Garmin Etrex Venture HC and Garmin Etrex H

[+jacob501]

I have a garmin etrex h and I don't know what to do. I want to be able to upload geocaches to it and have memory on it to store stuff about the cache. The serial cable for the gps costs 38 dollars list price, about 28 on amazon. A usb cable I found for this gps is 17 or 18 on ebay. I don't really want to pay for a old serial cable on the internet, but I also don't want to pay on ebay using paypal.

 

I looked on craigslist for a new gps that uses a usb cable. My price range is probably 70-100 dollars because I don't want to go too much over the price of the Garmin etrex h I have. I tried posting my gps for sale on craigslist but no one has responded. I found a Garmin Etrex HC on craigslist, brand new in box for 110. Then I found another Garmin HC on the forums for 90 dollars. Is this gps worth buying?

 

I want the usb cable mostly and I am willing to pay some money. But if I buy an entirely new gps I also want to be able to sell my old one.

 

Do you think I could sell my etrex h for 60 to 90 dollars to make up for most of what I pay for the HC?

 

Another reason I don't really want this gps is because it is way too simple and I want something a little more sophisticated. I am just thinking that if I continue to buy up in gps units, soon I could have a really nice one after a while.

 

I don't know what to do...should I buy a cable, the HC or a totally different gps?

Edited May 14, 2011 by jacob501

[+mpilchfamily]

Just an FYI all the eTrex units be they regular, Legend or Vista are about the same size. If you want something a little bigger with a larger screen you'll need to spend more then $100.

 

You should be able to get about $60 for the old eTrex H if you can find a buyer.

 

Now which eTrex HC are you getting? Are you looking at the eTrex Legend HC or eTrex Vista HC?

[+jacob501]

This one...

 

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/ele/2375838879.html

 

And I might not even buy that one on craigslist, I might get the 90 dollar one on the forums...I don't know. But I don't really care about the screen size.

[+jacob501]

Anyone else?

[+jacob501]

Can someone help me?

[+gelfling6]

As an owner of the Venture HC and a original eTrex (the H w/o the high-sensitivity chipset.)yes, despite being the same 'in-the-hand' size, they are different interface to the computer. The "H" had a slide-in 4-pin serial (RS-232C) connection which if your computer has only USB connections, requires a USB-to-RS232(Serial) conversion, (I imagine there are a few direct cables, USB-A on one side, the flat 4-pin connector on the other) and those are brand new, but some pretty cheaply made (sorry, being honest here.) the Venture HC, has a built-in base map, a little more memory for a map overlay using MapSource© (Garmin's on-computer mapping software. The HC ships with the 2008 Topographic) and direct interfaces to computers with a standard USB-A to 5-Pin Mini-B (seems to have become the standardized) cable.

 

 

I've had some good luck getting replacement cables over eBay, so I wouldn't discount them all together. Paypal is very secure. (word of the wise.. Paypal only sends Payment statements, NEVER reply to or react to "suspicious Account activity emails. those would be handled by direct written mail to you.) If you don't want major interaction with PayPal, handle your transactions with prepaid gift cards, but you'll still need to set-up an account to that card., and the card for payment is changable if you expire the prepayed.)

 

Unfortunately, yes, that is the price for the serial cables.. 12-15 is about right for the USB-A to mini-B cables too.

 

Stephen (gelfling6)

Edited May 15, 2011 by gelfling6

[+jacob501]

I still can't decide though...is it better to just buy a cable for theetrex h or is the hc good enough that I should just buy it? Thanks for all the info anyway though...

[+Bear and Ragged]

As most of the units are moving away from the old flat 4 pin connector, my view is it's worth the extra to get the unit with USB connection.

[+jacob501]

As most of the units are moving away from the old flat 4 pin connector, my view is it's worth the extra to get the unit with USB connection.

Finally an opinionated answer! Thanks!

[+Bear and Ragged]

However!

If money is a little short, and you can get one of the older units, and the cable for a lot less than a newer unit, it will get you caching, and give you a chance to save up for the upgrade (or wait for Christmas/Birthday/pass your exams presents!)

[+39chevy]

I have a garmin etrex h and I don't know what to do. I want to be able to upload geocaches to it and have memory on it to store stuff about the cache. The serial cable for the gps costs 38 dollars list price, about 28 on amazon. A usb cable I found for this gps is 17 or 18 on ebay. I don't really want to pay for a old serial cable on the internet, but I also don't want to pay on ebay using paypal.

 

Does your computer have a serial port? Most don't and you will need a USB to Serial adapter( more$) to use the e-trex serial cable and the other e-trex model usb cables wont work with the basic e-trex.

 

None of the e-trex allow storage of more cache information.

[+Chrysalides]

It all depends on how long you want to keep the unit (either Venture HC or eTrex H) before you upgrade.

 

There are combination USB->serial + Garmin cables available for under $20, possibly even $10.

 

A lot of this depends on how much you can sell the eTrex H for. I think $60 is optimistic, especially if you're asking for extra shipping.

 

So, if the difference is $50 more to upgrade to an eTrex H, compared to $10 for a cable, what's your choice?

 

I have an eTrex Venture HC and I like it, but the lack of paperless features meant that I got an Oregon after a year.

 

If I'm getting a Venture HC though, I'd look for a used unit. But if I'm getting a GPS receiver now, I'd definitely go paperless.

[+mcrow]

I won a Venture. It's good unit and has a USB cord. I think the Venture is the better GPS of the two and think that the ability to use a USB cord is a plus.

 

Is it worth the upgrade? Hard to tell.

 

Venture has a slightly larger screen that is color. The Venture also has a basemap that is pretty good and does area calculation. You can add maps to venture, but not the eTrex H.

 

So if all of the above makes it worth the money to you, then it's a good deal.

[+CacheFreakTim]

I have the Venture HC and like it a lot. The quality is very good plus I love the larger screen and being able to add topo maps. You can head to gpsfiledepot.com and get free topo maps, which you wouldn't be able to do with the standard etrex h. If it was me I would definitely go for the Venture HC....well worth it.