Not sure what GPS to buy?

March 9, 2007

I want to buy a GPS but not something to expensive right now. I never used one in my life so I'm not to sure what to look for when purchasing one. I really can't wait to start caching. It sounds really fun. Since I love hiking it will give me something extra to look forward to. If anyone can help I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks

-NatureGirl

24.7k · March 9, 2007

You can look at the eTrex Legend (black and white) as a good starter GPS that should be cheap.

If you want color I understand the Etrex Venture color is not too shabby.

38.2k · March 9, 2007

What exactly do you mean by "not too expensive"? For around $180 you can get the Garmin Venture CX. It might be the best deal for the money going. It has nearly everything you could ask for. Color display, expandable map memory, autorouting and USB interface among other features.

You can use the Venture CX out of the box for geocaching, and you can add detailed maps later on.

The Venture CX is the kind of unit you can grow into. Too often people buy the cheapest one they can find, then they make some geocaching friends and see what their friend's units can do and think "Darn, I wish my unit can do that". Well with the Venture CX it's likely that your unit can do that. You just have to buy the software .

March 9, 2007

Where do you think is the best place to look for one? Do you have an idea how much the black and white one would cost?

38.2k · March 9, 2007

Where do you think is the best place to look for one? Do you have an idea how much the black and white one would cost?

Amazon.com usually has the best, or nearly the best prices. You can find the B&W Legend for around $120.

But before you go for that, consider this. There is only about a $60 difference in price. The Legend has 8 megs of fixed map memory while the Venture CX has expandable map memory up to 2 gigs. The Legend doesn't autoroute (autorouting is turn by turn driving directions to a destination) but the Venture CX does.

The Legend has been in Garmin's line for 6 years, ancient by technology standards. The Venture CX is their latest handheld. The Venture CX gets much better reception than the Legend. The Venture CX has nearly double the battery life (32 hrs vs. 18) and to top it off, the Venture has a USB PC connection while the Legend has the old serial connection. Unless you have an old PC with a serial port you will have to buy an USB to serial adaptor which runs between $30 and $50. If you include that in the price of the Legend you're getting closed the the price of the Venture CX anyway.

Don't get me wrong, the old Legend is a fine unit and will do the job (it was my first GPS), but no sense buying something that you will probably looking to upgrade in 6 months when just a little more money will get you a GPS that can grow as you demand more out of it.

March 9, 2007

Here's another vote for the Venture CX! I couldn't be happier with mine. As mentioned above, it's well worth the extra money.

Regards Sonny

March 9, 2007

Where do you think is the best place to look for one? Do you have an idea how much the black and white one would cost?

Lots of the black-and-white Legends have sold on Ebay in the last couple of months for anywhere between $65 and $90. Most of them were used, but there were a couple of new ones at those prices. I bought one myself back in January.

March 9, 2007

Thanks for all that information!!! Really appreciate it! What do you think of the Magellan Explorist 200??? I have got a message saying they will sell for $70. Is that reasonable??? Or should I wait and check out the Venture CX???

March 9, 2007

Hello! We have the Magellan 200. It's a good unit, and it does the job, BUT it does have some drawbacks. First, it can't be connected to the PC, so you can't download waypoints; you have to do it by hand. Not a big issue for us at this point, but I can see where it would be nice to have. Second, you can't add any maps (road or topo). The basemap it comes loaded with is decent--it shows interstates, state routes, major bodies of water, etc., but don't plan on using it for driving directions. Again, it's not a big deal for us yet, but I can see down the road where I'll be wanting maps, the topos especially. We don't go caching enough at this point to justify getting a new unit, but if it were to meet an untimely demise (say, dropped down a cliff or something :rolleyes: ), I wouldn't buy the same unit again. If rock-bottom price is really important, $70 sounds good to me, but at least check out the Magellan 210 first. It CAN be connected to the computer to download waypoints, and you CAN add maps. (It's memory is limited, though, so you can't add the whole U.S. like some units.) I've never used anything but this one, so I really can't do any comparing/contrasting. Good luck!

20.7k · March 9, 2007

I second (third?) the Venture CX. I recently picked one up and I love it. On a recent trip, I downloaded nearly 2800 caches to it using a micro SD card. It was very handy to have that much data, since I wasn't sure where I would find myself in the LA area.

March 9, 2007

Thank you all for helping me out. I never thought I would recieve as many replies as I did. I can definatly see all geocachers stick together and are willing to help eachother out anyway they can! I can't wait to become more involved! I will definatly be checking out GPS units this weekend!

