+nollscoffen Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 OK, I'm really excited with geocahing but I'm totally clueless on what to buy. It seems there's no need for a GPS unit with maps (and I really can't afford an expensive one) so I'm wondering if a Magellan eXplorist 100 would be a good purchase. All help is greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment
+tollerdudes Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 I suggest a Garmin eTrex Venture Cx. They do have a mapping capability which is useful for just non-geocaching navigating. They are only about $250- a $50 rebate. Quote Link to comment
+nollscoffen Posted October 29, 2006 Author Share Posted October 29, 2006 I only need it for caching, so the maps are just a waste of money. Nevertheless, between Magellan eXplorist and Garmin eTrex what do you reckon is better strictly for caching? Quote Link to comment
+hogrod Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 (edited) I only need it for caching, so the maps are just a waste of money. Nevertheless, between Magellan eXplorist and Garmin eTrex what do you reckon is better strictly for caching? neither, even if you don't want maps now the venture CX is a great deal with the $50 rebate. after the rebate it's only going to be around $150(depending on where you buy it online). the venture CX receiver is much better than the basic yellow etrex and the color screen is great, also the unit also can do much more & has battery battery life than the basic yellow etrex. and don't forget the venture CX has a USB connection, the etrex yellow uses a serial cable(not included). the explorist 100 doen't have a cable so you can't download waypoints right off the pc. Edited October 29, 2006 by hogrod Quote Link to comment
+fratermus Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 I only need it for caching, so the maps are just a waste of money. You can probably get a used yellow eTrex w/cable for about $60 in the garage sale forum if you are patient. Maybe $100 for a used legend w/cable that could also take maps if you change your mind (and many do). Then use freeware easygps and hit the caches. Quote Link to comment
+nollscoffen Posted October 30, 2006 Author Share Posted October 30, 2006 I'm really not interested in its map feature - does Lowrance IFinder GO seem appropriate? It looks decent for such a low price... Any know issues with it? Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 (edited) I only need it for caching, so the maps are just a waste of money. Nevertheless, between Magellan eXplorist and Garmin eTrex what do you reckon is better strictly for caching? Maps are far from a waste of money for geocaching. They help you figure out how to get to the cache and where to park. Once you're on the trail its helpful to know if there is a river, ravine, cliff, mountian, lake, swamp, etc... between you and the cache. The map is very valuable for helping you plan your route. Between the eXplorist 100 and eTrex I'd get the eTrex. It can hook up to a PC and the eXplorist can't. That is a key feature for geocachers. Edited October 30, 2006 by briansnat Quote Link to comment
+budd-rdc Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 I'm really not interested in its map feature - does Lowrance IFinder GO seem appropriate? It looks decent for such a low price... Any know issues with it? I use a Lowrance iFinder GO. You'll need to invest some time to make it Geocaching-friendly, since downloading waypoints from a PC is not officially supported, but is possible. You can start by reading this very informative thread. As for performance, it is very accurate, but frustrating in deep forest cover, since the CPU is too slow to "recover" from spotty reception. If you want to buy a Magellan eXplorist, start with the 210, and ignore the 100, 200, and the 300 because they don't support waypoint downloads (there's a way to do it, but you'll need to search through some Russian hack site ) I've met some very happy eXplorist 210 users so you can't go wrong there as a n00b. Personally, I'd recommend the eTrex Legend (comes with the data cable for waypoint downloads), or the Yellow eTrex (cable sold separately). Since there are many ways to find bargains on the web or by looking for "red tag sales" at stores, I'll leave that up to you. Quote Link to comment
+nollscoffen Posted October 30, 2006 Author Share Posted October 30, 2006 So, between the Legend and the Legend Cx what are the main differences? Is the price difference worth it? Quote Link to comment
+nollscoffen Posted October 30, 2006 Author Share Posted October 30, 2006 OK, just made my decision: I'm going for the yellow eTrex which costs 124 eur plus the cable - the problem in europe is that GPS units cost almost twice as they do in the States... Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 So, between the Legend and the Legend Cx what are the main differences? Is the price difference worth it? The Legend CX is absolutely worth the extra money. Its a full featured GPS that and its not very likely you will need more than it offers. The Legend is an entry level GPS that was a good buy for the money until the Venture CX and the $50 rebate came along making it only about $30 more than the Legend. I would consider the Venture CX over the Legend CX. The Venture CX comes without the memory card and USB cable and is about $50 cheaper. Since most people will probably buy a more capacious memory card than the one that comes with the Legend CX and already have the USB cable (its the standard cable that comes with digital cameras cell phones and other electronics) paying for those in the Legend CX doesn't make a lot of sense. Anyway this applies for both the Legend CX and Venture CX: CX - expandible map memory (up to 1 gig or more), Legend - only 8 megs of map memory CX - color screen, Legend - B/W screen CX - Fast USB PC connection, Legend - slow serial connection (many PCs no longer have serial ports) CX - Better reception than the Legend CX - Does autorouting, meaning turn by turn driving directions to an address or destination. Legend - no autorouting CX - The latest handheld from Garmin with updated technology. Legend - its been around for about 6 years. Ancient in the GPS world. Quote Link to comment
+nollscoffen Posted October 30, 2006 Author Share Posted October 30, 2006 (edited) dadgum, now you got me confused... I had switched minds again and was just about to click the "ORDER" button for a 180Eur Magellan eXplorist 210 Europe, which is about 70Eur cheaper than retail price here in Portugal. The Legend Cx seems really good, but I can't afford much more than 200eur... Do you reckon the eXplorist 210 is a good purchase? Or should I go for the 250eur Venture Cx? Edited October 30, 2006 by nollscoffen Quote Link to comment
+tollerdudes Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 For the extra 40eur I'd go for the Venture Cx. Mind you, I'm a bit bias as I love my Venture Cx. Quote Link to comment
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