spektrum2

Legend HCx for the moment.It works just fine,but I know myself....a paperless unit will be coming soon. Budgets are over rated anyway....hehe

Its all in how you look at it as with all things.Seems to me people with a young family could pay for it in one day,complete with fresh air and fun....taking the troop to the movies on a saturday could blow $30 no problem.If you look at it from a entertainment $/per hour,its a huge bargain for me.

I've never come across one of those!Excellent thing to know for a variety of applications.Thanks for posting that info.

If I had it to do again after more research here I'd have gone with the Oregon series,no doubt about it.I jumped to soon.Knowing what I know now...paperless is huge! as is the compass.I guess the real problem in deciding for most people is they're trying to balance they're current interest and excitement about geocaching against they're future interest in it and how much to invest.....I dont think theres an anwser to that though......unless your rich then go for it!!!!

I'm very happy with mine.read the thread a couple down on the electronic compass though...i'm missing that feature alot.

Exactly! This is the best reason to have a GPS with a built-in compass. I didn't realize what a difference it made until I stopped using my old Garmin Legend and became using my G1 phone to cache. The phone has a compass built-in, the Legend does not. No compass means no readings unless you are moving.. not moving around, but moving forward. The accuracy difference is definitely worth it. I would never buy another GPSr without a compass. I could'nt agree more,I gave up the compass when I bought the Legend HCx to replace the Summit(non h series)In my short time at this numerous times now I've hit bush where you just can't move fast enough or far enough to get a lock....you end up looking around for a "runway"somewhere close by and doing a few laps untill your confident again.....its a pain for sure.The compass isn't incredibly accurate they say,but if it keeps you moving in heavy bush untill your in the search zone.......worth every penny to me!!My next upgrade will have the compass again for sure.

I had a short bushwack this morning....coffee in one hand,gps in the other and followed a manicured trail back to my car laughing at myself but quite content and wiser hehe....as a general rule I would say no and any safety issues could be covered on the cache listing page.In my case I dont have access to the listing page in the field unless its a pre planned trip,but I wouldnt have access to the info your talking about either,so really it comes right back to the listing and pertient info there on hazards etc.

I found this in my travels.garmin firmwareIf you read the installation instructions at the bottom of the page Garmin recommends you even turn off your screen saver and they make no promises it seems....hmmm sounds touchy to me... Disable your antivirus software for sure!

If you downloaded to an SD card...then you bought your maps on DVD and the maps are unlocked for a single GPS (you had to enter an unlock code when you installed the maps). If you buy a pre-loaded SD card...then the map is unlocked for any GPS. However, you can't load anything else on these SD cards. Fiqures.....hehe didnt do my homework again...way to go spektrum.Thanks fegan much appreciated! Geez....just went to Garmins website and the preloaded is the same price too.....I thought the download was a convenience thing.Do your homework Folks!!!!!!

That's true if you get them on DVD, but not if you get them on SD card...then you can move them between units when you upgrade. Of course, they'll probably be out-dated by then and will need to be replaced anyway. Or, you can get FREE maps from OSM. They're not as good as the ones from Garmin...but you know the old saying, you get what you pay for. I've seen the SD cards mentioned a few times,I did the download to an SD card,I was wondering if there are preloaded ones as well....?Anyway can my downloaded card be used in a upgraded unit?Forgive me for popping this in here,I think its somewhat relevent I hope....I've been curious but didnt feel it was worth starting a thread.

Hmmm...i could have swore I read somewhere the HCx had 24mb internal memory?I went to Garmins website just now and under internal memory in the specs it simply says"NO"...not sure what that means as theres obviously some.....? Well.....nothing more to add except it seems to be true.I took the batts out of my summitt(no H)that I used for my 1st half dozen caches and put them in the HCx on Aug 21,I've done a fair bit of hiking since then for a total of 24 now (should mention its externally powered in the car)and still showing all the bars.... no complaints on batt life, but I am curious whats sucking the juice in the venture HC as well....? I was thinking about what dakin55 said about the compass......when they test and list the ratings maybe they are obligated to do so with all functions turned on....??? seems to me they would have to do this or provide and breakdown of whats on,whats off etc....just an after thought....

Your heavy-duty industrial tape might be incredible, but so is Garmin's rubber sleeve. I have heard reports of some tapes sticking to the rubber, but have never seen a successful fastening using tape myself. As for oil dissolving the glue, it might be true but I do not think this is the sole reason. Never handled my GPS with noticeably greasy or oily hands, so if it is from that, it's natural skin oils that cause it. Anyway - there are no ways around this or excuses for Garmin, a GPS sold as a "rugged" outdoor device which can not handle "standard use" - a little heat or fats - without breaking is FAULTY FAULTY FAULTY. Oh I think we all agree garmin has a problem.I can see where they were coming from,the band makes a nice grip, but from a design standpoint lapping a joint is never a good idea especially for a watertight application and in this case where the working of the buttons works on the adhesive. A rubber seal imbedded in the case and a nice friction seal when the two halves are snapped together would make more sense to me.A membrane from the inside as theyve done with the front rocker button would seal them up nicely.Anywho....they seem quite content to keep pumping them out like this. Hopefully I won't have to worry about a DIY fix on mine.

