websherpa

Well, after doing a short day of testing and a couple geocaches (two of which were under water), I have to say that with the exception of some quirks, the Magellan Triton 500 is a package of incredible value for the newbie geocaching crowd. It lacks really functional turn by turn auto routing or ease of Cache update info or direct interaction with geocaching.com (like my GeoScout program does) so it won't replace my Asus 696 the two will co-exist. I did discover that apart from no built-in compass, my Asus 696 with GeoScout and Static Navigation tweaked off (Memory Map Sirf Set-up utility, SirfTech works but is risky if you don't know what you're doing), is nearly as accurate at assiting me to find a cache, but much more fragile to be in the hands of a child. Magellan Triton 500 Pros - appears to work well on Energizer "AA" 2500mAh NiMh rechargeables, though I don't have a specific life to report - easy to use - compass is useable - screens easy to see, in full sunlight it is possible the to see LCD without the backlighting - map interface is well designed and works well - mine came with latest firmware and map software - haven't had any "burps" so far - easy to upload and maintain caches - cache information and logs are up-to-date on the mapping software - downloads all the logs (not missing the last 5 anymore) - can store and show media hints (pics, etc.) on the GPS Cons - battery life appears poor, I need to do some specific testing. Certainly every device should be shipping with Lithium Ion rechargeables these days - but I can see the arguement for the widespread availablilty of "AA" Alkaline and NiMh. - there appears to be a problem turning off the Barometer (even after tweaking the Profile I was using), I can't get it turned off, which may account for my poor battery performance. - no way to mark cache found (except change icon) - the joystick interface seems a little flimsy - it is very difficult to enter information in the field via the on screen keyboard, touch screen would be the obvious upgrade (higher models) for this. - on the GPS unit, the hint comes through un encrypted as the first item in the description - exported GPX format seemed to cause my geoScout to burp, need to re-test that. - PATHETIC manuals So far, I'm quite happy with it. But carry a spare set of batteries.

I'm assuming that an electronic compass model (which I haven't used before) will help point you to the cache after you stop moving and are standing still? Is that not the case? In the other GPSr units I've used, the satellite wander can have the compass spinning around until you walk back and forth trying to triangulate the general cache area. I am all ears...

I'll experiment with the Triton 500 for now, though I'm disappointed it won't let me see the Cache descriptions from geocaching.com like Geoscout does. I MAY keep the Asus, I'm debating it now. Hope this helps: The problem with the Asus 6** when using walking speeds (for me) was not lock-up (you'll note that Destinator works when set to Pedestrian Mode), it is that the Sirf chip set defaults to "Static Navigation" mode, which keeps the unit from reporting any movement if it detects movement less than 5km/hr. If you use a utility like SirfTech to manually turn off the Static Navigation (not for the light hearted), then it works properly, though I find it a bit erratic. I've tried working with the Track Smoothing feature of the chip, but results are inconclusive. Ideally it would be good if programmers of Geoscout, and others, directly addressed the Sirf settings to determine whether Static Navigation is on or off, set it off, and then do it's own "software smoothing" in order to help calm down the "wander" of the position reports.

I've decided to dip my toe into the waters (rather than plunge whole hog for the Colorado) and have ordered a Triton 500. If I regret it, it will go back, and I'll post here. If I like it, I'll post why. Thank you for all your help!

Thank you, great feedback, it sounds like the Triton 500 is "almost" everything I want, except for the auto-routes. So obviously to replace my PDA as the paperless cache keeper, it's a +$200 decision whether to go Colorado (and get the added bonuses) vs. Triton (and what goes along with it being a Magellan). About the Log thing, are you saying that it gives you all logs except the 5 most recent? That's strange, has to be a fixable bug (as does marking found caches) at some point. The electronic compass is something I have been wanting as I find myself walking back and forth at times trying to get better bearings and it annoys the kids (big and little) no end... not that we expect to walk right up to a cache... Thank you!

With this sentence in mind.....find a local with a Colorado and go caching with them........before making a decision. Always good advice. This statement kind of makes me want to lean in favour of the Triton though. For $200 less I can tangle with some of the changes to firmware ... so long as it does what I need it to, but what I can't find is just what information the Triton reports from a GPX file and whether it allows recording of Found Caches (I'm assuming that trying to enter a log, if it has that capability, like GeoScout does, would be difficult from a non-touch screen version). IT's funny, as much negative info as I've read about the Tritons I'm still intrigued in their feature set vs. price which seems more squarely aimed at my type of casual GPS use. I am trying to get away from carrying both a PDA and another GPS (since the GeoScout capabilities are what hooked me into paperless geocaching). Otherwise I would say that the Vista Hcx is more in my range. Thank you all for good advice ... I'm still not convinced one way or another yet.

Thank you in advance for reading this and helping me out.... Bewildered as many over the options, the hype and the raspberries, I am hoping some opinions from experienced users will help guide my way. I am a casual geocacher, with young son (8) and have been using my PPC (Asus696) and Geoscout, and have become rather fond of paperless caching (not that I didn't enjoy it with a Garmin GPSMap76). I don't do it a lot, I'm not worried about getting lost in the deep woods or topigraphical details, etc. I do like my ASus696 for Vehicle Routing, but I'd give it up for a handheld GPS with some similar capabilities. I am the early adopter sort, I don't mind fussing with things and uploading new firmware, etc. so long as it does what it is supposed to do eventually. But I will purchase under circumstances where, if it really doesn't work, I can return it. I don't expect to have to deal too much with "Customer Service". And I don't really want "Go Garmin, Magellan S*cks" kind of advice. I would have preferred to keep my budget at around $270 max. I would like to graduate to a unit with an electronic compass. It would be nice if I could supplant my ASus696 with Navigator software (Destinator 6) for the car (since I don't use the PDA for more than auto GPS routes and paperless geocaching at the moment, and then not that successfully since it's fragile, and I don't get a good fix without Static Navigation, and no compass.) In any case, I have been looking at, but unable to try; the Garmin eTrex Vista HCx and the Magellan Triton 500, both are about the same price, but I am assuming that the Paperless Geocaching abilities of the Triton and the new Garmin Colorado's approach each other. So I'm waffling between the first two based on my pricepoint and desire for features, and then considering maybe upping my budget for the Colorado, but very likely I won't go there because of the price (I have better places to put even $200). What will I be able to see from the GPX files on the Vista HCx vs the Triton 500? How would they compare in the geocaching department, and paperless specifically. Pros vs. Cons? Anything else you think I should consider? Thank you for any and all the information you can give to my specific choice.