Which Gps Unit Is Best

[Trav&Tess]

Hi there, i am totally new to this, havent even bought my gps unit yet. I have been reading about the magellan explorist series. Is the 100 good enogh? It is accurate within 3 square meters. And when they give coordinates (like N 52° 10.380 W 106° 36.159) is that what shows up on the gps unit? I just need basic help i guess. Thanks to anyone who helps.

[nusis]

Hi there, i am totally new to this, havent even bought my gps unit yet. I have been reading about the magellan explorist series. Is the 100 good enogh? It is accurate within 3 square meters. And when they give coordinates (like N 52° 10.380 W 106° 36.159) is that what shows up on the gps unit? I just need basic help i guess. Thanks to anyone who helps.

I'm pretty happy with my yellow Garmin E-Trex.

 

It's cheap (about $70), waterproof, rugged, and does the job - you put in the coordinates, it gives you an arrow and a distance. It's accurate to about 9 feet with a good signal. Get a map from google to help you get close to the cache if it's in the country or an odd spot.

[+Team Cotati]

Hi there, i am totally new to this, havent even bought my gps unit yet. I have been reading about the magellan explorist series. Is the 100 good enogh? It is accurate within 3 square meters. And when they give coordinates (like N 52° 10.380 W 106° 36.159) is that what shows up on the gps unit? I just need basic help i guess. Thanks to anyone who helps.

get the 210. many more features esp. the ability to connect to a pc and upload coords automatically. tiger gps had them recently for $156.00. there are several garmin units that offer similar features.

[+Airmapper]

Yup, it does that. Accuracy is the same with all GPS's, you only pay for advanced features and cases. A cheap GPS is just as accurate as an advanced one. (Unless your talking surveying units.)

 

I almost forgot, Welcome!!!

Edited December 28, 2005 by Airmapper

[+D_Able_Cachers]

Sorry I disagree, an electronic compass and being able to track with WAAS SATELITES makes a big difference. These 2 features increase accuracy.

 

Explorist 600

Palm Zire 71

 

What has been said about being able to connect to the computer is another feature you should look for. Some older models don't connect via a USB port, most new computers don't feature the old connectors in the older GPSR. This isn't an accuracy issue but if you continue the hobby, may be a consideration.

 

3 cents

[vagabond]

Sorry I disagree, an electronic compass and being able to track with WAAS SATELITES makes a big difference. These 2 features increase accuracy.

 

Explorist 600

Palm Zire 71

 

What has been said about being able to connect to the computer is another feature you should look for. Some older models don't connect via a USB port, most new computers don't feature the old connectors in the older GPSR. This isn't an accuracy issue but if you continue the hobby, may be a consideration.

 

3 cents

Waas sats normally do make a gps more accurate, but a electronic compass does not increase accuracy,although it is nice to have a compass. Most people use a pocket compass which is good to have if your batts die of the gps fails. And if you do buy a gps that has a serial connection instead of usb, you you can always buy a serial to usb adapter, which I used on my Magellan gold for almost 3 years, until I bought my exp 500.

Your best bet is to buy one of the newer models of whichever brand you like.

[+Airmapper]

I believe that most new GPS recievers, even the cheaper ones, are WAAS enabled.

[+JohnnyVegas]

I must take issue with the need for a magnetic compass in a GPS. I have use them and I even own a GPS that has one. I find a magnetic compass in a GPS to be a large waste of money that would be better put towards Boots, Walking sticks, sox,batteries, a flash light, hat, sunglasses, gas, buss fare, rain coat, or a GPS case. Or how about a real baseplate compass and it does not need batteries.

 

As far as WASS, there are some areas that WASS does not cover. People were finding plenty of caches before WASS was around.

[+Team Neos]

The folks so far have steered you right. If you think you will like this and stick with it, pay a few extra dollars to be sure you can upload waypoints directly from your computer to the unit. Addings coordinates by hand takes a long time, and leads to some errors now and then that have you looking for a cache miles from where it lays.

