Did I buy the wrong GPS?

[+punchappy]

This was the first weekend we went geocaching. Went with a friend that has the old yellow etrex. Had no problems using her gps.. found 9 out of 11 caches! Not too bad for beginners...

 

But, I had bought the ETrex Legend, blue one.. I couldn't figure out how to get the darn thing to work. I really want to be able to use it to go out on our own.

 

Read the manual from cover to cover.. no idea how to set the darn thing up... Should I go get another GPS? one that will let us geocache?

 

HELP>....

[+Miragee]

Welcome to the Forums!

 

The little blue Legend has found lots and lots of caches for people over the years, but it is old technology now and does not have the "High Sensitivity" receiver found on the newer Garmin units that have 'H' in the model name. Check out the Comparison Page at the Garmin Site to see the newer 'H' models available. The best, least-expensive of those is the Legend HCx. I have the Vista HCx and really like that model with its compass and altimeter and auto-routing capabilities.

[+GrateBear]

No, your unit should work just fine once you figure it out. I've had a Legend Cx for two years now and it's never failed me. I often get readings within a foot or so of the cache. True, it's not as good as the H series when you're in the woods under heavy leafage, so you have to consider where you will be looking. Most of my finds have been in cities or out in the wide open spaces of the high desert. But, even in the woods, I've managed just fine.

Good luck!

[+knarf.ca]

Don't give up, play with it a little bit then go back to the manual. Try going to some of the finds that you already had with your friend and see if you can get the device to guide you there. I was totally lost with my etrex when I read the manual,then I took it out and played with it on a few trips to see what it can do. Even if you just take it with you when you walk the dog then look at the data that it gives you.

[+punchappy]

Thank you! That's a great idea.. back into the woods I go... although maybe the quick and easy finds would be good.

 

 

Don't give up, play with it a little bit then go back to the manual. Try going to some of the finds that you already had with your friend and see if you can get the device to guide you there. I was totally lost with my etrex when I read the manual,then I took it out and played with it on a few trips to see what it can do. Even if you just take it with you when you walk the dog then look at the data that it gives you.

[+Shadow Chasers]

I was at a store called Cabela's today. It is a big outdoor, hunting, fishing, hiking superstore in Omaha. I saw instructional DVDs there for almost every kind of GPS that you can buy. They take you through setup and operation of all models. The cost was $14.99 each.

 

They may be available on their website at www.cabelas.com.

 

Good luck.

[+northernpenguin]

The "blue" eTrex Legend isn't the latest and greatest technology. Having said that, most geocaches do not require the latest and greatest to find - the newer ones are simply more convienient.

 

I own a blue eTrex and found several hundred geocaches with it (before upgrading) - including under tree cover here in Ontario. I have had it for 5 years and it still works like a champ. Get something like GSAK or EasyGPS to manage the waypoints on it and you'll be fine.

[+RonGerth]

Don't go out into the woods to try it out. Go out into the back yard or the local park that is wide open so that you can play with the unit and also see what it is doing at the same time. Once you see the unit working and kind of see the big picture it will make more sense. Set a way point with it and then practice finding it and navigating back to it. There is a short steep learning curve to it but once you have it it will be fun. I agree about the LegendHCx. The color screen and better technology for the antenna system is work the extra money in my opinion.

 

Ron

[jmndz]

I have a blue etrex it took me awhile to figure it but it has helped me out fine.Just play with till you get use to it

[Lasia221]

I'm having problems too!!

 

with EVERYTHING. I really can't afford to pay obscene cash for maps, but I don't see how I can geocache when it shows only major highways...I really like the puzzle aspect of the multicaches, but if I don't have streets on it, how can I get there? I just got mine last night. I got it to load up satellites and show me "you are here" (where, the middle of nowhere?) and I figured out how to input a coordinate to show me where a cache was (but wasn't able to physically go test it out).

 

I've downloaded Ibycus's maps and have that working on my PC, I just can't manage to get it to transfer to the silly unit.

 

I, too, was wondering if I shoulda picked something else...I feel so stupid =/

[+ventura_kids]

I use a Garmin 60CS now, but I always loved my Garmin Legend.

Once you get comfortable with it, you will love it.

My suggestion is to find someone in your area who uses a legend to help you set it up.

Perhaps attend an event, or log onto Clayjar Chat and ask questions (step by step).

There are lots of cachers that can help bring you up to speed.

Remember....relax...there is no hurry. This is supposed to be fun

[knowschad]

If you can't figure that one out, you're not likely to have better luck with another model. As with learning most things, start with simple stuff, then grow. Learn how to 1) Mark your current location, 2) Manually enter or modify coordinates (the model you have uses a serial port for electronic loading, I believe, and it is very likely that your computer has only USB), and 3) How to use the GPS to go to a marked spot.

 

As others have said, do this in your back yard or a nearby grassy open park. Keep it simple.

[Lasia221]

If you can't figure that one out, you're not likely to have better luck with another model. As with learning most things, start with simple stuff, then grow. Learn how to 1) Mark your current location, 2) Manually enter or modify coordinates (the model you have uses a serial port for electronic loading, I believe, and it is very likely that your computer has only USB), and 3) How to use the GPS to go to a marked spot.

