Advice on entering coords directly into GPS

[Wile E Coyote]

I'm a total newb with GPS, the first time I've touched one was this week.

I have a trip planned in < 2 wks to Gulf-coastal Florida and borrowed an older Magellan SporTrak gps for my hopeful island hopping adventures (75% marine, 25% land intended use). Again, I'm a total gps newb, and find that I cannot enter coords (UTM or Lat/Lon both) directly into this particular gps. There's no manual or cables, nor are any extra maps loaded up.

I want to use this near blind foray into gps-land as my excuse to get my own unit soon.

My question is, is this no longer an issue in newer gps units as a general rule? More specifically, if I run out and get any ole' entry-level ( like sub $300) handheld gps new off the shelf, am I gonna be able to enter waypoints directly into the gps by their coords? I understand I'd want one that does mapping for the extra details.

I guess I should ask anyone familiar with the SporTrak; Is this in fact possible, and I'm just wrong about not being able to do this?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[lathamb]

Originally Posted by Wile E Coyote

I'm a total newb with GPS, the first time I've touched one was this week.

I have a trip planned in < 2 wks to Gulf-coastal Florida and borrowed an older Magellan SporTrak gps for my hopeful island hopping adventures (75% marine, 25% land intended use). Again, I'm a total gps newb, and find that I cannot enter coords (UTM or Lat/Lon both) directly into this particular gps. There's no manual or cables, nor are any extra maps loaded up.

I want to use this near blind foray into gps-land as my excuse to get my own unit soon.

My question is, is this no longer an issue in newer gps units as a general rule? More specifically, if I run out and get any ole' entry-level ( like sub $300) handheld gps new off the shelf, am I gonna be able to enter waypoints directly into the gps by their coords? I understand I'd want one that does mapping for the extra details.

I guess I should ask anyone familiar with the SporTrak; Is this in fact possible, and I'm just wrong about not being able to do this?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Its been my experience that most good handheld gps let you enter coordinates. You can't with the new garmins that are in everyone's windows these days.

I'd get online and see if you can download the owners manual for the unit you want to purchase and see if you can find out how to enter coordinates.

[Wile E Coyote]

Thanks for your input. I've already found the online manual for the SporTrak, so I should be able to find some for any prospective new units.
I'll do more pointed shopping after my trip, as the borrowed unit will fit my needs for just keeping me roughly oriented out on the water.

Maybe I'll poke around Fleabay for the Mapsend software, and give it to the gal that loaned the unit to me as a thank you gift.

[John E Davies]

As far as I know, any Garmin that will let you save a waypoint will let you edit that waypoint, and that includes the coordinates. There is no direct entry of Lat/ Log - you just create a new waypoint, then change the Lat/Log to the values you want. Even if the GPS won't let you change those numbers, MapSource most certainly WILL.

It's always best to download an owner's manual and poke around in it before buying, to make sure the features you want are there.

Go here for excellent gps advice:

Layin' down tracks - ADVrider

John Davies
Spokane WA

[Blue_Stone]

Lots of good info and reviews here:

GPS Receiver Information, Software, and Hardware Reviews of Garmin, Lowrance, Magellan and other GPS Receivers

[Flyingdog5000]

If you have a really old Sport Trak you may not be able to do much. We have a few of these left in our SAR gear cache and they are like many 2nd generation GPS units in that they have no base map. You can enter waypoints to navigate too, but its not a very great interface. This is common with many of the even newer GPS units, which really want you to use a computer and cable to upload waypoints.

[Senor Aguas]

This may or may not help. On mine, a Garmin GPSMap 60scx, I mark the waypoint at my current location (which all GPS's can do), then edit the waypoint to change the coordinates to what you're trying to enter. Yours may be completely different, I don't know. Its kind of tedious, but I probably entered about 20 this way in the past week.