We're looking for a reliable, easy to use, accurate, water resistant & shock resistant GPS to be used in the tracking down, shooting & relocation of endangered wild elephants to bigger permanent jungle reserves in Malaysia.<br>It goes the same too for walkie talkies that are reliable, water & shock resistant and have a good are coverage especially in heavily wooded areas.<br>Any suggestions, folks?

Hi:<br><br>Here is a good web site to discuss GPS units: http://www.geocaching.com/<br><br>If you click on the "discuss geocaching" link from the main page you will find a section on GPS hardware. The folks there have a lot of combined experiance with many brands and models. <br><br>My personal favorites are those made by Garmin that are built for marine use. I've used my GPS II (no longer made) in the pouring rain with no ill affect on the unit.<br><br>One more thing, if you are going to use GPS in a jungle you will definitely need an active antenna to boost reception.<br><br><br>Chris

you can always use those waterproof bag like thingy's to protect it agians water if you dont get/have a waterproof one...

The good news is that you won't have to spend a whole lot of money. I don't think mega-memory and huge databases of US maps will do you much good.<br>I too recommend the Garmin units for size, reliability and ease of use. I would personally recommend the Garmin 12xl or a similar unit. My Etrex Vista has gone back for repairs twice, but it was an early unit and I have not had problems in over a year. If I were you, I would get a less featured Garmin 12 channel unit and use the savings to buy one or two redundant units. Spend the rest on lots of batteries. On that note, I have had really good luck with the new 1600 to 1700 mAh NiMH AA batteries with the Brunton Solar Charger. It takes along time to charge those suckers, but it works famously.

You have two different paths that you can take. One is just to get an inexpensive non-mapping unit. Just make sure that it is waterproof. A hook-up for an enternal antenna would be a plus. You should be able to find a couple of models for well under $200 at www.garmin.com.<br><br>If you do decide that you NEED mapping, the best unit would be here:<br>http://www.navitrak.com/handheld.html<br>This unit is VERY expensive, but will allow you to use a scanned paper map. This is, AFAIK, the only unit that will let you do this.<br>

<br>I'll second the Garmin 12XL recommendation. It does have a couple extra features that make it a better unit than the plain 12 version. The 12XL has a speaker, and also an internal voltage regulator which make accessories cheaper.<br>