+Team Firefly Posted September 17, 2003 Share Posted September 17, 2003 Hi all, I am new to the sport and have enjoyed borrowing my friends yellow Etrex to get me started. I am currently looking to purchase a GPS unit and need helping picking the right one for me. After using the yellow Etrex I have a feel for things I would like to have . 1. Mapping, roads, highways, towns,citys,etc... 2. ruggedized and some what water resistant 3. extra memory for downloading basic topo, or more maps. 4. electronic compass 5. Waas 6. PC cable of some kind. I want to be able to enter the coordinates and names of waypoints by some kind of software on my pc .I want to sync that info into the GPS. 7.Color , I wanted to look at color units but not needed. I haven't seen a color unit in a store yet! Anybody have one? What do they look like outdoors? Are they worth the money? Are they bright in dimmly lit areas? I don't know how much of this is even possible new to this and looking for some veteran help. thanks in advance, May the GPS be with you. Quote Link to comment
+Alan2 Posted September 17, 2003 Share Posted September 17, 2003 Etrex Vista fits your requirements. I have one and am pleased. You'll be hearing from other cachers using similar equipment. Don't forget about cost. These units with mapping software and accessories will run upwards of $500+ before you're done but you should figure around 300-350 to begin with. Good luck and be prepared to tear your hair out trying to figure which is the "right" unit. Alan Quote Link to comment
+New England n00b Posted September 17, 2003 Share Posted September 17, 2003 The eTrex Legend is a step down from there. It has a compass, but I don't know if it is electronic or not...*edit* Legend does not have electronic compass. It's about $200, and you'll need to buy the appropriate map CD, which costs about $100, depending on where you go. Otherwise, it meets all your requirements. (Legend has 8MB ram, Vista has 24MB, I *think*. I'm told that most people don't use all the Vistas memory. Dunno. Both are black & white units, by the way.) I'm happy with my legend, but as I get close to the target waypoint, I find funky things happen with bearing and distance numbers. Then again, I've only done 3 finds so far... *edit* Here is a Garmin eTrex comparison chart. --------------------- Don't hurt me. I'm new here. Quote Link to comment
+apersson850 Posted September 18, 2003 Share Posted September 18, 2003 The Vista has 24 MB of map memory available for the user. I frequently use all of it, to load the maps I want to have in the unit. On the other hand, I travel rather a lot, sometimes. Don't confuse the compass all units have (simulate), by tracking which direction you move. Some units, like the Vista but not the Legend, have magnetic compasses too, which can tell your bearings even at standstill. There are also Magellan units that will fit your requests. Depends a lot on how much you like to pay. Anders Quote Link to comment
+embra Posted September 18, 2003 Share Posted September 18, 2003 I'll take that as a cue, Anders... Give consideration to the Magellan Meridian line. You can get a refurbished Platinum at Harmony Computers for $199. It fits all your criteria except the color. However, there is a color version, although I think that lacks the electronic compass. A pleasing feature on the Meridians is the use of expandable SD memory cards. New mapping software should be coming out this fall. Max Often wrong but seldom in doubt Quote Link to comment
+Deckyon Posted September 18, 2003 Share Posted September 18, 2003 First of all, I need to qualify what I am going to write. I have the Magellan Meridian Platinum with the Magellan MapSend Topo and Streets/Dest. 1. Mapping, roads, highways, towns,citys,etc... The MeriPlat comes with a decent default map. Some may argue. With the Mapsend software, you can get highly detailed topographical and street maps. The topo will show trails, camping,parks and the like, the Streets/Dest shows resturants, exits and the like. You need to hit the website to get a proper listing of what each displays. 2. ruggedized and some what water resistant I have dropped my Meriplat in a puddle, shook it off and continues on. I have used it in a downpour and had no troubles. 3. extra memory for downloading basic topo, or more maps. I have a 128 MB SD card in mine with topo maps for all of KY and IN (62MB) and Streets/Dest for KY and IN (63MB). I have not tried the larger cards, but I have seen some posts where people have had formatting issues. Always use the Meriplat to format the card, and then use an SD Card Reader to transfer the maps. Works great, and you can then switch between streets and topo in the middle of your journey and still maintain track. 