Will I be sad if I get an etrex 20/30?

[+cx1]

Ok,

So I am having a great deal of frustration with my PN-40. Plus I have had it awhile now and sometimes it is nice to have something 'new'.

The etrex 20 or 30 have caught my eye as a possible upgrade. Can't yet decide if chirp ability and compass (the only two features I might use) are worth the upgraded price between the two. But that is not what I am asking about.

 

Right now I really like and am somewhat spoiled possibly by the basemaps on the PN-40 and I am trying to see how the maps for that etrex compare. I will post a screenshot to explain...

 

Notice the icons first of all. Can I get the actual cache icons like this or would I be stuck with treasure chests?

 

Also notice that the display shows the distance and bearing of where the pointer is relative to where I am. Will the etrex show that?

 

Also notice that the display shows what is directly under the pointer. In this case it is Dobbs Park. Had the pointer been above a street it would show the street name. And even the little tiny streets are named and will display. Or if it was above a creek/river it will show that name as well. Will the etrex maps do that?

 

My second major concern is the gpx file management. For example I am planning a trip through 3 counties where I will be seeking 37 caches. On my pn40 I would create and load 4 gpx files for this trip. One with just the 37 caches I plan to get and then one for each of the counties I will be passing through. I set it up this way so I don't have to page through all 700 or so caches that would be in the gpx if I combined them all. I find it very convenient just to look though the list of 37 (and they are removed as I find them so the list shrinks) rather then looking at all the 700 caches. Plus 9 times out of 10 if I click go to next closest it will be the next one on our plan since we plan our trips mostly in loops.

But I like having the other cache information at hand in case something would come up and we decided to get a cache or two that was not part of our original plan. With the county gpx I have that info available. For example we put all the caches in my database 16,000 or so into the TomTom for cache to cache routing. The caches are set to display on the map so we can see if we might be about to drive past one we hadn't planned on. I can open the county gpx on the pn40 and have all my cache info. Then when done I can go back to the gpx of just the ones planned.

From the way it sounds the etrex will just lump all my carefully sorted gpx files into one big list. Is that true?

If so could the adventure function of the basecamp software be used to somehow just have the planned caches? Maybe drop a gpx of the caches I want into the adventure generator software thingy and then slide that onto the etrex and cache directly from that(with hints,logs, field notes etc)?

If I can at least sort between planned for caches and one big list of all the rest I might be able to settle for that.

Thanks for any and all assistance.

[+user13371]

I'll answer one and leave the rest for others:: You wouldn't be able to load/unload sets of GPX files on the eTrex the same way as you on the PN. You put one or a bunch of GPX files onto the eTrex and they all load at startup. And to delete caches you have to connect back to your computer and delete the GPX files.

[+BlackRose67]

I have an eTrex 20. The basemap that comes with it is a very basic map and not really of much use.

I disabled it and use a free OSM (Open Street Map) map.

 

Notice the icons first of all. Can I get the actual cache icons like this or would I be stuck with treasure chests?

No matter what map you have installed on the eTrex 20/30, you will see the actual cache icons for the various types of caches.

 

Also notice that the display shows the distance and bearing of where the pointer is relative to where I am. Will the etrex show that?

With my eTrex 20 it does show the distance where the pointer is relative to my location, but it shows the direction as N, NW, S, etc, not a degree bearing.

 

Also notice that the display shows what is directly under the pointer. In this case it is Dobbs Park. Had the pointer been above a street it would show the street name. And even the little tiny streets are named and will display. Or if it was above a creek/river it will show that name as well. Will the etrex maps do that?

I have the free OSM (Open Street Maps) for my area installed on my 20, and it does show street names, park names, etc. when I move the pointer around.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Just so that you understand user13371's post:

 

...And to delete caches you have to connect back to your computer and delete the GPX files.

 

With a Garmin, you delete ALL or NONE (and that is only with a computer hook-up).

With a Delorme, you may delete individuals, groupings, or all at any time you wish.

 

Another thing to keep in mind -- if you hold data (PQ's) for very long, that data becomes "stale". That is, caches are archived and disabled all the time. Meanwhile, new ones are placed. You could very well be looking for one that isn't there any more and miss the one set 30-40 meters away.

