robfurman Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 I just need to know what type of GPS to buy that will do everything I need it to and still be around $100 or so. I would like to sync up to the comp and also be able to use it in the car for directions. As you can tell I know NOTHING about these but i love technology so i am going to learn and get into this hunt. I will also leave many new cashings around for you to find. Please advise me in any way you can. Thank you so much. Rob Furman robfurman@rtlstudios.com Quote Link to comment
rangeredge98 Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 Hey Rob, I am also new to the sport, which is a very addictive. I got a gps on my birthday, a Garmin etrex. Just the basic etrex, not a legend or a vista. It is a very easy to use unit, all the buttons are on the side, only 5 altogether. This helps out a lot especially giving way to a larger screen on front. In no time, you will have the buttons memorized and wont have to look at which one to hit. The basic Garmin etrex doesnt come with a computer cable, but you can get one for it. It will run you no more than $100. I got mine at wal mart for 99.46. If you go on wal mart's website, I believe it is something like 79.98, but you can check that to be sure. As far as accuracy goes, for the most part it is between 15-20 feet accurate, sometimes as low as 9 or ten. This is not too bad for a basic model such as the etrex. At first I was wishing it was even more accurate, but then thought what fun would it be in finding a cache if the gps would walk you right up to it. So if you dont need a lot of bells and whistles, or need the gps to do maps for you, the etrex is a good choice. From what I have read it is what a lot of cachers start out with. I figured I could start out small, and if I decide I really like it, I can always invest later and upgrade to a fancier unit. Hope this helps. D.Ballanger Quote Link to comment
+El Diablo Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 The basic Garmin Etrex will do you a good job and is in the price range you need. It's as good as the most expensive units out there as far as accuracy goes if you have a good lock on the sats. It just doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the more expensive units, such as mapping and expandable memory. El Diablo Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 I just need to know what type of GPS to buy that will do everything I need it to and still be around $100 or so. I would like to sync up to the comp and also be able to use it in the car for directions Sorry to break the news, but this unit doesn't exist - new at least. If you want a unit that will give driving directions you're talking at least $250 including the software. You can get a basic mapping unit like the Garmin eTrex Legend ($120), which will show road maps (provided you buy them) but it won't give driving directions. I've seen the Legend bundled with mapping software at Dicks and some other places for a little over $200. That is about as inexpensive as you will find for a GPS with mapping software. If you want a unit that will give you turn by turn driving directions, about the cheapest is the Garmin Venture CX which will go for about $150 right now with the Garmin rebate and it will run you about another $100 for the mapping software and $20-$30 for memory. If you look online or on Ebay you might be able to find a Garmin GPS V closer to your price range. Its a good unit that has been discontinued. It gives turn by turn driving directions and comes with the mapping sofware included in the price. The big limitation with The GPS V is the 19 megs of map memory (This might not be an issue if you don't range far in your driving). Moving to the appropriate forum Quote Link to comment
+Fred/Mary Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 I was at Sportsman's Warehouse in San Antonio this morning looking at the etrex units. They had the etrex Venture CX, but the clerk wasn't sure about the differneces between it and the etrex Legend CX. I came home and looked it up. The etrex Venture CX does not come with ANY internal map (it is designed to use the Garmin pre-loaded microSD cards), no cable to connect it to a computer, and no software. I'm probably going to go with the etrex Legend CX. In San Antonio Bass Pro Shops is having a grand opening on 10/18/06. One of their grand opening specials is the basic etrex for $49.99. Fred Quote Link to comment
ucdcrush Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 I was at Sportsman's Warehouse in San Antonio this morning looking at the etrex units. They had the etrex Venture CX, but the clerk wasn't sure about the differneces between it and the etrex Legend CX. I came home and looked it up. The etrex Venture CX does not come with ANY internal map (it is designed to use the Garmin pre-loaded microSD cards), no cable to connect it to a computer, and no software. I'm probably going to go with the etrex Legend CX. In San Antonio Bass Pro Shops is having a grand opening on 10/18/06. One of their grand opening specials is the basic etrex for $49.99. Fred Venture CX does in fact come with a very basic base-map. Shows major highways, but I didn't use it long before putting metroguide on it. Don't go with a legend CX, you are spending another $50 for probably $5 in parts (tiny microSD card and USB cable). If you buy City Navigator software, it comes with Mapsource, so you don't need to buy anything separately. I got Metroguide for use with the Venture CX and it comes with Mapsource, so there's nothing extra to buy. Quote Link to comment
ossumguywill Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 The explorist 210 or 400 have everything you want. They are both rugged and syncable. They are waterproof to 1 meter for 30 minutes. They are cheap for a good unit. If you want to step it up about $50, you could get the 500 with color. Search for prices with http://www.nextag.com/. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 The explorist 210 or 400 have everything you want. They are both rugged and syncable. They are waterproof to 1 meter for 30 minutes. They are cheap for a good unit. If you want to step it up about $50, you could get the 500 with color. Search for prices with http://www.nextag.com/. I think the problem is that he wanted it for $100. These units are $150-$200 and another $90 or so for the mapping software. Quote Link to comment
