I've been using a Garmin 38 for about a year now.... It generally
works quite well, and can be purchased for about $140. I bought mine at
a local camping/hiking emporium (REI coop). It has an amazing amount of
"intelligence" built in for such an inexpensive device. Typically it will
tell you where you are to about +/- 50 m or better. Like all of the small
handheld GPS receivers its weak point is a very small antenna, so it
really needs to see the sky to work well.
I have found it very good for road navigation in unfamiliar
locales. I will program in waypoints based on longitude latitude readings
either from the MapsOnUs web site, or from a decent road map; then make up
a route from a selection of waypoints. I found that even with relatively
low accuracy latitude and longitude values, I seldom would make a wrong
turn if I trusted the Garmin output. On the few occasions when I missed
the proper road, within a few seconds the display was indicating that I
was going away from my intended track.....
Mark
Dr. Mark H. Shapiro
Physics Department
California State University, Fullerton
P.O. Box 6866
Fullerton, California 92834-6866