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I'm looking into buying a gps and have a palm. Thought about the add on gps for it but people don't have good things to say about it on cnet. http://computers.cnet.com/hardware/0-16332-418-1664417-1.html?tag=st.co.16332-404-1664417.dir-useropn.16332-418-1664417 the Garmin eTrex Summit GPS, seems to be a popular choice

I am new to Geocaching, but have had a Garmin GPS12 for some time. I got it as part of a software development project for "location inventory" of exotic plants and have been trying to figure out what to use it for. Now I know!

I am new to Geocaching, but have had a Garmin GPS12 for some time. I got it as part of a software development project for "location inventory" of exotic plants and have been trying to figure out what to use it for. Now I know!

I have seen them available at Sports Authority stores. There are also several places online such as gps4fun.com and gpsnow.com. As far as what kind... The Garmin eTrex seems to get good reviews. I have a Garmin GPS12 that I have been very pleased with. Good luck.

Jeremy, From what I saw at that page, the antenna is for the Garmin III+ not the eTrex. There isn't any external connection capability for it....

I use a Garmin GPS 40. It's great! ------------------ Regards, John

The specs page in my Garmin 12 manual quotes operating temp range of -15 to 70 degrees C (5-158 F) so I ASSUME it maintains accuracy over that range. Havign said that, leavign it in a locked car on REAL hot days it takes a LONG time to aquire sometimes, in the end I throw the air-con stream thru to the windscreen to cool it. As for LCD displays yes it's true they DO suffer badly in temperature extremes, either hot or cold. I often get "fade" on my display cause it sits just inside the windscreen and I'm live in a pretty warm place. Temps above roughly 38 degrees Celsius (100 F for US, etc, readers) do cause temp fade, cold temps DO cause the LCD to "slow" right down as the liquid crystal part begins to thicken and freeze. If you have a cheap digital watch (in case of permanent damage) put it in the freezer for a little while - it'll get so slow to update the display it can't set the "seconds" digit before it tries to change it again. HINT: Don't leave it in the freezer too long! :-) The previous suggestion - keep it in your pocket, sleepign bag, etc, is good advice for real cold climates. And for yoru GPS unit too!

Can accessories bought in the US be used with an Etrex bought In Australia? i bought my etrex here in Sydney, but i am sick of waiting for the data cable to arrive, (2 weeks now) so i am going to order one from the US, this will be ok wont it?

I have an Garmin eMap and it works very well.I use the MapSource Metroguide USA software. Today I used the Garmin 27C Remote GPS Antenna in my car for the first time and was very pleased with the performance.

quote:Originally posted by leaper64:I have been using gps12 for 6 months+. I have used it to make 3 stashes and find 2 so far. My only problem was battery consumption, I was changing batteries after 8-10 hrs....until I bought the power cable. Right Leaper. My 2 year old Garmin GPS12 is pretty hard on batteries. It's been a great unit, both durable and accurate. It may be advertising hype, but the new "ultra" batteries seem to be greatly extending the life, may 20% to 40%...this is just a gut feeling. Any problems with your power cable? I'm going to be getting one soon, so I'll go check that nupples.com site. Happy geohunting. ------------------ Lat. N 45d-30.6875' Long. W 122d-37.2055' Elev.=172.97' king6kids@hotmail.com [This message has been edited by OregonSurveyor (edited 01-23-2001).]

Not all GPS units have an "accuracy" value. That may only be an eTrex thing (or Garmin thing, etc.) So unless it's global to all GPS receivers I keep it off the required list. 30 meter accuracy means that you are in a circle 60 meters in diameter. You could be on top of the coordinates for all you know. I Jeremy

Hi Smeghead Good to hear you have gone Garmin. I have just returned from Up North so sorry for the delay in replying to you. I used my etrex to find the Warkworth stash today. email me on gwatson@ihug.co.nz if you want to hook up sometime. Cheers nz_etrex

I don't think the question should be "is the Garmin 12 a good unit", as it definitly is, but rather should you upgrade? The $120 plus shipping is about the same price as buying a Magellan 315/Garmin 12 pretty much anywhere. You need to ask yourself it the new units will have any features you need? The 310 is a 12 channel parallel reciever, so it will be just as accurate as the M315/G12. The new ones can store more waypoints, but do you need more than 100? Do you need more than 13 datums? Personally, I would keep using the 310 and wait for the mapping units to drop a bit more and then move up to one of those. I have a 315 and never come close to using it to capacity. Now, a mapping unit might be fun to play with.....