 

I would also add to make sure you try holding the GPS in your hand before you buy it. I have heard a lot of people say that they replaced their units because they were uncomfortable to hold for long periods of time, or because they couldn't reach the controls.

 

I started with an eTrex Legend a year and a half ago and loved it (They are down to about $116 now). I got an upgrade to the Garmin GPSMAP 76CS for Christmas-those are the only two units I have had personal experience with--but I have cached with people using every GPS you can think of, and they all manged to find the coordinates.

[+Airmapper]

Trav&Tess, maybe you could tell us your price range, and what you would like your new GPS to do.

 

Your going to get suggestions all over the board on what the best GPS is, so if we can get an idea of what you need, we'll try and narrow the field.

[+daiichi]

Since you didn't mention how much money you had to spend, I wanted to share what I did--which is really expensive way of doing it, but I am very pleased with it.

 

I have an HP IPAQ 2795 ($499) with a Pharos Bluetooth GPS ($75) and I'm running "Backyard Navigator" by Crittermap (google for it). The software lets you download the GPX files you get from Groundspeak... and you can display topo (terrain maps) or--what I find most useful--aerial photos which actually can show you the trails you would miss otherwise. It also draws this arrow between where you are and where the cache is--and it is extremely accurate. I don't know if it's simply that I'm lucky, but I've found 7 of 7 with this lashup and only rarely needed to consult the hints.

 

I mounted the rig in a ruggedized otterbox ($99) with a bike RAM mount ($99) on my mountain bike ($2500). So far I've went hunting twice... and was able to visit 3 caches on the first outing, and four caches on the second. The limiting factor was sunlight.

 

If I had a limited budget, I'd probably go another route... but so far I'm very pleased at the performance of this rig.

[Trav&Tess]

I didnt want to spend that much money but by listening to you guys and checking the internet i think ill go with an e trex summit or magellan explorist 200. Thank you all for your help. If i can find one this morning i am going to hide my first cache today. I alreadyb have it made and know the location. should be fun.

[+briansnat]

I didnt want to spend that much money but by listening to you guys and checking the internet i think ill go with an e trex summit or magellan explorist 200. Thank you all for your help. If i can find one this morning i am going to hide my first cache today. I alreadyb have it made and know the location. should be fun.

I don't think either would be a good choice. The eXplorist 200 doesn't have the ability to hook up to a PC and you will find that limiting if you get even semi serious about geocaching. The eXplorist 210 is a much better choice from the eXplorist line.

 

The eTrex Summit is way over priced. You're paying a lot for a non mapping unit when you can get a mapping unit like the Legend for less. With the Summit you're paying a premium for the electronic magnetic compass, when a $10 hand held will do the trick and for the barometric altimeter which is of little use (beyond satisfying curiousity) unless you're a mountaineer.

[magellan315]

I would urge caution when it comes to the Explorist series. You need to make sure that you can download coordinates from the computer to the GPS, I believe the 100, 200, 300 do not have that option. As far as the 400, 500, 600 go, they use a rechargeable, built in, lithium ion battery. I passed on them because if the battery dies in the middle of the woods you can't put a fresh one in, unlike most GPSes that run on double AA batteries.

[+geognerd]

I'll chime in and agree with briansnat, johnnyvegas and Team Cotati, and expand on what magellan315 wrote.

 

I own an eXplorist 100 and recently upgraded to the 400. The eXplorist 210 in my opinion is the best bang for your buck right now at around $150. It offers computer connectivity, which is a big plus if you ever plan on doing more than say 10 caches in a day. It allows for autorouting with DirectRoute if you ever want to give that a try. It definitely does everything you need for geocaching and offers a taste of what routing models have to offer. Another great thing is that the eXplorist line appear as a removable drive on your PC, so it's easy to copy and move files.

