what do i need?

[dlhughes]

i am new to geocashing and would like some advice there are lots of gps units it is very confusing in real simple terms what do i need to look for i have looked at www.maplin.co.uk and www.argos.co.uk at the garmin units i have seen them anywhere from £69.99 to £300+ what do you use?

thanks

d

[NordicMan]

Welcome to Geocaching

 

Pretty much any modern "brand name" GPS that is outdoor rated (not recommending those talking touch screen car GPSr's for Geocaching) will work fine. Yep the prices go from mild to wild(!) and basically the more you spend the more features you get.

 

If you're just starting out and not sure if Geocaching is your thing then, best to grab a cheaper basic model and see how you like it. The "good news" about GPS technology is that, generally, more $$$'s spent doesn't buy you greater accuracy, just gets you more bells 'n whistles features

 

Without knowing your exact budget and what else you might use the GPSr for, I'd say grab a lower priced one first. If later you find you're really enjoying the hobby/sport then upgrade. Keep the first one for a spare or sell it.

[+Wild Thing 73]

i am new to geocashing and would like some advice there are lots of gps units it is very confusing in real simple terms what do i need to look for i have looked at www.maplin.co.uk and www.argos.co.uk at the garmin units i have seen them anywhere from £69.99 to £300+ what do you use?

thanks

d

Why buy a cheap GPSr at what ever cost...If you upgrade (which we all do) that is money wasted. Most of us end up with 2-4 units. That is becacuse we were trying to buy a cheap unit....GFI and have fun.

[G-armi-N]

when i started to join the geocaching, i was little bit confused on which gadget i should buy, as what said "mild to wild" is really true... until i ended up buying the Garmin Etrex Vista HCX, price is decent and imorethan enough using it as geocaching gadget,

[+Bear and Ragged]

Welcome!

 

Over in the UK side of the forums LINK, you will find an Adopt-a-newbie section, or just post on the main section!

[+Wintonian]

For a bargin try amazon.co.uk

 

Do you have a budget?

 

Do you want to go paperless?

 

Do you want extras like an electronc compas?

 

But probobly looking at getting something by Garmin is a good idea.

[+briansnat]

Nearly any hand held GPS unit will work for geocaching. At the low end of the price rage are basic units that accept waypoint input and have an arrow that points to your destination and a distance counter that counts down the distance. Very basic, but quite effective for geocaching.

 

As you move up in price you get more features that aren't essential but make geocaching easier. Mapping capability, USB computer connections, color displays, expandable map memory, turn by turn driving directions, more waypoint capacity, magnetic compass and even cache pages displayed directly on the unit are all features that the higher priced units might have.

 

If the idea of geocaching appeals to you then go for the most GPS you can afford. Otherwise you'll likely find yourself looking to upgrade in a few months.

[king@10]

Welcome to Geocaching

 

Pretty much any modern "brand name" GPS that is outdoor rated (not recommending those talking touch screen car GPSr's for Geocaching) will work fine. Yep the prices go from mild to wild(!) and basically the more you spend the more features you get.

 

If you're just starting out and not sure if Geocaching is your thing then, best to grab a cheaper basic model and see how you like it. The "good news" about GPS technology is that, generally, more $$$'s spent doesn't buy you greater accuracy, just gets you more bells 'n whistles features

 

Without knowing your exact budget and what else you might use the GPSr for, I'd say grab a lower priced one first. If later you find you're really enjoying the hobby/sport then upgrade. Keep the first one for a spare or sell it.

 

As a newbie the idea of geocaching appeals to me, but I am not sure I will be able to develop it in to a full blown hobby. You say on the choice of GPs "not recommending those talking touch screen car GPSr's for Geocaching". Could I ask why?

I have a car sat nav (Garmin Nuvi 200w) which I have used to find one cache and it worked fine, but on the next I failed to find the cache. The physical clues and description of the area just simply did not agree with what I found at the location and I am sure I was in the right area. For example one clue was to sit on a bench in a specific place and relax. I could not see any bench and could not determine if there had ever been a bench. So, is the car sat nav no use at all for geocaching?

[+Chrysalides]

You say on the choice of GPs "not recommending those talking touch screen car GPSr's for Geocaching". Could I ask why?

My thoughts on this:

 

1. Most car GPSr are not rugged and waterproof (exception : Nuvi 500) and is not meant to be used out of the car.

 

2. They usually have a non removable battery, and battery life sucks.

 

3. They don't usually have a compass screen. I find the pedestrian mode to be somewhat imprecise, and navigating by the satellite screen is more difficult than following the compass screen of a handheld.

 

Having said that, I found my first 10 caches using my Nuvi 660.

[+Nature Kids]

Welcome to Geocaching

 

Pretty much any modern "brand name" GPS that is outdoor rated (not recommending those talking touch screen car GPSr's for Geocaching) will work fine. Yep the prices go from mild to wild(!) and basically the more you spend the more features you get.

 

If you're just starting out and not sure if Geocaching is your thing then, best to grab a cheaper basic model and see how you like it. The "good news" about GPS technology is that, generally, more $$$'s spent doesn't buy you greater accuracy, just gets you more bells 'n whistles features

 

Without knowing your exact budget and what else you might use the GPSr for, I'd say grab a lower priced one first. If later you find you're really enjoying the hobby/sport then upgrade. Keep the first one for a spare or sell it.

 

As a newbie the idea of geocaching appeals to me, but I am not sure I will be able to develop it in to a full blown hobby. You say on the choice of GPs "not recommending those talking touch screen car GPSr's for Geocaching". Could I ask why?

I have a car sat nav (Garmin Nuvi 200w) which I have used to find one cache and it worked fine, but on the next I failed to find the cache. The physical clues and description of the area just simply did not agree with what I found at the location and I am sure I was in the right area. For example one clue was to sit on a bench in a specific place and relax. I could not see any bench and could not determine if there had ever been a bench. So, is the car sat nav no use at all for geocaching?

 

We've been using a Garmin Nuvi 255w & it works great. We set it up for paperless catching, it zero's right in on the caches. The only draw back is its not waterproof....I'd recomend it for a starter...then later buy a hand held & leave the Nuvi in the vehicle.

[+Zolgar]

when i started to join the geocaching, i was little bit confused on which gadget i should buy, as what said "mild to wild" is really true... until i ended up buying the Garmin Etrex Vista HCX, price is decent and imorethan enough using it as geocaching gadget,

 

It's about the same with me.

 

I started with my dad's Magellan Explorist, and within a month had bought my Vista HCx, they're a very good unit for a mid-range price.

[aniyn]

oh, and I almost forgot!

I carry in my bag a small mirror. It's plastic, so it won't break, and is all sorts of handy for looking for caches that are high or low. I use it ALOT for urban caches, or caches that you might have otherwise just had to blindly feel for. I can think of a nano, a cache on a grider-style bridge, and a cache on a rock ledge that all would have been much harder to find without it.