Explorist Antenna Vs. Etrex Antenna

[+wasam]

I am going to buy a GPS soon and I am wondering which GPS has the better antenna. Is it the Explorist series or the Etrex series? My grandpa has a Etrex legend C and it sometimes has bad connection under trees and under a car's front windsheild. I have read some of the forums and it sounds like the Explorist series is better, is it?

 

Also, I am leaning toward buying a explorist 210. Do you think it is going to have a better signal than one of the Etrex series?

[+Miragee]

I have the Vista C and really haven't had very much trouble with it losing the signal under trees. The accuracy goes way down, but that is normal.

 

If you look at all the threads about terrible Magellan support, I would say get a Garmin.

[vagabond]

There is no comparison between the etrex and the explorist. Its not really the antenna, its the chip in the unit. The higher end garmins with the sirf III chip and the explorist are more comparable and the 2 of them are more accurate, also a lot newer technology.

 

edited to add

Now after saying that,if you can afford the higher end garmins go with one of them.

My exp 500 has worked well past my expectations and personally I've had no problem getting warranty work done on my exp. 500,

But a lot of people have, and thats the downside.

Of course if you read the forums your going to see a lot of complaints about Garmin. Like a wise person said, all gps's suck just in different ways

Edited June 18, 2006 by vagabond

[+briansnat]

The newer C eTrex units have far better reception than the older eTrex units. That said, the older eTrex units work fine under trees as long as they are held properly. The C units are much less sensitive to position.

 

I'd say an eXplorist's reception would be a good bit better than an older B/W eTrex, but similar to an eTrex C unit. At least that has been my experience while geocaching with people using these units.

[+RangerR47]

The Magellans have a much better antenna than the Etrex X hands down. Only the higher end models of Garmins have better chips. Basically using a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the best I would say the GPSMAPs X series with the SiRF chips are a 9, Magellans are an 8 and the Etrex are a 6. I do think the SiRF chips reign supreme right now, but only gave a 9 cause thats about as good as civilian GPS is gonna get. Now if money is not an issue go with the GPSMAP X series from Garmin, otherwise if you tryin to get the most bang for buck, get the Magellan Explorist.

[+sayter liften]

i have a etrex vista and have no problem with it getting a signal under trees,in my truck, or even in front of my computer in my house and it is very accurate and works great.

[ne6359]

i have a etrex vista and have no problem with it getting a signal under trees,in my truck, or even in front of my computer in my house and it is very accurate and works great.

 

I have just started geocaching and was given a etrex. So far about half of my caches have been in moderate woods. My Etrex is totally useless!!! (yellow version). In the woods my Etrex will show (for example) 45 feet north, take two or three steps and may swing around and tell me 167 feet. I do not get a week signal icon, just a wild and unpredictable reading. I was sitting in my truck at a parking spot and I would describe it as a small area with tall trees around the outside edge. My laptop with my Microsoft gps reciever had good reception with the reciever on the inside of the windshield. I was holding the etrex out the window and was never able to lock in. My Etrex works perfect out in the open. After about 3 dnf's cause of the trees I have ordered a Explorist 210 outdoor bundle. After I get it I will revisit my DNF's and compare it to the Etrex and repost here.

 

Thanks for giving me this place to vent, I almost threw my Extrex into the woods as far as i could but decided to vent here instead!

 

Ken

[+Renegade Knight]

The eTrex line has two versions. The Black and white which are older and the newer color ones which are newer. The newer color ones hold a signal much better than the older black and white ones.

 

The explorit series is all new and holds a signal well.

 

Garmin doesn't average it's reading (or if they do it's not the same way as Magellan). Older magellans did. It kept them more stable under tree cover than other GPSs of similar reception. This same averaging caused other issues for Magellan that Garmins didn't have. The explorist seems to have less of the averaging that the older Magellans did so they probably are not quite as stable under tree cover as the older magellans and now on a par with the Garmins. That's speculation on my part based on other posts in the forums.

 

To answer the OP.