 

If you are setting your sights on a planned 37 caches, you need backup caches -- just in case. Many consider two week old data as stale.

[+cx1]

Well it sounds like with some tweaking I will be happy with the maps(I love OSM) and unhappy with the gpx management. Not sure if that is a deal breaker or not.

 

I suppose many people are satisfied with the single list arrangement. Is the sorting quick once the gpx is loaded?

My endura used a single list and large gpx files would take forever to sort.

 

I would think with Garmin being one of the early supporters of caching that their units would have the most beneficial features. But for data management they seem a bit behind the curve. The whole remove the gpx, reboot the device, load new gpx and reboot again before using that I've read about seem a bit much to jump through every time I want to update my data. Maybe that has improved from the last reports I read. I'd love to see a filter for user flag in the unit along the lines of the size/difficulty filters built in if they won't do individual gpx files. Seriously, how hard could that be?

 

For the longest time I've been trying to get my caching buddy to move beyond his paper lists of caches we want to do and if I 'upgrade' to the etrex I'm going to need his lists to keep track of the next caches lol.

 

I've not had a Garmin since my original old yellow etrex. I really want to give them another shot and the new etrex ticks the right boxes except this gpx business. I've been waiting for a no touch screen Garmin and the 62's just don't reach that price point/features balance I want to be at. The etrex 20/30 is so close to being the one.

 

As far as my data being stale. Not saying it hasn't happened. But it is rare. Weekly PQs cover my 100 mile radius, notifications provide a redundant daily backup of 49.8 or whatever (it won't do 50 miles) and GSAK allows me to refresh 6000 caches a day beyond the PQs. I've skipped refreshing a county a time or two and gone after some archived ones but I've helped save some 'lost' travelers that way so it balances out.

 

So the adventure thing on the Garmin will not do what I want? Or has no one tried it in that fashion?

 

Thanks for all the replies so far. A screen shot of the Garmin running the OSM would be nice to see. I'm going to see if Google will help but feel free to post one just in case

[+lupo33]

Attention!

 

Kompassfunction in etrex 30 doesn't work! (Firmware 2.80) After some minutes the kompass is going in tilt! Garmin knows this since one year -> see special forums! But Garmin gives no answer!

 

Lupo33

[+BAMBOOZLE]

Attention!

 

Kompassfunction in etrex 30 doesn't work! (Firmware 2.80) After some minutes the kompass is going in tilt! Garmin knows this since one year -> see special forums! But Garmin gives no answer!

 

Lupo33

 

From what I have read I would avoid the Etrex 30.

[fujitsu]

Hi,

I have a etrex30 and for the first time in 8 years I am not satisfied with garmin (I have other models). The etrex is not very fast recalculating routes and it frozen very offen. I have to took the batteries off. Garmin released a beta sw version last october and since then I am waiting for a official sw with bug corrections. It seems that Garmin does not give attention to the etrex model

[+BlackRose67]

Well it sounds like with some tweaking I will be happy with the maps(I love OSM) and unhappy with the gpx management. Not sure if that is a deal breaker or not.

 

I would think with Garmin being one of the early supporters of caching that their units would have the most beneficial features. But for data management they seem a bit behind the curve. The whole remove the gpx, reboot the device, load new gpx and reboot again before using that I've read about seem a bit much to jump through every time I want to update my data. Maybe that has improved from the last reports I read. I'd love to see a filter for user flag in the unit along the lines of the size/difficulty filters built in if they won't do individual gpx files. Seriously, how hard could that be?

 

Thanks for all the replies so far. A screen shot of the Garmin running the OSM would be nice to see. I'm going to see if Google will help but feel free to post one just in case

I've had the eTrex 20 for about 15 months now and overall I am very happy with it.

 

I debated whether to get the 20 or the 30, but didn't think the compass and the other extras items were worth an additional $100 (at the time). Seeing how the compass on the eTrex 30 still does not work correctly, I am happy with the decision I made.

 

The only thing that I do not like is GPX management. I would like to be able to load different GPX files on my GPS and select which one is the active GPX. This is really only an issue when I am working on event caches - I remove all caches from the GPS except the ones for the event.

 

I use GSAK to load and maintain the GPX file that goes on my GPS and smartphone.

