Bobthearch

Several caches I've removed food/candy, rocks, or just taken the junkiest item and thrown it in the trash. Otherwise I just place items in the next cache. Best Wishes, Bob

I know it's too late, but those small screens on the eTrex machines are something to keep in mind when shopping. Especially difficult is the ~tiny~ UTM numbers. I wonder why Garmin thinks the satellite map is four times more important than the actual coordinates? Personally, I don't have trouble reading small print, but I know folks that do. My boss, for instance, couldn't read the numbers on his eTrex. When I showed him my GPSMAP76S he was thrilled and thought he might go shopping for one. Best Luck, Bob

I just looked at eBay and I ~can't~ believe how much those things are worth! I figured it was worth about five or ten bucks, but they sell for much more. You might consider selling yours putting the cash towards a new one... It still looks Very Cool; maybe that's why people bid them up so much at auction? Best Wishes, Bob

Wow! Is that cool or what! Do you mind me asking where you bought that? eBay? If it didn't come with one, be sure and download the owner's manual from Garmin. Happy New Year, Bob

When you download a waypoint to your GPS unit, the 6-digit code will be the name of the cache as it appears on the GPS. There just isn't room on most units to have the caches labeled by their real names... Happy New Year, Bob

I use a GPSMAP76S, and I wouldn't want a GPS without a compass. The primary reason isn't to know which way is north, but so that the GPS screens stay aligned, even if I'm turning in circles. -Bob

Danner Mountain Lights. As an archaeologist, I walk all day, every day, and wouldn't wear anything else. They are getting harder to find though, and it seems like they're never on sale... -Bob

There are a couple of caches I found back in September, and no one's logged them since. They were perfectly fine when I left them - no reason to archive. Even with such a rule, 45 days would be ~way~ too short of a time. Many caches are in very remote locations, some are under snow for months at a time, and some are just mysteriously under-visited. Best Wishes, Bob

Hi Wacko and KMB, just a couple of notes. That sounds like a good deal for the V Deluxe - too bad ~I~ don't need a new unit! The eTrex Vista is a nice unit. It has many of the same features of the GPSMAP76S but is much smaller. Some things that make me prefer the 76S: larger screen, alarms, better buttons, and a plug for an external antenna. The Quad-Helix antenna is supposed to be better, but seeing the two operate side-by-side, I doubt there is much difference. Lots of folks at work use the various eTrex models with absolutely no problems. I hope so. The current Vista price at GPSNow is $245. Hope you didn't pay too much. The MAP76S is only $309. Congradulations on making the decision and taking the plunge - I shopped for weeks before deciding... Best Wishes, Bob

The Garmin eTrex Legend is similar to the yellow eTrex I recommended earlier, but has a lot more features and costs a little more. I think the Legend is $179 at GPSNow.com. It looks better, has the "cool" thumb-stick, and can be loaded with Garmin MapSource maps - either street maps or topographic maps. The map software costs about $90 extra, but can be added later as an upgrade. I wouldn't recommend any more unless the sons are already familiar with or interested in GPS/GeoCaching. If you do want to spend more, the GPSMAP76S, as mentioned by "slinger91", is $309 at GPSNow. Happy shopping, Bob

The yellow eTrexes by Garmin would be good for beginners. In fact, as a professional archaeologist I have many co-workers that use yellow eTrexes or other very basic GPS models. And at $99, the sons could each have one. Sharing wouldn't be practical, especially given the competitive nature of boys. The yellow eTrexes are about $99 anywhere. Target had them on sale a while back, but their regular price is still only $99. I just bought one to use as a gift at Gart Sports for $99. And most online retailers are in the same price range. Happy shopping, Bob

Yeah, I'm hoping the price comes down by the time I'm ready to upgrade. Can't wait to read the reviews. Too bad they weren't ready for Christmas... There's nothing like being caught up to year 2000 technology. Wait a minute... it's almost 2004... Haha. Maybe with USB they'll be able to use those little USB memory drives. That would be cool! Later, Bob

It would be more suitable for me if it had a compass, larger screen, and more Track file memory. I haven't actually used a rino, but I'd love to test the communication features. I'm not sure how useful it would be though - there's rarely anyone within radio range. Even if someone else was nearby, the odds of them having a Rino... Best Wishes, Bob

