silva / brunton multinavigator
xxx
I'm considering the Silva Multinavigator (mainly for hiking in Scotland) but
there seems to be limited real-life info on the net. Anybody any experiences
with it (use in the field, battery life, connection to pc/pda) ?
Thnx,
Rutger van Dongen
Alan Law
I have posted a review of the Silva Multi-Navigator at
http://members.aol.com/AlanLawW/SilvaGPSreview_FRSET.htm
In summary, I believe that the Silva / Brunton GPS has various
disadvantages, including the following - it is rather large and heavy,
it lacks a proper menu system for access of functions, it does not use
WAAS/EGNOS signals, it cannot display an internal map image of
waypoints etc, it is reported as having a relatively high battery
consumption (210 mA) in GPS mode, tracklog and backtrack are
unavailable in the field, and battery change seems awkward. My
experience of Silva support has been poor.
Only you can decide whether the electronic compass and barometric
altimeter functions are sufficiently useful to warrant purchase of
this GPS.
Alan Law
[for e-mail address, delete everything before "@" and insert
"AlanLawX"]
Ross
>
> Only you can decide whether the electronic compass and barometric
> altimeter functions are sufficiently useful to warrant purchase of
> this GPS.
The vista, 76S and Platinum all have these extra features and in varying
degrees all offer things the Silva unit doesn't. I am just suprised how
many smallish outdoor shops in the north of England are selling this
unit. And yet if you want a Magellan you can't find anyone who sells
them.
Ross
Graham
> The vista, 76S and Platinum all have these extra features and in
> varying degrees all offer things the Silva unit doesn't. I am just
> suprised how many smallish outdoor shops in the north of England are
> selling this unit. And yet if you want a Magellan you can't find
> anyone who sells them.
It surprises me that I have heard of the Silva GPS units here on a
number of occasions, they apparently had a compass and barometer
equipped model around the same time the eTrex Summit first appeared,
they're a major supplier of compasses for bushwalking and for boats, and
yet I've never seen one in the flesh.
I get the feeling that there is a lot of brand loyalty in the GPS field,
not only for "next GPS" purchases, but also for "first GPS, used/seen a
friend's GPS" purchases, and that Garmin and Magellan have established
themselves as the firm leaders for most consumer grade handheld markets.
In my case, a few days playing with a Garmin GPS45 sewed the seeds and 6
months later I bought a Garmin GPS12XL, essentially a newer better
version of the same thing from the same manufacturer.
Incidentally, as soon as you start looking at fixed mount marine
equipment you find a plethora of other successful brands with their
roots in other marine electronics. Garmin and Magellan do not dominate.
Perhaps when the Summit and the Silva units first appeared, Silva
managed to get themselves established in some (european) markets through
their existing roots in handheld compasses?
As another curious aside, I've seen ancient Garmin GPS38 units still new
in their boxes for sale in camping type stores here in Melbourne,
Australia up until quite recently. The store owners are blissfully
unaware that their stock has long since depreciated to a fraction of
their retail pricetags, which typically will now buy you most of an
eMap!