advice for a novice

[mazzyc]

Hello all, hope you can help.

Firstly I apologise as you probably have the same kind of thing on here all the time but your help would be apprecaited.

 

My husband is loving Geocaching but so far just through a free/cheap app on his Iphone 4s - however i would like (for christmas) to get something better as more often than not we are not successful in a find and this gets boring for the kids!

 

So my questions are -

 

Should I purchase a seperate GPS like a Garmin?

Or should I pay for an app for his phone?

If an App - which one?

If a GPS then I dont want to spend too much but would like one I can USB to the PC )

I was looking at a Garmin one but said you needed to purchase a cable - which cable is it?

 

Thank you in advance for your help and sorry if I sound like I have very little knowledge on this subject.

Michelle

[+mpilchfamily]

How much are you willing to spend?

 

Either way i think the official app would be a good purchase. The iPhone 4 has a pretty accurate GPSr in it. The only real drawback of the phone is its durability (breaks when dropped and not water resistant in any way) and its battery life. But you can't beat the convenience of pulling up caches on fly through the data connection.

 

As for having trouble finding a cache. You will find that you will do allot of dancing around to find a cache. Some times you gotta give the unit time to settle down and get a good reading. But no GPSr will land you directly on top of the cache. Once the unit shows your about 20 feet away its time to start looking for possible hiding places.

 

You just have to learn to walk like a geocacher.

[mazzyc]

Thanks - love the video!

I see the drawback of the phone, suppose there is a risk if you are holding it in your hand in all weathers walking round with it.

I didnt want to spend too much on first GPS, thats why I was looking at the Garmin e trex H - but I wasnt sure about how to link this to the PC as I believe you need a cable (which Im sure is cheap too).

If there is one slightly more cost that you can link with a cable that comes with it i would look at that, so suppose Im looking to spend no more than £50-80 on one - is that unrealistic?

 

Thank you

 

michelle

[+Lieblweb]

The Geocaching App is $10. Get it!!!

 

We started with our iphones and immediately bought the app. We have an Oregon 450 and we still use the geocaching app to log everything while onsite and instantly. We still use the geocaching app to search for things, or if we don't have the GPS with us. The App is a great little thing to have along with your handheld

 

In terms of GPS's... get one with the 3-axis compass and the ability to input next stages for multi-caches. The reason I say that, is because the iphone already has those abilities that you're used to using. If you buy a handheld without those abilities - you will wish you had them (believe me!! been there done that).

[mazzyc]

Thank you everyone - very useful.

 

Found the Garmin eTrex Legend H Outdoor GPS on Amazon for £62 which sounds good - assume this is the one you refer to.

 

The Groundspeak Inc Geocaching app on iphone is £6.99 - so a bargain so I will get that anyway.

 

Thank you

Michelle

[+mpilchfamily]

My first hand held was a Legend H. I still have it and use it when i'm taking friends or family out caching. The Legend H is a great starter unit and easy to use. You'll just want a program for your PC to manage your caches and allow you to upload groups of caches to the unit at once.

 

Top 2 PC programs are GSAK and EasyGPS. GSAK is free for a limited time then you get a nag screen to buy it. It is also way more powerful and has allot more features. EasyGPS is free, though limited, it will have everything you need to keep your GPSr loaded.

[+mimandpap]

My first hand held was a Legend H. I still have it and use it when i'm taking friends or family out caching. The Legend H is a great starter unit and easy to use. You'll just want a program for your PC to manage your caches and allow you to upload groups of caches to the unit at once.

 

Top 2 PC programs are GSAK and EasyGPS. GSAK is free for a limited time then you get a nag screen to buy it. It is also way more powerful and has allot more features. EasyGPS is free, though limited, it will have everything you need to keep your GPSr loaded.

 

I am a novice as well and looking for a GPS to begin with. I noticed that Cabela has a "Garmin® etrex Legend HCx Handheld GPS Unit" on sale for $129.99 and was wondering if this is a good one to start with. What are the negatives with this model? I don't know much about GPS devices.

