Need a recommendation for a GPS device

[theHandpuppet]

Am planning a project with some relatives to create a map of an old rural settlement -- all gone now -- where we know the location of some early 19th century homesteads. We know where the ruins are but what we'd like to do is record an accurate location of each site and use the coordinates to plot them on a modern map. Could surely use some help and advice here. Later on we may go back with metal detectors to see if any artifacts can be retrieved for the local history museum. Can't afford that right now, though. The priority is to record the location of the old cabins before all trace of them is gone.

Thanks for any advice.

[greyl]

1. On an Android device with GPS, the free app GPS Essentials is great.

http://www.gpsessentials.com/

And the new version of the highest rated standalone GPS on Amazon, a Garmin 42LM.

[rdharma]

2. If you need an extremely accurate record, hire a surveyor.

Unless you really want a fairly pricey GPS that you will use often and keep for a long time.

"When used properly under ideal conditions, the CEP precisions for each method will depend on the quality of the GPS equipment in use and is approximated below:

Autonomous <10m
WADGPS 0.3-2m
RTK 0.05 - 0.5 m
Post Processed 0.02 - 0.25 m "

http://earthmeasurement.com/GPS_accuracy.html

[theHandpuppet]

3. A GPS would be cheaper than a surveyor

Recently hired a surveyor for a job at my mother's place. There's no way I could afford the prices they're charging these days! 2,000 bucks to recheck the survey of an old boundary line on one of her properties, about 1/2 acre total.

As I often explore old sites and burial grounds at least I would have the GPS for future projects.

[rdharma]

4. Then I'd get a WAAS capable GPS

Uses ground based WAAS in conjunction with GPS satellites.

[krispos42]

6. Cool info

Thanks... I like geek stuff like that.

[bluedigger]

5. Delorme makes some pretty good units.

I have one that you can upload various map sets into, including aerial imagery. Very rugged, and they come with pretty good software for post processing. Short of a pro grade unit like a Trimble they should do what you need. http://shop.delorme.com/OA_HTML/DELibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?section=10460

eta: You should also check with your State Historic Preservation Office (or whatever they are designated as in your state) to see what their standards are for site reporting - they may be able to give you some helpful advice.

[lastlib]

7. I would second that

I have a DeLorme Earthmate, about four yrs old, and it's very good. I use it for some things similar to what you do, as well as some geocaching. The one downside is, it's a serious battery-hog, so I would recommend getting a couple of rechargeables for it. And take them out when you're not using it.

[theHandpuppet]

8. I'm getting lots of good advice here.

Thanks much. I'm also bookmarking some of the links provided. This will all help with our planning. In a few months I should have some photos from our project posted to a website where you can view our efforts as well as some old photos & maps of the community we're looking for. We're working with a shoestring budget and a few volunteers but at least we'll be creating a record before everything is gone and the remaining few people who remember locations and names have passed on.

[bananas]

9. You can geo-tag the photos

If you set the clock on your camera.
and have your gps with you when you take the photos,
there are programs which will look up the photo timestamp in the gps log and write a tag to the photo file.

edit to add http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geotagged_photograph