That sucks. Have you tried to return it, or was the warrantee expired? No one at work has had trouble with their eTrexes, but the nature of work isn't as hard on the units. They get stashed in a backpack, taken out for a few minutes, and returned to the packpack. I haven't had my 76S long enough yet to see what'll happen in the summer sun - this summer I was in the mountains. Now I'm in the desert, but the conditions are mild. Best Luck, Bob

Asking for clarification. What sort of mapping features do you need? Loading topo maps on the unit? Moving collected files from the unit to create maps on a computer? Something else? -Bob

Vista is $245 at GPSNow, plus $5 shipping. It's $249 at Offroute. $252 isn't bad, but make sure there's a warrantee, and make sure they aren't charging some outrageous shipping fee. -Bob

Venture or Yellow, it doesn't have the features of the more expensive units and the 310 is in the same range. Even if you find the features lacking, for $50 it'd be a good back-up unit, or a temp until you want to upgrade. Most of the eTrexes I've used have been the basic yellow or the Legend; the Venture is in-between. I'm curious, how long have you had the Venture before the trouble started? Was it on the receiving end of any abuse, such as being forgotten in the New Mexico sun for an hour? What sort of screen problems? You might consider an upgrade to a MAP76S. I ~love~ it and have had no problems at all. A lot of folks are looking forward to the new '60' Garmin units. The 310 would at least get you by until you decided. Heck, if I saw a unit at that price, I'd buy it for a backup. Best Wishes, Bob

Personally I liked the buttons much better on the Meridian line than the SportTrack models. "Tactile responsiveness," or something like that, is the techinical term for "squooshiness." The SportTrak buttons just felt too sqooshy... Also liked the upgrade options with the SD cards on the Meridian line. The Meridian Platinum ended up being my second choice; I bought a Garmin GPSMAP76S. That's out of your stated price range, but it's a tax write-off for work. Happy shopping, Bob

It may have been overstocks at that particular store location. I only looked at the website. Like I said, you won't find any other brand-new units for that price anywhere - you should go for it. If you've been using a yellow eTrex all this time, I'm sure that the 310 will be just fine. One thing to keep in mind: If you've invested in Garmin software, it won't work with a Magellan unit. But the yellow eTrex can't use the Garmin maps either... Also consider what your friends have, and will the files/maps created on their units be compatible with yours? Something else: a friend of mine in Alb. got a great deal on a GPS at the REI scratch-and-dent sale. You have to be a member to get that mailing though, and I have no idea when that sale is. Happy shopping down the road, Bob, in Raton

I browsed over at the Oshman's website and didn't see that model. Perhaps it's on a special sale in some hard-to-find location. If it's still available, you won't find any other brand-new units retail for so little. And I'm sure that that GPS would be just fine for simple Geocaching. Be careful buying from them though. Some of their prices were fair, other units were priced ~way~ too high. For instance the GPSMAP76S is $399 as Oshman's, but only $309 at GPSNow. Happy shopping, Bob

Rechargables "fry" GPS units?!? Sounds like a fabrication to me. I use a GPSMAP76S with rechargables every day. The way that unit eats through batteries - electronic compass, larger screen, etc. - rechargables are the only way to go. Best Wishes, Bob

Here's an idea: GPSMAP76S= $310 MapSource Topo software= $90 Numbers are rounded, but I don't think you could spend $400 better. The MAP76S may drop significantly in price when the new '60's are released. You could hold out for the 60, but then you'd be over budget by the time you bought software. Happy shopping, Bob

Just off the top of my head, the eTrex Legend is the lowest Garmin model that can upload topos from the computer to the GPSr. If you only need to download files from the GPS to the computer, the eTrex Yellow can do that for $99, but you have to buy a seperate cable. My unit, the GPSMAP76S, is great for mapping and does everything you need. But the lowest current price is $309. The Legend is $179, last time I looked. The Magellan price above is misleading because you have to buy the memory seperate. Best Luck, Bob

GPSMAP 76S. Can't beat it! you can find lots of older topics about this model discussing the features, pros, and cons. Best Wishes, Bob

Hi. The eTrex was for a holiday gift, and I was suprised to see Gart selling it for the same price as online retailers. Paying sales tax was a little more than shipping would have been, but having it right away was worth it. Guys at work have various eTrex models, and other even simpler units. Extra junk, err I mean 'features', is important to me so my personal unit is a GPSMAP76S :-) Later, Bob