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On a budget - what GPS to buy?


elfranko

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Hi all - new to the game but raring to go. But I've hit a snag - I've no idea wich GPS to get. I just need one for Geocaching, that's it, so it doesn't need anything fancy like air pressure or how high I am above sea level, just need it for caching that's it. Also I'm on a bit of a budget. New baby etc. Finally I'm in the UK if that helps.

 

thanks for any info or help!

 

frank

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Right now, Amazon has the Garmin Legend on sale for 187. Garmin is offering a $50 rebate on it, bringing the total price to 137 (with free shipping). I ordered mine two days ago. icon_biggrin.gif I definitely think it's a hot deal, considering that it's almost 50% off the retail price, and only 37 dollars more than the basic yellow model, but has a lot more features.

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quote:
Originally posted by Renegade Knight:

I've heard that the Garmin Legend is a deal especially if you can snag it with a rebate or two.

 

ANY modern GPS is enough for geocaching.

 

=====================

Wherever you go there you are.


 

I own a Garmin Legend, but I have been doing a little research to get my son a GPS the cheapest that I can to just geocache, and I have found that the Garmin Gecko series seems to fit the bill. I myself would never give up my Legend, and with the rebate it is a great deal.

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quote:
Originally posted by Turtle3863:

quote:
Originally posted by Renegade Knight:

I've heard that the Garmin Legend is a deal especially if you can snag it with a rebate or two.

 

ANY modern GPS is enough for geocaching.

 

=====================

Wherever you go there you are.


 

I own a Garmin Legend, but I have been doing a little research to get my son a GPS the cheapest that I can to just geocache, and I have found that the Garmin Gecko series seems to fit the bill. I myself would never give up my Legend, and with the rebate it is a great deal.


 

If you have to go for a Gecko 201 minimum for the ability to add the data cable.

 

=====================

Wherever you go there you are.

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Know how things are tight with the new baby around. I would go for the bare bones. Go for a Gecko 101 or just an Etrex. You don't have to have a data cable, you don't have to have maps, you don't have to even have a GPS system as some here don't have. Decide on what you want to spend on one and then go from there. Especially if the functions don't make a difference to you and you will only be using it to geocache. We don't have a cable nor maps. We do have a Gecko 201 that you can hook a cable up to it and then to the computer. It hasa few more things than the 101, but not a whole bunch if you are a going to cache on the weekend or something. If you decide to get more into it, then invest in something more later. A Gecko is about $100 (US) and the Etrex basic not too far from that.

 

I was on a budget too, but wanted extra bit of little capability later if I wnated to do the extra things. But it was not necessary. Spend less on the GPS and more on the things you leave in the cache! icon_biggrin.gif

 

Brian Wood

Woodsters Outdoors

http://www.woodsters.com

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Just looked at the Legend on Amazon and they have it for $199 plus a $50 mail in rebate.

 

You also have to decide whether or not if you want to wait around for the rebate also. AS someone else stated, a lot of people forget or procrastinate and don't send in the rebate and end up paying the higher price. I've done that before. I've also done rebates before and have to see my money in less than a couple months. You also have to do it by July 6th as well. Or at least purchase by then. The rebate is good on other models like the Summit and Vista as well.

 

On whatever you decide, I'm sure you will enjoy it! Good luck and have fun!

 

Brian Wood

Woodsters Outdoors

http://www.woodsters.com

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I highly recommend going ahead and opting for a unit with the option of connecting it to a computer through a data cable. Entering a few waypoints by hand isn't too bad, but if you really get into this sport, I think you'll find the extra $10-20 cost for the data connection to be well worth it! I am currently using the eTrex Venture, which serves all my geocaching needs more than adequately. The only thing it doesn't have that I wish it did is a real compass...it computes your current heading based on your previous and current positions, so it doesn't work if you're standing still or turning in place (something I do a lot while geocaching!) More expensive units have built-in magnetic compasses, but I don't think it's worth the extra money for those. If you find that you need precise directional information, you can find decent compasses pretty cheap at any sporting goods store.

