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Newbie purchasing a unit, what brand?


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First off: I'm definitely a Garmin fan. Ever since my first GPS45 (way back in the mid-90s).

 

Recently, I've been using an eTrex, eTrex Legend, GPSV, and a GPSMAP 76.

 

For what it's worth, I think the GPSV is the best "all around" GPS made by anyone right now. It works great in the car (cheapest and smallest GPS to give turn-by-turn directions), comes with decent routing maps (be sure to get the free upgrade - much better). This saves some money because you get MapSource for transferring data and maps free.

 

It also works really well handheld; nice screen, receives signals really well, and comes with 12v car cord, data cable, AND car mount.

 

When I'm walking around I usually use my gpsmap 76, but that's because I usually have different maps loaded in it. If I were to only own one GPS unit there's NO question it would be the GPSV.

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The Venture is kind of a "souped up" basic eTrex. It has a higher-resolution display, SOME memory (not really enough for maps, just for points of interest), and their new "click stick" interface, which is easier to enter names than the basic eTrex, but not as easy as other (larger) models.

 

The Legend is the least expensive eTrex that you can legitimately load maps into.

 

Of course if you buy a Legend ($250) and even an inexpensive Garmin map ($90), you're almost to the price of a GPSV (because it comes with MapSource). But the V is bigger.

 

I really don't see much advantage in a Venture over just a basic eTrex. They do about the same thing. The Legend, however, does much more.

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I will probably get roasted to a crisp for saying this, but here goes, anyway.

 

The unit itself, the Venture, is a good unit and I think you'd be happy with one.

 

However, I checked out the auction on eBay, and I have a couple of red flags. (A friend of mine used to make her living buying and selling on eBay, so I learned a lot.)

 

First of all, this is an electronics auction, which is the auction type that has the highest rate of complaints.

 

Secondly, you are buying from someone with no feedback whatsoever.

 

Personally, my advice would be to only bid very low, if at all, for the unit. I would only recommend bidding a reasonably fair market value if you are buying from a seller who has a lot of good feedback.

 

Here's one I'd be a lot more comfortable bidding on: Item # 1368666763. That seller has a few negative feedbacks, but only about 1%, which isn't bad.

 

Best of luck, Shannah

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An Ebay Garmin GPS V just *may* end up out of my price range. I would like to get a good GPS with the road map 'stuff'. Any other suggestions? Thanks a ton. And if someone wants to add me to their MSN and talk further on this, which would be great, my MSN is bane221@hotmail.com

 

Thanks!

 

-Ryan H.

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I'm relatively new to geocaching as well and wanted to make a good choice on my first gps, so I bought two the Magellan Gold and the etrex Legend (both ~$250) so I could do a side by side comparison. I posted by likes and issues earlier today, but in essence the Magellan Gold keeps a better sattelite fix in tree cover. I did like the size and ergonomics of the etrex, but the Magellan was easier to use and seemed to be a tad more responsive. Reponses from my posting tend to confirm my findings.

 

I took back the etrex and kept the magellan.

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It is a good unit with some mapping, plus all the accesories will work with the GPS V, if and when you can afford to get one. The 3plus is an earlier verson of the GPS V, but it only has 1.4 megs of ram. Antennas, cables and mounts for the 3plus will work with the GPS V. Etrex units cant use the accesories of the V.

 

The eMap is a good unit too. You can buy the basic version, and then buy a memory card and other stuff, when you get the money.

 

5_Rubik.gifMy home page about GPS units and information

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I forgot to mention the eMap in my previous post. The screen resolution (total pixels) is less than the V, but it has a nice big screen, memory isn't an issue, and it seems like a really good deal.

 

I wanted a handheld mapping GPS to go with my V, and decided on the gpsmap 76, mostly because the screen resolution was better, it floated (makes me nervous with my V on our raft - lol), and it's newer. But I would love to pick up a eMap cheap as a backup - great unit, and you should be able to get one pretty cheap (I think they're officially discontinued now).

 

As far as reception, the eTrex models (all of them) use a smaller antenna than the 76 series and the GPSV, 3+, etc. They're designed to be extremely small, and there are sacrifices made to do this.

