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| GARMIN 010-00364-01 Foretrex 101 GPS Receiver | 
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| Brand: Garmin
Category: CE
Buy New: Too low to display
New (59) Used (1)
Avg. Customer Rating:  40 reviews
Sales Rank: 1860
Format: Cd
Media: Electronics
Memorabilia: No
Fragile: No
Number Of Items: 1
Tracks: 10
Batteries: 2
Batteries Included: No
Native Resolution: 100 x 64
Includes MP3 Player: 1
Size: Garmin Part #010-00364-00
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 0.9 x 1.7 x 3.3
Array:
Legal Disclaimer: In-stock orders ship within 24 hours of the next business day. All units a Factory Fresh with full manufacturer warranty.
MPN: 010-00364-01
Model: 010-00364-01
UPC: 753759046101
EAN: 0753759046101
ASIN: B000255I8W
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Phenomenal September 27, 2005
35 out of 36 found this review helpful
I have never used a GPS system before - the Foretrex 101 was the first system I purchased and I love it.
I approached this purchase with much trepidation. My experience with techno-gadgets has not been good. Usually I find that I have to learn how some nerd/designer thinks in order to use the gadget. Life is too short to spend it remembering whether to punch the mode key or the enter key.
Yet, I wanted to purchase a GPS system so that I do not get lost while hiking or kayaking in wilderness. I looked at a few GPS models and found the usual techno-insanity: You build a database of maps and routes on your PC, download that information to a small map display in the GPS system, take a hike, then upload your journey back into your PC where you can build and manage a database of journeys. Ugh! All I want is to find my campsite - not learn another database management system.
So, I had almost given up on this purchase when I saw the Foretrex 101. No fancy color maps. Just a simple device which you wear on your wrist like a large watch. It displays a small map of your locale, your present location and the most important information required to travel to your intended destination.
I purchased it, turned it on and took a walk through my neighborhood. It was brilliant: I watched a little walking person on my screen leave a trail which moved as I moved, and rotated as I turned. In order to get back home, I turned around and followed the trail displayed on the Fortrex screen. No fancy commands to learn - just a few intuitive buttons and I was finding my way around my own neighborhood just fine!
But, I wondered, would it work when I went up to the Sierras? That weekend I tested it on trails that I knew - and it was amazing. The ranger station had the longitude and latitude coordinates of the campsite I had reserved - so I punched those into my Foretrex and proceeded to hike to the site. As I hiked, the navigation screen displayed an arrow which rotated as I turned so it was always pointing toward the campsite. It also displayed my present elevation and distance remaining to the site. (Those are two of several possible numbers I could have displayed on the navigation screen.) On the map screen, I saw a perfectly clear outline of the trail behind me as I walked towards camp - along with waypoints of my favorite lakes which I entered into the Foretrex as I arrived at each lake. When I arrived at my destination, it guided me to within 20 feet of my reserved campsite.
The next day, when I hiked out, the Foretrex was just phenomenal. I saw the entire trail from the prior day displayed on my map screen - I followed it all the way back to the trail head. I could see the trail drift off the left of the little walking figure as I wandered off the trail to the right - and it was completely simple to walk back to the trail while watching the little guy on the map screen do the same!
The Foretrex guided me all the way back to the trailhead - in fact, it guided me back to exact parking spot where my car was parked.
Now I'm thinking about doing all kinds of things that I had never considered before: I could hike off trails, I could hike when trails are partially covered with snow, I could kayak in the fog and I am even thinking about giving a Foretrex to my wife - who has a terrible sense of direction - so she can go off on her own in the woods without me worrying about loosing her.
I am finding some the the additional features really useful: It is nice to know my average speed and estimated time to arrive at my destination. I like to know my elevation to get a sense of the effort remaining on a tough climb - or my average paddle speed in the kayak to see the effect of wind and current on my progress. I have even discovered the Foretrex works fine in my car - and it is useful to punch in waypoints to show tricky intersections which I always forget, or the location of convenient Starbucks along the way. I even used it to test the accuracy of my speedometer (and discovered that my speedometer reads about 4% too fast, which probably explains why I never get any speeding tickets).
I do have three complaints about it. First, I was confused at one point when the map screen showed a weird spike pointing off from the side of the trail. It appeared as if I had made a side excursion in a straight line for about one half a mile, and then returned along the exact same line back to the trail. It was obviously an error - the excursion was perfectly straight, and I know I did not make it - so I just assumed that the Foretrex got one position measurement wrong and I ignored it. But since this occurred on the second day I owned the device, at first I didn't know what to make of it.
