Customer Reviews

Cobra GPS 100 1.1-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

First let me say that I'm not one of those GPS users who expects to have a signal everywhere I go. After all, these satellites are miles above the earth floating in space! So while I expect to lose signals every now and then I don't expect to never receive them.

My unit had some trouble picking up a satellite for the first time. The manual said 50 seconds but I waited a good 5 minutes. The manual also says something like it shouldn't take more than 35 seconds to receive a signal if it's cold, or 20 seconds if it's warm. I waited minutes everytime I turned it on.

When I did get a signal, the data seemed to be very skewed. I walked 30 feet across my flat backyard and it said I dropped 20+ feet in elevation. It lost it's signal pretty often. Then, about 5 minutes later, the unit crashed. Like a computer. The whole unit was frozen, backlight on, and a huge line across the screen. No matter what button I pushed the screen wouldn't change. So I tried to turn it off, but even the power button wouldn't turn it off. I had to take out the batteries.

Ok, beginner's bad luck. I reinstalled the batteries (which were new at the time!) and tried again. After 5 minutes of waiting for reception, the unit crashed once more in the exact same manner it had 20 minutes before that. I decided then and there to return it. If this thing has trouble finding a signal, let alone keep from crashing, then I can't trust it to get me where I need to go in the backcountry.

To be fair, I tested the unit on a calm, slightly overcast night with the temperature in the mid 40's F. I think they would be nice test conditions for any unit.

I returned it for a Garmin eTrex Venture for a few dollars more and am much happier with it. It even held a signal in the same conditions that I tested the Cobra GPS 100 in.

My advice: go with a brand you trust like Garmin or Magellan.

This is one of the worst GPS units I have used. The keys are not intuitive, the battery cover does not fit correctly (how can it be IPX7 water resistant compliant as advertised?), the unit loses GPS lock, when GPS lock is lost it cannot reacquire it.

The screens are nice in that you can configure the information, but the unit is not as flexible as say a Magellan Meridian.

This unit can almost never lock onto a satelite. When it does it is innaccurate. I am returning it.

I am new to the GPS user world and had high hopes for this unit. Its primary use was going to be simple for hunting & hiking help. I have read several negative reports that describe fairly accurately the same troubles I have. To be brief, my complaints are: Accuracy - horizontally off by 100 to 500 ft, vertically (altimeter) off by up to thousands of feet; Satellite lock - unreliable no matter what is or is not overhead, even on clear days; Tracking - unit seems to freeze after first waypoint direction is established, but walking in that direction the unit does not always update and is unreliable.

I have other Cobra products that are great, however the most disappointing thing about thie unit is that the advertisement of features is at best inaccurate and at worst misleading. It seems that the unit is working like the rest, but certainly without the improved capabilities expounded by Cobra.

Update: Cobra replaced the unit with a new one with no questions asked. Still problematic but due to Cobra Customer Service being proactive, I raised the rating.

I bought this unit to start goe-caching. So-far I have found it to be as accurate as any other brand providing, as the manual says, I have a "clear view of the sky". I have checked its positioning against every cache I have found so far and it is typicaly within 2 or 3 meters. Assuming that other geo-cachers use all sorts of brands I figure this is a pretty fair test. I am learning about the limits of the GP system itself along the way. I get the feeling some reviewers are blaming those limits on this unit (maybe because its price is very 'competitive'?)

It is intuitive to use, I hardly had to look at the manual. The buttons are a little stiff. I like the rubber on all the corners of the case making so it can bounce around in my glove box without geting banged up. It is very waterproof. I have been caught out in some heavy rain and it hasn't leaked.

It did take significantly longer than the 50 seconds the manual said to aquire a fix when I first turned it on but once it was 'warmed up' it was fine. Good batteries literally last for days on end, as long as you DON'T use the back light. The back-light seems to sap them in minutes. I accidentally left my unit on in power-save mode for two days on my coffee table with a set of batteries that had already done several hours daytime use. They were 'almost' flat after all that time. Not bad.