[+Chief301]

My first hand held was a Legend H. I still have it and use it when i'm taking friends or family out caching. The Legend H is a great starter unit and easy to use. You'll just want a program for your PC to manage your caches and allow you to upload groups of caches to the unit at once.

 

Top 2 PC programs are GSAK and EasyGPS. GSAK is free for a limited time then you get a nag screen to buy it. It is also way more powerful and has allot more features. EasyGPS is free, though limited, it will have everything you need to keep your GPSr loaded.

 

I am a novice as well and looking for a GPS to begin with. I noticed that Cabela has a "Garmin® etrex Legend HCx Handheld GPS Unit" on sale for $129.99 and was wondering if this is a good one to start with. What are the negatives with this model? I don't know much about GPS devices.

 

That's the unit I use and it works great for caching. It's a good starter unit, rugged and accurate and has a micro SD card slot (card not included) so you can add maps to it. The base maps that come installed on the unit are VERY basic (includes only major highways and bodies of water), so if you think you'll be wanting to add more detailed topographical maps the SD card slot is important. Topo maps can be purchased from Garmin (pricey) or downloaded for free (legally) from sites like gpsfiledepot.com.

 

The features I'm starting to wish I had are paperless caching and an electronic compass. You can download caches directly to the unit via USB cable from your computer but the GPSr will only include the cache name, GC code number, and coordinates. This is enough to navigate to the cache but you won't have cache descriptions, hints, recent logs and all that stuff. The new Etrex line and some of the middle and high end units will hold all this info for you so you don't have to tote the printed cache info in the field with you.

 

An electronic compass is another feature I'll look for in my next unit. The Legend has a compass mode but you have to be moving for it to calculate direction based on your location (just a few steps at normal walking speed will do it) A three-axis electronic compass will point in the right direction even if you're standing still. It's not a huge deal but it would be nice.

[+mimandpap]

My first hand held was a Legend H. I still have it and use it when i'm taking friends or family out caching. The Legend H is a great starter unit and easy to use. You'll just want a program for your PC to manage your caches and allow you to upload groups of caches to the unit at once.

 

Top 2 PC programs are GSAK and EasyGPS. GSAK is free for a limited time then you get a nag screen to buy it. It is also way more powerful and has allot more features. EasyGPS is free, though limited, it will have everything you need to keep your GPSr loaded.

 

I am a novice as well and looking for a GPS to begin with. I noticed that Cabela has a "Garmin® etrex Legend HCx Handheld GPS Unit" on sale for $129.99 and was wondering if this is a good one to start with. What are the negatives with this model? I don't know much about GPS devices.

 

That's the unit I use and it works great for caching. It's a good starter unit, rugged and accurate and has a micro SD card slot (card not included) so you can add maps to it. The base maps that come installed on the unit are VERY basic (includes only major highways and bodies of water), so if you think you'll be wanting to add more detailed topographical maps the SD card slot is important. Topo maps can be purchased from Garmin (pricey) or downloaded for free (legally) from sites like gpsfiledepot.com.

 

The features I'm starting to wish I had are paperless caching and an electronic compass. You can download caches directly to the unit via USB cable from your computer but the GPSr will only include the cache name, GC code number, and coordinates. This is enough to navigate to the cache but you won't have cache descriptions, hints, recent logs and all that stuff. The new Etrex line and some of the middle and high end units will hold all this info for you so you don't have to tote the printed cache info in the field with you.

 

An electronic compass is another feature I'll look for in my next unit. The Legend has a compass mode but you have to be moving for it to calculate direction based on your location (just a few steps at normal walking speed will do it) A three-axis electronic compass will point in the right direction even if you're standing still. It's not a huge deal but it would be nice.

 

Thanks I just ordered it. My guess is I will want a better one later but want to be able to get more caches and not do it using maps only.