 

As for batteries, I once was afraid of the LiIon battery in the 4/5/600. But then I found out it can be removed as easily as AAs, and replacements/spares (Motorola t720 cell phone battery) are cheap and available. The GPSr has a battery meter, so when I think it's not full enough to last the following day, I just plug it in and let it charge.

[+JohnnyVegas]

As Brian said, the Explorist 210 would be a very good choice. It should not be confused with the 100, 200 and 300. The only thing they have in common is the word explorist in the name. The 210 does allow for the down loading of waypoints and maps from a PC. The Exploris 210 uses AA batteries not the lithium ion battery that the 400, 500 and 600 uses.

 

And forget about the summit, it is over priced, you do not need an altimeter for geocaching. I did not like the summit when it first came out and I still think it is an over priced GPS. IMO the only reason Garmin still has in inventory is that they cannot grid rid of them

Edited December 28, 2005 by JohnnyVegas

[+Airmapper]

I might recommend an E-trex Legend C, it's about $200-$250 and mapping would be around another $100. But, you won't need the mapping right away, so it would be a good unit for you to use starting out, that would grow with you. I've never used this unit, but have considered buying one for my own use. (I already own 2 GPS's)

 

I also can recommend the Lowrance i-Finder series, except the Go and Go2, I wouldn't get those. i-Finders have great antennas, lots of features and good mapping. These units are a little more advanced, and more complicated, but are still great. No auto routing on these units, so road trips will be more difficult.

[+geognerd]

I also can recommend the Lowrance i-Finder series, except the Go and Go2, I wouldn't get those. i-Finders have great antennas, lots of features and good mapping. These units are a little more advanced, and more complicated, but are still great. No auto routing on these units, so road trips will be more difficult.

Oh yeah! Forgot to mention that. The i-Finders piqued my interest a while back because of the low price. If price is your main concern, definitely give Lowrance a look.

[+Zzyzx Road]

We got an eXplorist 600. Color wasn't an option I needed, but the altimeter/barometer was something Hubby wanted for hunting/fishing/camping. Reading the weather based on the barometer is something he is good at, so that WAS a feature we needed. Computer accessability was also something he wanted, because he does a lot of map reading before he goes. I personally wanted the geocaching manager that comes with it, and also the ability to place waypoints of my own in the expandable memory. Takes the same SD card as my digital, so I have backups that way too. The conversion of some of the maps to the areas hubby like to go is also a feature we wanted.

SINCE I found a good supplier on eBay for this particular model - price, accessories and rebate, we got one for "my" Christmas present. Love it!

Probably more money than you want to spend, but I would look at MySimon.com for prices, Cabelas was my catalog cmparison, Wally-world had some there, but no service person to let me hold and touch...

eBay...

[+briansnat]

I also can recommend the Lowrance i-Finder series, except the Go and Go2, I wouldn't get those. i-Finders have great antennas, lots of features and good mapping. These units are a little more advanced, and more complicated, but are still great. No auto routing on these units, so road trips will be more difficult.

Oh yeah! Forgot to mention that. The i-Finders piqued my interest a while back because of the low price. If price is your main concern, definitely give Lowrance a look.

Yes, the iFinder H20 is a good choice. Last I saw it was $137 and a tad over $200 for the plus package, which includes mapping software, memory card and card reader. Its a unit that you are not likely to outgrow and probably one of the best bargains around these days.

[+Team Neos]

I didnt want to spend that much money but by listening to you guys and checking the internet i think ill go with an e trex summit or magellan explorist 200. Thank you all for your help. If i can find one this morning i am going to hide my first cache today. I alreadyb have it made and know the location. should be fun.

While it isn't a requirement, I seriously suggest that you find a few caches before you hide a cache.

[+KandRS]

We're looking at starting out as well, we had been looking at the Garmin Vista because of its larger memory. Anyone have any input about that? We like the price, and we don't need color.

[Twister65]

get the 210. many more features esp. the ability to connect to a pc and upload coords automatically. tiger gps had them recently for $156.00. there are several garmin units that offer similar features.

