This Wanna-be Geocacher Needs Your Opinions...

June 17, 2006

Hi everyone! I am hoping some of you can help me out here. I am wanting to get started GeoCaching with my 5 year old son. We are on a fixed income so I am doing some searching around for reasonable priced used GPS units. But I want to be sure they will work for GeoCaching before I make a purchase. This is what I have been offered so far...

Garmin GPS 12 - $35 - Excellent condition. About 10 years old.

OR

Garmin eTrex Camo - $70 - Like new. Has an off-brand case with it.

Will either of these work well for me starting out? Which would be a better unit for this type of thing?

I am not sure if they can download waypoints, which I think is pretty important? It appears that they cannot download maps, like from MapSource CDroms... is this necessary or something that makes GeoCaching a lot easier?

Should I just hold off for a better unit?

Please give me your opinions!

Thanks!

Sherry

P.S.

Hi Dad!!! :anibad:

Edited June 17, 2006 by Mommy2Tyler

11.3k · June 17, 2006

If you can find a good-condition eTrex Legend, which comes with the computer cable, I think your experience will be a lot more fun. If later you can get the Topo maps, that unit can accept them.

2.5k · June 17, 2006

I started out with the basic eTrex Yellow. It served me well. The eTrex camo should do you fine. With the computer cable that comes with it, you can download waypoints. I entered waypoints by hand for the yellow and really like not having to do that with my current unit. With respect to the maps and such, they are nice, but a printed map of the area will suffice.

You and your son will have a great time searching out the treasures. Do try to stick to regular size caches so the young one will have goodies to check out with each find. Above all, have fun.

Welcome to the addiction.

June 17, 2006

I started out with the basic eTrex Yellow. It served me well. The eTrex camo should do you fine. With the computer cable that comes with it, you can download waypoints. I entered waypoints by hand for the yellow and really like not having to do that with my current unit. With respect to the maps and such, they are nice, but a printed map of the area will suffice.

You and your son will have a great time searching out the treasures. Do try to stick to regular size caches so the young one will have goodies to check out with each find. Above all, have fun.

Welcome to the addiction.

So, from what I read, the eTrex Camo can download waypoints... but the GPS 12 cannot. Is this correct? I have been comparing them on the Garmin site, but its all sort of confusing to me.

And neither can download the maps, but this is not necessary.

Right? Wrong?

Thanks for the welcome! I am really excited about this! My dad is a member here and always has a GeoCaching story for me when I talk to him. It sounds like a lot of fun. I agree with sticking to the bigger ones... he will love finding the "treasures".

38.2k · June 17, 2006

They would both work. The 12 is a solid, bomb proof unit, but on the heavy side. I think it take 4 batteries too.

Between the two, I'd go with the eTrex. Just don't put it down and walk away. You many never see that camo unit again. It once took me close to an hour to find my grey Vista among grey rocks. A bright color unit is better for geocaching for that reason.

You are correct in that, neither unit is a mapping unit.

June 17, 2006

Thanks, everyone! Anyone else have anything to add?

June 17, 2006

Thanks, everyone! Anyone else have anything to add?

I bought an etrex legend on the recommendation of my cousin who is in the military. I'm a mom of 3 and had absolutely no experience with a gps before geocaching. I love the etrex legend. It is very user friendly and doesn't take long to figure out. I hope this helps! Welcome to this great hobby/sport/addiction. :anibad:

June 17, 2006

If you can find a good-condition eTrex Legend, which comes with the computer cable, I think your experience will be a lot more fun. If later you can get the Topo maps, that unit can accept them.

I agree with Miragee on this one. The built in maps in the Legend will make your geocaching experience much more interesting --and perhaps a bit easier--right now. It will also store more waypoints.

GPS units are all coming down in price lately and I saw some Legends around Christmas for about $116 NEW. I have seen them offered on the garage sale forums here for $100 or so recently. You could post a note there letting folks know you are looking to buy a used unit for a reasonable price.

I understand tight budgets (been there!). I also understand the enthusiam to get started with geocaching. Both considered, if I were you, I would try to hold out for the eTrex Legend. I think it will serve your needs longer than the others and you won't outgrow it and wish you could replace it with another unit as soon.

If you really really really can't wait, I would go with the camo.

June 17, 2006

I got the legend from here in about 4 days. I really love it and it is user friendly.

Ran $126.00 with shipping sells at Wally World for $155.00

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...1648509&CatId=0

June 17, 2006

Check the garage sale forum, there is an Etrex legend for $95..includes shipping. Good Luck and Welcome to our world!

2k · June 18, 2006

If you're not planning on hitting a whole lot of caches over a wide area then having to load waypoints by hand is a minor nuisance.

Spot suggestions:

If you have a printer then print out the cache pages (including hints) and take them with you.

Don't worry about finding those difficult micro caches until you're comfortable with your abilities. Head to a park with a few regular sized caches to get used to the process... It's also a lot of fun for the kids to find the "treasure."