 

---

Grove City College

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quote:
Originally posted by Woodsters Outdoors:

You don't have to have a data cable.....


 

While you do not physically have to have the data cable to cache, you really do need one if you plan to do more than 1 cache a week.

 

Entering 5 or 10 waypoints by moving a cursor around a screen to enter numbers is not only a royal pain, but the first time you mis-enter one you'll realize you do need the data cable.

 

data cable - don't do caching without it........

 

DustyJacket

Not all those that wander are lost. But in my case... icon_biggrin.gif

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Harmony Computers currently has the Magellan SporTrak for $135.00 and Magellan is offering a $50.00 rebate, bringing the net cost down to about $85.00!

 

They also have the Magellan Meridian for $149.00, which with rebate would come down to net 99.00!

 

Check out the Magellan website to see the features of each, but I believe that both will allow you to connect via data cable while the meridian provides more memory and the ability to expand by installing SD memory cards.

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One thing to keep in mind is that you can geocache without a GPS. Go to www.lostoutdoors.com , get a map of the cache area and/or a satelite image and you should be able to find the cache (works best with caches where there are other features on the map, ie. urban caches). Try a few caches with just maps and see if you like it. If you do, cruise ebay for a good deal. I bought a Garmin Venture for just under $100 on ebay.

 

Good luck.

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The eTrex Legend seems to be the best deal going these days. Check out Amazon.com. It's the best bang for the buck.

 

quote:
You don't have to have a data cable, you don't have to have maps,

 

You don't have to have a GPS either, but if you plan to spend any time geocaching, the data cable is essential and mapping makes your unit much more versatile.

 

"Au pays des aveugles, les borgnes sont rois"

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Entering the coordinates on the Gecko 201 are rather easy. Matter of fact after you enter one digit, it wil ladvance to the next. You just hit "ok" to make a change to itor the arrow key to move to the next one if it doesn't need to be changed.

 

I disagree about the fact of if you are going to do more than one cache a week. I printed up about 7 or 8 caches last night. After they were printed, I entered all of them manually. Took all of about 10 minutes at the most. Spend almost that much time just doing this email.

 

Brian Wood

Woodsters Outdoors

http://www.woodsters.com

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I've used a Garmin 3 plus, and really haven't been very happy w/ how badly the signal "jumps" around in the woods. I never thought about people using GPSes in urban areas until I found this website, and I imagine the 3 plus would work fine in that type of setting. But IMO it's a waste of money if you're in the woods and need any kind of accuracy.

 

I've read a few reviews about helix antenna on Magellans, and just ordered a Magellan SporTrak Pro. Haven't used it yet so can't offer a comparison. But I just can't see anyone who plans to use the GPS in a wooded area using the 3 plus. It just is NOT reliable.

 

Crossing my fingers that this fancy-schmancy helix antenna will cut the mustard! I got it at a STEAL by buying off eBay. It was cheaper than the Garmin 3 pluses and the Garmin Legend. I had also considered buying the Garmin Vista because of the altimeter/compass, but finally decided an altimeter wouldn't do me much good if the signal was jumping all over hell and high water.

 

Ability to get a signal is my top priority.

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quote:
Originally posted by Renegade Knight:

quote:
Originally posted by Turtle3863:

quote:
Originally posted by Renegade Knight:

I've heard that the Garmin Legend is a deal especially if you can snag it with a rebate or two.

 

ANY modern GPS is enough for geocach

 

=====================

Wherever you go there you are.


 

I own a Garmin Legend, but I have been doing a little research to get my son a GPS the cheapest that I can to just geocache, and I have found that the Garmin Gecko series seems to fit the bill. I myself would never give up my Legend, and with the rebate it is a great deal.


 

If you have to go for a Gecko 201 minimum for the ability to add the data cable.

 

=====================

Wherever you go there you are.


 

The monster-in-la)...umm...I mean mother-in-law just bought a yellow etrex at best buy for about $84. I told her to take in the target add and they will match the price plus 10% of the difference! She is quite happy!! icon_smile.gif Decent deal if all you want the gps for is geo caching!!!

