Cinder2007 Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 I really dont want to spend more than a 100 dollars but i want a nice one. Quote Link to comment
Ghengis Jon Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 Magellan SporTrak is right in that range (about $135 on-line). Great low end unit, I've been abusing one for a couple three years now. Its been dropped in rivers, off rooftops, survived puppy chews and clodhopper feet. A little slow to acquire when re-initializing, but all in all a very good unit. Alot of people here prefer the Garmin product line. But they're buying mid to upper end units. I have heard some bad things about Magellan's customer service, but mine's been rock solid. When buying a GPS unit, always remember the WalMart Rule: "Demand the lowest price, expect the cheapest crap. " Don't buy the $99 no-name specials. Save a little longer, buy a better unit and you won't regret it. Quote Link to comment
Ghengis Jon Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 Oops, they don't make SporTrak anymore. The equiv is the eXplorist 210 in that price range. Quote Link to comment
+sbell111 Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 For a basic, inexpensive unit, many people love the little yellow etrex. It doesn't have mapping, but it will point you to the cache. They are typically priced just under $100 new or around $50-70 on ebay. If you wanted to spend around $175-185, you could buy a really nice Venture CX. This unit is a bargain. It has all the features you could want and will do autorouting with a map upgrade. Quote Link to comment
+StarBrand Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 You can get the yellow plain etrex for around $90. You can get a Garmin Geko for around $80. You could. What I suggest you do is save up a bit more and go for a more fully featured unit like the Venture Cx (about $180) Quote Link to comment
+Miragee Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 One other alternative is to look on eBay for the discontinued Legend C or Vista C. If the seller has excellent feedback, you should not have a problem purchasing on eBay. The Legend C connects to a computer with USB and, with the optional maps installed, will auto-route. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 In that price range I'd go with the Garmin Geko 201 or the basic eTrex. Magellan's and Lowrance's offerings in that price range don't have an easy way to hook up to a PC and load waypoints. Now if you want a nice one, you'll have to spend a bit more. Like others here, I recommend the Garmin Venture CX. Color screen, expandable memory, USB connection, autorouting and more. A sweet unit for the money. Quote Link to comment
+JohnnyVegas Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 save a little more money an get the Magellan exploirst 210, 22mb of memory for when you want to load a detailed map into it. it also uses a USB cable, some of the older GPSrs such has the old styles from garmin and magellan only use a serial cable-by the time you buy and adapeter you could have bought newer technology for the same price. If your computer has the old style serial cable this is not a problem. Stay away from any gps that will not allow you to send data from your computer this is a feature you will want when you get tired of having to load wayoints by hand. Spend about more than $100.00. Stay away from e-bay, everthng that I have seen that is "used" on e-bay is over priced, sure the seller might say mint condition or like new, then they want to get about 80% of what they paid for it. It is still used! they should be happy to get 50% of what they paid for the item Quote Link to comment
+Miragee Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 <snip> Spend about more than $100.00. Stay away from e-bay, everthng that I have seen that is "used" on e-bay is over priced, sure the seller might say mint condition or like new, then they want to get about 80% of what they paid for it. It is still used! they should be happy to get 50% of what they paid for the item I disagree. I have been purchasing things on eBay since 1999, including three GPSrs, my Mapsource Topo maps, and my City Select maps with auto-navigation "kit." I got good deals. Over the years, I have purchased hundreds of other items without any problems. As long as the seller has good feedback, near 100% positive, and you don't get carried away in the auction, you can get some excellent bargains. eBay is also the best place to purchase an inexpensive Palm for "paperless" caching. Quote Link to comment
roy&roz Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 Lowarance iFinder GO & GOII Quote Link to comment
+QuesterMark Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 I really dont want to spend more than a 100 dollars but i want a nice one. This is quite a bit more than you said at $159.99, but Geeks.com has the Magellan eXplorist 500 for $159.99 right now. Here: link Quote Link to comment
+TrailGators Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 I would wait and buy one of the new Garmin HCX series models coming out soon. They all have the superior SirfStarII chip and expandable memory. Quote Link to comment
Cinder2007 Posted June 28, 2007 Author Share Posted June 28, 2007 (edited) Thanks everybody! Edited June 28, 2007 by Cinder2007 Quote Link to comment
+PeachyPA Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 I have over 200 finds with my yellow eTrex. I also have an eXplorist 100 which I sometimes use especially under heavy tree cover. Both units cost me $100 or less. Quote Link to comment
Cinder2007 Posted June 30, 2007 Author Share Posted June 30, 2007 I have over 200 finds with my yellow eTrex. I also have an eXplorist 100 which I sometimes use especially under heavy tree cover. Both units cost me $100 or less. SOunds like im goin with this one. Quote Link to comment
+simpjkee Posted June 30, 2007 Share Posted June 30, 2007 I have an eXplorist 100 and it serves every geocaching need there is. I have over 170 finds with it. Quote Link to comment
+JohnnyVegas Posted June 30, 2007 Share Posted June 30, 2007 (edited) opps Edited June 30, 2007 by JohnnyVegas Quote Link to comment
