New To Gps

[Cache Diver]

I bought this unit about a year ago. Can someone tell me if it was worth it?

[+briansnat]

It is one of the most popular starter units around. Its a good unit for the money. There are better out there, but it will do the job and do it well. Just keep it held flat, face up to sky for best reception.

[k_statealan]

I use one for fishing and caching. It pretty easy to use (easier the more you use it). The base maps aren't terribly detailed, but aren't bad for what I need. I've seen accuracies as low as 8'. Its tough so it will handle some abuse, although I wouldn't reccomend abusing it

 

And the price keeps dropping all the time. About $80-$100 cheaper than when I got mine

[Cache Diver]

Ok, Just thought that I would ask seeing that I've hardly used it except in the last month or so when I tried looking for a cache here. No Luck so far. It seemed to me that my map, unit, or the coordinates are off? I'm baffled. Can you say "Noob"?

 

Best Regards,

 

WK02

[k_statealan]

Could be any number of things. First, the coords have to be inputted properly. Then the GPS will only take you to the area of the cache. Depending on conditions, could be within 10-100 feet. Should be able to see what the accuracy is on the GPS. Then it will require looking. The first few are the toughest, then you kind of get a sense of how caches are hidden. Depending on the size of the container of course, but the best places to look are under unnatural-looking piles of rocks or sticks. Any little nook and cranny can be a hiding place. Sometimes you will go home empty-handed. Even the best do.

[+YuccaPatrol]

I bought one for my brother to get him into geocaching and using a gps for outdoor activities.

 

Las month, he used it to navigate a sailboat through the caribbean.

[Cache Diver]

Could be any number of things. First, the coords have to be inputted properly. Then the GPS will only take you to the area of the cache. Depending on conditions, could be within 10-100 feet. Should be able to see what the accuracy is on the GPS. Then it will require looking. The first few are the toughest, then you kind of get a sense of how caches are hidden. Depending on the size of the container of course, but the best places to look are under unnatural-looking piles of rocks or sticks. Any little nook and cranny can be a hiding place. Sometimes you will go home empty-handed. Even the best do.

 

Ok, now how about the MapSourse software...Any good? If not, what software would you recommend?

[Cache Diver]

I bought one for my brother to get him into geocaching and using a gps for outdoor activities.

 

Las month, he used it to navigate a sailboat through the caribbean.

 

Wow, That's awesome.

[+ctgreybeard]

Ok, now how about the MapSourse software...Any good? If not, what software would you recommend?

Mapsource City Select (not Navigator) will give you very detailed maps. That's what I use on my VistaC which has the same memory as your Legend. Do NOT get the City Navigator! It has the same information but the map segments are packaged in MUCH larger chunks and many of them will not fit on the Legend. City Select (v7) has the same detail but has much smaller segments so you can load them easily into your Legend.

 

HTH,

 

Bill W

 

P.S. If you're working off the base maps you will be amazed at the detail in City Select! I promise!

[k_statealan]

I don't have any additional maps and do just fine. I also don't feel right paying almost $100 for a CD that it cost the company 5 cents to burn.

[peter]

Ok, now how about the MapSourse software...Any good? If not, what software would you recommend?

Mapsource City Select (not Navigator) will give you very detailed maps. That's what I use on my VistaC which has the same memory as your Legend.

I believe the original poster is using the regular gray-scale Legend rather than the LegendC. In that case his memory is only 8 MB and either MetroGuide-NA or USTopo would be the recommended maps. MetroGuide has more features for everyday use (search for addresses, find business and other common locations, show all street names, etc.) and is far more up-to-date whereas USTopo shows you the elevation contours, land types, and can frequently show a larger area using the limited 8 MB memory of the Legend.

[+JSWilson64]

... I tried looking for a cache here. No Luck so far. It seemed to me that my map, unit, or the coordinates are off? I'm baffled...

OK, the first thing that came to mind when I read that was that you might not have your unit set up right. You've got to choose the right datum, and get your Legend using the same coordinate format as this website. It's somewhere in the "getting started" part of the site, but I can't find it right now! Arrgh! Dig around, and you'll find it.

 

After that, it's like the previous poster said - you've got to start to think like a cacher (something I'm still not too good at). And you've got to get used to using the GPSr. If your Legend says you're within 10 feet, and you've got accuracy within 32 feet, you might be as much as 42 feet away from the cache! I keep having to explain this to my 10-year-old caching partner...

Edited April 27, 2006 by SquirrelsWillRule

[+Sputnik 57]

If your Legend is way off, please be sure:

 

Datum is set to WGS 84 (other datums can be off by 100' or more)

 

Format of waypoints is set to hdd mm.mmm (hemisphere degrees minutes.decimal minutes) and not hdd mm.ss or some other format.

 

These are common mistakes for new folks.

[+briansnat]

Could be any number of things. First, the coords have to be inputted properly. Then the GPS will only take you to the area of the cache. Depending on conditions, could be within 10-100 feet. Should be able to see what the accuracy is on the GPS. Then it will require looking. The first few are the toughest, then you kind of get a sense of how caches are hidden. Depending on the size of the container of course, but the best places to look are under unnatural-looking piles of rocks or sticks. Any little nook and cranny can be a hiding place. Sometimes you will go home empty-handed. Even the best do.

 

Ok, now how about the MapSourse software...Any good? If not, what software would you recommend?

 

I wouldn't use anything other than Mapsource Topo for the Legend. Metroguide and City Select are memory hogs in populated areas and will chew up your map memory in a jiffy. In most places Topo is not as memory intensive and you will get much greater map coeverage.

Edited April 27, 2006 by briansnat