Hillbilly-Rockstar Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 I'm a 13 year old who just recently has gotten hooked on geocaching. I've been searching for a GPS locator that would work good enough for me. A funny story is I tried going geocaching without a GPS locator! Of course, no luck, but hey, I had a good time. So does anyone know of a GOOD GPS locactor for a kid my age that is less then $100, less then that preferred. I mean I don't want one that is fake, plastic, and found in a happy meal. I just want one that works. -Eric Quote Link to comment
+The Leprechauns Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 A basic Garmin Yellow eTrex sells for around $100 new, and you can get them for much less than that on eBay or through the Garage Sale Forum here. The little yellow guy has found tens of thousands of geocaches, and is a popular "starter unit." So lots of people sell them when they trade up to a fancy unit with a color screen, maps, etc. Quote Link to comment
+wandererrob Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 (edited) If you dig around the forums a bit you'll find several threads on the subject. I think they will offer you more info than I, alone, could provide. here's a recent one. And here's another one with some good info. But in general I believe the good ol' Yellow eTrex will get the job done in your price range. Or check out the GPS garage sale section, you may be able to snag a unit with more features for cheap money. Good luck on your quest, and welcome to the addiction. Edited March 31, 2006 by wandererrob Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 I've seen the Garmin Geko 101 selling for as little as $49 new. It works great and is perfect for a 13 year old on a budget. Quote Link to comment
+fireman121 Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 A Garmin Geko 101 would be prefect for a person that needs to stay on a budget. Quote Link to comment
Trinity's Crew Posted April 1, 2006 Share Posted April 1, 2006 My brother picked up the Garmin Etrex yellow for me for 50 bucks on clearance at the Aldi in south Philadelphia. It was only 80 bucks to begin with. The problem with Aldi is that it's primarily a grocery store and they only carry the Yellow sporadically, but if there is one near you it might be worth a try. Quote Link to comment
+Colorado Cacher Posted April 1, 2006 Share Posted April 1, 2006 Search through www.fatwallet.com in their forums, stores, etc. And I'm still 13 even though my Driver License says 42, and it's gonna stay that way until the day I die. Quote Link to comment
sweeney6 Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 I am using a emap with software 2.9. It is now discontinued by Garmin but it works great. If you see one for sale I wouldn't hesitate to buy it. Quote Link to comment
+hikergps Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 I have a Geko 101 that works great, picked it up for about $50 I think. A $100 or less GPSr most likely won't have maps built into it and will just give you straight-line-to-target direction which means that you have to find your own route, but for me that is most of the fun. The Geko 101 has great reception, is smaller than most cell phones, and can go for about 6-8 hours on 2 AAA's in battery save mode. I haven't used a Yellow eTrex but I know the battery life is something like 28 hours on 2 AA's. I tried using NiMH AAA rechargeables in my Geko 1010 but that didn't work well. I have heard that AA rechargeables in eTrex's work fine. Another thing to consider is the Geko 101 is not WAAS enabled and the newer eTrex's are. WAAS helps narrow down your location accuracy to about 3-6 feet. I plan on buying the Yellow soon. BTW-Welcome aboard! Quote Link to comment
packerfan1964 Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 a lowrance ifinder go is an excellent choice.....very simple to use and loaded with lost of features for da price Quote Link to comment
Hillbilly-Rockstar Posted April 2, 2006 Author Share Posted April 2, 2006 (edited) First of all, thank you all very much for the helpful replies. Couldn't of found this kinda service anywhere else! It's like free tech support around the clock! Anyway I think I'm gonna go with the Garmin Etrex (yellow). I found it at wal-mart for $84.Garmin Etrex at walmart. If anyone knows where I can get it cheaper let me know!!!! -Eric Edited April 2, 2006 by HomieG6189 Quote Link to comment
+Team Hemisphere Dancer Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 I have an Ole Yeller myself. You will be completely happy with it for now. I do not have your youth so I needed help getting the coodinates in the puter. My 38 Y/O fingers got tired of manually entering then in. You will in the future want the cord to hook up to the puter and download coordinates in a flash. I was able to find one at Gander mountain, but then you pay their price. Off brand cord can be purchasd online for much less than I paid, But I wanted it now!!!!!!! you know how that is. As far a battery life goes I have found that regular alkaline batteries last much longer that rechargable nickel cadium or the other kind. Lets comare a couple of full days of caching to an after noon of it with the rechargeables. It is a fine unit for the price I am now just thiking that a built in map would be nice for driving. But you have a bit of time before you need to worry about that. Enjoy..... Quote Link to comment
+gluteusmaximus92 Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 either ol yeller or the geko 101 will be perfectly fine Quote Link to comment
+Faith the Aquariaqueen Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 YOu can easily find a yellow etrex for 80 bucks, new! Finding the link cord is very difficult though, but if you can find one, your extra 20 bucks should cover it. p.s. I have found many caches without a gps by using the different maps on the cache page and knowing a little about the nearby parks, the hints help as well. It actually is pretty fun to do that way, on 1/1s. You're 13, get your friends hooked on this, it's a relatively good wholesome sport for active teens. Glad you love the sport. Quote Link to comment
the_Crazy_Vacationer Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 I will echo the comment about the Lowrance product. I have the I Finder Go. Purchased for $79 at Cabelas. I haven't purchased the cord to connect to my computer - so far I've been entering everything manually. It also has maps and such. I've been pleased with mine. Quote Link to comment