Over-all this unit has meet all my exepectations and I recomend it for geo-caching. Got'a be the most bang-for-your-buck unit around.

There is no signal. I got this unit for geocaching. In this "sport", you must have precise accuracy. Most of the time the accuracy reading is 40 feet or worse. This unit claims to have accuracy to within 10 feet. Even when there was not a single cloud in the sky and satalites are all around, there was very bad signal. I am probably going to return it for a Garmin.

Whats going on with the poor reviews? I bought this and have been overwhelming delighted with it. No, it's not top of the line, but worth more than the selling price.
It works great! Accurate to within a few feet thanks to the WAAS feature. Geocaching is a blast! The unit is very sturdy and weatherproof. It's true it doesn't work well in poor weather, but I'm sure few do. The only downside I can think of is the quality of their accessories. The car power cord works about 75 percent of the time. 25 percent of the time it will claim batteries are low while plugged in. Batteries drain very quickly, particularly when the backlight is on.
All in all, it is well worth the $$. It is very functional and full of features (e.g. elevation). I've found it to be very accurate. I give this unit a strong 4 stars. I'll go on record as saying it's a bargain.

I have used several GPS units (Cobra, Garmin, Magellan) and this is, by far, the worst of the bunch. Same problems as others have noted: no signal on a clear day in the middle of a field, lost contatct with satellites on a regular basis, HIGHLY inaccurate for both direction and elevation, and the compass is NEVER accurate. You'd be better of using blind luck to find your way around. Spend a little more for another brand and save yourself the frustration. Mine's going back to the store ASAP. (Now where's that receipt???)

DON'T BUY IT

If cost is the issue buy a cheap Garmin brand gpsr. I naively bought this model when I got introduced to geocaching last spring, thinking I'd buy a cheap gps receiver in case I didn't like the sport.

This device has many flaws. The gps unit only updated your location every 5 minutes or so. Reading the manual didn't help, I had to contact cobra so they could instruct me how to turn off their moronic "power saving" mode.

I had several days where there was not a cloud in the sky, yet no connection to the satellites could be found. I routinely got different coordinates when standing in the exact same spot of my driveway, sometimes over 100 yards away from eachother.

In addition, when using the goto waypoint feature, when you come about 100 feet from the destination, the gps would beep and display "ARRIVING AT DESTINATION!" Then any distance readings or compass bearings would disappear. I know gps is not extremely accurate, but 100 feet?! The packaging claims within 3 meters.

Cobra's gps100 is pure trash. Don't buy it unless it's a gift for someone you really hate.

Even if it is half the price of a Garmin, just save your money and put'm towards the leader. Why does the aviation industry uses Garmin? Why the oil exploration industry in the most remote places of Alaska uses Garmin? And to help you out when you choose a hand held, pay attention to the High Sensitivity receiver (marked as "H"), the color screen (marked as "C") and the ability to add/remove maps inside its micro SD slot (marked as "X"). A recommended model can be the "e-trex legend HCX" or the "60 CX". Some models have a few more unnecessary features such as the barometric altimeter which is NOT more accurate than the satellite altimeter. When the environment is pressurized, you can get accurate readings of altitude ONLY with the satellite altimeter.
On a micro SD card, you may transfer to device 2025 areas of topographic maps from MapSource which is about 637 mb. This is about the size of the one sixth of the US topo maps. More areas can be saved in several memory cards to switch'm as you travel across the country. A trip and way-point manager software comes free with a Garmin and a free "Check for software updates" under the "help" menu. This gives you a global basic map of major cities and highways. A few years ago, it used to be basic. Now, it is a bit more than basic. It is very well done mapping of the correct shapes and borders of counties (Versus the previous version that was more of a geometrical shapes suggesting borders).
Another bonus feature is the ability to switch a memory card to one that has the "Plug & Play Street maps" of the entire North America and the unit is capable of giving you visual driving directions to an address. It is something more than you can expect from a hiking GPS.
I tested the magellan too. No time to write about it. Simply stay with Garmin.