Suggestions For An Low-end Gps?

[Pequeno]

I'm an EMT/FF who returned to college to get his RN nursing degree, and so I'm not only broke but deep in student debt.

 

Having said that, I'm dying to get started in geocaching - it appeals to the treasure hunter in me, I guess - and my fiancee and 10-year-old daughter are very excited as well. My problem is simply money - a $300 GPS may not be a lot of money to most folks, but to me, it's prohibitively expensive at the moment.

 

I see that Amazon has the Explorist 100 for less than $80. I understand I have to manually put in waypoints, it's a monochrome screen, etc., but can I get by on something like this for a while? Can we get started in geocaching using paper maps, a cheap GPS, and just enjoy it, without buying something with all the bells and whistles? Those can come later - for now, I'd like to be able to enjoy the sunny outdoors with my family while the weather's good!

 

We live in the Pacific Northwest, so tree cover is a definite probability. Will the Explorist 100 handle that without too much difficulty?

 

ANY suggestions would be greatly appreciated (on this unit, or another in the $100 price range).

 

Also - although I realize this should probably go in the garage sale forum - if anyone has an old backup GPS they just don't use and would let go cheap, drop me a private message or something? (I'm not quite sure how these forums work, or if there even *is* private messaging).

 

Thanks in advance to all of you, and thanks to geocaching.com for supporting such a cool hobby.

 

Brian

 

PS - Hm... it appears I can't spell today. The title should be "Suggestions for *A* Low-end GPS." Yeah, okay, just ignore that part.

Edited August 3, 2006 by Pequeno

[+Steel City Seekers]

We used an eXplorist 100 for a while as our sole device. It absolutely works well for geocaching, and the eXplorists are known to be pretty good with reception. Ours is. You do have to enter waypoints individually, but if you aren't hunting 500 at a time, it isn't so big of a deal as long as you double-check the coordinates you've entered. Great device to get started with.

 

Another option would be the yellow etrex. I say that because you can add a cable for something like $30 or so (maybe later?) and download waypoints.

 

Others that I'm aware of that you might consider:

Garmin Geko 101 or 201

Lowrance ifinder GO or GO2 (These have basemaps that, although minimal, the others don't have).

 

I've read where people had positive comments about all of the above, and they all certainly are capable of getting you started.

Edited August 3, 2006 by Steel City Seekers

[GreatCanadian]

Hi there....keep your eye on ebay for a few weeks and you will certainly find a good deal on an etrex legend in your price range. It is packed with features and can handle maps. When you do have more money in the future, just buy the maps...the legend will still be a super gps.

[+budd-rdc]

Yes, you can get by on a low-end GPS. You can even thrive on one. I use 2 of the 3 GPSr mentioned by Steel City Seekers, the iFinder GO and the Geko 201, although not all the time. I normally use an eTrex Summit and a Magellan GPS Companion, both 5 year old vintage and bought secondhand at bargain prices.

 

Study the cache pages in your area, and read the forums. Prices aren't going up on any of the bargain units so it doesn't hurt to take your time to know more. Maybe you'll have more money budgeted the longer you wait.

 

If you live in a cache dense area, consider buying a unit with PC connectivity, like the eXplorist 210 or the eTrex Legend. Etrex Yellow is a good choice, too, but the data cable is extra and you should budget for that.

 

Otherwise, buying any of the units mentioned should be OK.

[+hikergps]

Welcome. I use a Geko 101 or an eTrex yellow, depending on my mood. I have had both in heavy tree cover without problems. The Geko was an eBay purchase for $40. The Yellow was a secondhand gps bought from the Garage Sale forums here on GC. Either can be had new for under $100. Wally World has the Yellow at most stores for $90, good to go out of the box. You can get a cable to download waypoints into the Yellow for about $10 on eBay. Also, PM sent regarding something else.

 

edit: to make me sound less stoopid and get rid of sentence fragment.

Edited August 4, 2006 by hikergps

[+weakfish]

Seen great deals/steals on LegendC's on eBay... Quite a capable unit.

[+hiikaash]

I would recommend a explorist 210 because it has a usb cable and 22mb memory, and you don't have to upload coordinates directly

[+hiikaash]

P.S. It is only 179.00

[+geognerd]

I see that Amazon has the Explorist 100 for less than $80. I understand I have to manually put in waypoints, it's a monochrome screen, etc., but can I get by on something like this for a while? Can we get started in geocaching using paper maps, a cheap GPS, and just enjoy it, without buying something with all the bells and whistles? Those can come later - for now, I'd like to be able to enjoy the sunny outdoors with my family while the weather's good!

That's a good price for a new eXplorist 100, by the way. I got started in geocaching with an eX100. I found my first 200 or so caches with it by caching just like you mentioned. Paper maps, printouts, and GPSr in hand with a pen in my pocket. Bare essentials. I upgraded to an eXplorist 400 a year later but kept the 100 as a spare. Glad I did. I ended up using the eX100 to find another 25-30 caches while my eX400 was being fixed after a run-in with an SUV. So it's a dependable unit that will perform well for you as a starter unit. Too bad the Magellan rebate is done, because I picked up my spare eX210 for $95 after the rebate. Sold the eX100 on eBay for $65. Be careful on eBay. There are some deals to be had, but I've seen some old hoopty units selling for more money than newer more capable units can be had for elsewhere.