Thank you all again,

-Nature Girl

March 10, 2007

I just checked amazon.com and here's what they have:

Etrex Legend: $125.41

Venture CX: $187.14

I agree with others that you will probably "grow out of" the Legend fairly quickly. I have a friend with the Venture CX and it's a solid unit -- you could definitely do worse for under $190.

-Jeff

38.2k · March 10, 2007

Thanks for all that information!!! Really appreciate it! What do you think of the Magellan Explorist 200??? I have got a message saying they will sell for $70. Is that reasonable??? Or should I wait and check out the Venture CX???

I would stay away from the eXplorist 100, 200 and 300 because they don't hook up to a PC. If you're interested in a Magellan eXplorist the 210 is the one to get, but between the 210 and the Venture CX, the Venture CX has more to offer.

The Venture CX has a color display and expandable memory, neither of which are available with the 210. Also, Garmin's autorouting software is much better than Magellan's and finally, Garmin is often lauded for their great customer service while Magellan's customer service has a rep that ranges from lousy to abysmal.

Edited March 10, 2007 by briansnat

March 10, 2007

Tamaqua,PA !!!!!

Howdy Neighber

:rolleyes:

Take Brian's advise.

March 10, 2007

This Brunton Atlas MNS is what I use, not to expensive and VERY easy to use.

March 10, 2007

I would second the motion of the Magellan eXplorist 210. It is a good GPS (black and white) and hooks up with a computer. REI goes through swings of selling them for about $150 with a case, and software for topo and street. All eXplorists (210 and up) work the same so it's easy to upgrade if you have the money. I would suggest the 600. If you get the newest version of the firmware, it has an option of marking your caches as found so you can come back after a long day of caching and see the time you hit them and order you hit them....great for when you log them at home.

Hope this helps. :sad:

March 11, 2007

Tamaqua,PA !!!!!

Howdy Neighber

Take Brian's advise.

Howdy Neighbor...Right Back At Ya!!!

March 11, 2007

So, right now it's a toss up between the Magellan eXplorist 210, Etrex Legend, Venture CX.

Let's all vote now........ :laughing:

I'm only going off what everyone tells me because otherwise I wouldn't have a clue.

Thanks

March 11, 2007

I've had the eXplorist 210 for almost a year, and I've been satisfied. I can't compare to the other units as this is my only GPSr.

Included software works great on my PC, uploading to the unit is a snap, and this thing is built for geocaching. Not complicated, if you are at all tech savvy. Eats batteries pretty quickly, but I think they all do. Also I mount it to my mountain bike and it's kinda fun as a bike computer of sorts. I put on an Invisible Shield from shieldzone.com, as I've heard it scratches easily.

I should mention that the firmware on the unit crashed, and Magellan tech support was so-so (India?), but they had me send the unit to Texas and about a month later I got a 'like new' one in the mail (under warranty). It actually worked better than the first, as it found more satellites much faster.

Best prices I've seen are around $140. Circuit City had a web sale, might still be ongoing.

Good luck and welcome to the party. :laughing:

Edited March 11, 2007 by redcoyote12

38.2k · March 11, 2007

So, right now it's a toss up between the Magellan eXplorist 210, Etrex Legend, Venture CX.

Let's all vote now........

I'm only going off what everyone tells me because otherwise I wouldn't have a clue.

Thanks

OK Here are some comparisons:

Map memory

Legend - 8 megs

210 - 22 megs

Venture CX - expandable up to 2 gigs

USB PC Interface

Legend - no

210 - yes

Venture CX - yes

Color display

Legend - no

210 - no

Venture CX - yes

Autorouting (turn by turn driving driections)

Legend - no

210 - yes with additional software

Venture CX - yes on base map and also with additional software

Rep for customer service

Legend - Excellent

210 - lousy

Venture CX - excellent

Waypoints

Legend - 1,000

210 - 190,000 POIs or waypoints (200 as geocaches)

Venture CX - 500 or virtually unlimited as POIs

Battery life

Legend - 18 hrs

210 - 18 hrs

Venture CX - 32 hours

[b}Reception[/b]

Legend - OK but very sensitive to position held

210 - Very good

Venture CX - very good

So if it were me buying, I would buy the 210 over the Legend and the Venture CX over both. I think the expandible map memory and color display in the Venture CX make a world of difference. Color displays are much more readable than the gray scale screens.

