wayneblue's Full Review: Garmin eTrex Legend Handheld GPS Receiver
I bought my GPS 15 months ago. It cost me just under $200 dollars at Wal-Mart. I have been very pleased with what I have got out of my GPS. I use it to go hunting in Utah and I have never had any serious problems with satellite reception. You cann't be inside the house and get reception, but I have never had any problems while hiking through trees. I use the GPS to gage how far I have traveled and which way I need to walk to get back to my jeep.
My Etrex Legend GPS has five main options on it. They consist of Satellite, Map, Navigation, Trip Computer, and Main Menu.
Satellite
The Satellite option will show how many of the Satellites you have reception to and how much reception you have to each Satellite. It will tell you how accurate the Satellite is tracking in feet. My GPS is usually accurate to around 20 feet, which is plenty close for what I use it for. It will also give you your elevation in feet and the map coordinates to your current location.
Map
The map option will let you look at any place in the world. It will let you calculate how far it is from one place to another place to the nearest mile. The map is a fairly detailed map that shows little towns and roads throughout the world as well as all of the big cities. The map can help you choose roads to travel and how far your destination is.
Navigation
The Navigation option will tell you have far you need to travel before you reach your destination that you have saved into the GPS. It will also tell you the direction that you need to go. If you follow the arrow in the Navigation option, you will be able to go straight to your wanted destination. It will also tell you how fast you are traveling in miles per hour.
Trip Computer
This option can be a great help while you are out hiking. You can start this option before you start hiking and it will tell you how far you have traveled in miles. It will also tell you how much time you have spent moving and how much time you have spent stopped. These options are both given in hours and minutes. This option will tell you your current speed, your maximum speed, your moving average speed, and your overall average speed. I have tested the current speed in a vehicle and it is very accurate and will constantly change if you speed up or slow down. The odometer is also very accurate and will tell you exactly how far you have traveled to the nearest tenth of a mile.
Main Menu
You can do many this in this option. You can mark any place you want to as a waypoint. I use the mark option to save my vehicles location before I start hiking. Saving my location allowes me to go to use the navigation option and find my way back to my vehicle. When you go to save a position, it will automatically put your current coordinates in the GPS. You may also change to coordinates if you want to save a different position. There is a find option in the Main Menu. This will allow you to pick a saved position in your GPS, so that you can go to the Navigation menu and it will take you to the saved point. The route option in the Main Menu allows you to save points as you hike, allowing you to follow the same route back to your vehicle. The tracks option allows you to follow a saved route backwards. The setup option allows you to change to time, units, display, heading, interface, and system. You can customize your GPS to your own likings in this option. The accessories option is one of my favorite options. You are able to see when you sun will rise and set, and when the moon will rise and set. You will be able to tell how much more light you will have before it will be dark while you are hiking. There is also a calendar, and an option to calculate the area. It will also tell you the best times to hunt and fish are and it has a calculator option.
This is a quick description of what you are able to do with the Etrex Legend GPS. I use Energizer batteries in my GPS and they will usually last around 8-10 hours. It takes two AA batteries. It took me a little while to figure out all of the options the GPS has, but it has been a very nice feature for me to have with while I am hiking. I bought this product because I didn't want to get lost in the middle of nowhere and not know where I had parked. It has been a great help in finding my way back. I have never had any problems while hiking with the Satellite reception. It is a very reliable product.
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