[+M4T]

Found my first Cache a few years ago on a yellow Etrex. No reason why you couldn't use one as a full time machine. I bought the 60C because I wanted something I could use in the car and take on the trail.

[+Renegade Knight]

Any GPS you can buy will work for geocaching. Avoid Cobra, and avoid anything that you can't connect to the computer.

 

Beyond those two consideration, Magellan, Garmin, Lowrance, Brunton will all do the job.

 

A few that don't connect to the computer.

Magellan Explorist 100, 200, 300

Garmin Gecko 101.

 

The Explorist 210 does connect so you just have to cross check that on the GPS.

[skeeterbait]

I would agree that you should be careful of what you buy on eBay. I've seen a lot of older equipment selling for more than it's worth.

 

Having said that, I'm going to point you toward - ahem - eBay.

 

REI recently had a blowout sale on older Lowrance iFinder Pro Plus packages. Really nice little units, and the "pro plus" comes with MapCreate v. 6.3, an SD card, and SD card reader/writer that connects (via USB) to your PC so that you can download custom maps and have very fine map detail on your little iFinder.

 

These were $350 units that were blown out for $50. It might have been a price mistake, but they delivered one to me, and I like it a LOT. But many people didn't buy them to use, they bought them to re-sell - on eBay. So, if you can score a deal on a new-in-box iFinder pro plus on eBay (I just looked and there are several for sale), I would recommend it.

 

The one that I got had firmware that was a revision or two out of date - no worry - Lowrance has a free and easy-to-use firmware updater on their website. I was up-to-date in about 2 minutes.

[Pequeno]

Wow, thanks to everyone for the great advice. It's put my mind at ease a bit about buying a cheaper unit. But I'm really hankering to get out there and it'll be a year or more until I'm done being a starving student.

 

So in the meantime, I'm on the prowl for a GPS, and hopefully you'll all be seeing more of me in the forums soon!

 

Thanks again to everyone, and any additional advice is still welcome!

[CenTexDodger]

The more expensive devices everyone raves about have many more bells and whistles than the base unit like the yellow etrex. Said bells and whistles will not help you find the cache, but they do help in other ways.

 

My starter GPS was a Garmin eMap. It is not quite as rugged as the etrexes, but it is upgradable to take detailed maps, similar to the Legend. They are good little units if you can find one.

[+TwoTruckers]

The more expensive devices everyone raves about have many more bells and whistles than the base unit like the yellow etrex. Said bells and whistles will not help you find the cache, but they do help in other ways.

 

My starter GPS was a Garmin eMap. It is not quite as rugged as the etrexes, but it is upgradable to take detailed maps, similar to the Legend. They are good little units if you can find one.

 

Here's another option, I currently use a Garmin Foretrex 101, I think that these can be gotten around $99 or so. The optional serial cable was an extra $10 but well worth it.

 

I use this unit alongside other team members using a 60C and it's every bit as accurate. Another nice feature is that it is on my wrist, which frees my hands for other things. It is also much stealthier when stealth is an issue.

 

Yes there are many options out there without having to spend a mint. But to be honest, for me PC transfer is less of a luxury and more of a necessity.

[+pghlooking]

WOOT.com has the eXplorist 300 for under $100 shipped to the house. Have to order today of course. There is also a work around that you can add waypoints by computer HERE.

[+team5150]

Wally World has the Etrex Legend, which is a mapping unit, for 117 + shipping. I used a Legend for work, and when I first began geocaching, and it was a very solid & useful GPS....until I ran over it Now I use a 60 CSx...

[+M4T]

Keep an eye out here in the garage sale section too. I bet you can pick up a nice 60C/CS 76C/CS for cheap with all the folks picking up the new X series.

 

And good luck in school!

[+HaLiJuSaPa]

If you can live with manually putting in waypoints, I strongly recommend the IFinder GO (I have one). Its strongpoints:

 

1) Low low price! (goes new with warranty at most e-tailers for about $65-70 and can sometimes be found for even less on eBay)

 

2) WAAS accuracy and awesome reception (it has a SiRF chip!). I've rarely if ever had a problem in tree cover and even once got a reading in the 1st floor lobby of a 7-story condo (however, usually I only get 1 or 2 sats in this situation, but even that's incredible for an entry-level unit!)

 

3) No other unit at this price level even has a base map and this one does!

 

The unit actually has a port to connect to NMEA equipment and it can be "hacked" so that you actually can download waypoints! It is not a "hack" in which you physically change the unit, it involves buying a cable for about $30 and converting waypoints to NMEA codes or something like that. I've never done it, but I know there are many forum on here on it.

 

Good luck and enjoy! Great family activity that doesn't cost much and gets everyone outdoors!

Edited August 6, 2006 by HaLiJuSaPa