Also Garmin's user interface is easier to use than Magellan's. It's icon driven like a Windows PC. If the unit will be used for driving, Garmin's City Navigator autorouting software is significantly better than Magellan's Direct Route and finally there is the customer support issue. If you go to the GPS Units and Software forum, you will see countless threads with horrow stories about dealing with Magellan and numerous threads praising Garmin.

March 11, 2007

This Brunton Atlas MNS is what I use, not to expensive and VERY easy to use.

Looks like a rebadged Lowrance ifinder. not sure which one. It's probably the Hunt or the Explorer based on the fact that it has a compass and altimeter.

March 11, 2007

I have taken a look on the Walmart website and they have the Venture CX for like $185. They want the Legend for $117. So I'm better off going with the Venture CX, which is what I will probably do. For the extra money it does definatly seem like a better buy. Thanks for all the information! It really helped alot.

March 12, 2007

You might read this post here, this guy has had both and prefers the 210.

"I find my Explorist FAR more accurate than the Venture Cx."

Just in case you're on the fence still. :blink: Maybe email him.

38.2k · March 12, 2007

You might read this post here, this guy has had both and prefers the 210.

"I find my Explorist FAR more accurate than the Venture Cx."

Just in case you're on the fence still. Maybe email him.

I'm not sure what he means by "far more accurate". Consumer grade handhelds are all very similar as far as accuracy. Any differences can be measured by a couple of feet. Inconsequential unless you are a professional surveyor, in which case you wouldn't be using a consumer grade unit anyway.

There were some issues when the eTrex CX units first came out, with them sometimes giving readings that were way off. I understand this has been fixed with a subsequent firmware release. Perhaps that poster had one of the early Venture CXs with the defective firmware.

March 13, 2007

I just bought the eTrex by Garmin - $90 on Amazon. Seems adequate for a starter unit. The one drawback is that it does not have a USB interface. I have a Streetpilot for road mapping so didn't think we needed maps for geocaching as well.

Good luck.

March 14, 2007

Have you considered a used model?

The Garmin GPS 12 is a great starter model available for around $35 on e-bay. Cables on ebay available from $8.

I've used one for 7 years. Sturdy model, good reception, user friendly.

I've had only minor problems, but Garmin support is exceptional. Just recently got free advice from them on a software fix.

The fact that they continue to give support for an "obsolete" model has definitely made me a loyal Garmin user.

38.2k · March 14, 2007

The Garmin GPS 12 is a great starter model available for around $35 on e-bay. Cables on ebay available from $8.

And when you're not using it to find caches, it makes a great door stop. That unit weighs a ton!

Seriously, you can find some good deals on used units over in the GPS Garage Sale forum on this website.

March 14, 2007

I have an etrex legend. It works well. But the more I get into caching, the more I find it to be a pain. Every cache has to be manually entered one digit at a time with the joystick. Painfully slow. And if I'm caching in an area, it would be nice to have all caches logged so I could figure out if there are any others close by. But since I don't, I've had to revisit the same areas more than once to get caches I could have bagged previously in one trip. For this reason alone, I've decided to upgrade to a Venture CX which will also give me other features I'm sure I will grow to like.

20.7k · March 14, 2007

I have an etrex legend. It works well. But the more I get into caching, the more I find it to be a pain. Every cache has to be manually entered one digit at a time with the joystick. Painfully slow. And if I'm caching in an area, it would be nice to have all caches logged so I could figure out if there are any others close by. But since I don't, I've had to revisit the same areas more than once to get caches I could have bagged previously in one trip. For this reason alone, I've decided to upgrade to a Venture CX which will also give me other features I'm sure I will grow to like.

You will love the Venture CX. That being said, unless you upgrade your membership, you might have the same coordinate entry problems that you are having.

Premium members are able to use Pocket Queries. PQs allow you to have a file of up to 500 geocaches emailed to you. (You can order up to five PQs per day.) You can then upload these caches right to your GPSr. Easy Peasey. You can do this with the PC cable that you use to upload maps to your Legend.

March 14, 2007

I have an etrex legend. It works well. But the more I get into caching, the more I find it to be a pain. Every cache has to be manually entered one digit at a time with the joystick. Painfully slow. And if I'm caching in an area, it would be nice to have all caches logged so I could figure out if there are any others close by. But since I don't, I've had to revisit the same areas more than once to get caches I could have bagged previously in one trip. For this reason alone, I've decided to upgrade to a Venture CX which will also give me other features I'm sure I will grow to like.

