ALDI GPS ??

[Moondog55]

https://www.aldi.com.au/en/special-buys ... iking-gps/

Is it worth taking a chance?? This is the only one I have seen in my price range but the website gives no details I assume maps are extra

[perfectlydark]

Yeah im a little hesitant. I have a feeling no maps are included. Ill check it instore but i just bought a nice topo app for my galaxy which will suit my purposes

[GPSGuided]

Aldi electronics typically work but take it with a grain of salt. It won't be as feature rich or as well spec'ed as the majors, may be less reliably. Given the price, use it as a gadget and an intro to the world of GPS. Bring along your regular map and compass as backups and not depend on the GPS until it have proven its worth. I suspect at that price it may not have mapping support either, or at most crudely.

[Picaro]

Etrex 10 at JBhifi for $98 might be a safer intro device.....

[GPSGuided]

Etrex 10 at JBhifi for $98 might be a safer intro device.....

Or a secondhand Garmin model from higher in the range.

[wildwalks]

My view with Aldi is generally - 'buy it and see' (if I have a need for it).
They offer very easy refund. But once they are gone they are very hard to get again.

But in this particular case I use my iphone as I can load maps and do a bunch of other stuff. I suspect you might do better grabbing an Aldi phone use perfctlydark's topo app. Again if it is to slow and clunky just take it back. Second hand is also a great idea.
Their peanut biscuits are yummmy.

I am curious- if anyone does buy one please report back.

Matt

[ricadam]

Tempted to grab one on Saturday when they are in stock. I'm looking at getting a Etrex 10, but if this is comparable then I'll get this one instead because it's cheaper. either way i'll let you know as ill be there to check out the hiking boots and sleeping bag that will be there as well.

[perfectlydark]

I did get a sleeping bag from aldi about 6 months ago, while fairly big, ive never felt cold in it (but wouldnt take it near snow!) I wouldnt worry too much about their quality overall as wildwalks says, but just be aware the gps may need maps. Other than that I dont doubt it will work fine

[ricadam]

If it does need maps, are they free and easy to upload?

the GPS spec say it supports KML and GPX formats

[perfectlydark]

If you obtain the files. Im yet to do a proper search myself as ill need them for offline mapping. Just havnt got around to looking properly

[KANANGRABOYD]

you can buy it, then return if no good, they have an excellent refund policy. Also maybe look at the Whirlpool forums to see if anyone has posted on there yet

[Chrikka]

I bought one on the weekend and returned it today. No maps and confusing to upload, battery max of 10 hrs which is internal and charged by USB so for me a bit hard to annoying to charge in the bush unless I use a solar charger etc.

I also grabbed a down jacket and returned that too. I wanted one that was smaller than my large filled baffle TNF but it appeared to have little loft and a very thing denier which unfortunately looks like it will rip, although should be fine for around town.

No problems with returns,,,,,I even took the stickers off the GPS and inputed user settings. The unit lacked real quality and i didnt want to risk using it when the chips were down,,,,will get an Extrex soon enough. The guy at the checkout didn't even open the box to see if the unit was there !!,,,,,,,still it was useful to see what you get for the money but like all electronic gear from ALDI you get what you pay for!

[perfectlydark]

Cheers for the heads up. Guess using phone seems to be a better option then (probably more reliable too).
Actually might get a new battery and use my old galaxy as a dedicated gps unit

[Moondog55]

Thanx
I'll give it a miss then

[cooee]

Hold the phone you lot, some good reviews on this watch. But you have to remember it is only $99.00, and not a $500.00 Ambit. Any questions you need to know can be found here, have a good read. Cheers.
http://www.coolrunning.com.au/forums/in ... opic=37461

[ricadam]

Hold the phone you lot, some good reviews on this watch. But you have to remember it is only $99.00, and not a $500.00 Ambit. Any questions you need to know can be found here, have a good read. Cheers.
http://www.coolrunning.com.au/forums/in ... opic=37461

Do you know if the watch can show you the lat and longs on the watch itself so you can compare it to a topo map?

[cooee]

From what l can gather after watching the vid, no it doesn't look like it can.

[ricadam]

Ok so I bit he bullet and bought one. and it doesn't easily show lat and longs but it is possible. when you store a waypoint and go back to view it, it shows the co-ordinates of that way point.

It seems like a powerful little device really. I have only use the tracking once and havent uploaded it yet. Ill let you know how it goes.

[ricadam]

Just to clarify, you can edit the profiles in the GPS training mode to show the co-ordinates easy. Also, the book states battery life is about 1 year with the GPS on and 16hrs with it on continuously. with only a 380mAh battery it would last multiple charges on a USB backup batter if you needed to.

[cooee]

Keep us posted on how the watch goes, I’m interested.
Thanks mate.

[TranzitJim]

A quick product review

I have purchased the ALDI brand, product #42903 and have mixed views about it. I hope to present some of what I have found with the device.

I have it mostly because I want a GPS based speedo so I can see what speed I am going at when on a train or bus etc.


What I currently like about it

** On the first screen of icons, GPS info, E-Compas, and Navigation links are of some fun.

** As above, the Navigation feature has the speed in km/h works well, except for the altitude feature of which is Air-Pressure based not GPS based.

** The GPS feature in it would be handy if I had a map to cross reference it with. I use that mostly when starting it up, to watch it find the GPS signal.


Big Negatives
** First off, how do I get it fully charged. I got it charged once when I first got it, but have never been able to do so since.

** Altitude is air-pressure based in most of the locations. Only one is GPS based. The two can be totally different by tens of meters.


Help I seek

Does anyone in this forum know how to get the battery in them fully charged?

To conclude

It is a handy little device. It does what I seek for it to do. Only when it is fully charged, although I do get many hours of well 'fun' with it.

I am yet to work out and use many of the other features, but I am up to the challenge and shall report once I am done.

I ASK TERRIS TO

Should Terris be reading this page, I will ask them to do a software update. That is very very important.

** MOST IMPORTANT UPGRADES would be
-- The ability to just turn off the device while charging.
-- Be asked if I want the USB connection
-- The ability to select GPS altitude v AP altitude, or prefer GPS when you have GPS

** Less important requests include
-- The ability to reset the odomiter

[vicrev]

Saw the GPS watch for $49 today, in Aldi.....worth getting ?.....anyone used it?....

[GPSGuided]

This one?

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2143817

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCPITPKxiks

[vicrev]

Yes....

[keithy]

Saw the GPS watch for $49 today, in Aldi.....worth getting ?.....anyone used it?....

I'm the same guy that responded in the whirlpool thread above. Which Aldi did you see this at? I haven't seen it at any local Aldis for that cheap.

At $49 it seems quite tempting to get it as a GPS watch for tracking runs or short hikes, but I'm not sure I would use it for longer bushwalking. I played with one that someone else got a while back and wanted my help to work out how to use it. It has really limited onboard memory, so track logs/waypoints are very limited.

[vicrev]

Thanks Keithy .....