majordad1602 Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 I'm wanting to get started in geocaching, are these $100 receiver units worth buying? Quote Link to comment
d hedges 210 Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 I have a $200 explorist 210 and it is great gets 10 - 12 satellites outside and 4-5 inside. Watch it this might get moved to another fourm Quote Link to comment
bogleman Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 They are fine but they do have their limitations. I used a little yellow etrex for about my first 60 finds. Then the game was on from there, new toys & software. Start off small, check out the garage sale section here first. As your interest grows or declines you can take it from there. Quote Link to comment
+Prairie Dog Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 See if you can borrow someone else's GPS unit to try it out. I'm betting you'll get hooked fairly quickly. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 (edited) Probably the best one is the yellow eTrex because it is the only one in the price range that has the capability to hook up to a PC. It's about $89 most places. Garmin also has the Geko 101 that I've seen sold for as low as $49, but it doesn't have PC connectivity. Other than that its a good unit. Lowrance makes the Go ($69) and Go2 ($99), but they don't have PC connectivity. They do have rudimentary maps though, but I didn't care for the workmanship of the units and the displays were pretty hard to read with the small fonts and low resolution.= The Magellan eXplorist 100 is also under $100 but again doesn't have PC connectivity. PC connectivity is pretty important if you get even slightly serious about this sport. Also consider the Garmin Legend. Its around $120 if you shop around and it comes with the PC cable. The yellow eTrex is only $89 but the cable is a $30 add on, so if you factor that in, its only a few bucks less than the Legend and the Legend is a mapping unit. Moving this over to the Gps Units and Software Forum Edited January 16, 2006 by briansnat Quote Link to comment
+Team Cotati Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 (edited) I'm wanting to get started in geocaching, are these $100 receiver units worth buying? In a word, NO. Save your quarters and dimes for a better unit. There's a Lowrance iFinder Explorer unit at tigergps for $161.00 that looks like it will serve you very well, check at their www site, http://store.yahoo.com/tigergps/lowranceifinderexplorer.html. Just shop around there are always deals out there from reliable dealers. Don't buy in a panic, there's no need. Edited January 16, 2006 by Team Cotati Quote Link to comment
+Team Neos Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 (edited) I used a Garmin eTrex Legend for my first 300 finds and loved it. I saw one on sale just before Christmas for $116 (We paid about $180 just last year). I didn't even add the additional maps that I could have purchased, just used the base maps. Edited January 16, 2006 by Team Neos Quote Link to comment
+fratermus Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 I'm wanting to get started in geocaching, are these $100 receiver units worth buying? I just bought a lovely used Legend for $100 off the forums. So, yes. Quote Link to comment
+eisenkatze Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 I started with a Garmin Geko 101 and it worked great save for the fact I couldn't connect it to my computer. I also use a borrowed eTrex (Yellow) and that performs fantastically. They retail at about $89 at Target, Amazon, etc... and a great way to see if the sport will "stick" in your life. -Ed- Quote Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 cough (Legend) cough. mmm, excuse me. Quote Link to comment
+Poidawg Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 I have a Garmin e trex legend I bought used for a hundred dollars. It has not failed me yet and is spot on. I bring extra batteries, and reload when needed. I was recently at an REI forum on Geocaching, a rep from National Geographic was there, still using a Garmin Vista. In fact he had two at the forum Quote Link to comment
+TurLee Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 I’m new, too. I lurked for a couple of weeks and read lots of posts trying to figure out which unit to buy. I finally got tired of stalling, went to Wal-Mart, bought a yellow eTrex for $99 and went out and found my first three caches. My intention is to use this one for a while until reports start coming in on the Garmin X models, then I’ll have a little experience and should be able to make a better decision about what I want to do. I’ve noticed in reading the forums that most everybody likes the unit they have, so it seems to me that budget considerations may be more important than brand names or models when it comes to buying a GPSr. Sure, it’s human nature to lust after the top of line, but posts of the “I hate this thing and wish I had bought something different” type are distinctly lacking here. I’m glad I bought one and got to go out hunting ... no buyer’s remorse here. I just wish I had bought it sooner. Quote Link to comment
+trail hound Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 cough (Legend) cough. mmm, excuse me. Ditto Quote Link to comment
+JohnnyVegas Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 The garmin yellow e-trex is a good choice to get started with, it has a Data port whick is a big plus over others in the same price range. I started with the yellow e-trex as a good many cachers did, and some still use the yelow e-trex. Quote Link to comment
+Gummi Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 The yellow etrex is your best bet for that price. But you'll want the pc cable to upload the .loc files using GSAK or easyGPS. If you have a pda then look at getting a premium membership here to get .gpx files and use cachemate(palm) or gpxsonar(ppc) to have the hints and logs with you at all times. I went with the Legend due to it can hold 1000 waypoints and had the better display as well as it comes with a pc cable. You can look at walmart's website for bundled deals also. Their gpsr's are cheaper online than in store, but you do have to add tax and shipping. Quote Link to comment
+Chiro75 Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 I bought the "lowly" Garmin eTrex yellow one at Target and I love it. I found a use cable for $10 or something, but I don't use Pee Cee's and I need to jump through a lot of hoops to get it to work on a Mac (more hardware, which is annoying) USB, so I still just manually enter everything. Works great for me. I only do 1-3 caches at a time, so entering a few sets of coordinates takes a few minutes and is easy. If you're DL'ing tons of coordinates, or if you want to take full advantage of "paperless" caching and/or some of the premium features, you'll want that cable. I wanted the GPS exclusively for Geocaching, so additional features were unnecessary for me. Quote Link to comment
+welch Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 I'm wanting to get started in geocaching, are these $100 receiver units worth buying? sorta. Theres nothing really wrong with any of the major brands (garmin, magellan, lowerance), they work fine for geocaching. The thing is if your going to spend $100, for an additional $30 or more, you can get a unit with more features. (like a base map and/or ability to upload detailed maps). Of course theres nothing to say you needs maps on the gps, or pc connectivty (but they are very helpful). Quote Link to comment
A^2 Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 (edited) Legend! It is COMPLETELY worth the extra $20-40 for mapping capabilities. Check Amazon for a period of time. Their prices fluctuate. However, if you are patient you can score a new Legend for around $120 with free shipping. I know I did. Edited January 17, 2006 by A^2 Quote Link to comment
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