GPS for Middle East bound soldier? (Vanity)

11/25/2003 | Me

[FreedomPoster]

A friend's stepson is heading for the Middle East, and he wants to get him a handheld GPS. What should be buy?

Sounds like he's infantry, "Primarily for handheld use, possible HMMWV use, possible Blackhawk use, in middle east."

There are enough active / recently active military folks, and people in contact with same, that there should be some good ideas here.

He's looking at a fairly top-of-the-line Garmin, FWIW. "Garmin GPSMAP 76S GPS Receiver"

Thanks in advance.

[FreedomPoster]

ping

[dwilli]

That sounds like a great but would the planners want the
troops to have any extra transponders/transmitters in the war zone?

[dwilli]

make that a great idea...

[Tijeras_Slim]

Get the best you can afford, expecially one which initializes FAST.

[FreedomPoster]

I don't think GPS receivers are emitters. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

In any case, in this theatre of operations, I don't think we're too worried about the sophisitcation of Baathist remnent and Islamofascist Jihadi ELINT capabilities.

[FreedomPoster]

Model? Who's BTDT, can name a good one?

I would expect "rugged construction" to be another top feature requirement.

[Tijeras_Slim]

I've got an older Garmin, dog slow but tough. Once you get into the trees it tends to get confused easily. One that will accept an external antenna is a good idea. That way it can be used in a vehicle.

[dwilli]

Wouldn't the GPS need two coordinates in order to get a fix?
I'm not sure but I assume the GPS works like a servo system, both xmitting and receiving a signal.

[templar]

My experience with a GPS ( a really good one too) is several years old. The thing was excellent for locating yourself in rugged back country of Colorado, and had features that could keep track of every step you took and let you back track on an exact path to anywhere you'd been along with all kinds of other features I never tried to use. It also drained the batteries in about an hour, making it useless for anything except accasional spot checks for locations.

If I had the choice between a lot of fancy features and battery life, I would go for battery life above all else. Dead batteries make it just an extra item to carry around that has no utility.

[Pern]

I have the Magellan Meridian Platinum and I love it. It's armored, shock-proof, and it floats. It also has a built in fiber-optic compass, real handy when standing still, and initializes in 30 sec or less. It gets 8-10 hrs of operation on 2 AA batteries.

http://www.magellangps.com

[ChiefKujo]

Look for Military Grid Reference system (MGRS). This is a requirement for use over here.

ChiefKujo

[CurlyDave]

I hve been looking at exactly that Garmin unit for civilian use in the US. In addition to GPS it has an electronic compass and an altimeter (the GPS altitude signal is not nearly as accurate as the location).

The only drawback is that Garmin uses a proprietary protocol to upload map information into the unit. If there are Garmin maps available for that area this is not a big issue, other than a few extra $ for the proprietary map. If there are not detailed Garmin maps available, get a unit which is capable of accepting map information.

The other issue with the Garmin unit is that I think it is waterproof, but it does not float. Other makers have ones that float. Check this before buying, if you think it might be important. Most of the country might be a desert, but they do have rivers & canals there.

[steplock]

Probably a lost cause to even mention this, but MOST of these electronic gadgets that we Americans here in CONUS use are NOT authorized for export!

No - I am not so innocent to believe that they have not been already sent overseas and duplicated (Red-CHINA) but beware of haphazardly sending the latest electronics UN-APPROVED by the military command.

Give this kid a GPS accurate to inches --- typical of Americans, he thinks nothing about its technology (unmatched in the world) and its TACTICAL importance to the enemy --- sits it down and turns his head and POOF it's gone!

[Sloth]

Wouldn't the GPS need two coordinates in order to get a fix? I'm not sure but I assume the GPS works like a servo system, both xmitting and receiving a signal.

No... The GPS unit merely receives a sort of time-stamp signal from multiple satellites, and since the signal travels at the speed of light, it arrives slightly later from more distant satellites... The unit calculates its position based on the distances to the satellites. It doesn't have to emit anything.

[Jonah Hex]

If he's military, a unit providing location in UTM coordinates is a MUST!

Any of the Garmin Etrex units are good. I've got an Etrex Vista which provide GPS locations in lat/long, UTM, and several other coord systems, staionary electronic compass, barometric altitude, and mapping. It's relatvely water resistant and small enough to slip into a shirt or MOLLE vest pocket. It requires two AA batteries, fairly easy to come by. It's rated to only about 3 meter accuracy with plenty of visible birds and WAAS (not as accurate as a military PLGR GPS), but not a bad deal for the money.

Hope this gives you something to think about. I'd also recommend looking at Joe Mehaffey's GPS web site.

GPSInformation.net

[pageonetoo]

"Once you get into the trees it tends to get confused easily."

I don't think that will be a problem, where he intends to use it!


I have a GPS V, by Garmin, and it is rugged, almost accurate, and inexpensive.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

[LooneyTick]

The Garmin RINO 120 has a radio built in to send your location to other RINO users. I have seen the troops with this model in the Irag arena. It is waterproof and with the radio feature is an asset in the field.

[ericthecurdog]

Only one way to go: The Garmin eTrex Vista. The finest handheld GPSR available on the open market. Highly accurate (I've seen to within two feet) and has a built in magnetic compass and barometric altimeter.

Check out the message boards on geocaching.com for more unit specific advice.