Remember the sunscreen and insect repellant. Pack some extra toilet paper and/or diaper wipes. Diaper wipes are handy for wiping off hands, faces and the uh-oh places as well.

Get a small backpack for your little cacher... Teach the valuable lesson of not packing the wrong things. ("Dear. Let's leave the blankie and Bobo in the car so they don't get dirty. Why is the TV remote in here?")

Take a cooler with some drinks, even a short hike can quickly dry out a little one.

Check out potty locations before hitting the trail.

Wear appropriate clothing. Flip-flops and shorts may be a bad choice when one might encounter sticker bushes and a rocky ground.

June 18, 2006

I tried caching with my 3 year old with an old GPS, and it didn't go so well... she loved finding, didn't love the random looping and circling thru the woods for no reason. So if your primary reason for caching is to take a kid, look to a new GPS... you don't have to have mapping, or other stuff. Walmart sells the Explorist 200 for about $114 locally, and it's a fine unit for caching. And with Walmart typical return policy, you can get it, try it, and return it if you don't like it.

June 18, 2006

Thank, you Torry, for all of the hints!

You guys have all been so helpful. I am leaning towards waiting until I can pick up a Legend (or a Legend C). But I'm pretty impatient! So we'll see how long I can wait before grabbing one of these others to get me started. :blink: I can't wait to join the fun!

June 18, 2006

Thanks, Oscar. Yeah, I can see Tyler getting frustrated pretty quickly with wandering around in circles. :blink: I will check into the Explorist 200... and see what else my WalMart has.

June 18, 2006

i have been geocaching for a couple weeks now using the Explorist 200. I love it. Once you figure it out it is very easy to use & seems extremely accurate.

The fact that I have to manually enter info does not bother me at all, since I am only entering a maximum of 5 locations at a time.

My suggestion, make sure you turn the unit on & at least have it sitting on your dashboard on the way to the cache starting point. This way in case there is tree cover, as soon as you get there you can hop out & start searching. If not the little one (and probably you) will get impatient waiting.

Have fun, be careful this is addicting & so far no cure.

3.8k · June 18, 2006

I would suggest you go to a sporting goods store and play with a couple of units. Opinions can change by seeing what unit feels good in your hands, placement of buttons, seeing the screen "for real" etc.

Also check your local forums, you might be able to find a cacher who has an extra GPS that they use for backup but would be willing to share with you until you can get one of your own.

Jim

2k · June 18, 2006

Thanks, Oscar. Yeah, I can see Tyler getting frustrated pretty quickly with wandering around in circles. I will check into the Explorist 200... and see what else my WalMart has.

A whole lot of us cachers have been finiding caches with the lowly eTrex... The little yeller feller is still the only one I own. Pick some easy, small park, often found, regular caches to start with. The GPSr will get you close enough that the "social trail" to the cache will make the find fairly obvious in many cases. As you get better you can start tackling the smaller caches.

June 18, 2006

Wow! I am so glad I posted here. You guys have such great advice! Keep it coming! :blink:

June 18, 2006

You can Also get the Explorist 200 here for $69 bux only takes 4 days to get it buy UPS will be around 75 with shipping

Good luck with what ever you get.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...1133351&CatId=0

Edited June 18, 2006 by utahjack

20.7k · June 18, 2006

Ebay can be your friend. I've bought three units for myself and ten for members of my wedding party through ebay. As long as you check the seller's feedback and remember to factor in shipping cost, you can find some really good deals.

I paid from $50 to $75 each for the yellow etrexes that I gave as gifts. If you are very lucky, you might be able to get one for less. Mine were all used but in great condition. Some even came with cases and pc cables.

Which brings us to a point that was touched on above. the yellow etrex, camo and summit do not typically come with the pc cable, while the other etrexes do. (The Gekos don't, either.) This is not a huge deal as you can pick up a pc cable very cheaply on ebay if yours didn't come with one.

You will need to decide whether maps are important to you. If they are, look for inexpensive Legends, GPS III+s, or GPS Vs. I used a II+ for years and loved it. Later, I upgraded to a V and it was also great. The primary difference between the two is that the V does turn-by-turn routing, instead of sending you to your destination 'as the crow flies'.

Welcome to the hobby. It can be a ton of fun and needs not be too expensive.

June 18, 2006

After you pick a few models, go to Amazon.com and read the reviews about each one. That was the deciding factor for us.

June 18, 2006

Ebay can be your friend. I've bought three units for myself and ten for members of my wedding party through ebay. As long as you check the seller's feedback and remember to factor in shipping cost, you can find some really good deals.

I paid from $50 to $75 each for the yellow etrexes that I gave as gifts. If you are very lucky, you might be able to get one for less. Mine were all used but in great condition. Some even came with cases and pc cables.

Which brings us to a point that was touched on above. the yellow etrex, camo and summit do not typically come with the pc cable, while the other etrexes do. (The Gekos don't, either.) This is not a huge deal as you can pick up a pc cable very cheaply on ebay if yours didn't come with one.