You will love the Venture CX. That being said, unless you upgrade your membership, you might have the same coordinate entry problems that you are having.

Premium members are able to use Pocket Queries. PQs allow you to have a file of up to 500 geocaches emailed to you. (You can order up to five PQs per day.) You can then upload these caches right to your GPSr. Easy Peasey. You can do this with the PC cable that you use to upload maps to your Legend.

Thanks for the heads up. I think I will be upgrading to premium, sounds like the way to go.

But can't you download locations one at a time? Just give them a name and save them to a folder, then upload them all to your GPS? Which would still be easier than entering them manually.

March 14, 2007

But can't you download locations one at a time? Just give them a name and save them to a folder, then upload them all to your GPS? Which would still be easier than entering them manually.

I believe you're right. I have GSAK set up as the default program to open .loc files, and if I download a cache file, and choose to "open" the file with GSAK, then GSAK opens and adds the location to its list of locations. I can then use GSAK to load all of the waypoints into my Legend. So presumably I could create a list of locations by downloading all the ones I was interested in, then move all the waypoints to my GPSr in one fell swoop.

38.2k · March 14, 2007

I have an etrex legend. It works well. But the more I get into caching, the more I find it to be a pain. Every cache has to be manually entered one digit at a time with the joystick. Painfully slow. And if I'm caching in an area, it would be nice to have all caches logged so I could figure out if there are any others close by. But since I don't, I've had to revisit the same areas more than once to get caches I could have bagged previously in one trip. For this reason alone, I've decided to upgrade to a Venture CX which will also give me other features I'm sure I will grow to like.

Though I think going to the Venture CX is a great move, you can upload caches in bulk directly to your Legend. Buying the Venture CX won't change a thing in that regard.

March 14, 2007

I have an etrex legend. It works well. But the more I get into caching, the more I find it to be a pain. Every cache has to be manually entered one digit at a time with the joystick. Painfully slow. And if I'm caching in an area, it would be nice to have all caches logged so I could figure out if there are any others close by. But since I don't, I've had to revisit the same areas more than once to get caches I could have bagged previously in one trip. For this reason alone, I've decided to upgrade to a Venture CX which will also give me other features I'm sure I will grow to like.

Though I think going to the Venture CX is a great move, you can upload caches in bulk directly to your Legend. Buying the Venture CX won't change a thing in that regard.

I didn't know that. I had tried to figure out how to do it in the past, to no avail. But hearing this made me look a little harder into how to do it, and was able to do it through the MapSource program I have. Guess I should read manuals sometimes <_< Thanks for the reply briansnat!

38.2k · March 14, 2007

I have an etrex legend. It works well. But the more I get into caching, the more I find it to be a pain. Every cache has to be manually entered one digit at a time with the joystick. Painfully slow. And if I'm caching in an area, it would be nice to have all caches logged so I could figure out if there are any others close by. But since I don't, I've had to revisit the same areas more than once to get caches I could have bagged previously in one trip. For this reason alone, I've decided to upgrade to a Venture CX which will also give me other features I'm sure I will grow to like.

Though I think going to the Venture CX is a great move, you can upload caches in bulk directly to your Legend. Buying the Venture CX won't change a thing in that regard.

I didn't know that. I had tried to figure out how to do it in the past, to no avail. But hearing this made me look a little harder into how to do it, and was able to do it through the MapSource program I have. Guess I should read manuals sometimes Thanks for the reply briansnat!

You can do it with Mapsource, but EasyGPS is a lot easier and free. Just Google EasyGPS and dowload it.

March 14, 2007

Just another vote for the Venture Cx. I got mine for Christmas and have upgraded it with a 1gig micro SD card and City Navigator software. Before this, the Venture was wonderful for geocaching. Since getting the software, it is a phenomenal tool. The autorouting is fantastic and the maps have been extremely detailed.

20.7k · March 15, 2007

Just another vote for the Venture Cx. I got mine for Christmas and have upgraded it with a 1gig micro SD card and City Navigator software. Before this, the Venture was wonderful for geocaching. Since getting the software, it is a phenomenal tool. The autorouting is fantastic and the maps have been extremely detailed.

Have you checked out Garmin's POILoader, yet? Using this free program, you can load as many caches as you want onto your GPSr as Points of Interest. I loaded nearly 2800 caches on mine for my recent trip.

20.7k · March 15, 2007

I didn't know that. I had tried to figure out how to do it in the past, to no avail. But hearing this made me look a little harder into how to do it, and was able to do it through the MapSource program I have. Guess I should read manuals sometimes Thanks for the reply briansnat!