 

Also, on the 3+. It seems like a good unit, but has VERY small memory (1.4M, compared to 19M on the V), and the screen resolution is considerably lower than the V. It also won't do turn-by-turn directions, etc.

 

On the eBay thing - I bought my V from Wal-Mart ($399), and my gpsmap 76 off eBay ($265 on a "buy it now"). I bought it from someone who was selling quite a few of them, and had a very good rating. I noticed the "up for bid" gpsmap 76's were going for $260-$300, so I snagged the buy it now, since I was going to pay that anyway!

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I just upgraded from the Garmin III+ to the V. Both have mapping however the III+ does not interface with the maps, they’re simply overlaid on the screen image. The V will actually consider the map data when displaying your position. For example, if I’m on the bike trail that’s 25 to 50 feet from SR16, the display will (incorrectly) show that I’m on the highway. There’s a way to turn off that feature but I’m still learning the unit. Both will allow map and software updates. You will not be sorry if you get a III+ but make absolutely sure that it’s a III+ and not the older III. I’m not a huge fan of E-Bay and recommend you try a GPS dealer, search the other threads for links. The Etrex line does NOT allow you to attach an external antenna, a huge turn-off for me for a number of reasons.

 

Apologies may apply:

1. If this has been addressed already.

2. for missspelllingg any werds or improper grammer using.

3. If I don't have enough "finds" to answer a question.

4. If this topic doesn’t give Magicman anything to smartass me for

5. Wrong forum category

6. All other offenses real or imagined.

 

><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

What is the price of experience, do men buy it for a song,

Or wisdom for a dance in the street.................

 

[This message was edited by Criminal on July 24, 2002 at 01:14 PM.]

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Both Garmin and Magellan make excellant units. The question is not which brand to buy, but which unit to buy. The lower end units have less features and may not get as good a reception in tree cover or rocky areas. I have used both the Sportrak Pro and the Garmin GPS V and find them both to be excellent receivers. I would also be very careful spending that kind of money on E-Bay. If you check elsewhere you will find several people that have been stung that way. Check Amazon.com or your local sporting goods stores. It's better to spend $20 more and be sure you get what you pay for.

 

Lost? Keep going. Your making good time anyway!!!

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quote:
Originally posted by bane221:

Ok, now after reading I see you can turn a palm pilot into a GPS, is that a good idea? Better bargain? More bang for the buck?


 

We too are new to Geocaching and just went through the same decision process. We go the Magellan companion for our Visor handheld. After finding 7 caches with it - we returned it.

 

Basically the idea is great (and if you read the board you'll find many who love such a set up), but the negatives were just too great for us:

 

1) The software that came with it (NavCompanion and MapCompanion) were awful: Missing many features, and buggy.

 

2) The free 3rd party software wasn't great or crashed. The $ 3rd party software was just okay, and the stopped making it such a bargin. (Note: We couldn't run GeoNiche - which needs PalmOS 3.3 or better - Visor Deluxe runs 3.0.5 - that might be just the ticket.)

 

3) We worried it couldn't take the abuse even mild geocaching would put on it. In the case of the our Visor model you can't put the hard-shell cover back on when the GPS is installed - we were faced with either holding the unit while hiking or putting it away in a pack unprotected, or removing the GPS to put the cover on. ICK. Even with the case on, one doesn't really want to drop a handheld on a hiking trail!

 

After much reading we concluded: a) a GPS that can map was worth it for geocaching, ;) of the newer, smaller, "out-doorsey-rugged" units the Magellan SporTrak line was better than the Garman eTrex line.

 

The biggie was this: lots of people compalined that the eTrex lost fix under trees. Indeed, the SporTrak has better integral antenna than the eTrex... And if the GPS can't keep a lock, then it doesn't matter how much better the other features are! (Actually, the high end eTrex and SporTrak Pro have about the same feature set!)

 

We went for a SporTrak Pro and the MapSend Topo USA map software. Will let you know how it goes when we hunt our first caches with it this weekend.

 

Lastly, I didn't find that the eBay prices for these newer units were really any better than the on-line GPS stores.

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I use a Garmin 12. It seems to work fine. I've never used any of the etrex series but i've heard the vista is great ( but pricey ). Depends on how you are going to us it. I use the fugawi mapping program to get the closest access when I'm in strange country.

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