Bushnell ONIX400 Handheld GPS Receiver

• Average user rating: 2.0 stars out of 4 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars

• Sort by: Most helpful Highest rating Lowest rating Most recent

• 1 stars

  Absolute piece of junk

  by w2jlk on December 11, 2009

  Pros: Large display screen. Good digital compass. Good satellite receiver

  Cons: Worthless "free" maps. Visual images are so cluttered as to obscure even large features like lakes. Very complex download procedures. Base map is very inaccurate and sparse - almost blank.

  Summary: I've only used a few hiking/hunting GPS devices - most are not too good, but this is the bottom of the pile. The free base map is unusable ...

  Read more

  Summary: I've only used a few hiking/hunting GPS devices - most are not too good, but this is the bottom of the pile. The free base map is unusable for any real navigation - major features like large lakes, parks, major roads, etc are not shown or are inaccurate. Unless you purchase large numbers of maps this device is basically only a digital compass. Even if you sign up for the "unlimited downloads" at $29.95/yr you will waste so much time down loading the maps that its not worth it. Also, as I understand their customer service tech, the maps are not zoomable. So you need to buy multiple maps for the same area (i.e., zoomed out to "get you there" and more "zoomed in" to see the area's details when you get near.) It is very difficult to reach "customer support". Not only do I strongly recommend against this product but I would not be likely to purchase any other optical products from Bushnell based on the low quality of this product and their customer support. My DeLorme PN-20, which is not ideal, is far superior, IMO. Even at the $99 sale price I paid for the 400, it was a bad deal. Also, the 400 is very large compared to other units and uses a proprietary battery that can only be charged from an AC source. So if the battery runs down in the woods, it will be a problem unless you purchase additional expensive batteries and tote around the extra weight. Finally, some of the waterproofing rubber seals fit so poorly that they fall out and can be easily lost (which is why, I suppose, that a replacement seal is included.)

  Show less

• 2 stars

  Not usable as a GPS. Basemap has almost zero data.

  by jrknothead on September 4, 2009

  Pros: Supposedly, you can download sattellite imagery from the website to the unit, and then show that layered with map and weather data. If it worked like it is advertised, it would be a useful device. But there are several points they omit from the ads

  Cons: Unfortunately, the software has bugs and crashes often. One thing they neglect to mention is if you want sattellite images, you have to pay $1 to download each square km. Detailed maps are not available, the basemap only shows major highways.

  Summary: Bottom line, this thing is useless. It will only hold 20 of those 1 sq Km maps that you have to pay a dollar apeice for, so unless you know ...

  Read more

  Summary: Bottom line, this thing is useless. It will only hold 20 of those 1 sq Km maps that you have to pay a dollar apeice for, so unless you know exactly where you are going to be, buy the corresponding sattellite maps for a dollar apiece, and upload them to the device, you are not going to be able to use the sattellite info. Compounding this is the maddeningly sparse basemap, against which all other data is displayed. This basemap contains only the major highways, no streets, no roads, even the widest and most traveled streets are omitted. It is like looking at a blank screen with a point in the center that say's "you are here"... If a major highway is close enough, you might be able to determine your distance from it, but you will not see the streets you need to travel to get there. Unless you can fly, this data is useless.
  
  To activate the cool features, you have to pay. To get weather, you have to buy a Sirius radio subscription for $30 a month. Sattellite imagery costs $1 per square KM. To put this in perspective, to get all of New York City as a sattellite map for this unit, you will pay more than $141,000, and you would only be able to fit 20 of those one dollar images into the unit at a time. To view all of New York City as a sattellite image on your screen, you will have to load 20 sq Kms at a time, over 7000 times.
  
  I cannot believe that bushnell has the audacity to call this unit a navigation system. It cannot under any circumstances be used to navigate, beyond telling you which direction you are facing, and your precise lattitude and longitude.

  Show less

• 8 stars

  Great Product

  by blake00 on August 25, 2008

  Pros: aerial photos,electronic compass, ease of use

  Cons: Does not have tidal, or solunar info, clouds can sometimes obstruct aerial images

  Summary: Great gps, aerial photo layering is awesome for the gulf coast area here in the great state of TX topo maps are worthless because its so flat here, maps that ...

  Read more

  Summary: Great gps, aerial photo layering is awesome for the gulf coast area here in the great state of TX topo maps are worthless because its so flat here, maps that it has from the factory arent very good only major highways, you have to purchase aerial photographs theya arent free, penetrates tree canopys good, easy to switch between functions, cloud cover can be in the way on some locations for aerial photos, nice to have live doppler when your out on the lake or bay, not really easy to enter reef coordinates or any coordinates for a waypoint that is not your current location because if you make a mistake you cant go back and erase the characters one at a time if you didnt get right, xm radio with sports great for long sits in the deerstand, batterey life isnt that great, but you can buy an extended life battery, $50 manufacters rebate good through 8/31/08, so you can pick one up for about $350 when its all said and done

  Show less

• 8 stars

  Excellent multi-talented device!

  by kc7cbf on August 23, 2008

  Pros: Ease of use, excellent GPS & XM Recievers, XM Weather Radar.

  Cons: Maps expensive, screen easily scratched, no readily available external antenna.

  Summary: _This is a great all in one GPS system that also serves the purpose of a XM Radio reciever. The Onix 400 is a rugged, solid-feeling unit with a interchangable ...

  Read more

  Summary: _This is a great all in one GPS system that also serves the purpose of a XM Radio reciever. The Onix 400 is a rugged, solid-feeling unit with a interchangable battery unit. Despite what is sometimes indicated, this unit DOES support removable memory and I am told it supports up to 4gb additional, however I am using a 2gb chip.
  _GPS signal reception is fast, and to my surprise- worked even indoors at my house. (I have others that can not.) The XM reception is superior to my other XM radio units, an older SONY XM01, and a Tao unit- the ONIX is regularly able to recieve signal where the others can't.
  _Unfortunately, the unit has (what I percieve as) a few drawbacks. The first is the requirement to purchase separately the maps and aerial images. The plans for this service have changed a couple of times, but all I can say is that they are too expensive for the size/resolution that you get. (Not that you can find this out unless you purchase...) there are three sizes of maps available, all with reducing resoluton in relation to increasing size.
  _Another annoyance is the lack of an external connector for either GPS or XM. There are some XM antenna headphones available for the unit- but the headband houses the antenna, and doesn't support external placement. (Easily) Also, if you intend to use the unit in a car for XM Radio- keep in mind that the antenna at the top of the unit works best placed almost against the glass for the best reception. However, this happens to be where the earphone jack is- (although recessed) so it poses an additional deterrent to using it in this manner. (I am still happily using this unit in this manner with an additional right angle earphone adaptor.) A single socket-type connector for the ports at the bottom providing a audio, antenna(s), and power connection would simplify things incredibly.
  _Battery life is good, with consistently 5 hours of XM use per charge (longer than the Tao) and quick change battery packs making this even more convenient. GPS only (auto update for XM WX data only) stretches usable navigation time to a day's worth of hiking, having gotten 14 hours with the backlight off, and Smart track used intermittently.
  _The Weather Quick Radar feature is suprisingly valuable, and I initally only activated it as a novelty. However, I now am hooked on the information provided by the maps, and think that it is well worth the extra few bucks.
  _Overall I strongly recommmend this unit for the features it provides, especially since it doubles as an XM Radio, making you much more likely to become familiar with it.

  Show less

See pricing