snkee's Full Review: Garmin GPS 12 Handheld GPS Receiver
I have owned my GPS-II+ for about two years now. I have had no major errors from the unit and it has proved very rugged and reliable. It's been dropped, doused and treated with my usual hamfisted disregard for all things electronic and come up roses. Mind you, I'd have expected all of this, so there's no real surprises there.
The unit handles incredibly well. It sits in either hand with the antenna pointing upwards and the screen in a portrait orientation or even on its side, in landscape mode, with a quick button-hold. The flexibility of this setting allows the unit to be placed on a dashboard or with the use of a clip, on handlebars without much fuss or bother.
The display is clear and easy to understand. Like most specialised objects, you need to read the supplied manual to get the most out of it, but I found it easy to get started with and only occasionally do I need to resort to the book of words for an answer. When I do, I am pleased to say that I find what I need without much effort.
Using the GPS is intuitive - you use a series of waypoints to break a route up into manageable chunks. These waypoints are stored in an on-board memory which can hold up to 500. They are kept in place by a Lithium cell, which is supposed to last 10 years (mine's going flat now, but that might have something to do with its patchy use and my not keeping fresh AA cells in it all the time). The waypoints can be designated icons and names. In addition to these, there is a database of cities (or towns) which you can use for overland navigation. There are also myriad charts to choose from, should you be operating in a remote area.
A nice feature is Trakback, which allows you to retrace your steps. The GPS will put in extra waypoints which break up the route in to even smaller legs for added accuracy. It helps where one were to be fog-bound or perhaps trying to navigate at night, where visibility may be compromised.
The buttons are rubberised, as is a long strip on the base, which helps when dash-mounting or holding it in the hand. The unit comes with an impressive accessories list. I bought the in-car power cable and a mounting clip for my motorcycle. Both were impressively put together and worked fine.
The accuracy of GPS has improved over the years, with antenna technology getting better and the satellites themselves being sharpened up and an intentional error (called "Selective Availability") having been removed some years back. Mine now has an error estimated at 12 feet on a good day, which is fine for my uses. I suppose newer, more improved models can do better than that. Once the European GPS satellites are augmented by a new system (EGNOS), the accuracy may increase even further, I'm told, but sadly, my older GPS-II+ won't benefit from this.
I can wholeheartedly recommend my unit. When I bought it, I paid less than the prices I see advertised on the Internet, which tells me that the unit, despite its relative longevity, remains very much in demand.
The GARMIN GPS 12 Personal Navigator an affordable 12 parallel channel handheld for outdoor adventurers who want a basic, hard-working 12-channel GPS,...More at eBay
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