beginner question

[+skeezicks]

My brother in law was visiting from out of state and told me about finding caches.He took me out while he was here and we found 5 of them.What a blast.He had a garmin etrex vista cx.I am getting ready to buy a gps to get started with and was wondering if this would be a good one to get?Thanks.

[undiscovered]

My brother in law was visiting from out of state and told me about finding caches.He took me out while he was here and we found 5 of them.What a blast.He had a garmin etrex vista cx.I am getting ready to buy a gps to get started with and was wondering if this would be a good one to get?Thanks.

 

I have an etrex Legend and Garmin GPS12. The GPS12 seems to get a little better reception in wooded areas, but the vista should work fine. I believe that it is more of a case of personal preference and your ability to operate the gps easily.

 

Have fun.

 

-Jim

[+media601]

My brother in law was visiting from out of state and told me about finding caches.He took me out while he was here and we found 5 of them.What a blast.He had a garmin etrex vista cx.I am getting ready to buy a gps to get started with and was wondering if this would be a good one to get?Thanks.

 

If you already have a mini USB cable, such as the type used to connect cameras and other small electronics to a computer, the Venture CX may be all you need. It ships without the cable and the microSD card, but you can get a 1gb card for about $20.00, and save yourself a chunk of $ overall. The only functional difference is that the Venture CX lacks the barometric altimeter and electronic compass. It uses the GPs satellites to calculate altitude. I have an electronic compass in my 60CSx and it is such a pain in the patootski that I usually turn it off. I find myself leaving the 60Csx at home more and more and just using the VentureCX for caching.

[+ThePropers]

Without jumping into units, you need to ask yourself a few questions:

1. What kindof caching will you be doing? If you are doing hiking in the deep woods where there will be lots of tree cover, you may want a different unit than if you are going to be doing mostly urban caching.
   
2. Will you just be using it for caching? GPS units can do a lot more. Would you be interested in also using it for autorouting (going from point A to point B with turn-by-turn directions), or being able to find the closest restaurants, gas stations, etc.
   
3. How much money do you have to spend? Units can range from $80 to several hundred and more depending on what you get. You may also find yourself with several other costs, such as detailed road maps for autorouting, or topo maps.
   

When I first started caching, there weren't a whole lot of hand-held units, and we weren't sure if we'd actually like it or not, so we just got a $100 etrex yellow. It worked fine for caching, and found us 800 before it broke. Now I have a 60CSx which has tons of bells and whistles, but also costs in the $450 range by the time you add on maps and memory card.

Edited January 2, 2007 by ThePropers

[+briansnat]

Vista CX is good unit. If you are on a budget the Venture CX might be a better choice.

 

The Propers are asking some good questions though. You should think those through and after you answer them we can better make a recommendation

[+embra]

When I got started, I hedged my bets by buying a used unit. After 3 or 4 months, I had a much better idea of what GPS would best satisfy my particular needs, bought it, and sold the used unit for about the same as I paid.

 

You may want to check out the garage sale forum here.

[+skeezicks]

Thanks for all the information,it was very helpful...I can't wait to get started "caching".Let the fun begin!!