I use the GarminExport macro to load the GPS and a macro designed specifically for the app on my smartphone (CacheSense).

 

Here are a couple of screen caps I just made.

 

This is the main screen with the Geocaching dashboard showing the nearest geocache.

 

Pointer moved from home location to a nearby street.

 

Pointer moved from home location to a nearby park, and showing the multicache icon.

[+cx1]

Wow, those screenshots look amazing. They are the best I've seen for geocaching specific images of the maps on an etrex. Thank you. These put me much closer to purchasing the etrex.

 

As to this statement

In the field the Etrex lists the caches from nearest to farthest so there's no need to wade through hundreds simply to find the one you want.

I would have to disagree. We are planning a trip to Ohio for example. We are going to grab a cache on the west side of Indianapolis right before we get on I-465. Then once off I-465 we will stop for another. The caches are only 12.5 miles apart. Sorting by distance there are 901 caches to sort though between them and that is just in that county. If I include the area of the county to the west and just use a 12.48 miles radius which is what a sort by distance filter will do there would be 1179 caches in the list between the cache I am at and the one I want to go to. This is an extreme example certainly but less extreme examples did happen (100-200 caches and even scrolling through 50 caches is tedious if you need to do it for every cache)when I used the Endura which handled gpx files just like the etrex. It was one of the main reasons I went to the pn-40 because with it I could have all the data available for those 1179 caches in the unit but in my current list the cache I want would probably be the next one or at the most maybe 4th in the list. Yes I don't 'need' all that data. But I've gotten used to having it. The etrex would force a much more selective planing of the data I want to keep with the 5000 cache limit considering right now my pn40 probably has 3x that in it (admittedly in many gpx files of 500 caches or less the county Indianapolis is in takes 4 gpx files for example).

But enough on that I will have to live with the limitations in that regard. I suppose I could simply carry two SD cards where one has the planned caches and one has all the caches in the area and swap them if need be.

 

Back to geocaching specific features. Notice on the image I posted in the first post the mystery icon and the little flag to the northwest of it. The flag is the child waypoint of the solution of the mystery.

 

How does the etrex handle child waypoints for caches?

 

On my pn40 I have to switch from geocaches to waypoints(they are kept in separate lists which are resorted each time you access them), navigate to the waypoint and then switch back to the geocaches list to make my field notes and have access to the description and logs etc. For single stage mysteries it is not bad. But on a multi-stage mystery where you need to figure new waypoints at each stage and have need of access to the cache description to compute the next stage the constant switching between waypoints and geocaches gets old. I don't like to change the given coordinates for the cache itself in case I get to a point where I need to start over. And I like to keep the locations of the stages in my database.

 

The project new waypoints feature on the etrex is not clearly explained (at least what I've found so far) as to if it still stays within the geocache information while navigating to the new waypoint or like on the pn40 the waypoints and geocaches are kept separate.

 

Field notes. Do you have to enter any information or can you simply mark 'found' or 'not found' and move on? On my pn40 I can simply mark them but on my phone I have to enter 'something' even if it is just a space before it will allow me to submit the field note. Of course I am posting real logs to the cache page when I get home this is just for the temporary field notes.

 

Working in the cold. How does the etrex fare? My pn40 is awful in the cold and I'm not sure if it is battery related or the units fault. I have eneloops ordered to test this but I doubt it is just the batteries. I've been doing more cold weather (cold to me anyway 12-15 degree F) caching and the pn40 is acting up more and more. My buddy's older style etrex(monochrome and no maps) has been doing fine in the same conditions and with the same type/brand batteries.

 

Holding signals. If I don't set the pn40 on the dash while in the car it will loose its location. Sometimes I forget and when arriving at the next cache parking spot I get out of the car take the pn40 out of my coat pocket and it has no idea where it is. Currently it will only rediscover its location if I cycle it off and back on (last firmware update gave me that little jewel of a feature). How does the etrex fare under those conditions?

 

Thanks for all the information so far. It has been very helpful.

[+Atlas Cached]

As to this statement

In the field the Etrex lists the caches from nearest to farthest so there's no need to wade through hundreds simply to find the one you want.