I use the yellow etrex and I plan to upgrade very soon! I'm looking at the legend, but I have to do my homework to be sure I'm buying the right unit that has all the capabilities that I want! I like the mapping features! icon_smile.gif. I need to do a little more research before I make a decision. Any suggestions from the "veterans"??? What do you like/dislike about various models??? Money is not tight but I don’t want to spend $500 smakaroo's either!

 

Also a local (might be national??) boat shop has the best deal on the garmin etrex cable I've seen so far. Around 20-22 bones! I do believe they are national...I'll hunt up a URL when I get time and post it. I do believe this cable is compatible with all etrex units but I could be wrong. I was going to make my own cable, but I couldn't find a compatible Garmin plug locally anywhere. They are available on the web for about 6 bucks but with me paying shipping and buying the other plug and cable, it does not seem worth it. Anyone with more knowledge on this subject, feel free to correct me. icon_smile.gif

 

Spzzmoose & "the monsters"

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Thought you might apreciate a post relevent to being in the UK.

 

globalpositioningsystems Have pretty much the best prices that I can find in this country for GPSrs, (go to the recreational section) The site also has a handy abillity to compair one unit against another (or indeed 4 others) So it'll help you make up your mind. The Yellow Etrex seems to be a popular cheap starting point. It is cheaper than the Gekko 201 here.

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quote:
I printed up about 7 or 8 caches last night. After they were printed, I entered all of them manually. Took all of about 10 minutes at the most.

 

When I discovered EasyGPS, I downloaded the coordinates of 300+ caches within 50 miles of my house. Took 3 minutes at the most.

 

"Au pays des aveugles, les borgnes sont rois"

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That's great Briansnat, but he stated he is on a budget and that he only wanted to use the system for Geocaching. I understand his sentiments exactly with having a new baby and things being tight. The point I was making, was that he doesn't have to connect the computer and he doesn't have to have a more expensive unit. He can do it with a bare bones GPS easily. It's no problem entering the coordinates manually. If you do one a day (7 a week), then you could enter the waypoints easily within 10 minutes or so. One of the things that I see that would be a problem about entering so many waypoints at once, would be teh fact that caches could be removed or inactive. If you have so many downloaded and then you just decide t ogo out and search for one or your out and you see one is close and go looking for it and can't find it and then log on and see it's been removed or is inactive. Then it would be a pain in the butt. I could see the gentleman who did the week long geocaching thing to do that. Because you are talking about a period of a week. But how soon will you get 300 caches done? Does the easygps remove them from the GPs as well or do you have to that manually?

 

Brian Wood

Woodsters Outdoors

http://www.woodsters.com

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True. You do not HAVE to have a data cable to start caching, but why get a unit that NEVER will allow you to use a data cable. Upgrading GPS receivers later will be more expensive in the long run.

 

Also, elfranko said he was on a budget, but you don't know how tight. And, being in the UK, prices will be different.

Why not let people add their thoughts so elfranko can make his choice, instead of arguing with people who have experience in this and perhaps have some insights that you don't have?

 

(BTW- EasyGPS doea allow you to create, save, or clear waypoints, routes, and tracks.)

 

DustyJacket

Not all those that wander are lost. But in my case... icon_biggrin.gif

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quote:

If you have so many downloaded and then you just decide to go out and search for one or your out and you see one is close and go looking for it and can't find it and then log on and see it's been removed or is inactive. Then it would be a pain in the butt....But how soon will you get 300 caches done? Does the easygps remove them from the GPs as well or do you have to that manually?


 

I probably will never do all 300, but it's nice to have the waypoints there. It's great for impromptu cache hunts. You're shopping, visiting relatives, whatever and you just flick on the GPS to see what caches are nearby. Yes, once in a while they may be missing, but it's no big deal. I'm not going to go for one that involves a 3 mile hike without first checking the cache page, but for one that's a short hop, it doesn't bother me if its gone. How do I know if it's a short hop? I check the map on the screen.