Agreed. I have the 200 and after 6 months of geocaching, I'm tired of manually entering coordinates. Not to mention that mis-entering coordinates on at least two occasions, didn't help my blood pressure. It's amazing how far off you can be with just one little number error.

 

I now await the arrival of my 600.

 

Scott

Edited December 28, 2005 by Twister65

[+briansnat]

We're looking at starting out as well, we had been looking at the Garmin Vista because of its larger memory. Anyone have any input about that? We like the price, and we don't need color.

Its a good unit. Compact and easy to use. I've used on for several years. You might be better off looking at the Legend C rather than the Vista though. Price is similar and the Legend C is a newer unit with a color screen, USB connection, improved reception and it supports autorouting. You lose the electronic compass, but a $10 handheld will take care of that. The Legend C also holds half the waypoints of the Vista, but other than that its a better unit on all counts.

[+Ca_Ghost]

Some really good information on this site..

 

So far I've narrowed my choices down to the following:

 

Magellan Explorist 600 -OR-

 

Garmin 60CS

 

Right now I have a hand me down Garmin Etrex Vista and love geocaching. One problem I have is it seems the Vista doesn't want to find sates.

 

Is there a place to find out about firmware updates for it? Or better yet which version I have?

[+briansnat]

s there a place to find out about firmware updates for it? Or better yet which version I have?

 

The latest firmware for the Vista can be found here.

 

BTW I have a Vista and it has no problem finding sats. The unit does have to be held flat, face up to the sky. Any other position will cause reception problems.

Edited December 28, 2005 by briansnat

[+2Rad4U]

Just my .02 -

 

We have an Explorist 100. It has worked flawlessly and it is easy to use. I do have to enter coordinates manually, but I'm also saving money doing so

 

What I do is copy the info from the cache page and paste it into word. I then print this info for all our caches. Then, I sit down for 5 minutes and input the coordinates. It's not that hard...

 

If I was buying today, I would get the Explorist 210. I wanted the 300, but it's not much better (for me) then what I have now.

[+Renegade Knight]

I didnt want to spend that much money but by listening to you guys and checking the internet i think ill go with an e trex summit or magellan explorist 200. Thank you all for your help. If i can find one this morning i am going to hide my first cache today. I alreadyb have it made and know the location. should be fun.

Briansnat gave a good answer on those two GPSs. Not the best for the reasons stated. If you like the summit, step back to a Legend or up to a Vista. If you like the 200, go for the 210.

 

As for hiding your first cache...Just do it. Finding other caches first won't teach you diddly about how to hide a cache. Those lessons are only learned through experience, but it can make you think your great idea is a bad one.

[+briansnat]

We have an Explorist 100. It has worked flawlessly and it is easy to use. I do have to enter coordinates manually, but I'm also saving money doing so

 

There is an old saying - "Time is money". . I have 900 cache waypoints in my 60CS. Imagine how long it would take to key those in.

[+Fairly Oddparents]

I didnt want to spend that much money but by listening to you guys and checking the internet i think ill go with an e trex summit or magellan explorist 200.  Thank you all for your help.  If i can find one this morning i am going to hide my first cache today.  I alreadyb have it made and know the location.  should be fun.

While it isn't a requirement, I seriously suggest that you find a few caches before you hide a cache.

Not to crush your rush, but I have to agree.

In our local area recently we have had a few very new cachers hide caches without having found any or found less than 5. Their caches are now disabled because they were quickly muggled and since they weren't really into the sport yet, they have never gone out to replace their caches.

[Trav&Tess]

I just bought the etrex (the cheap yellow one) and cant figure out how to enter co ordinates. I know how to mark waypoints but i cant enter one to go to. You know, so it shows me a line from me to were i want to go. please help!! thank you

[+briansnat]

I just bought the etrex (the cheap yellow one) and cant figure out how to enter co ordinates. I know how to mark waypoints but i cant enter one to go to. You know, so it shows me a line from me to were i want to go. please help!! thank you

You would mark one, then edit the coordinates to match the coordinates of the cache you're looking for.

