Devices

[Bglo]

i am very new to geocaching, i was introduced to it last week, and i was looking to get a gps device so i can do it on my own. can anyone reccomend a good gps device that is $150 or less ?

[+Chrysalides]

i am very new to geocaching, i was introduced to it last week, and i was looking to get a gps device so i can do it on my own. can anyone reccomend a good gps device that is $150 or less ?

At that price, a Garmin eTrex Venture HC or Legend H. The DeLorme PN20 and some Magellan Tritons (400 I believe) should fall in that price range too, but I have no experience with them.

 

I would not recommend the eTrex H, which is actually below $100, because it lacks USB.

 

Edit to add : Venture HC is $124 at Amazon right now. It seems to fluctuate between $115 and $125.

Edited November 22, 2009 by Chrysalides

[+bobandrobin]

I have to give the Venture HC a thumbs up here. We recently purchased one through Amazon and are very happy with it. Very good at acquiring and maintaining a fix, in fact it's better at this than our other unit that cost twice as much!

[+Chi-Town Cacher]

Most of the recommendations you'll get will be for the Garmin eTrex line of GPSr's. I used to own a Garmin eTrex Vista HCx and found out after buying it that the eTrex line has had a known defect that has plagued this line of GPSr's for years and Garmin either can't fix it or Garmin just doesn't feel the need to fix it. Now keep in mind that the majority of the eTrex units don't have this problem, but I can tell you I was not a happy camper when my $219 new eTrex Vista developed the problem.

 

I've seen folks say don't worry about it you can just put a large rubber band around it to fix it or you can use electrical tape to fix it. Sorry, but I don't see why I should be expected to hold a new $219 GPSr together with a rubber band or electrical tape. Yeah if it occurs while under the 1 year warranty Garmin will repair it, but the problem I have is why do they continue to sell a GPSr that has a known defect? Maybe I'm just too old fashioned and have unrealistic expectations like if I buy something brand new it should be free of defect. Anyways if you're interesting in reading about this problem here is a link to a thread discussing it CLICK HERE .

 

Now if you really need to stick to your budget rather than a Garmin eTrex what I'd suggest would be a Magellan eXplorist 500. You can find them used on eBay for less than your budget maximum. This is the unit I started with and found it very easy to learn (I'd never even held a GPSr before) and it was very accurate out in the woods. Just make sure it comes with the charging cord and the owners manual and you'll be set up great!

 

Lastly let me throw out an option that's a fair amount above your maximum budget price, but it would be a HUGE step up from any of the units I mentioned above. That would be the Delorme PN-40 GPSr which you can currently find on Amazon.com brand new for only $239 with free shipping! It will allow you to paperless geocache and comes with North American maps included. If you are curious and want to read more about the Delorme PN-40 you can CLICK HERE .

 

Good luck in your search for a GPSr that will be a good fit for your personal caching needs!

[+briansnat]

I'd say the Garmin Venture HC is a good choice. My eTrex had the problem that Michigan Cacheman mentioned with rubber gasket coming unglued. Happened 3 times in about a year and a half. Garmin fixed it for free each time, once after the warranty expired.

 

Then I stopped leaving the GPS in the hot car during the summer and the problem disappeared. My eTrex is going on 4 years now without the problem re-occurring.

 

I would stay away from Magellans because their customer service is terrible. If you get a unit that works fine and never has a problem they are decent units for the money, but if you have problems prepare yourself for an ordeal that makes a trip to the dentist seem like fun. Also the percentage of Magellan users in the geocaching community small, so if you need assistance there are a lot more Garmin users who can offer advice. At one time there were many Magellan users, but the decline has been steep in the past few years.

 

The DeLorme PN20 is an option in that price range. A decent unit, but it suffers from a painfully slow processor, tiny menu fonts (fine if you have young eyes, a pain if you don't) and it eats batteries like potato chips.

Edited November 22, 2009 by briansnat

[+Chi-Town Cacher]

I'd say the Garmin Venture HC is a good choice. My eTrex had the problem that Michigan Cacheman mentioned with rubber gasket coming unglued. Happened 3 times in about a year and a half. Garmin fixed it for free each time, once after the warranty expired.

 

Then I stopped leaving the GPS in the hot car during the summer and the problem disappeared. My eTrex is going on 4 years now without the problem re-occurring.

 

I would stay away from Magellans because their customer service is terrible. If you get a unit that works fine and never has a problem they could be fine, but if you have problems prepare yourself for an ordeal that makes a trip to the dentist seem like fun.

