ravenaussie

I own the PHD and i think once you figure out how to use it, it's a fine gps. It works well even under cover of trees and it's taken me on quite afew adventures...it's not fancy like the new ones, but it gets the job done.

I'm glad to read this thread about Lowrance Endura...as a Lowrance Ifinder PHd user i may one day decide to upgrade to a newer gps'r and i think it will be a Lowrance. My PhD has for whatever reason stopped reading my card...haven't figured out if it's the card or the unit itself, but till this 'quirk' it has been a very good unit for me...so Lowrance still has my support.

Use a Lowrance PHd...been great so far especially for an older model.

I just want to reiterate the positive comments about the Lowrance...i have an even older model the PHd and it's been excellent for my use. Not very difficult to learn and definitely go to Airmappers site...will help a great deal...this one even has mp3 capabilities...never used it but it does have it.

I'll second the Lowrance. Great bang for the buck...works everywhere. ;-)

Girlfriends...now that's expensive hobby... This was very inexpensive for me...just the gps'r and i got it for a bargain. Everything else i don't count because i already had it...

I was in exactly the same boat as you. Had a TomTom and wanted to go geocaching...very addictive hobby by the way...so i wanted a less expensive gpsr. After reading darn near everything, i ended going onto ebay and I purchased a Lowrance Ifinder PhD for 70 plus s+h. It was brand new in its package and it's loaded with a ton of features that i'm still learning how to use. Very accurate as well...gets me right on top of the cache in all cases so far, albeit i haven't gone out as often as i would like. The PhD is an older model and if that's not a problem for you, it does great. I would recommend em and any of the Lowrance product line but in any case when you decide to buy any brand, ebay may be the way you can get a little more for a little less...just a thought.

Just to add my .02c I think Lowrance doesn't get enough credit. Especially when you consider cost to features, it's difficult to beat. You could do a heck of a lot worse than these units...I would recommend em to anyone.

How many units do you now have? lol...and what are you going to do with it?

Let me add one more brand if cost to feature ratio is important. Lowrance...doesn't get much mention on here but when you look at feature set and compare them to the other brands, you could do a lot worse. I've had mine for a couple of months and I was totally 'green' when it came to GPSr's and it was easy to use, very rugged and really quick and accurate. Not to mention that i've never had a problem under cover of trees and even between tall buildings. I love this thing :-) Do yourself a favour and just look at it and others like Firespinner suggest. Then you can truly make a good decision for yourself... RA

Isn't this a problem for all GPSr manufactured before the satellites were decommissioned? And isn't it just a matter for the gps'r to eventually find the newer satellites albeit after quite a bit of time searching? I have an older gpsr and it's found the newer waas satellites. Took awhile but now doesn't take long at all... RA

I've alway's wondered...what happens to the old satellites? Do they let them stay up or do they have them re-enter the atmosphere and burn up? Probably a dumb question but i do wonder..

Looking at the Brunton on their website, the specs look identical to the Lowrance PhD I have purchased. I got mine on ebay for 69+sh...by the way, this thing works really well. Am very happy with it, puts me right on top of the cache all the time.

I have an Ifinder phd and it's exactly the same. I have to make sure the flap fits into the hole to keep it closed and it seems to fit better when it's warm outside. It's supposed to be waterproof and have had it get wet with no problems so far...I'm not sure it's a real concern...also, i really like the Lowrance, works really well.

well, the owner contacted me and gave me permission to put it down as a find. Also he's attempting to jar it loose. So, does everyone come by their own rules of geo-etiquette through experiences they have attained? I know there are general rules, but are they hard and fast rules?

I have the TomTom 1 and they compare very well against all the others that have been mentioned. Check out this site http://www.gpsreview.net very good and in depth reviews and you can compare all of these different car units. RA

Well thanks for all the welcomes Since my last post i've gone out and found 4 more...lol...also, i just lugged in 1000lbs of pellets into my garage for my stove for the winter. The wife should at least think i'm a little handy...I don't know if anyone watches the Red Green Show, but what does he say? "If she doesn't find you handsome, she should at least find you handy"... RA.