+JohnnyVegas Posted June 30, 2007 Share Posted June 30, 2007 I would wait and buy one of the new Garmin HCX series models coming out soon. They all have the superior SirfStarII chip and expandable memory. No quite SiFTstar chipset time line Sirfstar I-- 1996 SiRFstar II -- 1999 SiRFstar III -- 2004 The superior chipset from SiRF technology holdings is the SIRF star III chipsets. Not the Sirf II There are four versions of this chipset GSC3f, GSC3, GSC3/LP and the Sirf StarIII-LT To Quote Sirf Technology from their annual report re. the SiRFstar III-LT Our most power-efficient and the smallest version of our flagship SiRFstar III architecture, ideal for a wid range of GPS enabled consumer mobile devices, particularly wireless devices. SiFTstar chipset time line Sirfstar I-- 1996 SiRFstar II -- 1999 SiRFstat III -- 2004 Quote Link to comment
+JohnnyVegas Posted June 30, 2007 Share Posted June 30, 2007 I would wait and buy one of the new Garmin HCX series models coming out soon. They all have the superior SirfStarII chip and expandable memory. The poster does not want to spend more the $100.00, why would you recomend a GPS that sells for almost $300.00 ? Quote Link to comment
TheImperials Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 I'm also looking for an inexpensive GPS (been using my sister-in-law's but want one of my very own). I'm kind of leaning toward the Garmin eTrex Legend (it's only $125 on Amazon). Is it a decent unit? I need something that can handle tree cover pretty well but wont cost me an arm and a leg (my husband probably wouldn't go for anything over $150... he hasn't had the geocaching revelation yet). -IK Quote Link to comment
+Miragee Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 Welcome to the Forums! Instead of getting the eTrex Legend, check out the Legend C or Vista C. These units can probably be found on eBay within your budget. They connect to a computer with USB, something the Legend does not. If you happen to have a computer without a Serial Port, you'll have the problem of getting a USB to Serial adapter cable for more money. The Venture Cx is the best current Garmin choice, but after you purchase the memory card for it, you are probably looking at $200. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 I'm also looking for an inexpensive GPS (been using my sister-in-law's but want one of my very own). I'm kind of leaning toward the Garmin eTrex Legend (it's only $125 on Amazon). Is it a decent unit? I need something that can handle tree cover pretty well but wont cost me an arm and a leg (my husband probably wouldn't go for anything over $150... he hasn't had the geocaching revelation yet). -IK The Legend will work under tree cover but probably isn't the best choice. If you want something with great reception under trees that is under $150 look at the Lowrance iFinder H20. You can find the GPS alone for around $140 and a little over $200 for the Plus package which includes mapping software card reader and memory card. The Garmin Venture CX is also a good choice, but at around $180 it might be a tad over your price range. Quote Link to comment
+Moore9KSUcats Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 We recently bought a Geko 201 (used) off E-bay for around $55 with shipping. We got that unit because it is extremely lightweight and uses 2 AAA batteries. Our son is taking it to Philmont and we felt he could take that (and the extra batteries) without adding much weight. If you are careful, as others have mentioned, E-Bay can get you some real bargains! Just set your own price (factor in shipping) and don't get caught up in the bidding process. Of course, check out the seller's feedback. We've bought a number of electronic items off e-bay for many years with very few problems. (We did get burned on a $10 FRS radio about 6 years ago, but it was a cheap enough loss.) Many items off E-bay don't come with manuals. It is easy to download one from the Garmin website for no cost (if you get a Garmin). Quote Link to comment
TheImperials Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 Great stuff, thanks guys! I've put the Venture CX on my wish list. Quote Link to comment
4Pete Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Any thoughts on Garmin GPS 60 vs. Garmin Legend? Quote Link to comment
+Miragee Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Welcome to the Forums! I'm not familiar with the GPS 60. The Garmin Legend connects to a computer through the Serial Port. It only has 8 MB of memory if you want to put maps on it. Quote Link to comment
+Mr_Mikey Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 I sold my Garmin Geko 101 which was a great starter unit, it had options my new legend did not. The Geko 201 has WAAS which can be helpful but is a battery drain. I paid 150 bucks for my legend but have seen them on ebay for 99 bucks. I purchased a cable for mine to download directly to the gps unit, i got tired of punching in coordinates and my eyes were getting to tired. The legend is considered a mapping gps, spend a few extra bucks if you can and get one that you can download to. It will save you money in the future. Magellan or Garmin, i know people that use both, they all find caches. Good luck Quote Link to comment
+jbiciolis91 Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Ive owned a Garmin Legend for about 3 weeks and I love it so far. It does have a serial port connection but that is the only problem I could see for a regular geocacher. Quote Link to comment
GPS treasuredragon Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Wait a minute. The lowrance ifinder Expedition C is very nice and it's very fast loading and dual processors. the cost might be much but it worth it. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Any thoughts on Garmin GPS 60 vs. Garmin Legend? GPS 60 is not a mapping unit. The Legend is, although the map memory is very limited. I think the 60 may have a slight edge in reception under trees over the Legend. The thing is that the best price I saw for the GPS 60 was $152. You can get a Venture CX for only $30 more and you have a far, far better unit. Mapping, autorouting, color display, expandable map memory (up to 2 gigs), improved reception all in a smaller package. With the legend or GPS 60 you might find yourself wishing for something better in 6 months. With the Venture CX that is unlikely. Quote Link to comment
GPS treasuredragon Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 my other gps reciver is a ifinder GO 2 nice but a bit slow loading the screen is kinda small but nice , but ok for geocaching but I use my ifinder expedition C Quote Link to comment
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