worgus Posted July 22, 2007 Posted July 22, 2007 Greetings everyone. Please excuse my ignorance as i am new... new to this site, new to geocaching, new to GPS. The Story: About 2 weeks ago my wife and i were on vacation. We stumbled into a walmart and found a Magellan Roadmate 2000 on clearance for $145. As i have always wanted a GPS but could never justify the cost to myself I have been holding out for a great deal. I found it at walmart... I love this GPS. I can read the display even when it is very sunny (i live in florida so that is a lot), it gets a signal with no problem and only takes seconds to acquire it... even in my house or office, the touch screen works great and i love the turn by turn directions with the audible reminders. I have been so happy with it i have been telling all my family and friends what a great deal i got. Then a co-worker suggested i try geocaching. He told me all about it and i was hooked before i even got started. The problem with my magellan is although it works on batteries and you can carry it with you... it is not designed to be a handheld and there is no way to enter coordinates... i just have to keep looking at the position screen and wander around until the coordinates are close... and then start looking. So my solution was to purchase a 2nd GPS. My Second Purchase: 2 Days ago i walked into Bass Pro Shops with the intent of just looking... But the sucker sign on my forehead gave me up. 30 minutes later I found myself sitting in my truck opening the box on my new Garmin eTrek Vista. I vaguely remembering looking at eTrek ($99) and thinking to myself, that is cheap i'll just get one of those and see how i like geocaching before spending a bunch of money on a high end unit. Then i seem to remember the salesman mentioning that the Legend was only $30 more and it had a basemap and a "joystick". Shortly after selling me on the features of the Legend he told me that they didn't have one instock but that i could upgrade to the Vista for only $70 more dollars.... I don't know what i was thinking but for some reason i ended up spending $199 for it. The Problem: Now the fact that i spent $50 more on my handheld than my magellan did not bother me... but the fact that after adjusting the contrast i still can barely read the monocromatic screen... the "joystick" is no joy and the unit does not acquire a signal nearly as well as my magellan. I held them next to each other in the truck and the magellan is picking up 12 satelites and has strong signals from almost all of them, the Vista is only picking up 8 or so and keeps loosing the signal. Outside the truck it is better, but still nowhere near as strong as the magellan. I live in Florida and the sun is very bright and that makes the screen VERY hard to read. I am guessing the color screens are a lot better, but in the store they were much more expensive. So i am looking for some advice... The Question: I will be returning the Vista on monday. What would be a good color screen entry level unit. I have read some reviews and the 60 CSX or 76 CSX seem to be great units... but i don't really need the turn by turn street navigation as the magellan is doing its job there... but i want a good handheld and i don't think the vista is worth it for $200 with its hard to read monocrome screen. I don't mind spending more if it is worth it... but i hate spending money on junk. Thanks in advance for any advice or recommendations. -Worgus Quote
+imajeep Posted July 22, 2007 Posted July 22, 2007 Shame on the salesman--he snookered you. Absolutely take the unit back! As to what to replace it with--Garmin has upgraded the eTrex line with a series of 'H' models. 'H' for high-sensitivity receivers. I think you will find they perform about as well as the Magellan. If you want a bare-bones unit for geocaching, the eTrex H will do. I find that a map helps, but be aware that the 'basemap' in these units is of very limited use. You have to buy downloadable maps from Garmin. So, a Legend would be a good fit if you want mapping and don't mind shelling out another $100 for maps, on top of the unit price. The screen on the Vista that you have is typical of handheld screens. Auto-nav units run with the backlight on all the time. Handhelds run without it, to conserve battery life. An auto-nav unit can run an hour or two on its internal batteries; a handheld can run 20-30 hours on a couple of double-As. BTW, don't feel bad about your experience. We all start as newbies, and the fault lies with the sales person for taking advantage of your trust in him. Quote
+Walt Jabsco Posted July 22, 2007 Posted July 22, 2007 The Magellan 500LE is a nice little color unit. Quote
+Cacheoholic Posted July 22, 2007 Posted July 22, 2007 Remember the unit is just the initial investment. You will still want to buy detail map/s, more memory, invisashield, carry case, vehicle mount, rechargeable batteries, etc. The 60C(S)x units are awesome but require reading your manual. Otherwise you end up like 90% of the people in these forums that complain about problems with their 60C(S)x unit’s. They are like buying your first computer, a bit overwhelming until you figure it out. For that reason the 60C(S)x may not be a good 1st GPS unless you are willing to sit down and study it but you will not need to buy a new unit for awhile. You may also consider the Garmin “H” series that is just being released. It is the same thing as what you have plus color screen and high sensitivity chip. Some like the smaller package but I prefer the bigger display of the 60C(S)x. Quote
+Miragee Posted July 22, 2007 Posted July 22, 2007 The Vista was a good GPSr . . . back in 2004. That is the GPSr I started with, and it worked great . . . but I wanted a GPSr that could auto-route. For the price you paid, you could have gotten a Venture Cx which is newer technology. Since you already have a GPSr to get you to the cache or the trailhead, take a look at the Venture Cx, the new Legend HCx and Vista HCx and the Topo maps. You can get those maps cheap on eBay, especially since Garmin has a new version out now. If you are on a budget and don't want the newest technology, you could look at the discontinued GPSrs like the Legend C, Vista C, or the GPS Map60C/CS. I have had the Vista C for almost two years now and it is a great GPSr. Quote
+pigpen4x4 Posted July 22, 2007 Posted July 22, 2007 "but i don't really need the turn by turn street navigation" One thing to consider if you buy a mapping handheld, is your Geocaching coords will be in it. It is one (or more?)less steps to bring up say, Doodle Bugs Cache, select "follow road" and off you go with turn by turn directions. Rather than entering them into another unit. I know less than nothing about your Maggie, but will it route you to a set of coords? I think that may be one of my favorite features of my 60CSx. I know it's hard to swallow that pill, but look online and you can find say the 60CSx at a great price. I got mine at GPSDiscount.com, and there are many other great places to look as well. Lotsa Luck! PP Quote
+Renegade Knight Posted July 22, 2007 Posted July 22, 2007 The new colors screens are much easier to read than even the BW screens of old. The Magellan Explorist line or the newer Color handheld Garmins. Since you don't like the joystick, stick with the 60 series or the 76 series color ones on the Garmin side. You will spend more than 199 for one though. Not sure about the Explorist color GPSs. They may be less than the Garmins. Quote
+TrailGators Posted July 22, 2007 Posted July 22, 2007 I would gt one of the new Garmin HCX models. They are much more sensitive than the older models. You won't be dissappointed. Quote
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