You will need to decide whether maps are important to you. If they are, look for inexpensive Legends, GPS III+s, or GPS Vs. I used a II+ for years and loved it. Later, I upgraded to a V and it was also great. The primary difference between the two is that the V does turn-by-turn routing, instead of sending you to your destination 'as the crow flies'.

Welcome to the hobby. It can be a ton of fun and needs not be too expensive.

If you ever get married again, I would be available as a groomsman! :laughing:

M2T, good luck with your new hobby! I just started last Monday myself and I am hooked! Also got a friend and my dad hooked! I have 21 finds in 3 outings!

My tip to you is to pay attention to the ratings for difficulty & terrain. Stay away from the 2+ rated terrain with your little kids. I did a couple of 3's yesterday that you would NOT want to take your kids on. Also, it seems to me that the cemetery hides have been fairly easy, due to flat terrain, so you might wanna check them out. However, I have found a lot of micos in cemeteries, so that may be harder for the young ones to find.

June 25, 2006

Update!!

I ended up scrounging my pennies and getting my very own, brand new, eTrex Legend CX Friday evening. :grin: Well we took it out yesterday and had an AWFUL time with it. It's accuracy was always like 40-70 feet and we couldn't find a durn thing with it. After an entire day of walking circles in the woods and wading through acres of stinging nettle, we gave up.

Well, after thinking it over and talking to a few people, we decided that maybe the unit was faulty. So last night we took it back and exchanged it for another eTrex Legend CX.

AND

I am happy to report that we found our first cache today!! Yay!!

Edited June 25, 2006 by Mommy2Tyler

22k · June 25, 2006

Cool!

Make sure to 'Bake' your gps. This means to let it sit under open sky for 20-30 minutes and update the sat. position almanac. And do this again if you travel a couple hundred miles or more without having it on.

If it's not too hot out, a dashboard of a car is a safe spot to place it. Less chance of having it stolen, forgotten or stepped on.

2k · June 25, 2006

Woo-woo! Way to go Tyler! ... and you too, mom.

June 26, 2006

I totally agree with what sbell111 said about eBay! :rolleyes:

I bought my brand new Megellan Explorist 500 GPS for $249 and it usually retails for around $350.

Hope that helps :rolleyes:

SpokaneGeoCachers

June 26, 2006

Thanks everyone!

We found number 2 last night! We have the bug! :rolleyes:

June 26, 2006

We started with the old yellow e-trex, still use as a back-up. My husband decided that "I" needed a new one so he bought me the Garmin CSx I still use the old one as well as the new. I just love them both and use whatever one he doesn't take to work to "lunch-cache".This hobby is so addicting but the fun of the hunt is fantastic. Good Luck!!

4.5k · June 26, 2006

Update!!

I ended up scrounging my pennies and getting my very own, brand new, eTrex Legend CX Friday evening. Well we took it out yesterday and had an AWFUL time with it. It's accuracy was always like 40-70 feet and we couldn't find a durn thing with it. After an entire day of walking circles in the woods and wading through acres of stinging nettle, we gave up.

Well, after thinking it over and talking to a few people, we decided that maybe the unit was faulty. So last night we took it back and exchanged it for another eTrex Legend CX.

AND

I am happy to report that we found our first cache today!! Yay!!

We too started out with a non mapping unit and probably found a couple of hundred caches with it. Had alot of fun but we put more miles on the car and wasted more time than we wanted trying to find caches. I cant count the number of wrong turns we made just trying to get to caching areas in unfamiliar territory (and this was when gas was less that $2 a gallon).

In other words,, you did good by getting a GPSr that holds mapping data. For us, the mapping software has more than paid for itself in two ways,,,

It makes it easier to get to the general cache location and thereby saves fuel

and it saves me from going crazy with the frustration of following the little pointy arrow and making all those wrong turns! :rolleyes:

Congratulations on finding those first caches,,, glad to have ya'll aboard!!!

Edited June 26, 2006 by Mudfrog

June 27, 2006

Thanks everyone!

We found number 2 last night! We have the bug!

Congrats on your finds! And nice avitar, btw.

Sounds like you made a good choice in your GPSr.

Although I'm also a newbie, when caching with little kids, I plan on looking for a mix of caches: some I've never found and others that I've already found. (Especially, since I like multis where the first stages are micros.) That way, I can pretend to be looking diligently while "nudging" the little ones in the right direction so that they can be the "finders".

cliff_hanger

June 27, 2006

Oooo great idea, cliff_hanger!! Thanks.

Mudfrog: I agree. I am so glad to have the maps. I have a really bad habit of getting lost and I know I couldn't make due with only the roads and things that come on the non-mapping ones. I am really glad I went with a color unit as well, I think it makes things easier for me, being new to all of this.

This Wanna-be Geocacher Needs Your Opinions...

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