GPS for those on a budget

[+violet46]

I began geocaching this past spring and have found just over 100 of them so far. I've been using a geocaching app on my phone to find all of my caches, however there are certain areas near where I live that have lots of caches hidden, but the signal on my cell phone is very poor so it's quite hard getting the map to load. I've looked into some gps devices for geocaching but don't want to spend several hundred dollars on one. The cheapest I have found is this http://www.amazon.com/Brand-44-Colorado-30-152-32-Geocaching/dp/B002MZZX9E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1386450356&sr=8-2&keywords=geocache+gps has anyone used this and if so, how well does it work? Thanks for your feedback!

[+stijnhommes]

I'm not too familiar with that unit, but it seems that one does not include any maps, so apart from the compass and the distance to your cache, you could be flying blind when it comes to a solid approach of the cache.

 

Take a close look at the options you use in your phone app and see if the unit offers them too.

 

Have you considered buying a unit second-hand? My father was looking for a cable to connect his Etrex 10 to his computer and was able to buy one for less than 40 euros. Mind you, this one still doesn't have a map, but you could probably get something cheap if you happen upon the right deal.

[+u1bd2005]

with the geomate jr. I envision a few issues.

 

Firstly lack of maps, secondly this part "Updatable with the latest U.S. geocaches and caches for other countries with the optional Geomate.jr Update Kit (sold seperately)"

 

I haven't used it so couldn't say for sure, but it sounds like you need that "optional" extra in order to update your device.

 

Anyway, to my reccomendations, I would say for your budget, etrex 10, though that also suffers from the lack of maps. I however use the etrex 10 and see it more of a benefit, I don't like maps, why bother taking an easy map route when I can figure out my own route there and possibly find somehwre cool on the way?

 

So all depends how important maps are to you.

 

If they're important then the next step up is the etrex 20, only a little more than the etrex 10 and may be within your budget if you can save a little extra.

[+The_Incredibles_]

Can't you save the maps and geocaches offline? What phone do you have?

[Keystone]

I am moving this thread from the Geocaching Topics forum to the GPS and Technology forum.

[+ecanderson]

Not sure what "on a budget" means to you, but the Oregon 450 has been available for great prices as of late. One just sold (used, but good) on eBay for $142, refurb on eBay for $165 >>> http://www.ebay.com/...=item1c39fc153c

 

Coupled with maps available from places like gpsfiledepot.com, you get a great deal of function for a very small price.

 

If you can define 'budget' a little better for us, it would help.

Edited December 8, 2013 by ecanderson

[+ecanderson]

That gpscity Black Friday special at $169 was a heck of a deal. Wonder if we'll see that kind of price again soon?

[Fangamon]

..just bought Etrex H for $49, brand new in box 2010 edition!

 

Everything else is just bling!

[+ecanderson]

..just bought Etrex H for $49, brand new in box 2010 edition!

 

Everything else is just bling!

As noted in another thread (or two), whether it's bling or not depends upon how and where a person caches. For example: No map ability of any kind on the eTrex H = no problem for urban caching, but means that carrying a paper topo along becomes pretty much essential in some more challenging areas. Blanket statements of the usefulness (or lack of usefulness) of certain features presumes a great deal about the caching habits of others, and on the whole, should probably be avoided.

[+TheWeatherWarrior]

..just bought Etrex H for $49, brand new in box 2010 edition!

 

Everything else is just bling!

As noted in another thread (or two), whether it's bling or not depends upon how and where a person caches. For example: No map ability of any kind on the eTrex H = no problem for urban caching, but means that carrying a paper topo along becomes pretty much essential in some more challenging areas. Blanket statements of the usefulness (or lack of usefulness) of certain features presumes a great deal about the caching habits of others, and on the whole, should probably be avoided.

There was no map GPSs in 2002 when we started. $50 for a GPS and getting out there for some fun seems more than reasonable. It isn't about finding a 1000 caches in a weekend. If the OP is on a budget...it will work, I promise, cause that is how we all started back in the day!

