We're continuing our planning and are counting down now for our departure in Sept. (Can't come soon enough!)  We've been reading mixed reviews of GPS devices.  Some people say that they're really only useful in towns and that most National Parks don't show up in detail on them.  Does anyone have any experience of using GPS devices in some of the more remote areas on their trips?  Do detailed maps exist of the roads in National Parks or do you just get a very 'zoomed out' view? 
Also, if we did invest in a GPS, would we be better off to get a dashboard mounted one, a handheld one or an interface to use the mobile phone and a laptop?  We're feeling a bit lost in this complicated world.  Any comments would be most appreciated.

Jan & Bob!!

Doug Where are you?

To be honest I could NOT live without my GPS. I purchased mine 2nd hand from a real XPURT!!! named Doug who is the ORACLE with all things GPS.. We - wife and I dragged our TRACKABOUT TRAILER 10,400ks earlier this year from Cairns down the east coast to Melbourne then up through Mildura , Broken Hill, Charters Towers and all we used was the Garmin 660... This thing nevva and I mean nevva missed a beat. I went where it said to go and it got me there no worries and no bloody paper maps..No arguments with the now defunct navigator (cheeze and Kisses) and we arrived home in one piece. Cannot speak highly enough of them.. Oh and we are still Married...

Just my 2 bobs worth..

Grrr!!!

gps devices or sat nav as the younger ones call them are as good on the open road as they are in the city, imagine having a person beside you that knows exactly where he/ she is and where you want to go in all situations and then imagine that person being able to get you anywhere you want to go without complaint or argument then you have gps in a nutshell, as the dog says no more arguments with the missus, with the national park issue, if you have something like the camps australia book then in there you have gps navigation points, place those coordinates in your gps and it will automatically tell you ( the driver ) where to go and it will place you at the campsite (within 150 mtrs) my gps is a window mount that way I can take it from my happy trails ( away trips ) to my mundane everyday trip (work) the ammount of maps that you would have to carry would be mind numbing never mind the agro of not knowing where you are when in the city and trying to find it in "the heat of the moment", go and buy one, you will never regret it, dont get handheld they are mostly for hikers and the small screen makes it hard to read, for me anyway, thats my 20 cents worth

Jan and Bob
I read with interest your post enquiring about a GPS unit, My advice will be, if your going to get one....get a good one , and a good one will be a Garmin , and if you want a Garmin that has everything you need then a Nuvi 760 is the way to go,of course you may not want one with Bluetooth hands free compatible with your mobile phone , then the next in line is the Nuvi 260W, On my GPS guide webpage you will find many links to browse through, The 260W has Built-in routable detailed maps for Australia, containing state and country boundaries, lakes, rivers, streams, airports, cities, towns, coastlines, highways, roads, tracks and streets and with OzToppo VS installed to the SD card you will all you need , Keep this link in your favorites for future reference.
Halfway down on the right side you will a very good review on the Nuvi760 , Although US orientated the basics are the same,

Doug's GPS Webpage

Hi Jan and Bob, I dont profess to be the know all and end all to gps devices but what I did find was that the old adage of Kiss ( keep it simple stupid) really does apply on the road, and as to to everything, there is a lot of wizbang gadgetry out there and as many salesmen to match, if you are going from known destination to known destination and want something to brag about to the other caravan park residents when you get there then go and get the shiny one with blue tooth or green hair or whatever else they try to sell to you at an inflated price, the mobile is still currently only good for about 60% of this fantastic country so why would you want bluetooth, and that being only around major cities, up at the kimberleys you may as well shout because more people will hear you  as for your laptop, if you possess one, for updates on the web unless you have satellite broadband at extremely expensive rates, then forget it till you get to a town that may have coverage, the dragon and I have circled this great country twice now and made numerous forays in to what others call "the outback" using nothing more than a Kmart special Logic Gear sl350f, it found every campspot known to the hema map system as well as directions through all major cities, it knew every stream and every dam and every boundary, it automatically updates itself over the air ( dont ask me how but it does) I dont have to carry an sd card for it, even though I keep one in it just in case, it has all australian maps on board, unlike others that recognise america first,  it doesnt carry the fancy price card nor the brag factor but I would rely on it ( and have done many times ) to save my life. if all you want is a reliable gps that just works this is what I would recommend. put the $300 difference in the fuel tank to see the bungle bungles at sunset, we did and we will go back again, just my ten cents worth