robfurman Posted October 18, 2006 Author Share Posted October 18, 2006 Wow, You never really realize how much you don't know about something until you ask the experts. Thank you all so much for your information and any more would be appreciated. i am going looking tonight and if I purchase I will let you know which one I get. Thanks again, Rob Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 Wow, You never really realize how much you don't know about something until you ask the experts. Thank you all so much for your information and any more would be appreciated. i am going looking tonight and if I purchase I will let you know which one I get. Thanks again, Rob If you are firm about the $100 price range, I think you will be limited to the Garmin yellow eTrex or Garmin Geko 201. The 201 is nice because if its very compact size and ease of use. I do recommend however spending a bit more and getting something like Garmin Venture CX. Its $150 with the current Garmin rebate. You can always add features like map memory, mapping, turn by turn directions, etc... later on. Maybe put Mapsource City Navigator on your Christmas wish list. Quote Link to comment
GreatCanadian Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 (edited) I just need to know what type of GPS to buy that will do everything I need it to and still be around $100 or so. I would like to sync up to the comp and also be able to use it in the car for directions. As you can tell I know NOTHING about these but i love technology so i am going to learn and get into this hunt. I will also leave many new cashings around for you to find. Please advise me in any way you can. Thank you so much. Rob Furman robfurman@rtlstudios.com If you only want to spend 100 bucks then don't spend more. If you aren't in a hurry, keep an eye out on ebay and you can pick yourself up an etrex legend for that price including shipping. If you're really patient you will get an etrex Vista. I picked up a mint condition etrex vista (used, but like brand new) including the pc cable for $102 including shipping. Also, check the Garage Sale forum on this site. I've seen some good deals on there now and then. Edited October 18, 2006 by GreatCanadian Quote Link to comment
+Scoobmaster Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 (edited) Hi Rob! I was just in your shoes the past few weeks. I ended up getting a discontinued model for a fantastic discount! I am the proud owner of a new Lowrance iWay 100M (search these forums for posts for the pros/cons on this unit). I have used it to find a cache already (it is a handheld and is waterproof to some degree) AND it comes with mapping software and does auto-routing and in-car voice prompted turn-by-turn. It is not "the best" GPSr out there, but for the money it is hard to beat! I just checked and it is still available from where I bought mine. It is $139 with FREE SHIPPING HERE Edited October 18, 2006 by Scoobmaster Quote Link to comment
+HaLiJuSaPa Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 Hi Rob! I was just in your shoes the past few weeks. I ended up getting a discontinued model for a fantastic discount! I am the proud owner of a new Lowrance iWay 100M (search these forums for posts for the pros/cons on this unit). I have used it to find a cache already (it is a handheld and is waterproof to some degree) AND it comes with mapping software and does auto-routing and in-car voice prompted turn-by-turn. It is not "the best" GPSr out there, but for the money it is hard to beat! I just checked and it is still available from where I bought mine. It is $139 with FREE SHIPPING HERE Without repeating many details, look in my many forum entries on the iWay 100M, I fully agree with Scoober here. Also look at our Epinions and EBay reviews. Defintiely a deal Quote Link to comment
+zeke1975 Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 (edited) for your price range used is definitely the way to go. the iWay 100 deal above sounds great! I recently bought a lowrance ifinder pro that had hardly been used, with mapping software (mapcreate 6.3) card reader and sd card (lowrance's plus package), the software/SD card were still in the wrapper for $106 on ebay. This unit won't do autorouting, but it does everything else... Keep an eye open for a good used unit with software and you can get some great bang for your buck! Edited October 19, 2006 by zeke1975 Quote Link to comment
senecaripple Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 Hi Rob! I was just in your shoes the past few weeks. I ended up getting a discontinued model for a fantastic discount! I am the proud owner of a new Lowrance iWay 100M (search these forums for posts for the pros/cons on this unit). I have used it to find a cache already (it is a handheld and is waterproof to some degree) AND it comes with mapping software and does auto-routing and in-car voice prompted turn-by-turn. It is not "the best" GPSr out there, but for the money it is hard to beat! I just checked and it is still available from where I bought mine. It is $139 with FREE SHIPPING HERE you might want to call lowrance and see if this merchant is an authorized lowrance dealer, because if it's not, lowrance will not honor the warranty. i bought one of these units from ebuyer.com, and when i tried to install the included defective disc, it ofcourse did not work. neither merchant or customer service at lowrance would assist me. it took a nice tech person at lowrance to send me a working set of map create cd's. that was one year later after i made my purchase. so, make sure this etailer is an authorized lowrance dealer. unless you dont care, or this merchant will exchange if you have any problems! Quote Link to comment
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