 

Another use for the data cable is to get software upgrades for your unit. Garmin periodically upgrades their software to fix problems and add new features. Without the data cable, you have to send your unit back to Garmin to have it upgraded.

 

But my original point was why buy a bare bones GPS when you can get a top shelf model (with data cable) for about the same price?

 

"Au pays des aveugles, les borgnes sont rois"

 

[This message was edited by BrianSnat on June 11, 2003 at 06:48 AM.]

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And that is why you use pocket queries, and the data cable, and easyGPS/expertGPS:

 

to get weekly or daily up-to-date lists of caches. I get a new list every Thursday so for my weekend I have the latest info on the caches in the areas I am possibly traveling to. No "old news" of arcived or missing caches......

 

DustyJacket

Not all those that wander are lost. But in my case... icon_biggrin.gif

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quote:
I've read a few reviews about helix antenna on Magellans, and just ordered a Magellan SporTrak Pro. Haven't used it yet so can't offer a comparison. But I just can't see anyone who plans to use the GPS in a wooded area using the 3 plus. It just is NOT reliable.


 

The GPS III+ also has a quad helix antenna and I know several people who successfully use them for geocaching in wooded areas with no complaints.

 

"Au pays des aveugles, les borgnes sont rois"

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Dusty, Was not arguing to the fact about peoples inputs. Was debating the fact that people said a cable is a must. Plain and simply, it's not. As far as his tight budget, you are correct. His tight budget may allow $500, mine may allow $5. I was taking from my experience as a father of a young child of what being on a tight budget and allowing funds for recreation purposes, especially those purposes that will mainly suit me, are.

 

Now BrianSnat remarked about the fact that the cable allows you to update the software of the GPS itself. That I will go along with and agree that a unit that accepts a cable is good choice. I disagree about that it's needed for entering waypoints, unless you are a supermegacacher.

 

Everyone likes(for the most part), the GPSr they have and stand behind it. They all recommend it. That's a good thing. But trying to sway the opinion of a person knowing not that much (including me) about which unit to get is ridiculous. The best answer to questions like that are to give the facts of the units themselves, unbiasedly. The decision should be left up to the buyer. I'm not saying your forcing one to purchase something but your influencing them to maybe purcahse something more or less than they need or want, or can even afford. It's like going to a car dealership. The salesperson tells you that you don't want the car you are looking at, you want the more expensive one. They will tell you that you need something, that you may use in the long run and that you may find a comfort. But you might of been just as happy in the long run with the lesser one. I've bought cars like that before. Could I do without powerlocks, powerwindows, and sunroof? Yep (guess my wife couldn't ..hehe). I do without it everyday with my Jeep. Of course I have the ultimate sunroof. Could we do without the 4x4 of the Jeep? When we lived down south, yes. After moving up here this winter and having 10 ft of snow this year and with the hill we live on, it was a necessity. As the car with the powerlocks and windows couldn't go up the hill. Then there's the camper we bought. We bought it on what we needed then. After a while we did decide that maybe we should of opted for a different one with more stuff. But we can still camp in it and it serves it's purpose. Those things were not necessities but more of luxuries. We also bought what we could afford at the time.

 

That is good that easygps allows you to remove the waypoints as well. I understand BrianSnat idea of doing it every thursday for the weekend. Just hope one isn't pulled on Friday...lol just kidding.

 

It was not an arguement but a disgreement. We all disagree. You just did with me! icon_biggrin.gif

 

Brian Wood

Woodsters Outdoors

http://www.woodsters.com

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Also, you are correct. Updating could be a costly thing later on. So why buy one that costs more? Also the fact that the person may do it once and hate it. Or that they may no longer be able to do it. I would rather be out $5 than $10 in the long run. And when they upgrade, they may want something bigger and better than the one you stated they should get.

 

Brian Wood

Woodsters Outdoors

http://www.woodsters.com

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I don't want to extend the "argument", but here are a few of my initial observations after only a couple weeks of playing with my GPS and hunting down only a few caches ... in otherwords, I am a complete newbie and there may be techniques or practices I am missing, but, here goes:

 

I have a Magellan Meridian Platinum with a data cable. I have used the data cable to upgrade the firmware, load topographic maps, and upload waypoints via EasyGPS. I have also entered a bunch of waypoints manually.