Edited December 9, 2013 by TheWeatherWarrior

[+gpsblake]

Either the Explorist GC or the Etrex 10. The Etrex is more simple to use but doesn't have real mapping and about a 1,000-2,000 cache limit. The GC has a 10,000 geocache limit, mapping (but no auto-routing), and a color screen, but is more complicated and you will be pressing a lot of buttons to go from cache to cache.

 

Geomate Jr is discontinued and I would avoid that.

[+ecanderson]

It isn't about finding a 1000 caches in a weekend.

If you're finding that many, you don't need a map. Just keep driving down Nevada Hwy 375 (ugh) until you've found them all. No, in fact, it's where you're after the ones that are much harder to access (4WD within a few miles, if you're lucky) where having SOME sort of map can become important. If you don't like to carry a paper map, then having one on the GPS is quite useful. I'm talking about areas where going in with no map at all isn't a good idea. Some of us enjoy caches like that. Others will never see one. Edited December 9, 2013 by ecanderson

[+BAMBOOZLE]

I've probably bought about 12 Meridians , about 6 or so being Platinums, from Ebay over the years. These days they go for about $50...STILL one of the best units ever with mapping, 3 axis compass,quad ant., and too much more to list, many features todays units lack.

 

http://www.ebay.com/ctg/Magellan-Meridian-Platinum-Handheld-GPS-Receiver-/48468493?LH_BIN=1&LH_IncludeSIF=1&_fifpts=1&_ipg=&_pcatid=43&_refkw=Magellan%20Meridian%20Platinum&_trksid=m194&ssPageName=STRK:MEFSRCHX:SRCH

[+ecanderson]

No map ability of any kind on the eTrex H = no problem for urban caching, but means that carrying a paper topo along becomes pretty much essential in some more challenging areas.

 

I suspect you'd agree that it's pretty much essential in those cases anyway, regardless of whether your GPS has a map or not

In such events, we only cache in pairs (there's something to be said for the 'buddy system' when you're many miles from nowhere), each with spare batteries for our respective units, so there's some redundancy. So often, we do NOT carry paper maps. When the weather is bad enough that we wouldn't even want to trust a pair of good GPS receivers up there, we aren't caching up there anyway!

[+ecanderson]

Agreed. For the $50 used, I'd probably prefer the Platinum. I remember the big difference vs. the Vista at the time was that you could add memory to the Magellan, but not the Vista.

 

Wow ... was that really 9+ years ago???

[+gpsblake]

Meridians were a great unit, professional feeling to them, too bad Magellan went way downhill after they discontinued that line (along with 4 different owners). The one thing I remember about my Meridian was the boomerang effect, you walk past the cache about 20 feet before the unit catches up and you realize what you did. Most Meridian owners started to account for that.

 

The Meridians also had a great file system, you could switch gpx databases thus it could hold far more geocaches then the Garmin Vista.

 

The speedometer screen on the Meridians was a nice touch also.

 

If only they were paperless for geocaching,.,

[+ecanderson]

The display latency issue isn't/wasn't unique to the Meridian units. Heck, I have a friend that doesn't slow down enough as he approaches a cache with his Oregon 450, and he's frequently turning around and headed back the 20+ feet or so to where I'm looking for the cache. It's all a matter of how much Kalman (or similar) smoothing is being done by the unit's firmware to your calculated position in order to keep the output from being jumpy.

[+BAMBOOZLE]

Meridians were a great unit, professional feeling to them, too bad Magellan went way downhill after they discontinued that line (along with 4 different owners). The one thing I remember about my Meridian was the boomerang effect, you walk past the cache about 20 feet before the unit catches up and you realize what you did. Most Meridian owners started to account for that.

 

The Meridians also had a great file system, you could switch gpx databases thus it could hold far more geocaches then the Garmin Vista.

