Hello From North Shields

[Raym59]

A big hello from another newbie . Realy looking forward to getting out there once i obtain myself a handheld gps.

A quick question if i may. Would a basic garmin etrex be any good or is something a bit more advanced be required

Thanks in advance

Ray

[+Panther&Pine]

A big hello from another newbie . Realy looking forward to getting out there once i obtain myself a handheld gps.

A quick question if i may. Would a basic garmin etrex be any good or is something a bit more advanced be required

Thanks in advance

Ray

The etrex line is a good starting line. What number/style do you have? We can give you more specific guidance knowing that.

[+MartyBartfast]

Any of the Etrex lines will get you to the cache, but I think maps are worth having, which means you're looking at the Etrex20 as the starting point. But if you have a smartphone, either iPhone, Android, or Blackberry, then you can probably use that with an app to get you started before splashing out on a dedicated GPS.

[+Graculus]

If you want more information about handheld GPS's and smart phones for geocaching see my resource website (link under my signature). The page On GPS and Phones will help you. It explains how they work, what the features are, maps you can use and so on.

 

When asking what is the best handheld GPS you'll get a lot of answers as everyone has their preference. But, the eTrex 20 is a good starting point. Full paperless caching, maps etc.

 

Why use a handheld instead of a phone? Handheld GPS's have much better battery life and are rugged and waterproof. Your phone doesn't match up to that!!

Why use a phone instead of a handheld GPS? You probably already have a suitable smart phone so buying the geocaching app is only a few £'s. Much cheaper option. Battery life? You can buy battery packs to help you out there.

 

Chris

Graculus

Volunteer UK Reviewer for geocaching.com

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[+duncanhoyle]

Hi Ray

If you can make it to one of our local meets you should get the chance to check out quite a few different units. The next event is on the 16th in Heddon (http://coord.info/GC5H0ZD). We were there in September and it was a good turnout of over 25 (25 attended logs but quite a few of those are teams of 2 or more). I think a few people there have Etrexes and there'll be plenty of other model around as well. Most of us will have a few different phone apps if you want to get help with them.

 

If you want to chat with North East cachers there's our forum at http://www.negeocaching.co.uk/. It doesn't get much traffic but a few of us prefer it, particularly for writing trip reports.

There's also a few Facebook groups if that's you thing - https://www.facebook.com/groups/munkeh/ if the North East one.

 

Duncan (from Heaton)

Edited December 3, 2014 by duncanhoyle

[CheesePasty]

Hi Ray, I am up in Seahouses, I'm new also and in the hunt for a gps, after asking questions and doing research I am looking for a Garmin etrex 20, I'm keeping my eye on amazon everyday hoping for a good deal.

[+Bear and Ragged]

Hi Ray, I am up in Seahouses, I'm new also and in the hunt for a gps, after asking questions and doing research I am looking for a Garmin etrex 20, I'm keeping my eye on amazon everyday hoping for a good deal.

 

Welcome!

 

If you register your new Garmin via http://www.geocaching.com/garmin/freetrial.aspx you can get a FREE 30 day trial Premium Membership. (Worth it, to get the most out of 'paperless' caching)

 

IF you load ANY files to the unit as a Basic Member, delete them before loading Premium Member files!

Edited December 6, 2014 by Bear and Ragged