Secondly, I discovered that it is awkward to save small parts of the day's journey (the "track log") in the Foretrex's list of saved tracks. It is easy to save the entire journey made since the last time I cleared the track log - and with some effort I can select a portion of the journey to save. However, I found it impossible to select just the kayaking portion of my day's journey and save it separately from the car trip to and from the lake.
Finally, I discovered that one pair of AAA batteries lasts only about 12 hours. (I intentionally depleted the batteries without changing them to see whether the Foretrex would loose any information or become disoriented in any way. When I inserted a new pair, the Foretrex picked up right where it left off, without missing a beat!)
These are very minor glitches. Overall, this device has a very simple intuitive user interface and it has opened up whole new possibilities for getting around. It may even save my life some day.
For what I bought it for, Perfect... September 2, 2005
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I use this for gunkholein' in my Kayak...when you start exploring creeks and coves, this alows me to always find my way out of a swamp. It also great for mountain bikeing when exploring a single track that seems to go on and on...trails when hikeing, and want to try new little cut offs...and to always be able to find it again.
Not a real map, but a screen with you in the middle, and you waypoints and trail that you have made...
I also use this when I downhill skateboard to track my speed...
This is a limited device, but its what I need, and I am really happy with it...
USE THE BACKLIGHT SPARINGLY...
I do prefer the fact that it takes AAA bats...to alow quick changing in the field...
Email me with any questions, I will try my best to answer them.
decent unit January 30, 2005
16 out of 18 found this review helpful
I just got the foretrex 101 for christmas. I have a garmin gps 12 which has worked great for me for years. I chose this model because I wanted something I portable to easily wear on my wrist and handlebars. I also chose the 101 because I didn't want to have to remember to charge the unit. I think it lasts 15 hours on 2 nimh AAAs. Anyway, so far as a data cable, you can easily make one with a 2.5mm phono plug (like the end of cellphone handsfree kit) and a female db9 connector. The tip and middle sections of the plug go to pins 2 and 3 (if it doesn't work just swap 'em) and the back section goes to pin 5. I use EasyGPS among other programs to communicate with it. The advantage of RS/232 over USB is that you can communicate with other GPSs and certain other non-host devices. I hooked it up to my pocket PC for satellite navigation. Negatives: it may be my particular unit, but I get inadequate reception unless I have the screen pointing up. Same thing if I'm near trees. My gps12 works much better in these situations, and based on other reviews here, I feel mine may be defective. Hope someone else posts more detail about satellite reception.
Amazing December 29, 2004
30 out of 30 found this review helpful
I have had a Garmin GPS12 for several years and liked it and saw no need to upgrade for my purposes (hiking and geocaching). But when I saw the Foretrex on Amazon I was intrigued and put it on my Christmas list after looking about both this and the Forerunner.
I am really impressed. It does just about everything my 12 does but in a smaller package. The ergonomic sense of wearing it on my wrist is just awesome. Being able to wear it while running and see my speed, to see my info while hinking without having to dig for my GPS from a pocket or pouch. If it was just a scaled-down 12 it would be worth it.
But, no...there's more. The trip computer page is great. Pick the info you want from dozens of fields and choose where you want them displayed. Simple and easy to configure. It's great. It's like being able to have a purpose-made GPS screen for whatever activity you're doing.
Their is WAAS support as well. In layman's terms it makes the GPS more accurate, which, of course, is a good thing.
Probably my only con on this unit would be the lack of external power connection. This really only comes into play in the car. (Where it mounts handily on my rear-view mirror using the wrist strap.)
Battery life is good for only using 2 AAA's. A Set of rechargables is a logical investment with this unit. Speaking of batteries, the reason I choose the 101 over the 201 is the ability to use batteries. There aren't many power outlets in the woods for recharging and I do enjoy backpacking and longer trips on occasion.
so far so good December 21, 2004
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
I just got this gadget and have used it around the neighboorhood but not yet in the backcountry. So far it seems to work well. It actually fits on my wrist without being annoying and bulky. If you feel self conscious it fits under the cuff most jackets.
The first day I got it I went to a local park, marked a waypoint, walked about half a mile away, then navigated back to within 10 feet. So accuracy and ease of use are fine. I have also used it in the car and it is very accurate at tracking speed, distance, etc.
Reception was problematic one day when it was very foggy out. Maybe this is a problem for all GPS units. But beware - this technology is not foolproof!
My only gripe is that the instruction manual, while sufficient for basic operation, does not describe all the features in complete detail. I am still trying to figure out the difference between bearing, heading, and course. But I still gave it 5 stars because it is a great little gadget at a price that seems reasonable.
By the way, I am very happy with Amazon's delivery. The package came to my house less than 24 hours after I placed the order - even though I selected the slowest option (like 3-5 days?) to get free shipping.
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