Which GPS?

[+Goosefat]

Hi all,

we go geocaching as a family and are pretty basic in what we need. I have a Garmin etrex vista HCx and it has been fine but I really want to start paperless geocaching as sometimes on holiday I can't print out and copying is dull! I don't necessarily need lots of maps, although maybe I don't know what I'm missing? Advice please for a not-too-expensive option to get us caching again. My family go mad when I sit down to sort some caches so a speedier option would be great. Thanks

[+chillypenguin]

How about upgrading to the etrex20/30 ?

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Bring in the UK, Garmin is by far the most popular make...

As the previous post says, the eTrex 20/30 is probably the best choice.

 

Stay away from the eTrex 10. It works fine, but does have a gray-scale screen and no SD card slot. Not having SD capability to expand memory (storage, really) you are limited in scope. Plus, investing in extra SD cards can be a real boon for holiday travels. Just change out the card and you are ready to go, for wherever you plan!

[+Goosefat]

Thanks! Off to do some research.

[+sktqch]

The only caveat about the Etrex 20 is, on ours, when driving in a car and then stopping to walk the last few meters to a cache, it gets very confused and inaccurate. It usually takes a shut down and restart to make it behave. Maybe we need to upgrade the software in it, we haven't yet.

Stan

[+Turtle Man]

I have a Magellan SporTrak and it serves me pretty well under ideal conditions. I've been thinking of upgrading to the Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx as the reviews have been stellar, especially when it comes to reception. Their site says it has been discontinued. Has it been replaced by another model, or is there one comparable to it? I realize such a GPSr will be quite an upgrade from the one I use now, but I figured I might as well get a superior unit. Any help or thoughts would be much appreciated.

[+sktqch]

I love my 60 CX, which is basically the same as the "S" model without the active compass. I didn't get that feature because I suspected, and subsequently found out that you have to constantly reset the compass for it to be active. With my cx all I have to do is wave it about and the compass comes alive..

Stan

 

btw....to answer your question yes it has been replaced with the 62 series which is somewhat more complex but does have "paperless" caching (meaning you can get a readout on the gps about the cache, description, logs, etc..) It does mean you have to constantly switch from reading about the cache, to the screen that shows you where it is though.

Edited October 30, 2012 by sktqch

[+Turtle Man]

I love my 60 CX, which is basically the same as the "S" model without the active compass. I didn't get that feature because I suspected, and subsequently found out that you have to constantly reset the compass for it to be active. With my cx all I have to do is wave it about and the compass comes alive..

Stan

 

btw....to answer your question yes it has been replaced with the 62 series which is somewhat more complex but does have "paperless" caching (meaning you can get a readout on the gps about the cache, description, logs, etc..) It does mean you have to constantly switch from reading about the cache, to the screen that shows you where it is though.

 

 

So then, the base model comes with a compass? If that's the case, the the only real difference is the altimeter. What's the difference between the compass on the two models? As you can tell, I'm really leaning towards one of these units.

Edited October 31, 2012 by Turtle Man

[+ngrrfan]

The only caveat about the Etrex 20 is, on ours, when driving in a car and then stopping to walk the last few meters to a cache, it gets very confused and inaccurate. It usually takes a shut down and restart to make it behave. Maybe we need to upgrade the software in it, we haven't yet.

Stan

I'm running v2.87 and your problem has never appeared on my 20... even before moving up to the latest software.

[+BlueDeuce]

Hi all,

we go geocaching as a family and are pretty basic in what we need. I have a Garmin etrex vista HCx and it has been fine but I really want to start paperless geocaching as sometimes on holiday I can't print out and copying is dull! I don't necessarily need lots of maps, although maybe I don't know what I'm missing? Advice please for a not-too-expensive option to get us caching again. My family go mad when I sit down to sort some caches so a speedier option would be great. Thanks

 

I use a Garmin Nuvi to auto-route me to the starting location which also serves as my paperless gps. Nice big ol' screen to read from. Then I use my Vista HCX to take me down the trail.

[+BlueDeuce]

I didn't get that feature because I suspected, and subsequently found out that you have to constantly reset the compass for it to be active.

 

You should only have to recalibrate the compass after a battery change. Personally I never pass up a compass feature. 76cs and 3 Vistas later.

[+SKAMS]

We also (still) go caching with an Etrex Vista HCX.

I use the windows tool GAPP (you can also use the program GSAK + a Garmin POI Export Macro) the load the Etrex with about 10000 Caches + Waypoints in the POI Format (but no listing or log information). That way you can basically see at least cache type (by icon) the full name, d/t and the hint (if it is not too long) on the Vista.

 

I use my smartphone + an app to have paperless cache information available & being able to query new caches online in the worst case.

 

For preparing holiday travels I usually also prepare some print outs. I use the Firefox + Greasemonkey script GCTour (http://gctour.madd.in/) for that. That script saves a lot of paper and also provides overview lists & maps as well as detail maps if required.

Edited November 1, 2012 by SKAMS