GPS Units

[Alex_123]

Hi,

 

So everyone is probably sick of these questions coming up.

But i am overloaded with information about GPS.

 

I am looking to buy a GPS for geocaching, i already have a Tom Tom for in car navigation so car navigation while useful, isn't a must.

 

My main questions are

 

What is paperless Cacheing?

 

How do you load Cache's onto a GPS?

i'm guessing you put in the co-ordinates and save it..

 

Can you load say 20 Cache's onto any GPS and then select different ones at will or can only certain GPS units do this?

 

At the moment it seems the Garmin GPSMAP 60Csx is what i'd like as reveiws basically make it the holy grail of GPS

 

But i am also interested in the Oregon or a touch screen unit.

 

two more questions i just thought of:

 

does the Cache appear on a GPS as a point on a map, or as an arrow pointing you in the direction, or can the GPS do both?

 

Lastly, does the Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx give it's error value?

 

Thanks to everyone who answers these!

[+Anno Lynke]

yes these are common questions and you may get some snarkie responses

 

paperless is loading all the cach info onto your gps or other electronic device

it is nice to have the size, difficulties,description and hint while out hunting.

 

there are 3 ways to load info... 1 punch in coordinates by hand not recommended

2 connect gps to computer and click on send to gps from cach page or from map, my preferred way

and 3 run a pocket query which will email you a zip file of many caches the use a secondary program to load them to your gps all at once.

 

yes

 

the 60 is a good unit it wasnt designed to do paperless but there are ways using it that way

but you better have a little computer knowledge

 

i havent used the oregon but the reviews arent bad

 

useally both

 

error value on most all gps it 10 to 15 feet

[+Touchstone]

...you may get some snarkie responses

 

Oh au contraire mon fraire. The Getting Started Subsection has been proclaimed a "snark free zone" for several years now by one of the erstwhile Moderators.

 

Back OT:

 

What is paperless Cacheing?

 

The long answer:

 

Geocaching University article on Paperless Geocaching

 

...and a slightly more abbreviated explanation:

 

Cachepedia Article on Paperless Geocaching

 

Back in the 'good ol days', it basically meant to get the information you see on a Listing, into some sort of hand held device. Usually that was something like a Palm or something similar.

 

Nowadays, there are a handful of GPS devices that can store this information (e.g. Descriptions, Hints and so forth), and you can even do something similar if you have an iPhone with the Iphone Geocaching App installed.

 

At the moment it seems the Garmin GPSMAP 60Csx is what i'd like as reveiws basically make it the holy grail of GPS

 

the 60CSX is still a good unit, but doesn't have the capability of storing Descriptions/Hints. The Garmin OR or CO does, and if I were choosing today, I would probably go with the OR for its touch screen capabilities. The OR also has the advantage of having a built in Wherigo Player, if you're interested in doing those sorts of caches.

 

does the Cache appear on a GPS as a point on a map, or as an arrow pointing you in the direction, or can the GPS do both?

 

On most units, it can be either/or. You can use the map feature on the unit, and the cache will show up as an icon on the map. Or you can use the compass feature, in which case a little arrow points you in the direction to go. Their's pros and cons to both approaches. You'll just have to see what works for you.

 

Can you load say 20 Cache's onto any GPS and then select different ones at will or can only certain GPS units do this?

 

If you get into Geocaching to any extent, you'll probably want to invest in a Premium Membership at some point. There are a multitude of reasons to do so, but the capability of creating Pocket Queries is probably the main reason most people purchase it. The GPX files that are generated in a PQ can be transferred to some units directly, like the Garmin OR, and you are instantly Paperless. And instead of a mere 20 Listings, you can generate PQ's of up to 1,000 Listings at a time.

 

Good luck