I guess I wasn't clear enough in my post. <sniff> <_<

March 15, 2007

Just another vote for the Venture Cx. I got mine for Christmas and have upgraded it with a 1gig micro SD card and City Navigator software. Before this, the Venture was wonderful for geocaching. Since getting the software, it is a phenomenal tool. The autorouting is fantastic and the maps have been extremely detailed.
Have you checked out Garmin's POILoader, yet? Using this free program, you can load as many caches as you want onto your GPSr as Points of Interest. I loaded nearly 2800 caches on mine for my recent trip.

I think my legend is too old for this program. But thanks!

March 15, 2007

I'm new to this as well and I'm using a very old model, and thought that if I am going to buy a gps, I want it to also help me not get lost in DC or baltimore. So what do you all think about the Vista CX? I think I like the rerouting, and sounds. Is it worth it over the Venture CX?

thanks

20.7k · March 15, 2007

I'm new to this as well and I'm using a very old model, and thought that if I am going to buy a gps, I want it to also help me not get lost in DC or baltimore. So what do you all think about the Vista CX? I think I like the rerouting, and sounds. Is it worth it over the Venture CX?
thanks

In my opinion, you are better off buying the Venture CX and a cheap compass and pocketing the sixty bucks that you save.

18.9k · March 15, 2007

Get the Venture CX and the mapping software. You don't need the compass and other exras.

38.2k · March 15, 2007

I'm new to this as well and I'm using a very old model, and thought that if I am going to buy a gps, I want it to also help me not get lost in DC or baltimore. So what do you all think about the Vista CX? I think I like the rerouting, and sounds. Is it worth it over the Venture CX?

thanks

The Vista CX is basically the Venture CX plus an electronic magnetic compass and a barometric altimeter. The Venture's compass uses the sats to tell you direction and elevation. The chief difference is that the Vista's compass works if you are stopped, but you have to be moving for the Venture CX's compass to work.

If the magnetic compass is important, a $10 handheld will do the job. As far as altimeter, unless you are a mountaineer you probably won't have a lot of use for it other than for curiousity's sake.

If the magnetic compass and barometric altimeter are important to you, get the Vista CX. If not, save some money and get the Venture CX and put the difference towards the mapping software.

March 16, 2007

All of this is such great information, but I have another question? If I would buy a used GPS unit from someone. Can they somehow track me by putting something into their new GPS unit?

2.9k · March 16, 2007

All of this is such great information, but I have another question? If I would buy a used GPS unit from someone. Can they somehow track me by putting something into their new GPS unit?

Not that I am aware of, no.

March 16, 2007

I just got the etrex legend and got my 1st cache the next day. It does the job for a beginner and its usually between $70 and $90.

38.2k · March 16, 2007

All of this is such great information, but I have another question? If I would buy a used GPS unit from someone. Can they somehow track me by putting something into their new GPS unit?

Unlikely. I guess technically if someone could find a transmitter small enough, take apart the GPS, install it, reassemble the unit, then sell it to you, he could. But this would also apply if he sold you a car, laptop or just about anything.

It would take an incredible amount of paranoia to conisder the possiblility of someone doing this.

March 16, 2007

I bought my 210 bundle for $175 because it came with the mapping software, it is really nice to find specific dirt roads in the middle of the desert. It wasn't until later when I stumbled on to geocaching that I found it came with its own geocache manager, it stores the name, cache ID, owner, location, type, date placed, date last found, difficulties and hint of each cache on the gprs.

Edited March 16, 2007 by Rockhound24

March 16, 2007

might i suggest the the garmin 76? if you buy from certian places it is only $190 shipped! it is fairly well detailed and has quiet good reputation.

20.7k · March 16, 2007

might i suggest the the garmin 76? if you buy from certian places it is only $190 shipped! it is fairly well detailed and has quiet good reputation.

In my opnion, the Venture CX is a far better unit then the 76. I would buy the Venture CX and pocket the ten dollars change.

38.2k · March 16, 2007

might i suggest the the garmin 76? if you buy from certian places it is only $190 shipped! it is fairly well detailed and has quiet good reputation.

A Garmin 76 for $190? Absolutely not! Run away fast. It's a very basic unit with limited capabilities.

The Venture CX is a far, far better unit. Now if you're Talking a Map 76S, it's a better unit than the 76, but still not up to a Venture CX

Not sure what GPS to buy?

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