Absolute Newbie here

[+Merlin4610]

I have just "discovered" Geocaching and naturally have LOTS of questions! Which unit seems to be the most popular, Garmin or Magellan? Are there any Geocaching clubs in the Ft. Walton Beach area I can contact? Thanks for any help! Everyone was new at one time...

[+TEAM 360]

The Garmin vs. Magellan debate will go on forever. The best advice I can give you is to go to both of their websites and compare features of the GPS units. Shop, shop, shop before you buy and don't rush into anything. The only thing you should make sure you have is a GPS that comes with a computer cable so you can download waypoints, etc, when you get to that level. I myself started with a yellow Garmin Etrex (basic unit for geocaching), then went with a Magellan 315 )very accurate, easy to use, and not expensive), and now have a Magellan Meridian Platinum (all the extra features as well as an electronic compass, great built-in basemap and a nice big screen). Any of them will get you to the caches, it just depends on what features you want to get.

[mackelroy]

Team 360 is right about the Garmin/Magellan debate - it is likely to go on for a long time.

 

Personally, I started out by purchasing both a yellow etrex by garmin and a base sportrak (yellow) by magellan so I could do field comparisons of both. The etrex was a solid unit. I liked the convenience of the buttons on each side of the receiver. You get true one-hand operation with them. The sportrak can be operated with one hand as well, but it's a little trickier sometimes.

 

As far as user interfaces are concerned, the etrex is hands down the easier unit to read and understand. You'll pick it up and understand it in no time.

 

I personally think the etrex has a more solid feel to it. It just feels like it's well constructed. The sportrak wasn't a slouch in this regard, but the etrex felt a little better to me. I also liked the screen of the etrex - it's perfectly flat. The sportrak had a little bit of a "wave" to it. Small detail, but made a difference to me. The backlight on both are great, with the etrex offering one level and the sportrak offering two.

 

Reception-wise, they're both pretty good. Some will knock the patch antenna of the etrex becasue it loses signal in tree cover, but it wasn't all that noticeable to me. I took both on some bushwhacking geocache finds, and I thought the etrex outperformed the sportrak in terms of leading me right to the caches quickly. The sportrak lagged behind just a little (not a ton, we're talking about a minute lag). The sportrak has a quad-helix antenna, which I understand is more sensitive. It performed well in pulling in a signal.

 

Of course, it might not be fair to compare these two units. In addition to the quad-helix antenna, the sportrak has a built-in city database and is WAAS enabled, unlike the etrex. Depending on where you purchase them from, the difference in cost is about $30.

 

In the end, I took both back and picked up an etrex Legend. I liked the quality feel of the Garmin better than the Magellan, and I preferred it's performance in the field.

 

Don't know if this helps or not, but this is the process I recently went through. I guess I'm on the Garmin side, but I don't think you can really go wrong with either unit or maker.

[Kerry.]

Really one has to wonder about this thinking that the decision is between simply 2 makes?

 

Cheers, Kerry.

 

I never get lost everybody keeps telling me where to go

[+TotemLake]

A good place to go to for information on most brands GPSr's is www.gpsinformation.net.

Cheers!

TL