I have a Garmin GPS III+, and I love it. Good software from the PC (no mac SW :-(, works well on the water, too (Man overboard, course made good, velocity named good). I have a convertible, which is also great for GPS (don't need to leave the receiver on the dash, signals penetrate the vinyl roof).

Im from Sydney, Most boating supply shops sell the Garmin Etrex for $260, considering this unit cost about $100 in the US, it isnt much more expensive than it is in the US (with our exchange rate of about 0.54) I use my etrex for everything from Flying, camping and Geocaching, the Etrex is the cheapest i have found in OZ with decent features, it even works ok in Sydney CBD where i live.

From what I have read GPS's are setup for horizontal accuracy. In most cases they have four or more satellites in view. Ideally you should only need 3 satellites to get a 3D fix if the clock in your GPS was perfect but it is not so you need at least four satellites for a 3D fix and 3 will get you a 2D fix at some assumed altitude. I know some Garmin units will let you enter an estimated altitude if it can only see three satellites. None-the-less, the GPS uses a least square fit to the available data, but since horizontal position is usually more important than vertical position the solution to the over-determined system is optimized to give you good horizontal position at a sacrifice of vertical position. In most cases if you EPE is, say, 20 feet then your vertical error will be about 1.5 times this. Since most unit report a pretty optimistic EPE you have to take even that with a grain of salt. I think I read somewhere that Garmin units report a 50% confidence number in the EPE slot. That mean that if it say you have an error of 20 feet you are going to be within 20 feet of the actual point reported 50% of the time. To get a say 95% confidence number you would need to nearly double the EPE number again. So when you GPS says the EPE is 20 feet your can bet that your altitude could be off by more than +/- 60 feet. This is again a very conservative look at the possible error. Another point when looking at the altitude with respect to see level. Remember your GPS models the world as a great big ellipsoid. This ellipsoid minimizes but does not eliminate the error between what it call zero altitude and what sea level is. The WGS-84 put an altitude of zero at the average sea level. The actual planet is an ellipsoid but it is a very lumping ellipsoid. I was landing in San Diego and had my GPS on during landing. I know slightly illegal but? It reported -110 feet as the wheel touched down. If you ever been to San Diego you know the airport is only a few feet above sea level. Also remember that you unit does not change with the tides either. Lot of reason here for you GPS and sea level not to agree. Hope that helps a little.

From what I have read GPS's are setup for horizontal accuracy. In most cases they have four or more satellites in view. Ideally you should only need 3 satellites to get a 3D fix if the clock in your GPS was perfect but it is not so you need at least four satellites for a 3D fix and 3 will get you a 2D fix at some assumed altitude. I know some Garmin units will let you enter an estimated altitude if it can only see three satellites. None-the-less, the GPS uses a least square fit to the available data, but since horizontal position is usually more important than vertical position the solution to the over-determined system is optimized to give you good horizontal position at a sacrifice of vertical position. In most cases if you EPE is, say, 20 feet then your vertical error will be about 1.5 times this. Since most unit report a pretty optimistic EPE you have to take even that with a grain of salt. I think I read somewhere that Garmin units report a 50% confidence number in the EPE slot. That mean that if it say you have an error of 20 feet you are going to be within 20 feet of the actual point reported 50% of the time. To get a say 95% confidence number you would need to nearly double the EPE number again. So when you GPS says the EPE is 20 feet your can bet that your altitude could be off by more than +/- 60 feet. This is again a very conservative look at the possible error. Another point when looking at the altitude with respect to see level. Remember your GPS models the world as a great big ellipsoid. This ellipsoid minimizes but does not eliminate the error between what it call zero altitude and what sea level is. The WGS-84 put an altitude of zero at the average sea level. The actual planet is an ellipsoid but it is a very lumping ellipsoid. I was landing in San Diego and had my GPS on during landing. I know slightly illegal but? It reported -110 feet as the wheel touched down. If you ever been to San Diego you know the airport is only a few feet above sea level. Also remember that you unit does not change with the tides either. Lot of reason here for you GPS and sea level not to agree. Hope that helps a little.

