Are GPS systems reliable in AK? (Anchorage, Fairbanks: to buy, airplane, moving to)

[iwiamandaiwi]

Hello...My family is moving to Anchorage in a few weeks and I am HORRIBLE with directions. So I was wondering how well GPS systems work around Anchorage, well I guess around AK in general? Also, is there one brand that works better than the others?

Thank You,

Amanda

[Alaskapat528]

Originally Posted by iwiamandaiwi

Hello...My family is moving to Anchorage in a few weeks and I am HORRIBLE with directions. So I was wondering how well GPS systems work around Anchorage, well I guess around AK in general? Also, is there one brand that works better than the others?

Thank You,

Amanda

Yes they work very well, however, be sure you buy one that "includes" Alaska and Canada (if you are driving up through Canada). Not all GPS's have Alaska on them. Magellan is a brand we use and it has been great.

[Naturen]

Anchorage is not a very big city (I am Fairbanks and have to been Anchorage dozens of times) relatively speaking. A map works pretty well. But if you want to use GPS, I am pretty sure it will work just fine. You won't be needing it to much for other cities/towns.

[Alaskapat528]

Originally Posted by Naturen

Anchorage is not a very big city (I am Fairbanks and have to been Anchorage dozens of times) relatively speaking. A map works pretty well. But if you want to use GPS, I am pretty sure it will work just fine. You won't be needing it to much for other cities/towns.

Actually it will come in very handy for a newbie not knowing their way. Many towns you can drive to from Anchorage; Seward, Talkeetna, etc. etc etc

[JohnPF]

Anchorage is another thing, but about North Slope I was warned by gps map people...

[Barkingowl]

I used the GPS in my phone the last time I was in Anchorage, it worked just fine.

[iwiamandaiwi]

Wow, that was quick! Thanks for the info guys, I'm glad to know that it will work in AK. Now I just need to figure out which one to buy

[starlite9]

Originally Posted by JohnPF

Anchorage is another thing, but about North Slope I was warned by gps map people...

My Iphone GPS works just fine in Prudhoe Bay, shows all the roads if I use Google maps, and it shows the roads in topo map format.

If that works there, don't see too much issue with any of the GPS Brands.

Have a Garmin that I use on the snowmachine and in the Airplane and it is dead on. Downloaded the property points on my GPS from the State when I bought it, and in the winter put orange tape where I thought the stakes were at. The next summer, the farthest I was off was two feet... It was dead on again, and that was with an older unit that I had at the time in the 90's.

[Jonotastic]

Yes

[Glitch]

I also use a Garmin, an older model. As others have said, GPS' are great for telling you where you are and where you have been very accurately. My old Garmin has a margin of error somewhere between 12 and 20 feet. It certainly beats using a compass because you do not have to continually adjust for magnetic north. My only issue is with the road maps they use. According to my GPS, when I drive across the Knik River bridge it shows me driving almost half mile out into the Knik Arm. It is not that the GPS is inaccurate, but rather the road maps used by the GPS.

Any GPS will accurately tell you the location of any town or village in Alaska, but actually getting there is another issue entirely.