 

I don't find it cumbersome at all to enter waypoints manually. I think I could enter 10 waypoints in about 3 minutes or so. Don't know how others work, but my GPS simply displays "fields" for each of the coordinates and you use the arrow keys to cycle the individual digits up and down. Very quick and easy and not time consuming.

 

EasyGPS certainly makes things nice in some regards. I downloaded all of the caches in Maryland and uploaded them to my GPS in a matter of minutes. I really liked this and the kids really thought it was cool to watch the GPS was we drove towards our destination and note other caches "floating by". However, I found it kinda cluttered things up a bit on the small display of my GPS ... maybe there is a way to remove all of the waypoints other than my goto waypoint? I don't know. And of course I have to have the GPS at the computer in order to do this, which hasn't alwasy been the case so far.

 

But I think as Brian Wood pointed out, the question was more of "is the data cable stuff NECESSARY" and it obviously isn't ... is it NICE, yeah? And it is the exact kind of feature that caused me to look at my initial $100 budget and bump it up .. and then I saw memory capacity and then SD cards and then digital compass and baromters and fix times and on and on and on and before I knew it I had about quadrupled my budget before I made my purchse... but, hey, when I finally purchased I could still tell my wife that I kept to my budget. Yeah, it's all twisted logic but whatever helps justify these cool toys. icon_wink.gif

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In terms of data cables, the eTrex Legend from Amazon that I mentioned earlier actually comes with the PC cable. (Is it standard that most units don't?) Unfortunately, the sale price I ordered mine for is no longer current, but it's only $12 more, and still a really good deal if you order before the rebate runs out in July. If you're stuck in a really tight budget, the yellow eTrex for $84(?) sounds to be about the cheapest you can get. (At least the cheapest price I've heard.) The downside is that you may end up wanting to upgrade later, thus spending more money in the longrun.

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Dang GPS_Brian (like the name by the way), I couldn't find anything you said to "argue" or "disagree" with. icon_rolleyes.gif

 

I stated the 7 or 8 in 10 minutes and that was being generous. I was counting the time I took to print out the pages also I think.

 

chii, you are right as well as everyone that stated about the Legend being the price it is. At least the "in the longrun" price. Rebates tend to change our attitude towards things. We see $50 mail in rebate and we just think $50 off the price, which are 2 different things. If someone was on a budget and $149 was "pushing it" already, then an original purchase of $199 is out of the question, even thought in a couple months you should have the $50 back. One could wait and try to scrounge the $50, but it may take them longer than some to do that and the rebate will be over as you stated it ends in July (July 6th I believe). I agree the Etrex Yellow Basic model would probably be a good one to start off with. I think it and the Gecko 101 are probably 2 of the lowest priced around. They are lowest priced of Garmins at least. Guess it all depends on what you want with it. I know when I was looking around on the internet at them and asking for suggestions that many people suggested the Gecko 201. Some of the more experienced people liked the smallness of it and I have to admit it is small. Fits in my pocket easily like my tiny flip cell phone. The screen is small as well, but amazingly has a good resolution with it. I was worried about that at first as the size didn't matter.

 

It all depends how you want to go about it. If you want a map on your screen then get one with the maps. Speaking of that, there probably needs to be a little clarification. When they say maps, they mean actual road map type. The ones that aren't map GPSr's do have a "map" feature ,at least my gecko 201 does that once you input the waypoint it will plaace it on the map, but there are no indicators as to what road or anything on there. It's a blank screen with your waypoint and your home base. Mine has a little man that walks as you move on it. The closer you get to the waypoint, the closer he walks to it on the screen. But it won't tell you if you are on a road or anything or a trail.

 

Brian Wood

Woodsters Outdoors

http://www.woodsters.com

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quote:
Originally posted by BrianSnat:

The GPS III+ also has a quad helix antenna and I know several people who successfully use them for geocaching in wooded areas with no complaints.