Well, I just got back from the cache site and I tried to loosen it up, it moved a hair but i stopped short cause i didn't want to damage it. So I've logged it as a note. I guess starting out i have to come up with a few rules for myself and be consistent. I like the idea of not logging it as a find till I sign the actuall log or the owner say's it's okay. Meanwhile, i went to 3 other places and logged in those, dropped a geocoin and picked up a wooden nickel and a space alien...this is addictive.

You know i started this as an excuse to get out and start walking. And I'm doing this, and I'm also lucky that near where i live there's a bunch (I almost wrote plethora!) of caches withing a few miles of each other. Two settings, one is urban/suburban and the other is very woodsey...So i began this in the urban setting along a major road with lots of people alway's close by. I purchased my gps (Lowrance PhD, new at a really good price ) learned how to use it and then went out. My first find the Lowrance lead me right to it. I didn't know what i was looking for so it took me 30 minutes but my heart was pounding like i was doing something illegal...it was quite a rush. I've only logged 3 so far but within 10 miles around me there's over 300? i believe...so that number should increase soon. This is truly addictive... RA

Now that i think about it...i have a pair of needle nose pliers...should i re-visit and then actually get it out? Or would that not be in the spirit of things...also the actually page doesn't mention that the difficulty of removal is part of the cache...i'll wait to see what others say before I do this... RA

After reading the cache site, I'm leaning towards a NM log. Reading the other logs, the previous 5 had the same problem but they wrote it down as a find with permission from the owner. But i think i agree with the philosophy that if you don't sign, it's not a "found". The other question i have is if when i do sign mark it as a NM, can i go back and then log it as a find, or am i done with it? RA

Hi everyone, Help a newbie here. I came across a cache today, and i actually did find it but it was so wedged in there was no way to remove it. Firmly stuck...consequently, i could not sign the log. Now this cache was in the open so i couldn't just hang around and try to pry it out. Yet some have tried that cause it was damaged at one end with the attempts. So do I log this as a find or as a DNF? I emailed the owner to let him know, also others in the logs have mentioned it as well. thanks again. RA

Glenn, Thanks...i have found that out. I definitely have my eyes and ears out for that...it's the reason i'm doing so much reading on these boards, have visited many manufacturers sites and such. I wanted to learn alot before even attempting to post anything...it's the reason i wanted peoples experiences on these things and not just tell me what to buy...i can figure that out. I like to blame myself if i make a mistake. One of the big differences in the older vs the newer it seems to me would be the usb vs serial. I'm now starting to pair my choices down to those units that support sd or mmc cards to those that don't have them. Maps are important, the topographical ones seem to be more handy. And an ability to loc onto satellites in medium growth overhead. Oh! A compass would be handy as well...Gives me quite a few choices actually....

This has been some great information and i really apreciate it. I think i have formulated a plan of attack to purchase a unit and now i'm not so scared to pull the trigger thinking one is inferior to the other. Choice is good. I will say this though, that going through ebay gives you an idea of what is definitely popular out there...the Garmins by far are sold close to market value...very little dealing goes on their when you compare to the webstores out there. Not talking msrp, very few places sell for that. I have thought about this but i'm pretty sure if i droped the TT it would do it no good...so i'm looking for the ruggedness of the handheld for this new hobby. I'm really looking forward to taking my little girl with me on this 'mini' adventure. I remember when we took her camping and we went on a small hike around one of the trails...she was so excited, it will alway's stay with me. So when i stumbled upon geocaching and even the other games...it just seemed like a great idea and a good excuse to go out...

I've been looking lately at buying since my budget is kinda limited i thought that since i can't buy the latest and greatest maybe last years latest and greatest would be cool...so are older units still viable? What features do we have now, that we can't get with an older model? The older models i've been looking at are: Garmin- Vista/legend/Venture or gpsmap 76 Magellan: Meridian Gold/Color/Platinum Lowrance: ifinder PhD Is there anything else i may want to look at? thanks john