The Explorist will be fine as will the Color Etrex series. Stay away from the Black and White Etrex for your purpose.

[+Renegade Knight]

Also, neither antanea is better. The Patch works better in some circumstances and the Quad helix better in others. Newer GPSs have better reception than older and as has been pointed out the chipset makes a difference. An external antanea will make more of a difference in reception than the difference between the Explorist and eTrex.

[+budd-rdc]

I haven't used an eXplorist firsthand, but have watched others use it. Excellent in tree cover, much better than my eTrex (Summit).

 

I have heard good things about the newer eTrex Legend and Vista Cx series, so if your budget allows it, keep them in mind. I think the eXplorist 210 is a good choice in the entry level price range (~$150) especially if you plan to cache primarily in forests.

[+briansnat]

i have a etrex vista and have no problem with it getting a signal under trees,in my truck, or even in front of my computer in my house and it is very accurate and works great.

 

I have just started geocaching and was given a etrex. So far about half of my caches have been in moderate woods. My Etrex is totally useless!!! (yellow version). In the woods my Etrex will show (for example) 45 feet north, take two or three steps and may swing around and tell me 167 feet. I do not get a week signal icon, just a wild and unpredictable reading. I was sitting in my truck at a parking spot and I would describe it as a small area with tall trees around the outside edge. My laptop with my Microsoft gps reciever had good reception with the reciever on the inside of the windshield. I was holding the etrex out the window and was never able to lock in. My Etrex works perfect out in the open. After about 3 dnf's cause of the trees I have ordered a Explorist 210 outdoor bundle. After I get it I will revisit my DNF's and compare it to the Etrex and repost here.

 

Thanks for giving me this place to vent, I almost threw my Extrex into the woods as far as i could but decided to vent here instead!

 

Ken

 

I've used the Legend and Vista under heavy tree cover with excellent results. The people I've seen who had problems were not using them correctly. They have to be held flat, face up to the sky at all times under heavy tree cover. eTrex units have probably found more geocaches than all other units combined. They wouldn't be so popular if they didn't work.

[+HaLiJuSaPa]

i have a etrex vista and have no problem with it getting a signal under trees,in my truck, or even in front of my computer in my house and it is very accurate and works great.

 

I have just started geocaching and was given a etrex. So far about half of my caches have been in moderate woods. My Etrex is totally useless!!! (yellow version). In the woods my Etrex will show (for example) 45 feet north, take two or three steps and may swing around and tell me 167 feet. I do not get a week signal icon, just a wild and unpredictable reading. I was sitting in my truck at a parking spot and I would describe it as a small area with tall trees around the outside edge. My laptop with my Microsoft gps reciever had good reception with the reciever on the inside of the windshield. I was holding the etrex out the window and was never able to lock in. My Etrex works perfect out in the open. After about 3 dnf's cause of the trees I have ordered a Explorist 210 outdoor bundle. After I get it I will revisit my DNF's and compare it to the Etrex and repost here.

 

Thanks for giving me this place to vent, I almost threw my Extrex into the woods as far as i could but decided to vent here instead!

 

Ken

 

When you replace it, don't throw out your Etrex yellow, sell it on eBay or here in the GPS Garage Forum. As briansnat noted later in the forum, it is one of the most popular GPSr's out there, and I guarantee you will get most of what you paid for it back, you may even make a small profit if you got it on sale. Good luck!

Edited June 25, 2006 by HaLiJuSaPa

[+jelinidas]

I love my blue Etrax. All is fine until I stop, then I get the jumps. You must keep moving. When your close quit looking at gps and find that cache!

[ne6359]

I love my blue Etrax. All is fine until I stop, then I get the jumps. You must keep moving. When your close quit looking at gps and find that cache!

 

I have been using my new explorist for 4 or 5 caches now. Compared to MY yellow etrex in tree cover NO comparrison!

[+kd7ctv]

I have had the ability to use both, I own a Expolorist 200, and my friend a Etrex Vista. In heavy cover hers was always more accurate then mine. I have since bought a Legend so I will be able to compare them anytime I want.