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Which GPS?


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Hi Everyone

 

I know this is a regular question on here but.......... :D

 

So I have been caching for about a year and have just over 100 odd finds with my e-trex (without the 'H')

 

Its a good little unit but I want something Shinny and new! I have raided the piggy bank and have a brother who can get me discount at Blacks so the question is - which GPS?

 

The new SATMAP system looks good

 

or obviously the Garmin models (Oregon etc)

 

What are your thoughts on the system of choice?

 

Thanks

 

Chris

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The new SATMAP system looks good

 

or obviously the Garmin models (Oregon etc)

 

What are your thoughts on the system of choice?

I have seen a SatMap being used for caching and I was rather impressed with it, until I found out that it only last for 8 hours on a set of batteries and that the maps are rather expensive. At that time I had an Etrex Legend Hcx using the FREE UK maps I compile.

 

Now, I have an Oregon 200 using the same FREE maps and I am very happy with it. I can even add proper OS maps for national parks and trails if I wish. Best of both worlds, oh and it is paperless too, even better. I frequently get 20+ hours of continuous use out of a set of 2700mah rechargeables in it too.

 

Regards,

Martin

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Hi Everyone

 

I know this is a regular question on here but.......... :D

 

So I have been caching for about a year and have just over 100 odd finds with my e-trex (without the 'H')

 

Its a good little unit but I want something Shinny and new! I have raided the piggy bank and have a brother who can get me discount at Blacks so the question is - which GPS?

 

The new SATMAP system looks good

 

or obviously the Garmin models (Oregon etc)

 

What are your thoughts on the system of choice?

 

Thanks

 

Chris

 

Hi Chris,

 

I started with my iPhone and I really like the Geocaching app (especially as it is super easy to use and cheap in comparison to any GPS). But the battery doesn't last very long and so I decided to buy myself a nice and shiny new toy which arrived last Saturday :laughing:

 

The Garmin Oregon 400t seems to do a very good job and we managed to find the first cache we were looking for. Unfortunately I didn't have a lot of time yet to test all functions and use it on a longer tour. If the next weekend won't be too wet, we will give it another try.

 

I also want to install the FREE maps Martin is using (no clue how it works :D).

 

If you are down in Brighton, let me know and you can try the Oregon yourself.

 

Marc

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Oh Mrs B - great minds think alike!!

 

I started writing the same response about an hour ago but my lappy died... lol

 

Unless your brother gets a super duper discount, don't buy from Blacks - they're VERY expensive.... plus they only do a minute range of GPSs! (humph - they don't even do the colorado!!!)

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I use a satmap, excellent for geocaching. Satmap have recently developed software to take paperless caching and it is suberb. Yes the maps can be expensive but at least you can by either a 50k or 25k scale OS map for anywhere in the country not just National Parks and you can choose a site centred map. They have two packages the one they call A10 Plus is about £80 more than the standard pack but comes with some extras like rechargable lithium battery power pack and access to the online route planner. Personally I prefer to use regular rechargable AA batteries with it and Quo for route planning so for me the base pack is perfectly good enough.

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Hi All

Can i stick my 2ps worth in...

if you are on a budget check out ebay.....

i recently brought the oregon 300 for £235 ( Buy it now price ) new and the seller still is offering for around this price.

the satmap is very good but the maps are really pricey and you have to have extra software for the route finding and loading caches etc etc.

But the oregon lovely to use, easy to load with caches no extra software required at all!!!!!

the garmin topo gb maps are reasonably priced and there is the free alternative via Martin "talkytoaster", the discoverer maps are priced around the same as the satmap maps and are of the same quality.

I ummed and argghhhed about it choice for some time, and decided the way to go was the Oregon and i absolutely love it :(

One of my better choices in life.

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I bought my oregon 300 from Amazon and I really like the paperless option. I have bought Garmin Topo GB and also Martins (talkytoast) free maps, but they are a bit sparse down here in Cornwall, it's like life which ends at Bristol. They do say that we are going to get round wheels in 2012 down here.

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kermitkills,

What you are encouraging is illegal activity. I've edited the three posts above to remove that content.

 

appoliges offering to share the maps i bought i didnt know this is illegal as i own the dvd & can put them on any gps which accecpts the maps sorry for breaking any rules

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I am a happy Oregon user. The 60CSx seems more accurate, but the ability to take a pocket query GPX directly into the unit and display it makes the Oregon a better unit to me. I've been happy with both (my wife took my 60CSx :blink: and likes it better).

 

Regarding sharing Garmin maps, Garmin is pretty tight about map sharing, which it sounds like from your second post that you already knew that. I am a little surprised by your last post, but no worries.

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Last October I bought the Satmap but I find it takes between five and fifteen minutes to lock on, even in favourable conditions, the screen scratches incredible easily, the battery life is short and the program sometimes freezes. I (with hindsight foolishly) bought the 1:50,000 maps for the whole UK which are ok but are hard to read in outdoor light and do not merge that well with the supplied map when you zoom. I wrote to Satmap to ask for guidance and sent a reminder but they haven't bothered to reply. This is a pity because their recent update has addressed the other problems I had and their Satsync program makes paperless caching a real possibility.

 

In desperation I have now bought an etrex h. I am very impressed with this little cheapo. It locks on while the Satmap is still loading its program and I have the feeling it gets me to the right co-ordinates more surely than the Satmap. I'm sorry I have no experience of the other Garmins so cannot comment on the Oregon etc.

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In desperation I have now bought an etrex h. I am very impressed with this little cheapo. It locks on while the Satmap is still loading its program and I have the feeling it gets me to the right co-ordinates more surely than the Satmap. I'm sorry I have no experience of the other Garmins so cannot comment on the Oregon etc.

 

 

I had an etrex H which is great vavlue for the money and is very accurate. I have a Vista HCx now and it is great too but I still find the old Etrex H will lock on the cache quicker, and it will sometimes be more accurate. My wife loves it, plus its bright yellow so its harder to lose. :cool:

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We're using an eTrex H, and I see no reason to spend more then the £75 it cost on ebay (brand new). More often than not it will put us right on the dot, even under tree cover. Dead simple to use, and 22 hrs on a couple of AA batteries.

 

We spent the difference you're all talking about moneywise on a HTC touch cruise PDA, and paperless caching.

 

We use the PDA to Tom Tom to the general location (GSAK generates POIs), then use Memory Map for any cross country, and Geoscout 2 (I love this) for cache info and more. We spent two weeks motorhoming in Wales, and got 175 caches without paper , using the PDA for everything, other than the final search, which the little Garmin excelled at. Why spent £300 on a GPS, when the PDA is a phone, PC and a camera?

 

Fantastic.

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We don't have any of the 'follow the arrow' jobs but we do get on very well with our TomTom One satnav and a good compass.

Unfortunately, the TomTom is static and can only tell us exactly where we are. We then have to use the compass to progress in a particular direction until we reach the given coordinates. We have already sussed the area on Anquet O.S. mapping so that we do not walk into a river or over a cliff.

We have found our TomTom to be very accurate and we see no real need to purchase another more expensive system.

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