+PeakFault Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 I have just this minute bought a brand new Garmin eTrex H GPS. My first proper GPS unit!! The iPhone is still great but it has it's limitations though obviously I can keep paperless caching with it. However reading the reviews on the eTrex I'm confident it's a great budget unit for my first ever one as I didnt really have loads to spend on it I got it for under £60 with P&P. Quote Link to comment
+mpilchfamily Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 (edited) Did you get the bundle package that comes with the serial cable? Does your PC have a serial connector? If not you'll need the cable to upload caches and you'll need a serial to USB converter for the cable. If you would have gotten one of the other eTrex like the Vista or Legend it uses a USB connector and comes with the cable. Edit: Make sure they are at least the H series for the high sensitive receiver. Edited March 12, 2011 by mpilchfamily Quote Link to comment
+Seganku Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 May I suggest you invest in a case for the unit as with some models the rubber edge comes away. I have recently just bought a cable and driver disk from a well known internet auction site which works great. Enjoy your new gadget! Quote Link to comment
+Lime Candy Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 My Etrex's rubber edge started to come away last summer - I think the warmer temperatures melted the glue a bit. But I found the ideal solution - I've wrapped two of those red post office elastic bands around the rubber, they are exactly the right size to keep the rubber in place. Quote Link to comment
+The Blorenges Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 My Etrex's rubber edge started to come away last summer - I think the warmer temperatures melted the glue a bit. But I found the ideal solution - I've wrapped two of those red post office elastic bands around the rubber, they are exactly the right size to keep the rubber in place. I knew there must be a reason why those red elastic bands keep appearing at my feet. 'Tis a gift from the Geocaching gods. MrsB Quote Link to comment
+Jayman11 Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 Congrats! You will definitely enjoy that unit. Quote Link to comment
+Lime Candy Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 My Etrex's rubber edge started to come away last summer - I think the warmer temperatures melted the glue a bit. But I found the ideal solution - I've wrapped two of those red post office elastic bands around the rubber, they are exactly the right size to keep the rubber in place. I knew there must be a reason why those red elastic bands keep appearing at my feet. 'Tis a gift from the Geocaching gods. MrsB Quote Link to comment
+PeakFault Posted March 14, 2011 Author Share Posted March 14, 2011 Thanks for the tip re: rubber edging. I'm amazed to say that my gps arrived already! I ordered Saturday evening and was delivered before 2pm today! How great is that? Will be testing it out tonight for sure Quote Link to comment
+Unobtainium Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I returned my Legend HCx to Garmin out of warranty and they replaced it with a refurb within 3 days. I would thoroughly recommend a call to Garmin. Quote Link to comment
+Seganku Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 When my rubber edge came away from my gps I rang Garmin who said they would fix it but I would have had to pay postage and be without my gps for a while. I just bought some of that cheap superglue, cleaned the gunk from the rubber and glued it back into place. Worked a treat and only cost £1 Quote Link to comment
+PeakFault Posted March 14, 2011 Author Share Posted March 14, 2011 Went and found our 1st cache with the gps unit this evening. Put the iPhone away and just let it do it's job. What a totally different experience Caching is when you don't have a map on screen!! It definitely feels like more of a challenge in my opinion and reckon I'll be Caching with my iPhone tucked away in my pocket from now on. The cache was soon located - the gps got us within 6 feet of it. Quote Link to comment
+Unobtainium Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I'm glad you enjoyed your new toy, I love that new toy feeling, trouble is it wears off too quickly ;-). Much to Mrs K's disgust. I'm not sure I could turn off the OS mapping on my GPS, I'm far too attached to it, but may be I should try it. That is the greatest thing about caching for me. So many different ways to 'play' and it's just down to personal choice. Quote Link to comment
+PeakFault Posted March 14, 2011 Author Share Posted March 14, 2011 As I'll always have my phone with me it'll be a great safety net if I'm struggling. Maybe im being hasty but I think doing some old style Caching with paper may help me become a better cacher? Certainly felt that way tonight. Who knows though, maybe you're right and the novelty will wear off after a couple of weeks and I'll be relying on maps on my phone again!!!! Quote Link to comment