4. electronic compass The cumpas in the Meriplat is not dependant on you moving. It operates seperate of the tracking. More can be read on this on the Magellan website. I use it to align my telescope, as it is very precise, sp pointing the scope north is easy. 5. Waas The Meriplat has WAAS turned on, and I recommend leaving it on. Yes, it will down the battery faster, but I have used my GPS for 12 hours straight before changing batteries. They were not dead, but I wanted to make sure I had fresh, for the trip back. I also use the NiMH 1800Mh rechargeables, and I carry 3 complete sets at all times, one in the GPS, 2 in reserve. 6. PC cable of some kind. I want to be able to enter the coordinates and names of waypoints by some kind of software on my pc .I want to sync that info into the GPS. The Meriplat comes with the PC cable. It is not an extra cost. I use EasyGPS (Free) to manage my Waypoints. It is, as it says, Easy. Its big brother is ExpertGPS ($50). People will also recommend Quakemap ($10) and many others. Search the forums for the software. 7. Color , I wanted to look at color units but not needed. I haven't seen a color unit in a store yet! Anybody have one? What do they look like outdoors? Are they worth the money? Are they bright in dimmly lit areas? As I said, I have the Meriplat, which is not color. The Color looks nice, but the batteries go quicker, and I found the detailed maps to be more difficult to read, and not as detailed. Color is the only difference between the MeriColor and the MeriPlat, and I do not think it is worth the extra $150 (at the time of my purchase) In short, I highly recommend the Magellan Meridian Platinum. While I have not used other units, I cannot see giving up all that memory and the compass. You will find everyone will be very opinionated when it comes to their GPS, and they each have their pros and cons. I had specific wants in mine, including the ability to have very large detailed maps and a working independant compass. You have done a good job in listing your requirements and I hope you find a unit that will fit everything you want it to. Magellan's Website: http://www.magellangps.com/en --- Brad Buskey http://www.deckyon.com N38:17.281, W85:32.998 deckyon@NOSPAM.msn.com Magellan Meridian Platinum Quote Link to comment
+Team Firefly Posted September 21, 2003 Author Share Posted September 21, 2003 I have narrowed my choices down from all the units I looked at. Budget has the best of me right now. I am looking at the Etrex Legend or the Magellan Sporttrax.Both are in my price range.What do you guys think? Which one has the most of my requirements? May the GPS be with you. Quote Link to comment
+Rubberhead Posted September 21, 2003 Share Posted September 21, 2003 You should be able to find a new Legend for around $170 + shipping. Ducks - Flying, great tasting, geocaches of meat Quote Link to comment
Cybo Posted September 21, 2003 Share Posted September 21, 2003 Well, lets take a look: 1. Mapping, roads, highways, towns,citys,etc... Both have....(I assume your talking about the SporTrak Map and not the basic SporTrak) 2. ruggedized and some what water resistant Both are pretty much water resistant, although there have been reports of water in etrex battery compartments and some of ST cases cracking because of the screws. 3. extra memory for downloading basic topo, or more maps. The legend has 8mb, STMap has 6mb 4. electronic compass Etrex has no electronic compass, STMap has "NorthFinder" which appears to be one...or close to one... 5. Waas Yep. 6. PC cable of some kind. I want to be able to enter the coordinates and names of waypoints by some kind of software on my pc .I want to sync that info into the GPS. Both come with a PC interface cable. 7.Color , I wanted to look at color units but not needed. I haven't seen a color unit in a store yet! Anybody have one? What do they look like outdoors? Are they worth the money? Are they bright in dimmly lit areas? I don't know how much of this is even possible new to this and looking for some veteran help. I really dont think highly of colour screens. They use too much battery power and are sometimes harder to read. Note: All of this was based on my research as I too am going to get a gps soon. I decided to go for the non-mapping GPS 72 though Hope that helps! Quote Link to comment
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