 

The DeLorme PN20 is an option in that price range. A decent unit, but it suffers from a painfully slow processor, tiny menu fonts (fine if you have young eyes, a pain if you don't) and it eats batteries like potato chips.

As far as the rubber banding problem goes my GPSr was never left in a hot car and my nephews eTrex Legend was never left in a car either (he doesn't even drive yet) so heat may be one aggravating condition, but it's not the only one. Some folks also say mosquito repellant or suntan lotions also aggravate the problem. Maybe so, but I never used either of those while I owned my eTrex Vista HCx. It's just a shame that Garmin either can't or won't fix the defect.

 

As far as your comment that the Delormes eat batteries like potato chips I'd suggest you might want to keep in mind this forum is frequented by new geocachers and your greatly exagerated comment is very misleading and does not benefit the folks your post will be read by. As the owner of a Delorme PN-40 I can honestly say that in a day long caching trip you will need to change out your batteries once and that is it. So let's say you take along 2 extra AA batteries that you will need and then another 2 AA batteries just as an emergency backup that comes to a total of 4 little AA batteries you'll take with you on a day long caching trip. Don't forget these are AA batteries not car batteries so it's really ridiculous when folks imply that you'll need to carry around pounds and pounds of spare batteries.

 

As for the tiny fonts go that's interesting. Everybody seems to want to recommend Garmin eTrex models and they are pretty comparable on font size and I've never seen you or anybody else call out the eTrex line of GPSr's for having painfully tiny fonts. I am literally almost blind in one eye, color blind in both eyes, wear prescription glasses and both eyes are very sensitive to light and I can assure you that I can read the fonts on my Delorme PN-40 just fine.

[+Team Cotati]

I'd say the Garmin Venture HC is a good choice. My eTrex had the problem that Michigan Cacheman mentioned with rubber gasket coming unglued. Happened 3 times in about a year and a half. Garmin fixed it for free each time, once after the warranty expired.

 

Then I stopped leaving the GPS in the hot car during the summer and the problem disappeared. My eTrex is going on 4 years now without the problem re-occurring.

 

I would stay away from Magellans because their customer service is terrible. If you get a unit that works fine and never has a problem they could be fine, but if you have problems prepare yourself for an ordeal that makes a trip to the dentist seem like fun.

 

The DeLorme PN20 is an option in that price range. A decent unit, but it suffers from a painfully slow processor, tiny menu fonts (fine if you have young eyes, a pain if you don't) and it eats batteries like potato chips.

As far as the rubber banding problem goes my GPSr was never left in a hot car and my nephews eTrex Legend was never left in a car either (he doesn't even drive yet) so heat may be one aggravating condition, but it's not the only one. Some folks also say mosquito repellant or suntan lotions also aggravate the problem. Maybe so, but I never used either of those while I owned my eTrex Vista HCx. It's just a shame that Garmin either can't or won't fix the defect.

 

As far as your comment that the Delormes eat batteries like potato chips I'd suggest you might want to keep in mind this forum is frequented by new geocachers and your greatly exagerated comment is very misleading and does not benefit the folks your post will be read by. As the owner of a Delorme PN-40 I can honestly say that in a day long caching trip you will need to change out your batteries once and that is it. So let's say you take along 2 extra AA batteries that you will need and then another 2 AA batteries just as an emergency backup that comes to a total of 4 little AA batteries you'll take with you on a day long caching trip. Don't forget these are AA batteries not car batteries so it's really ridiculous when folks imply that you'll need to carry around pounds and pounds of spare batteries.

 

As for the tiny fonts go that's interesting. Everybody seems to want to recommend Garmin eTrex models and they are pretty comparable on font size and I've never seen you or anybody else call out the eTrex line of GPSr's for having painfully tiny fonts. I am literally almost blind in one eye, color blind in both eyes, wear prescription glasses and both eyes are very sensitive to light and I can assure you that I can read the fonts on my Delorme PN-40 just fine.

 

Perhaps you could help provide a service to our fellow geocachers.

 

Charge up a set of batteries making note of their mAh rating. Turn the unit on and see how long it takes to shut off. Don't forget to disable the auto-power off if it is enabled. WAAS enabled.

 

Then someone who has a PN-20 would do the same. It of course will be a slam dunk to get a Garmin user to help since there are so many thousands of those users around.

 

To be honest, I am more than surprised that this type thing isn't an ongoing effort by users as that would provide a really good real world measure going forward. You know, a sort of baseline number.