 

The speedometer screen on the Meridians was a nice touch also.

 

If only they were paperless for geocaching,.,

 

With that file system you can load 14,000,000 caches and maps of the entire U.S. on the Meridians 2G SD card.

[+BAMBOOZLE]

The display latency issue isn't/wasn't unique to the Meridian units. Heck, I have a friend that doesn't slow down enough as he approaches a cache with his Oregon 450, and he's frequently turning around and headed back the 20+ feet or so to where I'm looking for the cache. It's all a matter of how much Kalman (or similar) smoothing is being done by the unit's firmware to your calculated position in order to keep the output from being jumpy.

 

The " overshoot " didn't happen when driving or walking slow. On a long fast walk I could go by 50' or so....all you had to do was slow down when you got within 100'. I have one of each Meridian Model but the Color I have 3 and the Platinum about 8. Once upgraded to the latest firmware ( 5.40 I think ) they all behave pretty much the same and will read the 2 G card....only the Platinum had the 3 axis compass.

[thefuzz556]

The display latency issue isn't/wasn't unique to the Meridian units. Heck, I have a friend that doesn't slow down enough as he approaches a cache with his Oregon 450, and he's frequently turning around and headed back the 20+ feet or so to where I'm looking for the cache. It's all a matter of how much Kalman (or similar) smoothing is being done by the unit's firmware to your calculated position in order to keep the output from being jumpy.

 

The " overshoot " didn't happen when driving or walking slow. On a long fast walk I could go by 50' or so....all you had to do was slow down when you got within 100'. I have one of each Meridian Model but the Color I have 3 and the Platinum about 8. Once upgraded to the latest firmware ( 5.40 I think ) they all behave pretty much the same and will read the 2 G card....only the Platinum had the 3 axis compass.

 

I started geocaching with an old etrex and it worked fine. It wasn't the fanciest or easiest to use, but it got the job done. You can find them under $50 on the secondary market now.

[+BAMBOOZLE]

The display latency issue isn't/wasn't unique to the Meridian units. Heck, I have a friend that doesn't slow down enough as he approaches a cache with his Oregon 450, and he's frequently turning around and headed back the 20+ feet or so to where I'm looking for the cache. It's all a matter of how much Kalman (or similar) smoothing is being done by the unit's firmware to your calculated position in order to keep the output from being jumpy.

 

The " overshoot " didn't happen when driving or walking slow. On a long fast walk I could go by 50' or so....all you had to do was slow down when you got within 100'. I have one of each Meridian Model but the Color I have 3 and the Platinum about 8. Once upgraded to the latest firmware ( 5.40 I think ) they all behave pretty much the same and will read the 2 G card....only the Platinum had the 3 axis compass.

 

I started geocaching with an old etrex and it worked fine. It wasn't the fanciest or easiest to use, but it got the job done. You can find them under $50 on the secondary market now.

 

Yes, like many we started with the yellow etrex ( still have it ). On advice from this forum 10 years ago I got the Meridian Platinum...best advice I ever got. It cost around $275 back then which would be a Montana + in today's money. I bought a new one for my wife and another for spare and then started picking them up on Ebay, many new in the box. The base model Meridian has a dark green inset, there is a Yellow base model, the Marine is Blue, the Color is White ( great for driving with backlight on ),the Gold is Gold, and Platinum is Silver/Grey. For " paperless " we used PDA's ....I could argue that the Platinum/PDA combo would be hard to beat today....you can travel the U.S. caching for months and never need a computer, internet connection, iPhone, etc.

[+gpsblake]

yea, I know we are getting off topic here, but boy do I remember everyone trying to get their hands on a Palm based unit to go "paperless" caching with. It was THE TOPIC here ten years ago.

 

For the OP, you can probably grab a Meridian and an a old Palm unit (I still have my z-22) for under 100 bucks, load an unlimited amount of caches restricted only by GC's download limits.

 

Why in the world did Magellan ever go away from that file system?