent Garmin products, I'd recommend you try to get your hands on one and play with it before making the purchase.
I love my old 76S, and bought a pristine used 78S (has essentially the same buttons) to get color display, faster display update, more map memory, more sensitive receiver, etc.
I got all those things but can't stand the software. I'd like to get rid of the 78s for what I have invested, somewhere around $275.
The software in the 76s was obviously written by people who played with the unit and thought of ways to make it more convenient. The software in the 78s was obviously written by people who had a checklist of features that were required and gave no thought as to how it would be used. The same may or may not be true of their other recent models.
As one example, if you set a waypoint, do something else in the menus, and then want to bring up that waypoint again, the 76s still has that waypoint as the first one to come up. Getting through the list to another one is also simple. The 78s always starts at 001, and you either have to scroll through the whole list to the one you want, or use a very inconvenient method of spelling out the name again.
Hand Held GPS - which to choose?
I can only speak of the Magellan 610, as that is the one I have.
The only up/down loading I have done is thru a Magellan program called Vantage Point. It is a free download you can take a look at.
http://www.magellangps.com/Store/VantagePoint_Software
I have been very pleased with it's ability to get me where I want to go. Last fall I hiked half a mile into a thick swamp that would have been very difficult to stay on a compass bearing thru and it took me to within 10 feet of the corner. On the way there, I dropped it into a foot of water, no problem.
What I use it for most goes something like this: Pull up to a road intersection where I know there is a corner. Store a Way Point. Tell it to take me to that point I just stored. As I drive away, it tells me in feet how far I have gone (my truck odometer will not). When I am 1320 or 2640 or whatever away from the corner, I can see that on the Magellan.
It also stores pictures with the Lat/Long of where they were taken, which I like.
I know many smartphones will do much of this, but this thing is way tougher.
Scott
PS. I bought mine used on eBay for $300. Rechargeable batteries that charge in the truck are a must.