+Monkeymox Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I'm new to caching, and I bought an eTrex H to do it. So far it's been great, but not having the cable has been a bit annoying. It's possible to programme in the coordinates manually, but it's an enter-up-up-up-enter-down-down-enter-down-enter affair. This takes a while and makes the fingers hurt; on the other hand, I for one refuse to shell out twenty quid for a cable Quote Link to comment
+T.R.a.M.P. Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 (edited) ...I for one refuse to shell out twenty quid for a cable I felt just the same - then Christmas came around and someone else shelled out twenty quid[]. Now I wouldn't be without the cable even though it is only used as a back up GPSr. Cheers, Trevor Edited March 15, 2011 by T.R.a.M.P. Quote Link to comment
+Lime Candy Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 I definitely need a real map as well as my Etrex. I usually plan the route on an OS map and use that to navigate by, but refer to the Etrex for the last 200' or so to get the cache. When my rubber edge came away from my gps I rang Garmin who said they would fix it but I would have had to pay postage and be without my gps for a while. I just bought some of that cheap superglue, cleaned the gunk from the rubber and glued it back into place. Worked a treat and only cost £1 Useful to know! That's my Plan B now. Quote Link to comment
+Seganku Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 When my rubber edge came away from my gps I rang Garmin who said they would fix it but I would have had to pay postage and be without my gps for a while. I just bought some of that cheap superglue, cleaned the gunk from the rubber and glued it back into place. Worked a treat and only cost £1 Useful to know! That's my Plan B now. Really easy to do but you must be careful not to glue the buttons Quote Link to comment
+Munkeh Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 When my rubber edge came away from my gps I rang Garmin who said they would fix it but I would have had to pay postage and be without my gps for a while. I just bought some of that cheap superglue, cleaned the gunk from the rubber and glued it back into place. Worked a treat and only cost £1 Useful to know! That's my Plan B now. Really easy to do but you must be careful not to glue the buttons most people use photo mounting tape, using superglue will glue the two halves of the unit together Quote Link to comment
+MartyBartfast Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 When my rubber edge came away from my gps I rang Garmin who said they would fix it but I would have had to pay postage and be without my gps for a while. I just bought some of that cheap superglue, cleaned the gunk from the rubber and glued it back into place. Worked a treat and only cost £1 Useful to know! That's my Plan B now. Really easy to do but you must be careful not to glue the buttons most people use photo mounting tape, using superglue will glue the two halves of the unit together I've used double sided carpet tape. I also used some silicone bath sealant on my old Etrex, which worked well. You will also probably find that once you've removed the rubber seal it is then slightly larger than it used to be and won't fit properly, in which case you'll have to cut a small section out to make it fit. FWIW I think it's heat that tends to degrade the adhesive, so don't leave the GPS sitting in the car on a hot day. Quote Link to comment
+coconurtaler Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I'm getting one next week for my birthday. It's arrived and sitting in a box but I've resisted opening it so far. All finds up to now have been without a GPS so I can't wait to play with my new toy. Quote Link to comment
+Unobtainium Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Congrats for next weeks birthday and the start of a new type of geocaching! Quote Link to comment
+firestars Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 I bought a Garmin eTrex H GPS recently and was disappointed with it. I much prefer my Blackberry Bold 9780 running CacheSense as it seems to get me a lot closer to the Waypoint location. I will keep it as a backup but cant see myself using it at all. Quote Link to comment
+ayrbrain Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 my Garmin etrex is great. I bought it secondhand,I'm not proud on ebay, just to see how I got on with geocaching, I am totally hooked on geocaching and will keep using my little Garmin Etrex until it gives up. Hubby wanted to buy me a new one for my BD this month, but if it aint broke........then........ !! Quote Link to comment
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