 

As others have said, do this in your back yard or a nearby grassy open park. Keep it simple.

 

Well I've already managed all but actually leaving my apartment to test it.

I marked my current location, I manually entered a coordinate to a known cache.

Yes it is a serial port, and yes, my MB still has one.

 

My main issue right now is getting the maps to the unit.

 

I will go to that chat recommended the post prior and go that route.

[+briansnat]

I'm having problems too!!

 

with EVERYTHING. I really can't afford to pay obscene cash for maps, but I don't see how I can geocache when it shows only major highways...I really like the puzzle aspect of the multicaches, but if I don't have streets on it, how can I get there? I just got mine last night. I got it to load up satellites and show me "you are here" (where, the middle of nowhere?) and I figured out how to input a coordinate to show me where a cache was (but wasn't able to physically go test it out).

 

I've downloaded Ibycus's maps and have that working on my PC, I just can't manage to get it to transfer to the silly unit.

 

I, too, was wondering if I shoulda picked something else...I feel so stupid =/

 

You'd have the same problem with any other handheld unit you'd get in that price range. None come with detailed maps. Not Garmin. Not Magellan. Not Lowrance. You either need to pay for detailed maps or buy a much more expensive unit that comes with them.

 

Also bear in mind that the Legend has very limited map storage so you're only able to fit maps for a few counties, or one large city in the unit.

[+Renegade Knight]

This was the first weekend we went geocaching. Went with a friend that has the old yellow etrex. Had no problems using her gps.. found 9 out of 11 caches! Not too bad for beginners...

 

But, I had bought the ETrex Legend, blue one.. I couldn't figure out how to get the darn thing to work. I really want to be able to use it to go out on our own.

 

Read the manual from cover to cover.. no idea how to set the darn thing up... Should I go get another GPS? one that will let us geocache?

 

HELP>....

Your GPS is fine. A newer one won't be easier to use. Just get your friend to show you the basics and start caching. That's the best way to learn.

[knowschad]

If you can't figure that one out, you're not likely to have better luck with another model. As with learning most things, start with simple stuff, then grow. Learn how to 1) Mark your current location, 2) Manually enter or modify coordinates (the model you have uses a serial port for electronic loading, I believe, and it is very likely that your computer has only USB), and 3) How to use the GPS to go to a marked spot.

 

As others have said, do this in your back yard or a nearby grassy open park. Keep it simple.

 

Well I've already managed all but actually leaving my apartment to test it.

I marked my current location, I manually entered a coordinate to a known cache.

Yes it is a serial port, and yes, my MB still has one.

 

My main issue right now is getting the maps to the unit.

 

I will go to that chat recommended the post prior and go that route.

 

I never did have anything but the base maps on my blue Legend, and I found several hundred caches with it. In fact, I very rarely even used the maps. They're very nice to have, but not absolutely neccessary.

[+punchappy]

I took everyone's suggestions...

 

I loaded a local park cache.. a park that I'm familar with. Off I went. Grabbed my middle daughter, so I wouldn't look fishy.

 

I was able to find the cache with little problem. Now.. The unit in Nav. mode only showed what way I was walking and how close in feet I was.

 

When I changed it to "map" mode.. the little triangle, when I found the cache was right on top of the symbol I picked for cache.

 

What my friend's yellow gps has.. was in Nav. mode.. there was a "flag" symbol and she knew what side the cache was to be one.. You could see where the cache might be when you walked near it by the symbol..

 

Can I set my blue legend up to do that too? there was no symbol in "Nav." mode..

[Neos2]

I took everyone's suggestions...

 

I loaded a local park cache.. a park that I'm familar with. Off I went. Grabbed my middle daughter, so I wouldn't look fishy.

 

I was able to find the cache with little problem. Now.. The unit in Nav. mode only showed what way I was walking and how close in feet I was.

 

When I changed it to "map" mode.. the little triangle, when I found the cache was right on top of the symbol I picked for cache.

 

What my friend's yellow gps has.. was in Nav. mode.. there was a "flag" symbol and she knew what side the cache was to be one.. You could see where the cache might be when you walked near it by the symbol..

 

Can I set my blue legend up to do that too? there was no symbol in "Nav." mode..

When you switched to the naviagtion screen (map view with the little triangle) did you also zoom in further? As far as you can? That helps. I always used my Legend that way.

 

My husband preferred to use the compass screen with his Legend. He set the compass to "heading up" (which I didn't like because it makes the map swing around, but he loved!) and then the pointer would point toward the cache and the text on the screen told him how much further he had to go to get to the cache. I think he used two boxes of info--one for heading and one for ditance to the cache.

 

You could try his way (or try it with "north up").

 

Try different combination like that--one of them will make sense to you and be easy for you to follow mentally. We started out with Legends, also and found several hundred caches with them before we upgraded for autorouting units.

 

We never did put maps on the Legends, either.

We usually headed out to an area with several caches near each other. I used the online maps to get a good idea of where we were going and printed out one map of the area we had chosen to cache if we needed it. I looked up side street names and driving information and jotted it on the bottom of the page, if there were any tricky places.