quote:Originally posted by Omicron:I've got the opportunity to upgrade from my Magellan GPS 310 to a Garmin GPS12 (the base version, not color or able to download maps). The price I'll be paying is $120 plus shipping. What is the opinion of anyone that has experience with these? Is this GPS unit reliable, good quality? Are there any features of it that might end up driving me up a wall? Let me know... The first GPS unit I had was a GPS-38, being 8 channel it was slow and I couldnt get a fix even under a tree with leaves. Much to be desired. I fixed the problem though...I dropped it in the bottom of my canoe in about 3 inches of water for about 10 sec. and it died. I sent it to Garmin (I'd had it for over two years) and they fixed it, with a brand new GPS-12! I can get a good fix even inside my house with this unit. Its fast, and I really like it. Havent used any other GPS's to be able to compair it though. I still dont have faith in it being waterproof, even though they guarentee it. I just put mine in a zip lock bag when I'm on the water to be safe. ------------------

The elevation data is the *least* accurate data from your GPS. I've been at local seashore and noticed a reading of a hundred feet or more at times. However, I've heard that to get the most accurate altitude reading your GPS needs to see the *entire* sky of sats. I was once on top of Mt. Cadilac in Bar Harbor, Maine and pulled out my (old Garmin 45) GPS. It gave me a reading within 10 ft of the height posted on a plaque at the summit! Richard in Boston

I've been using a Garmin 12 for almost 2 years now, have covered more than 16,000 km's all around Australia with it on ong trips plus thousands of km's in the local area (300 kn radius or so), mapped stacks of waypoints, etc. Only fault I can pick is the battery consumption when handheld, but I have no other GPS unit to compare it to. Mine is almost permanently in my car on a power cord. Since last year when the positional estimation accuracy was improved I regularly get 5 metres or so accuracy - good enough for me! I have a friend who has just bought the Garmin e-map, and though I like his unit I find my display (lacking a map as it does) easier to read at a glance and not so "cluttered".

Tomorrow may be Inaguration Day, but we'll be headed out for our first Geocache hunt. We are hoping to find the Un-Original & Billy Graham sites which are both in Clackamas County, Oregon. I've owned this Garmin GPS12 for two years and used it plenty for hiking, x-country sking and work, but just stumbled onto Geocaching this week. Wish us good luck & we'll report back! ------------------ king6kids@hotmail.com

Tomorrow may be Inaguration Day, but we'll be headed out for our first Geocache hunt. We are hoping to find the Un-Original & Billy Graham sites which are both in Clackamas County, Oregon. I've owned this Garmin GPS12 for two years and used it plenty for hiking, x-country sking and work, but just stumbled onto Geocaching this week. Wish us good luck & we'll report back! ------------------ king6kids@hotmail.com

Hi I have a garmin eMap which is very close to the etrek. I use this software program called pan terra by http://www.topografix.com/, they have a freewear version (I think full ver is only $16) It should work the the etrek, just set it to garmin transfer mode. It can send and recive routes and way points. Doesnt download maps to the gps thought, you need garmins mapsource to do that..

There is an official eTrex carrying case. My friend just had his delivered and it's pretty durable. Amazon has it for $14.95. It's called the Garmin Carry Case for Etrex and Summit (link to Amazon). The plastic screen cover is nice and they keep the buttons accessable on the sides. Jeremy [This message has been edited by jeremy (edited 01-19-2001).]

Hi etrex Just got my Garmin this this week and looking to have some fun with it I am in the Auckland area so I will get out soon to check your stash Thanks in advance Smeg..>