I just tried lifting the edge of mine carefully with my thumpnail,its much closer to the edge then I thought and perfectly uniform.It looks to me like a double sided adhesive strip which would make sense.I think You'd have a hell of time getting that band on there and positioned without getting glue every where. But thats the good news,there are some industrial double sided tapes available that are incredible.We use a 3M tape at work to hold sleeves on pressbrake dies,its only about .005 thick after the backing is off and almost impossible to separate those smooth steel pieces once together. If mine does fail thats where I'm heading first I think.

Now thats interesting indeed,it brings into play everything from sun tan oil that you mentioned to hand sanitizer...maybe even aftershave.My band is not sealed at the edges,it could easily get under there and act like a solvent...a little dew or rainy day to get some moisture on your hands..........hmmmm

On my eTrex Vista HCx it started in the top lert corner as you're looking at the screen and then pretty quickly came loose to about 2/3 of the way down the left side and also about 2/3 of the way across the top before I got it sent in. I think I've read that the problem is something to do with the adhesive that Garmin uses on the banding. All I know is it got old real fast getting sticky adhesive on my hand and the GPSr screen. Mine appears to be fine in that area and all the way around for the moment at least.The scrolling buttons are located there and they see alot of use.I was thinking when a unit goes in for service this band has to be removed and replaced.....gets me wondering if the original process is automated or hand assembled,if that part of the final assembly is by hand it could explain the inconsistant distribution of the adhesive.... I don't suppose Garmin would tell us what adhesive they're using.........

I have the Legend hcx,I just inspected it closely and it seems fine for now. Is there a particular weak spot in the design?Perhaps from a preventative maintainance point of view something could be done if people could post where theyre band first separated.My inspection just now has me thinking I'll be reinforcing the hinge area of the rubber flap that seals the USB port as there doesnt appear to much glue in that area at all on mine and the leverage of the flap could be a problem over time.

Thanks but no thanks.....no fishacuffs for this boy after what I witnessed.I was entering a small community north of me and had slowed down to the city speed limit when woods on my right literally exploded!A black bear exploded out of the woods in front of us,he was bleeding heavily from the shoulder area and his speed was amazing!He didnt look both ways before he crossed the road.....he smashed into the treeline like a tank breaking 1-11/2" sapplings like tooth picks.I'd of handed over Hammy the Hamster if I was in his road that day........JP too!He was on an adrenelin ride, but the raw power I saw that day........You might wanna start carrying A 100 lb tuna for that activity....

No I think a reminder like this is a good thing,and calling attention to it every now and then brings most people back to center.It costs nothing to do so,burned up a few bytes,nothing more, and worth while I believe.

But MY god IS better than your God!! Kidding, kidding, kidding! Just kidding! :( Now I lay me down to sleep,but I'm still unclear which GPS to keep? If I die before I wake,which model should I take?.......

e-pen for notes...!Hey call me crazy but I like that idea!As long as it traces your writing unlike some of the early UPS delievery gadgets that you had to sign blindly...Ya! I like that! Anything that cuts down on scrolling and clicking with these units.touchscreens help...but that would be quick and dirty for sure,but I think it brings us back to some of the above posts,you cant upload that kind of note and that brings the PC back in the loop.

I think paperless in all its variations should be defined somehow for the benefit of newcomers for sure.I'm new and it took "alot" of reading before the fog of paperless "units" and paperless "systems"started to make sense.I know theres a learning curve regardless you cant get around that,I just think it would be a great resource for someone chomping at the bit to buy thier first gps only to have some regrets.Some may have devices already they can combine with unit "x" and be quite happy with a mid range unit etc etc.I say make it a sticky!

Hehe...your gonna have fun! Man! I wish gps had been around when my two were young.I had them camping from an early age and they loved it,the"hunt" would have been the perfect activity to go with that............thinking about nice cache trade items.......sigh....thinking about the "treasures they found"that absolutely had to come in the tent at night........... ....i'm back!I think it will be a huge hit with them! Enjoy!!

I'm using the legend as well.I'm very happy with mine so far,I like the software and menu logic, it works for me for the way I think at least.I'm very new but I was quite pleased with how the download and PQ learning curve went for me.EasyGps found and loaded the unit no problem at all.I've only just started playing with GSAK and can see it has much more to offer and will continue to work with that as well.Other units offer much much more but it sounds like your thinking like I did....don't go cheap but start mid range if it turns out to be my thing then I will not hesitate to upgrade.....anyway thats my experience in a nutshell so far.I'm a happy camper for what its worth. Rob

You would have to edit the data (each Waypoint) to do it. Well that pretty much wraps this up me thinks... let me see... I loaded 290 caches..............290 x ?...carry the 1.........eeeyup! not an option It would be a nice and/or option on a unit,but from what I'm learning it would be way down the list on really nice to haves.

I see your point,a small convenience with lots of strings attached.I'm still experimenting with Citynav but from what I can see so far thats going to be one of the best search tools I have with this unit.