-- Edited by dave06 at 13:13, 2008-06-24

good luck with finding a gps, just a last word of advise, check out ebay I found the garmin 760 nuvi that is being quoted on this forum under many listings, you dont need a credit card, they will accept direct bank deposit with $20 shipping charges, it is brand new with the same warranty, for a minimum $100 cheaper and a couple of cases $200 and I didnt look that hard, please look around dont buy off the first shiny pants that jumps up. I have bought many things off ebay and have yet to have any problem with them, dont let the old worry warts put you off

C'mon folks, now ya taking all the fun out of being LOST.Now if ya were traveling way outback and the GPS suddenly"Goe's down,Kaput",then ya might really be lost.Try getting back to the coast from the Percival lakes(SP?) WA,when ya GPS takes an RDO on ya.What if it was ya ride that went "Kaput?",I would deffinately be opting for a portable GPS as well,most people that leave thier vehicle way out there,die. But,if ya ain't going" OUT THERE",whats wrong with a concise map?If ya in the middle of a big city and the GPS takes another RDO on ya,you will be just as lost,NOTE,a portable won't be a nessesity in the city or the inner country.Thank GOD for telstra.Neither should a GPS. Glenn.

purchased a Mio C520 which can be easily converted to take Oziexplorer with topographic maps. The topographic 1:250k maps have substantially more detail than any road maps you can buy or any GPS unit. The topographic maps show you all the national parks, state forests, state reserves and so much more of interest. With the Mio you can switch between the normal GPS maps included with the Mio or go to the topo maps with Oziexplorer.
If you dont go down this path I would still recommend highly you get the 1:250k maps from Geoscience http://www.ga.gov.au/

This is the 'ants pants' guys. Hot off the press!
http://www.hemanavigator.com.au/

Comes pre-loaded with all the HEMA maps plus 1:250,000 plus a street navigator. Nothing else like it.
We will be getting one ASAP.

Cheers,
Peter.

The Hemanavigator is disgustingly overpriced for what they are offering at $990. The Hema is only a Mio C520 rebadged with Oziexplorer and outdated by probably 6 years Geoscience topographic mapping that is available free for download from Geoscience. What is more, the single sheet old maps are a complete pain to use compared to the current set of topographic mosiac maps.
The Mio C520 navigator is $320
OziExplorer $40
8Gb SD Card HS $80
and at best $100 worth of Hema maps.
Total $540 compared to $990 for the Hemanavigator.
I have been running a converted Mio C520 for 6 months without any issues.

What is also quite disgusting is Hema have forbid their dealers to discount this unit as per a post on ExplorOz.

as I PREVIOUSLY STATED WE HAVE CIRCLED AUST. TWICE NOW each time roughly 18,000 kms without a hitch AND MANY JAUNTS TO THE CENTRE using only our trusted logic gear navigater, however when people like pete and marg and dougy start talking my ears prop up, advice is free but what you make of it and what you take with you from it could be life saving, or at least marriage saving in the citys, when we travel I have not only the gps but I carry the camps 4 book which has all hema maps relevent to my travels I.E. mostly highway, if something untoward was to happen to the gps then I have backup, when we go full time ( 3 years time) I will take dougys advice and grab myself a garmin simply because it has the name and reputation, not only dougy has sung their praises but others on our trails swear by them, if I was going offroad then pete and margs webpage would be my new bible, have a look and you will see why, I will however defend the logic gear for what I am doing now, and if I was to battle the off road I would grab pete and margs webpage simply because he belongs to an oka club and has the congregated knowledge base of an unknown number of members and I know damn well if it didnt work, then they would ditch it, simply because I would do the same. as for price to me that is secondary if it cost $2,000 I would grab it if it done everything that I required it to do, as a reference I will be buying a webasto heater for the tasmanian winters and that costs $2,500 not installed but I visited tassy about 5 years ago and my memory is still strong of those cold nights, so to me it is simply a matter of choice, cheap ones seem to be fine, dear ones seem to be fine, if you want my advice listen to the advice and make up your own mind

I bought a "generic" GPS Navigator with a 4.5" screen through Ebay about 6 months ago for $109 delivered.
Ok I had problems with it but the vendor gave me free updates (for Australia) and it works a treat, shows all the tracks even some that have overgrown...

If you are game enough to venture into a shop to buy one get ready for the usual marketing hype & hubris that goes with buying this sort of technology... These are a bit like mobile phones, I just want one that does what it's designed for, I have no use for a GPS that will play blue movies, interlace with my phone, palm pilot and home toaster....
They are getting to be sensibly priced now, expect them to come out in specially marked packs of Cereal soon....