 

I'll go first:

 

Magellan Meridian Gold: 2900 mAh....12 hours.

 

I think that this could be really interesting.

 

In case you're wondering, I put the batteries in while having my morning coffee at home and took the unit to work and just sat it on my desk. Simple.

Edited November 22, 2009 by Team Cotati

[NordicMan]

If you want to see some comparison between various GPSr units you're in luck, StarBrand recently did some quite well made comparisons, and in my opinion his testing was nicely unbiased and is from the perspective of "real users", not some sort of magazine review. Read it here:

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=232570

 

One frustrating issue about comparisons though.. it's been observed that two otherwise identical brand/model/firmware GPS receivers can have decidedly different build and performance quality issues. Meaning, one person can LOVE their brand/model XXX, but someone else can buy the exact same model & HATE it

 

So basically whatever brand/model you want to buy, make sure you get it from a place with a decent returns policy "just in case" you get delt a lemon.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Duhhhh..... I thought this string was about IED's (Devices)!

 

Actually, regarding GPSr units, I find that each type of unit has its' own "comfort level" and that depends primarily upon what the user is accustomed to using. There are people that love one unit and people that hate it, regardless of the manufacturer. Generally the more a person uses a particular unit (taking note of the "learning curve" for each type), they become more familiar and comfortable with it -- until they see one that, in their eyes, is much more suited to what they want one to do (bells, whistles, mapping, acquisition speed, etc., etc.)!

 

Upgrading to a newer and "better" unit is almost inevitable, so you may as well plan on it at some point in time.

 

I started with a Garmin GPS12 (almost as old as a rock), gray-scale screen, non-paperless, hand-entered coordinates. I still have it and keep it as a backup AND it still outperforms many newer models as far as holding signals in heavy cover (even though that was never touted as being one of it's good points) -- must be one of those "anti-lemons". Its best point is that it has always got me there, and got me back, to boot!

 

I am sure this posting probably will not help too much, but is just to let you know that in the world of electronics, there are good ones and bad ones, even though they may be identical.

 

Determine what you feel you need in a GPSr and go for it, they all (should) get you there and back.

[+StarBrand]

I'll vote the Garmin Venture HC in that price range.

 

The very simple facts about battery life is that the Venture HC will go about 24 hours with a set of batteries and the PN30 (very similar to the pn40) gets about 6.5 hours of life from a set. If that bothers you - consider it - if it doesn't - ignore it.

[+Smurf]

Now I'm not pointing fingers here - but I get the feeling from reading this thread (and others) that someone might just possibly have some sort of conection with Delorme

[+The_Rabas']

i am very new to geocaching, i was introduced to it last week, and i was looking to get a gps device so i can do it on my own. can anyone reccomend a good gps device that is $150 or less ?

At that price, a Garmin eTrex Venture HC or Legend H. The DeLorme PN20 and some Magellan Tritons (400 I believe) should fall in that price range too, but I have no experience with them.

 

I would not recommend the eTrex H, which is actually below $100, because it lacks USB.

 

Edit to add : Venture HC is $124 at Amazon right now. It seems to fluctuate between $115 and $125.

 

Delorme PN20 is $99 at WalMart (online). Just ordered one.

[+Chi-Town Cacher]

Now I'm not pointing fingers here - but I get the feeling from reading this thread (and others) that someone might just possibly have some sort of conection with Delorme

Hi Smurf. You are correct I do have a special connection to Delorme. That connection is that I am a former Garmin eTrex Vista HCx owner that upgraded to a Delorme PN-40 and I love my Delorme PN=40! I didn't do my own research and relied on others recommendations and was greatly disappointed when I found out that for the price of my Vista HCx ($219) and a set of Garmin topo maps I could have bought a Delorme PN-40 on sale and had a MUCH better geocaching unit. There's no way in my opinion that the eTrexes can come anywhere close to the bang for your buck that the PN-40 have and they have a similar price point when the Delorme PN-40s are on sale (like right now on Amazon.com).

 

Now if you were trying to imply that I'm a Delorme employee or sell their products then you would be incorrect. I have never in my life had a sales job and wouldn't want one. I'll stick with the retired life that leaves more time for caching and fishing! Happy caching!

Edited November 23, 2009 by Michigan Cacheman

[+Chi-Town Cacher]

Just to update my previous numbers since they are no longer accurate. The price of the Delorme PN-40 at Amazon.com has dropped again. It's now down to $199! LINK!