+Super_Nate Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 (edited) I've seen the Garmin Geko 101 selling for as little as $49 new. It works great and is perfect for a 13 year old on a budget. Yeah, but he didn't want anything that you can find in a happy meal My suggestion is to get a summer job that pays good for a 13 year old and then at the end of the summer you can get the fruit of you labor and it won't be a crappy GPS either. I agree that the yellow ETrex GPS is a good beginner GPS, but if you work for the money then you can get something nicer! And that is the story how I got my $300 Garman ETrex Vista at 16 years old....with my own money Edited April 4, 2006 by Super_Nate Quote Link to comment
+HaLiJuSaPa Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 I will echo the comment about the Lowrance product. I have the I Finder Go. Purchased for $79 at Cabelas. I haven't purchased the cord to connect to my computer - so far I've been entering everything manually. It also has maps and such. I've been pleased with mine. Uh, the GO in a way doesn't have computer connectivity. The cord is for connecting to NMEA marine equipment. There is a way using some sort of conversion trick to NMEA commands to use this download waypoints, etc. but I hear it's not easy. But I have a GO and don't mind manually doing waypoints, then again going for more than one or two caches/weeks would be a lot so I don't have a lot to manually enter either. Otherwise great unit! Quote Link to comment
Hillbilly-Rockstar Posted April 6, 2006 Author Share Posted April 6, 2006 "Hijacking the thread for a moment"... I am gonna get it most likely Saturday night, at good ole' Wal-Mart for $84. Didn't seem like a bad price to me. Ya know I just about kicked my laptop off the desk when I found that the cache my friend and I have been searching for W/O a GPSr was reported destroyed. So it happend during the the last week, and we have been searching forever! Cache. Let us make this clear... NEVER GO GEOCACHING WITHOUT A GPS LOCATOR UNLESS YOU ARE 100% SURE IT EXSISTS AND IS OPERATIONAL You may now return to your normal postings. -Eric Quote Link to comment
+hikergps Posted April 9, 2006 Share Posted April 9, 2006 I've seen the Garmin Geko 101 selling for as little as $49 new. It works great and is perfect for a 13 year old on a budget. Yeah, but he didn't want anything that you can find in a happy meal My suggestion is to get a summer job that pays good for a 13 year old and then at the end of the summer you can get the fruit of you labor and it won't be a crappy GPS either. I agree that the yellow ETrex GPS is a good beginner GPS, but if you work for the money then you can get something nicer! And that is the story how I got my $300 Garman ETrex Vista at 16 years old....with my own money Have you ever owned or used a Geko 101? I have and they work fine. My suggestion would be that you tell us what is crappy about a GPS. Quite a few posters with here have given good info based on experience. Making a comment about a GPS being crappy without giving a reason why does not do the OP any good in finding an answer to his question. Quote Link to comment
+Super_Nate Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 I've seen the Garmin Geko 101 selling for as little as $49 new. It works great and is perfect for a 13 year old on a budget. Yeah, but he didn't want anything that you can find in a happy meal My suggestion is to get a summer job that pays good for a 13 year old and then at the end of the summer you can get the fruit of you labor and it won't be a crappy GPS either. I agree that the yellow ETrex GPS is a good beginner GPS, but if you work for the money then you can get something nicer! And that is the story how I got my $300 Garman ETrex Vista at 16 years old....with my own money Have you ever owned or used a Geko 101? I have and they work fine. My suggestion would be that you tell us what is crappy about a GPS. Quite a few posters with here have given good info based on experience. Making a comment about a GPS being crappy without giving a reason why does not do the OP any good in finding an answer to his question. I didn't refer to the Geko 101 being crappy....I refered to the price tag of $49 on any GPS usually not having the same functions and priviliages as a $300 GPS! If I could have the same functions on a Geko that I do on my Vista then I would have gone with the Geko long ago. A Geko 101 is a PERFECT beginner GPS and there is nothing wrong with its abilities...I just made the suggestion with the 13 y/o that if he worked for the money then he could look into a beautiful upgrade. Quote Link to comment
+hikergps Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 I've seen the Garmin Geko 101 selling for as little as $49 new. It works great and is perfect for a 13 year old on a budget. Yeah, but he didn't want anything that you can find in a happy meal My suggestion is to get a summer job that pays good for a 13 year old and then at the end of the summer you can get the fruit of you labor and it won't be a crappy GPS either. I agree that the yellow ETrex GPS is a good beginner GPS, but if you work for the money then you can get something nicer! And that is the story how I got my $300 Garman ETrex Vista at 16 years old....with my own money Have you ever owned or used a Geko 101? I have and they work fine. My suggestion would be that you tell us what is crappy about a GPS. Quite a few posters with here have given good info based on experience. Making a comment about a GPS being crappy without giving a reason why does not do the OP any good in finding an answer to his question. I didn't refer to the Geko 101 being crappy....I refered to the price tag of $49 on any GPS usually not having the same functions and priviliages as a $300 GPS! If I could have the same functions on a Geko that I do on my Vista then I would have gone with the Geko long ago. A Geko 101 is a PERFECT beginner GPS and there is nothing wrong with its abilities...I just made the suggestion with the 13 y/o that if he worked for the money then he could look into a beautiful upgrade. My apolgies, must have caught me at a bad time. Carry on... Quote Link to comment
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