Accessories For Garmin Etrex

[Toast & Figs]

Hi all you experienced GPSr users!

 

I am still a newbie, but having lots of fun with caching. I have a Garmin eTrex (you know, the little yellow one), which I am finally starting to bond with. I hated it for a while, but things are good now.

 

I am looking for accessories for it that will make caching a bit easier. Does anyone know if there is:

 

1. a preferred rechargable battery for it?

2. a car charger that works well with it?

3. any accessories that will allow me download coordinates directly from the

computer. I just HATE keying all the coordinates by hand.

 

Anyone who has/had an eTrex that has any input, I would greatly appreciate it. Next year for Christmas, on my eTrex's second birthday, I may get myself a new GPSr. In the meantime, I'm looking to make more responsible choices with regard to batteries and repetitive stress injuries derived from hand-keying coordinates!

 

Thanks!

[+JohnnyVegas]

Hi all you experienced GPSr users!

 

I am still a newbie, but having lots of fun with caching. I have a Garmin eTrex (you know, the little yellow one), which I am finally starting to bond with. I hated it for a while, but things are good now.

 

I am looking for accessories for it that will make caching a bit easier. Does anyone know if there is:

 

1. a preferred rechargable battery for it?

2. a car charger that works well with it?

3. any accessories that will allow me download coordinates directly from the

computer. I just HATE keying all the coordinates by hand.

 

Anyone who has/had an eTrex that has any input, I would greatly appreciate it. Next year for Christmas, on my eTrex's second birthday, I may get myself a new GPSr. In the meantime, I'm looking to make more responsible choices with regard to batteries and repetitive stress injuries derived from hand-keying coordinates!

 

Thanks!

1. a preferred rechargable battery for it?

I use rechargable batteries I use some made by Maha in my Dig camera. There are several good Nickle Metal Hydire Nmh batteries made and I am sure other poster will list the ones they like.

 

2. a car charger that works well with it?

A car charger is not something I have used so I have nothing to recomend here

 

3. any accessories that will allow me download coordinates directly from the

computer.

For this you will need a data cable, Garmin sells one but I do not know the product number, there are also others made by other companies that will work and that are less expensive. You can also down load Easy GPS from geocacing.com to get you started. You can also download GSAK for a free trial period, GSAK is much more versital program for waypoint managing.

[+StarBrand]

I use niMh rechargeable batteries in my etrex legend and I typically get 12+ hours of use. In addtion I have a car charger for the AA batteries so I always have fully charges ones on hand.

 

Get the computer data cable - well worth the price - saves a lot of time and accuracy mistakes when hunting caches. Searchy on Google for discount ones.

 

Like this: Page

Edited November 23, 2005 by StarBrand

[+Jeep_Dog]

Hi! I am glad you getting a chance to bond with your GPSr baby.

 

1) Any NiCad works great, just do not go "cheap." Get a reputable brand recharger and batteries.

 

2) This car charger works great, from Garmin. Also, an automobile bracket for your GPSr may interest you.

 

3) You will need a data link cable, like this one between your computer and your GPSr. Also, you will need some software to manage .LOC files, some of those are listed here, along with a description of .LOC files (or GPX available for premium members). Since your little yellow cannot handle much more than a coordinate and a waypoint name, my choice would be the basic EasyGPS program.

 

I hope this helps! Have fun with your little yellow buddy...

[+ByrnedFish]

There is a car charger made for the Garmin eTrex Legend (the blue one that is the next step up from teh yellow one) that i am pretty sure also works for the eTrex. (www.garmin.com) as for the cable to download waypoints i am almost positive that the normal eTrex does not support this function, but the eTrex Legend does. If you live in an area that has Dicks Sporting Goods they are having a sale on ETrex Legends that comes with the car adapter, downloading cable, and several other cool accesseries. Visit

 

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/...97426&cp=991053

 

this is the product info on the etrex legend bundle that i would highly suggest.

[+StarBrand]

...as for the cable to download waypoints i am almost positive that the normal eTrex does not support this function, but the eTrex Legend does....

Actually they use the same cable - the yellow one just doesn't come with one packaged in.

[+Quiggle]

Moving to GPS Units and Software forum.

[CenTexDodger]

I had a cable for my eMap that was a car power adapter--it did not actually charge the batteries, it provided power for the unit--and data cable all in one. I got it on ebay for $20 or so. It should work the same for an eTrex.

[+TeamToro]

I use the Energizer rechargeables and they work fine. I recently started using the City Select maps, and load the maps with the recalculation data. That does seem to drain the batteries much faster, but I still get a pretty good run out it. I always carry a charged set of spares. Maybe two, now.

 

I also use the GSAK software to manage waypoints etc. It's an awesome piece of software and well worth the $20 I spent on it. You can create filters to restrict the caches you're viewing, then upload to your GPS based on that filter. Of course, you have to have a data cable to do that.

 

I mentioned this in another post, but the auto navigation kit is really nice. It includes a car mount, 12-volt power cable, and the City Select software. This eBay vendor has it for about $100 less than retail. It's on my Christmas list.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...item=5785791568

 

TeamToro

[+wiseye]

The "Car charger" is realy a power source, doesn't charge the batteries, works great. the garmin PC cable uses a serial port connection to the PC. I needed a USB connection. This means another cable. Look around on EBAY. I found new cables for less than half the cost of Garmin. I don't know the name but there is a place in oregon that shipped them out the next day. Good Luck!

[CenTexDodger]

The "Car charger" is realy a power source, doesn't charge the batteries, works great. the garmin PC cable uses a serial port connection to the PC. I needed a USB connection. This means another cable. Look around on EBAY. I found new cables for less than half the cost of Garmin. I don't know the name but there is a place in oregon that shipped them out the next day. Good Luck!

IIRC, If you are running an eTrex (except the color models) you have to use a serial cable because the eTrexes do not use usb. You may be able to make it work with a serial/usb convertor.

[+Team_LPD]

I bought the eTrex Legend package from Dick's which includes the vehicle power adapter, vehicle mount, MapSource Topo and PC cable. My new computer does not have a serial port so I had to buy a serial/usb cable from Wal-Mart....cost was $20.00???? I think. Works great.