I did get a couple of replies during the downtime to my post asking for suggestions about the best GPS receiver for my needs.

Eric Arnold, who works at the University of Tennessee Map Library in Knoxville, mentioned the Garmin GPSMAP 76S. “We actually lend this model to students, staff and faculty at UTK,” he wrote. (Details here.) He also referred me to the Map Library’s page of GPS links. Eric added: “We have been pleased with this model, but there may be other models that are equally good out there. The following link is widely considered to be the best source for GPS receiver information: http://gpsinformation.net/.” A good tip.

Glen Hunter wondered if I had gotten any useful replies. (I knew I should have gotten this back up and running sooner.) He wrote:

My needs are quite similar to yours, good in Canada, good with Macs, good topos, and needed for trail use, rather than road. I’m a little less clear on UTM. [see this post — JC]

I’ve been looking at the Rhinos, but mostly for the neato combination of 2-way radio with GPS. I live on a 100-acre piece of land and I’ve been thinking about setting up a scavenger-hunt sort of thing for my nephews, etc. when they come to visit — gets them out of the house. Since they’re all city kids they think if they get 50 yards away from the house they’ll be lost. I can see some really cool things you could do with this kind of activity when a GPS is added to the mix. [link added]

Keep those suggestions coming. They’re appreciated.