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Need a new GPS


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Our Magellan 510 is dead, it's the first and only geocaching GPS we've had. So I really don't have too much intel into picking a new one. I was looking at the Magellan 710 vs the Garmin 64st possibly. Don't really care about the cost, just want something geocaching friendly with excellent coverage and a compass. I'm a bells & whistles type of person. :) Would love any input, thanks!

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Our Magellan 510 is dead, it's the first and only geocaching GPS we've had. So I really don't have too much intel into picking a new one. I was looking at the Magellan 710 vs the Garmin 64st possibly. Don't really care about the cost, just want something geocaching friendly with excellent coverage and a compass. I'm a bells & whistles type of person. :) Would love any input, thanks!

 

The smartphone in your pocket will make that old 3" screen a distant memory.

 

Unlimited track/cache storage, huge display, and does a lot more than any of the bells/whistles available on stand alone devices.

 

Yes, it works offline.

Yes, there are rugged models.

Lots of yes answers, very few no 's.

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Lots of yes answers, very few no 's.

 

WAAS?

 

Congratulations you're two percent closer to a given location than the guy rocking "just" gps+glonass!

 

I find WAAS nearly doubles accuracy.

 

While doubling sounds great, but what device/devices are you comparing, and what accuracies?

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We have brand new Samsung Galaxies, and while we do have insurance I just don't want to deal with the headache of dropping it and cracking something in some of the interesting hiding spots. Plus the whole battery issue is annoying. I was leaning towards the 64st BUT I wasn't sure about the push buttons so I ended up getting the Oregon 650t. We bring the baby with, so I'm not too terribly worried about raindrops bothering the touch screen since we probably won't be doing anything in the rain. But we will see :)

 

The WAAS debate is interesting, I'll have to compare the Garmin to our phones and see what kind of differences we get out there.

Edited by linnaete
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Using a modern dedicated GPS with WAAS on and off in poor reception conditions, the accuracy will double in my experience. If you are standing out in a big field, it is not a huge difference, but then it is easy to find a cache...

 

So, what's that in feet or meters?

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Using a modern dedicated GPS with WAAS on and off in poor reception conditions, the accuracy will double in my experience. If you are standing out in a big field, it is not a huge difference, but then it is easy to find a cache...

 

So, what's that in feet or meters?

 

On an open field, 3 meters without WAAS, 2 meter with. It is when the conditions get bad and the accuracy degrades that it make the difference in a long, long hunt or a quick one. Searching a 10 meter radius circle instead of a 5 meter one is a big difference. The phones work and I use them, but it reminds me of the days before they threw up the new WAAS birds. If I'm in the bush in heavy trees next to a cliff, I sure want to pull out the dedicated unit and get pretty frustrated if the phone is all I have. Maybe there are phones that are as good, but I have not used one and my "guess" that losing that WAAS signal is a big factor.

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Using a modern dedicated GPS with WAAS on and off in poor reception conditions, the accuracy will double in my experience. If you are standing out in a big field, it is not a huge difference, but then it is easy to find a cache...

 

So, what's that in feet or meters?

 

On an open field, 3 meters without WAAS, 2 meter with. It is when the conditions get bad and the accuracy degrades that it make the difference in a long, long hunt or a quick one. Searching a 10 meter radius circle instead of a 5 meter one is a big difference. The phones work and I use them, but it reminds me of the days before they threw up the new WAAS birds. If I'm in the bush in heavy trees next to a cliff, I sure want to pull out the dedicated unit and get pretty frustrated if the phone is all I have. Maybe there are phones that are as good, but I have not used one and my "guess" that losing that WAAS signal is a big factor.

 

 

I haven't seen a difference between 75mph on the open interstate or 25mph through tree covered single track.

 

The only places I've found that hops coords are deep in canyons, against very tall walls (sometimes), or caves.

 

Oddly enough, in the basement with 70 foot trees, I'm seeing +/- 10 feet accuracy. Maybe waas could get me +/- 5 ?

Edited by ohgood
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For best reception in gps get the gps/glonass combo.....set it too gps/glonass with Waas On... amazing accuracy.... I use a Monterra which is awesome..compared to my wifes Oregon 600T or my Montana 610 or older 600T I owned... The glonass is the way to go now. Phones have it as well now..at least some of them. My wifes Oregon does do a nice job for what it is for sure..that would be my second choice.

 

I'm in the same group not to use a phone.. only dedicated gps... many pro's not much con's.. I've used all Garmin handhelds since 1998.. many of them.. This Monterra is the best.. so far. It's larger but no issue carrying it in my pouch..and receives A1 while stowed away due to Glonass/Waas. When in the woods or canyons you need all the help you can get.. the processor will select which is the best for making the data you need.

Edited by capt caper
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