 

Oh great, that was a let-down to read. I didn't realize the 3plus had helix antenna. Here I thought I was upgrading by getting the Magellan. I'm glad the 3plus works for some people. I spend at least 40 hrs/wk in the woods in a work capacity, and I can vouch that it has given us poor coordinates, dropped signals, and is basically unreliable in some forested locations, included ridgetops and highpoints that have no line-of-sight blockage except for the trees. I was hoping the SporTrak Pro would eliminate the reliability problem....

 

Anyway, thanks for your comments.

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Hi all! Wow! Did I kick up the pigeons or what?? lol The power of the internet huh? Well okay, to help you out a bit more, I am in the UK, so I am looking for stuff in £ because buying stuff in the US and getting it shipped will be very expensive. With regards to my budget, I am looking around £100/$130 US, may be +£20 more. I won't be using the device for anything else other than caching - we don't sail or rock climb or navigate by the stars or anything. icon_smile.gif And as I have three daughters, one a new born, the caching will only be a weekend thing - it looks a great thing to do - nice drive, nice walk in the country, find a cache and then find a nice pub for a afternoon meal. Lovely.

 

Frank

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Frank - good luck. If I were you, I'd contact some people posting in the UK board for the best places to get a GPSr.

 

It would be very interesting to hear woodster's or gps_brian's comments on the need for a data cable once they have done 20 or 30 finds and DNFs. Perhaps their opinion would shift a tad. Especially after mis-entering a coordinate or two.

 

DustyJacket

Not all those that wander are lost. But in my case... icon_biggrin.gif

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elfranko, thanks for letting us in on the budget! icon_biggrin.gif With that amount you have more options. You can stil lget a basic unit or you could opt for one at your budget level with a bit more stuff like the legend they spoke of. You have to decide for yourself as to what you will need and how much you want to spend.

 

Dusty, that's why I take the printout with me on the trip. If I can not find the cache, then I check the coordinates on the sheet with what I have entered in my unit. Also when entering them, I always reread them to make sure I have them correct, before putting the next one in. It's not brain surgery. Yes there can be errors done when entering them and I could originally overlook. I am human. But data cables can malfunction as well as computers and the GPS itself.

 

I really don't think that whether I've found 20, 50 or 100, a data cable is not a necessity.

 

Honestly I don't need another cable hooked up to my computer as it is. I already have a printer, scanner, webcam, digital card reader, etc... Just adding more to the computer adds more headache and a cause for conflict.

 

Brian Wood

Woodsters Outdoors

http://www.woodsters.com

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Woodster - I ended up buying and extra card w/2 more COM ports. Don't know why they didn't use USB.

 

I am paperless these days - I get Pocket Quesries, and the waypoints go to my GPS and the cache pages go to my Palm PDA. I can cache on impulse.

 

As I said before, a cable is not absolutely necessary, but don't rule it out completely. Eventually you'll want one.......

 

DustyJacket

Not all those that wander are lost. But in my case... icon_biggrin.gif

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quote:
as previously posted by woodsters outdoors:

Honestly I don't need another cable hooked up to my computer as it is. I already have a printer, scanner, webcam, digital card reader, etc... Just adding more to the computer adds more headache and a cause for conflict


 

This is easy to say that is till you have to enter a whole day/weekend of cache coordinates. The cable is great for this as well as eliminating any errors in entering the coords by hand. If you enter one digit wrong, you will be looking a lot harder for the cache!!

 

Also, lets say you want to download your tracklog to your PC, there is no ther way to do this unless you have the cable. Having the cable may not be a necessity, but it sure makes everything else a whole lot easier icon_smile.gif

 

Kar

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Other Uses:

I update Topographical maps for the USGS (Volunteer) and I download my tracklogs to accurately map new roads/trails, and waypoints to accurately place new buildings and other changed features.

 

Not geocaching, but a nice activity.

 

DustyJacket

Not all those that wander are lost. But in my case... icon_biggrin.gif

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Ok, now we are getting somewhere. I agree that a cable can be useful for different things. But to just go out a hit a cache or two on the weekend it's not really needed.

