Garmin GPS

[Seldom Seen Smith]

I did a search for this and nothing came up....

I just acquired one of these from a neighbor that gave me his old one. It looks like it could be useful for finding yards, stores, location, etc. but it only came with a car charger, and the battery doesn't last very long on its own. Anyone know if I can get a regular charger that plugs into the wall for it, and has anyone used one while train hopping? Is this type of GPS only good for your car or does it have some actual use for other things? It seems to just be a road map, but it shows railroad tracks and gives coordinates. Just trying to find someone that has used these things or has some knowledge on them.

 

[Angela]

I did a search for this and nothing came up....

I just acquired one of these from a neighbor that gave me his old one. It looks like it could be useful for finding yards, stores, location, etc. but it only came with a car charger, and the battery doesn't last very long on its own. Anyone know if I can get a regular charger that plugs into the wall for it, and has anyone used one while train hopping? Is this type of GPS only good for your car or does it have some actual use for other things? It seems to just be a road map, but it shows railroad tracks and gives coordinates. Just trying to find someone that has used these things or has some knowledge on them.

I've got one, not a Garmin but a GPS unit that does the same thing. You can usually buy accessories like an AC charger for them online. I've only had mine for a little while and it's been great for rubber tramping in a vehicle but I don't know how practical it would be for train hopping because of the short battery life but seems like it could be useful even if just turned on for short periods to orient where you are when you stop. You can also get additional maps though for these things that will let you add topographical and trail maps to them.

 

[finn]

For trainhopping, it's not exactly the best tool for that, though it allows you to know what city and state you're in, but you do have to get a clear view of sky for it to work. Mine used ordinary batteries, not the rechargeable deal, and I only kept it on for at most a few minutes at a time. Those things are better for stashing stuff (and finding it later) and for being in places in the middle of nowhere.

 

[Seldom Seen Smith]

I kind of figured it had little use for hopping and it'll just become one more fucking thing to carry around that I don't really want to carry around. I'll probably just put it in my beater car.

Good thing it was free.

 

[Angela]

Your beat up old car is probably the best place for it. They are great in cars, they can even tell you where the nearest laundromat is and everything but not so good for other travel because their battery life is so ridiculously short when you pull the plug. Garmin's are a brand that's pretty pricey, if you don't use it, you might want to just sell it.

 

[Seldom Seen Smith]

Well it seems to work perfectly when I tested it out today, but the screen is slightly fucked up so that's why it was just given to me. I could sell it but because of the cosmetic issues I don't think I'll get to much.

 

[Dameon]

I don't think a Garmin would be durable enough for rail travel, but some people are better at keeping things from breaking than others. I like having a GPS just to know where I am. Sometimes it can be a little difficult to know which way your train's going, like if there's a lot of cloud cover, and it's reassuring to know whether or not you're going the right way. It's also good if you wind up in the middle of nowhere, so you can figure out where to go, and a GPS is like carrying an atlas of the US in your pocket. I have a Lowrance iFinder Go, which is a cheap hiking GPS that I like because it's practically indestructable, and waterproof to boot. Not sure if they sell them anymore, though. I bought mine new for about $60.

 

[veggieguy12]

I got this handheld GPS, the Garmin eTrex Visa HCx.
Amazon.com: Garmin eTrex Vista HCx Color High-Sensitivity Mapping Handheld GPS: Electronics
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=8703

It lasts a long while on two AA batteries, it is waterproof, and has no real problems getting a signal to show my position, it's not large or heavy; I think it was the best one around.

I can let it track my travels, and I can see what speed we're going; I find it pretty cool for finding where I am from the nearest crew change or yard, or where might be a place to eat at a hwy. off-ramp, or where is the nearest road after I leave a yard, which way I want to head on that road (sometimes they curve a lot, can't tell which is a better direction for your destination, right?), etc.
It's better than a road atlas because of the detail I can get - like having many state or regional maps on me all the time.

And here's a review of this unit.
If anyone wants at discounted prices, get in touch...