I would have to disagree. We are planning a trip to Ohio for example. We are going to grab a cache on the west side of Indianapolis right before we get on I-465. Then once off I-465 we will stop for another. The caches are only 12.5 miles apart. Sorting by distance there are 901 caches to sort though between them and that is just in that county. If I include the area of the county to the west and just use a 12.48 miles radius which is what a sort by distance filter will do there would be 1179 caches in the list between the cache I am at and the one I want to go to.

 

If you do not need the other 1177 caches, why load them in the first place? Try creating a PQ 'ALONG A ROUTE', and you will reduce the number of unwanted caches by nearly 90%, or better.

 

How does the etrex handle child waypoints for caches?

 

On my pn40 I have to switch from geocaches to waypoints(they are kept in separate lists which are resorted each time you access them), navigate to the waypoint and then switch back to the geocaches list to make my field notes and have access to the description and logs etc. For single stage mysteries it is not bad. But on a multi-stage mystery where you need to figure new waypoints at each stage and have need of access to the cache description to compute the next stage the constant switching between waypoints and geocaches gets old. I don't like to change the given coordinates for the cache itself in case I get to a point where I need to start over. And I like to keep the locations of the stages in my database.

 

The project new waypoints feature on the etrex is not clearly explained (at least what I've found so far) as to if it still stays within the geocache information while navigating to the new waypoint or like on the pn40 the waypoints and geocaches are kept separate.

 

The Garmin has a 'Find Next Stage' function within the Geocaching interface, so likely less complicated than you report the pn40 to be.

 

Field notes. Do you have to enter any information or can you simply mark 'found' or 'not found' and move on? On my pn40 I can simply mark them but on my phone I have to enter 'something' even if it is just a space before it will allow me to submit the field note. Of course I am posting real logs to the cache page when I get home this is just for the temporary field notes.

 

Marking caches 'found' is all that the Garmin requires. Actual field notes are optional with each log. I usually only enter important notes I want to remember later, then edit them frfom my PC later.

 

Working in the cold. How does the etrex fare? My pn40 is awful in the cold and I'm not sure if it is battery related or the units fault. I have eneloops ordered to test this but I doubt it is just the batteries. I've been doing more cold weather (cold to me anyway 12-15 degree F) caching and the pn40 is acting up more and more. My buddy's older style etrex(monochrome and no maps) has been doing fine in the same conditions and with the same type/brand batteries.

 

Do not have one with me to test... but I have had no cold weather issues with any of my Garmins.

 

Holding signals. If I don't set the pn40 on the dash while in the car it will loose its location. Sometimes I forget and when arriving at the next cache parking spot I get out of the car take the pn40 out of my coat pocket and it has no idea where it is. Currently it will only rediscover its location if I cycle it off and back on (last firmware update gave me that little jewel of a feature). How does the etrex fare under those conditions?

 

With the extra GLONASS satellites, I understand the eTrex 10/20/30 have the quickest acquisition and best position lock of all current Garmin units.

 

Thanks for all the information so far. It has been very helpful.

 

Certainly our pleasure.

[+Walts Hunting]

Only if you are standing next to someone with a Montana.

[+Redwoods Mtn Biker]

You can change the settings to show bearing instead of cardinal directions.

[+northernpenguin]

Attention!

 

Kompassfunction in etrex 30 doesn't work! (Firmware 2.80) After some minutes the kompass is going in tilt! Garmin knows this since one year -> see special forums! But Garmin gives no answer!

 

Lupo33

 

Compass fix is already available in beta firmware 2.87, though that beta has it's own bugs. I would say Garmin gave an answer on that, by fixing it in a public beta.

Also I use an eTrex 30 and I'm running 2.80 firmware. The compass glitch is minor and easily corrected in the field. I usually get hours of usage before I even notice anything.

 

The biggest reason I'm on eTrex 30 is the unit-to-unit wireless sharing feature as most of my geocaching group use Garmin devices with similar abilities.

[+northernpenguin]

With the extra GLONASS satellites, I understand the eTrex 10/20/30 have the quickest acquisition and best position lock of all current Garmin units.

 

I used my eTrex 30 to track a couple flights I was on YYZ->MSP and back. Even in the seat pocket, not the window it pretty much kept a lock on at least 14 satellites, often more, whenever I looked at the screen.