Laptop GPS World

I have been told the Garmin 850 does NOT have WAAS. I have also been told (by Garmin) that WAAS is "not necessary because of the sensitive reciever it incorporates".

Can anyone tell me if the lack of WAAS should be a deal breaker for buying this unit ?

Thanks,

Mike Flannigan

Hi Mike,

Are you planning to use it for geochaching or some other activity where the extra accuracy of WAAS might be of some value? If not, there shouldn't be an issue. On my iQue 3600 with the external antenna connected I generally get a bit over 5 metre accuracy with WAAS off. When I enable WAAS I get just under 3 metre accuracy. I can't tell the difference when I'm using it for normal navigation purposes.

... Especially if I have it set to Show Location On Roads.

EDIT: I just remembered, I use it for golf yardages and I can't tell the difference if I forget to enable WAAS.

...ken...

Hi Ken:

I will be using it almost exclusively for navigation.

Thanks for the comparison. If I get within 5 meters of my destination and can't find it, I shouldn't be driving -

I find it interesting Garmin does not put WAAS on a much more expensive unit than the 650; which has it !!!!

Thanks again,

Mike Flannigan