 

The way you work with the Pocket PC or PDa Dusty makes sense for what you do and for the USGS bit.

 

Team Shibby, see my post about 4 posts up. I answered that already about entering it manually.

 

As far entering a whole day or weekends part, how many caches do you hit on a typical day? Or weekend? Thats a good question for everyone, think I will start a topic on that.

 

Brian Wood

Woodsters Outdoors

http://www.woodsters.com

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A cable isn't a MUST, but you would be astonished how much easier it will make life. Toggling those little buttons to input all the digits of a waypoint gets annoying if you do more than a few in a day. We have an etrex cable that doubles as a car power adapter -- even if we never downloaded coordinates, it saves pointless battery drain. Amazon, for some reason, often sells this dual pc/cigarette lighter cable very cheap. (Though not right now, sorry.)

 

As for what unit to get on a budget -- with the various sales and rebates going on, you can find a bunch of different units for approximately $100 or even less. Honestly, I wouldn't sweat finding the Perfect GPS too much. They all do the job. You should probably decide one thing ahead of time: whether you consider some mapping capability essential. (They'll all plot your track and some waypoints for you -- I'm talking about actual city maps, or topo maps.) It's not *necessary*, but we've occasionally thought topo maps would be nice. We glance over them at home, though, so it's not a big deal. We've never felt the lack of anything else -- not WAAS, not an electronic compass, none of the bells and whistles.

 

We've done nearly 200 caches with a yellow etrex. Using a cheap GPS doesn't handicap you in any way, or make the caches any harder to find. If you can get a fancier unit for less money than the yellow, heck, go for it. But don't agonize. Any and all GPS units will get you to the cache. We've never had any trouble holding a decent signal in canyons, under tree cover, etc. We've never failed to find a cache in a way we could blame on the GPS. Whatever you buy, you really can't go wrong. (Okay, I think you can do better than the geko 101, but considering that more featureful units are available for the same price, that's kind of a no-brainer.)

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quote:
Oh great, that was a let-down to read. I didn't realize the 3plus had helix antenna. Here I thought I was upgrading by getting the Magellan. I'm glad the 3plus works for some people. I spend at least 40 hrs/wk in the woods in a work capacity, and I can vouch that it has given us poor coordinates, dropped signals, and is basically unreliable in some forested locations, included ridgetops and highpoints that have no line-of-sight blockage except for the trees. I was hoping the SporTrak Pro would eliminate the reliability problem....

 

You can have the best antenna in the world and you still will have a hard time with signal under cover. The signals travel a long way and the transmiters are pretty low power. When there is heavy cloud cover and heavy rain I lose reception on my directv. The concept is the same.

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quote:
As far entering a whole day or weekends part, how many caches do you hit on a typical day? Or weekend? Thats a good question for everyone, think I will start a topic on that.

 

It's not a matter of how many I will hit in a day (I answered that in your other post) but its about having a variety always loaded in the unit and ready to go. I always have my GPS with me and if I happen to be in the area of a cache and the time permits, I'll have a go at it icon_wink.gif

 

Kar

 

TEAM SHIBBY!!!!

 

Krs, Kar & Na

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quote:
I spend at least 40 hrs/wk in the woods in a work capacity, and I can vouch that it has given us poor coordinates, dropped signals, and is basically unreliable in some forested locations, included ridgetops and highpoints that have no line-of-sight blockage except for the trees. I was hoping the SporTrak Pro would eliminate the reliability problem....

 

You may have a defective unit.

 

"Au pays des aveugles, les borgnes sont rois"

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Awww nuts, I didn't see the UK board.... d'oh!! I wondered why EVERYONE was quoting dollars lolollol. It seems I've created a pretty firey debate here. From what I've read, it seems that the major arguement hinges around the fact should I get a computer link one unit or not. And it seems the ability to link up means the computer can easily transfer coordinates to the device whilst the other version means you have to eneter them manually with a couple of buttons.