[+KandRS]

We're looking at starting out as well, we had been looking at the Garmin Vista because of its larger memory.  Anyone have any input about that?  We like the price, and we don't need color.

Its a good unit. Compact and easy to use. I've used on for several years. You might be better off looking at the Legend C rather than the Vista though. Price is similar and the Legend C is a newer unit with a color screen, USB connection, improved reception and it supports autorouting. You lose the electronic compass, but a $10 handheld will take care of that. The Legend C also holds half the waypoints of the Vista, but other than that its a better unit on all counts.

Well, the vista is $40 less than the Legend C where I'm looking at. Of course the Legend is running for $124 right now, compared to $169 for the Vista and $219 for the Legend C.

 

The Legend is looking more attractive just for that.

[+JohnnyVegas]

We're looking at starting out as well, we had been looking at the Garmin Vista because of its larger memory. Anyone have any input about that? We like the price, and we don't need color.

If you do not need color a better choice for a GPS would be the Magellan Explorist 210. Tigergps has the Explorist 210 for about $156.00 and the Vista for $226.00. The memmory is about the same, Explorsit 22MB the Vista 24MB. As far as the barometer and magnetic compass, for geocaching they are not really needed. Besides the Garmin magnetic compass is not all the great anyway.

[+Chuy!]

I just bought the etrex (the cheap yellow one) and cant figure out how to enter co ordinates.  I know how to mark waypoints but i cant enter one to go to.  You know, so it shows me a line from me to were i want to go. please help!! thank you

 

I downloaded the manual from the Garmin website; your answer is on page 19. In the MARK WAYPOINT page, press the UP or DOWN button to highlight the LAT/LON field; press ENTER and the EDIT LOCATION window pops up; continue pressing UP/DOWN to select and ENTER to edit the desired fields.

 

If you click on GOTO, the waypoint will not be saved; so, I suggest you save it first, then go to your waypoint list to select it and then GOTO.

 

I recommend you get EasyGPS, a freeware software you can use to manage the waypoints you download from the GC website. Then connect it to your GPS and download the waypoints via a serial cable.

 

Good luck.

[+dh2000dh]

I just purcased the Magellan explorist from Newegg.com for $240.

Magellan offers a $50 rebate until February, so that'll be $190!!!!

 

I love my Explorist 100 - it's precise, rugged and easy to use, but I am tired of putting the coords in manually. Mistakes are easy and I take longer "clicking" than hunting.

 

I wanna hook it up to my PC and be able to enter 500 caches from GSAK automatically.

Can't wait for my 400!

[+Mudfrog]

Sorry I disagree, an electronic compass and being able to track with WAAS SATELITES makes a big difference. These 2 features increase accuracy.

 

Explorist 600

Palm Zire 71

 

What has been said about being able to connect to the computer is another feature you should look for. Some older models don't connect via a USB port, most new computers don't feature the old connectors in the older GPSR. This isn't an accuracy issue but if you continue the hobby, may be a consideration.

 

3 cents

Ive had one non and two WAAS capable GPSrs. Bought the 2nd one thinking it would make a world of difference for getting me closer to ground zero. Yes im sure most find that it works a bit better but that is one feature that i never use. The only difference i ever see is that it takes longer to get the WAAS differential reception going.

 

My Garmin 76s also has the electronic compass. Another feature that i rarely ever turn on. As long as you are moving, any GPSr will display the bearing in which you are heading. That feature is just not worth the extra $50 to me.

 

As far as the "best" unit goes,,, they all have their good and bad points. The main thing is to get one that you like the feel and looks of. Being able to hook it to your computer to download waypoints or routes can come in very handy. If you can afford it, get one with mapping capabilities. This is something that you can use alot of times, caching or not!