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2nd GPS


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I have had my 60CSx for a year and a half and love it. My wife and I cache together all the time and she is showing an interest in having her own unit. All she wants is the ability that once we get out of the car, that she can see the arrow pointing in the direction of the cache and she wants to see the distance from the cache. Im sure that most units do this. I see where alot of them will let me laod some City Navigator files on them, limited by the memory they have also. Im trying to keep the price down on a second unit and havent looked at them all yet. Prefer to stay with Garmin. Any suggestions?

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I would not go any lower than the Etrex Venture HC.

 

You want the "H" 'cause it means the GPS has the high sensitive chip. You don't want to find the all the caches, do you? B)

 

The "C" means it is a color screen, making it easier to see.

 

This Etrex is the most affordable Etrex with the sensitive chip that connects with USB; the Etrex H connects with a serial cable. With the Venture HC, you can use the same cable as the 60. It has 24mb of internal memory, so you can load up some Topo maps. Unless you have a 2nd unlock code available, you'll have to buy another unlock code. However, the Venture does not auto-route.

Edited by Chuy!
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Auto-routing is great; once you use it, you will be amazed at what it can do. It comes in handy when vacationing to find your way around and to locate restaurants, gas stations, etc...

 

Each mapping software has an unlock code that gets tied in to your GPS serial #. You used to get two unlock codes, now, you only get one. And if you sell your GPS, you're out of luck; Garmin will not transfer transfer codes. You're also out of luck if you lose your GPS, or it gets stolen. This is one reason I prefer MetroGuide; it has no unlock code. It's more affordable 'cause it does not auto-route, but there is software to convert it to an auto-routing software. There is one small quirk, but it works.

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I use the autorouting feature on my 60CSx. Since my wife and I geocache together all the time, Having a unit that does the autorouting already makes me wonder if I need 2 of them that do it. I just want to get her a unit that will point her toward a cahce and how far away it is. Also, when I bought my City Navigator software last year, Version 8. And its only installe on my 60CSx, wouldnt I still have one unlock code left to use? Or did they grandfather the rule backwards to NOT allow this unlock code to be used.

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The Etrex H is a serial port connection to the PC. I had issues trying to get a serial connection for my PDA, and bought one that was USB instead. Not sure I want to venture down that serial port issue road again. But thanks for the link to the GPSr. My PC doesnt have a serial port, (sigh)

Edited by Berta, Nick and Zoey
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Check out the discontinued Legend C or Vista C on eBay. They don't have the new High Sensitivity receiver, but they work well, and they connect with USB. They are good units and are selling for very cheap prices now. I'm not sure which 'H' unit connects with USB that is just under the Legend HCx in features. Garmin has a good comparison page if you want to compare the newer 'H' models.

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The Etrex H is a serial port connection to the PC. I had issues trying to get a serial connection for my PDA, and bought one that was USB instead. Not sure I want to venture down that serial port issue road again. But thanks for the link to the GPSr. My PC doesnt have a serial port, (sigh)

Since you've ruled out all the units with serial connectors you just need to decide if you want mapping, autorouting, and compass and altimiter. If you don't want mapping get the garmin 60, it is shaped just like your 60csx and will use all the same accesories, it just doesn't support maps. If you want mapping no autorouting get Venture HC. If you want Autorouting get Legend HCX. If you want autorouting and compass Vista HCX or another 60csx.

 

And your v8 city navigator should have come with 2 unlock codes.

 

So depending on pricing I think your best option would be the non-maping 60. But if it's not that much more to get one of the etrex mapping models maybe get one of those. These are just considering the current models. If you look at some of the discontinued ones you open up a whole can of worms. In that case Find yourself a used 60cs Exactly like yours without the High sensitivity chip. You can pick those up for $140 or less on ebay.

Edited by sanramonhunter
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You say you have a 60csx, that tells me that you may very well use the electronic compass which I prefer, if your wife likes the electronic compass and you want to buy her a unit that will stay locked onto the sats. just as well as your 60csx then the best unit for your money I would suggest would be the Etrex Summit. It will give you 24 megabytes of memory for maps using a USB cable and has the E compass also. I figure you use the auto-routing feature on the 60csx to drive to the spot and then you both get out with two very capable units and go have fun!

Edited by Jeff in Pa
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