 

Can I assume the margin of error is pretty low if you print out the page on the 'caching site of the cache you are after and compare it to the device's readout after you have entered the coordinates?

 

I also have one daft question - I assume with the cheaper models, you enter the coordinates from the website and drive to the location and then the device will guide you to those coordinates, yes? So why would I want a device with waypoints? These are not given on the website are they? Otherwise you would be following the path of the person who created the cache instead of making your own personal way to the cache?

 

cheers

 

frank

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quote:
I also have one daft question - I assume with the cheaper models, you enter the coordinates from the website and drive to the location and then the device will guide you to those coordinates, yes? So why would I want a device with waypoints? These are not given on the website are they? Otherwise you would be following the path of the person who created the cache instead of making your own personal way to the cache?

 

Frank,

 

First of all the margin of error is low. But I guess it depends on you. When I enter the coordinates, I double check it. What I have done, and have read that some others do is: I print out the page of the cache I want to find. I then input the coordinates into my unit manually. You can do this immediately or later. Or perhaps right before you hit the door. I drive to the location on the print out. I take the print out with me as well. Sometimes people will even put the coordinates of the parking areas, which is cool. The printout sometimes tells you which way to head from there. On the unit, you just set it to go to the waypoint(coordinates) of the cache. You head that way till you get relatively close and then start looking for it.

 

The waypoint is the actual spot or coordinates of the cache or anyother place. It's just that, a place. Others spoke about track logs. They track the way they went. Personally I wouldn't care which way someone else went. Right now, I don't see the point of me tracking the way I go, as I am only seeking out the cache. If you were doing some studies for the USGS like Dustyjacket, then it's more feasible in my eyes. I've only been to a few cache sites, but i've read many logs on here and the major concensus is that most of them are pretty much a guided way to them, usually by a path most of the way. And then the last small leg may have you bushwacking. So for the most part, you will be following in the tracks of others. Of course I'm sure people bushwack their own path. lol

I'm sure some of the higher terrain difficulty paths may be a little different though.

 

Entering the digits manually is very easy. Most people say they only do one a week normally. Or average that amount. I don't see why entering them manually would be a chore or hassle. If they enter only one or several a week, it is very easy. Another thing is the units store different amounts of waypoints. The Gecko 101 stores 250 waypoints while my Gecko 201 stores 500. A bunch of the others I was lookign at only went up to 500 as well, but they were more expensive. The Gecko 101 would of been more than enough for just going out to find a cache on the weekend. I have 7 in my system right now. One of them is my house.

 

Brian Wood

Woodsters Outdoors

http://www.woodsters.com

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quote:
Originally posted by AJ+Lins:

If you want prices in £££s read up to our post. I did say it was relevent UK information and if you want to weigh up the pros and cons of the devices for yourself then the site mentioned therein should help you!


 

Yes, sorry d'oh again - I did see your reply and followed it up, just forgot it when I made my last post... ahgahga

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OK, still not at 20 or 30 finds .. only up to 8 .. but I was out on a hunt yesterday with a coworker and immediately thought of this comment. My coworker was driving and asked me to enter the coords into this receiver. He had his GPSr set to use UTM. I figured, no problem ... the find page that we had printed out listed both WGS84 and UTM, I'd just enter the UTM coords. I miskeyed two digits. We headed way of course and got quite confused.

 

Luckily, I also had my GPSr ... which already had the coords entered by way of a pocket query and upload via EasyGPS. Once we realized the mistake we quickly corrected the coords on his unit. We then noted how far off the "correct" UTM coords still were from my WGS84 coords, switched his GPSr to WGS84, entered WGS84 coords and saw both receivers finally synch up ... and we quickly got back on the right track and found the cache.

 

Two lessons learned ... stick with WGS84 and be very very careful entering coords and preferabbly use the data cable! icon_biggrin.gif

 

Brian

 

 

quote:
Originally posted by DustyJacket:

It would be very interesting to hear woodster's or gps_brian's comments on the need for a data cable once they have done 20 or 30 finds and DNFs. Perhaps their opinion would shift a tad. Especially after mis-entering a coordinate or two.


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