Fushi Cho & Co. Posted October 21, 2003 Posted October 21, 2003 Hi. I'm new to this done a few Cache's with a borrowed GPS. Now I want to buy my own. Don't want to spend more than $100. The unit I've used is a Garmin: eTrex but was wondering if anyone had an opinion on the Fortuna: GPSmart which is slightly cheaper. Quote
+briansnat Posted October 21, 2003 Posted October 21, 2003 You can't go wrong with the eTrex. It's a very good basic unit. Never heard of Fortuna. Personally, I'd stick with the name brand and Garmin is a good one. "You can't make a man by standing a sheep on his hind legs. But by standing a flock of sheep in that position, you can make a crowd of men" - Max Beerbohm Quote
breck_hiker Posted October 21, 2003 Posted October 21, 2003 I recently bought the eTrex "Yellow", it's good enough for what I do. My friend bought the more expensive model (eTrex vista) with maps and all the cool gadgets. I played with the vista and the only thing that I really like over my cheaper Yellow GPS was the screen resolution, If your going to use your GPS for car navigation I suggest a model with street maps. http://ocollines.com/ Quote
+WalruZ Posted October 21, 2003 Posted October 21, 2003 I didn't want to commit to spending much money until I found some caches, so I bought a gekko and have been pretty happy with it. It's really small and it has probably 80% of the functionality of the yellow. The problem is that caches tend to 'cluster' in areas and it's nice to be able to load in, say, 10 sets of coordinates automatically via the PC link rather than have to tap them in by hand. I could do that if I had shelled out for the Legend or the yellow, and I probably will sooner or later. The more obsessive cachers tend to just load in their whole home range and go looking for them on a whim. You should ignore those people -- they're already around the bend. Quote
+New England n00b Posted October 21, 2003 Posted October 21, 2003 For what it's worth, I like my eTrex Legend & a magnetic compass for close-to-the-cache searching. The Legend is a nice halfway betwixt the lower end eTrex units and the eTrex Vista. The Vista has an electronic compass & something else that was supposedly useful, but the extra 16MB RAM & other goodies didn't justify the price for me. Good luck! --------------------- It wasn't me. Quote
moonpup Posted October 21, 2003 Posted October 21, 2003 After much research on both the Magellan and Garmin products, I decided on Garmin due to it's small size and light weight units as well as their exceptional customer service. I debated between the eTrex Legend and Vista (i wanted mapping) and finally got the Legend. I decided that the 8meg memory limit for maps was more than adequate for my area (I can fit the whole state of MA topo maps in it) and had no need for the electronic compass or altimeter. Buy a unit based on your needs and spend the money to go with a reputable company. You'll get many recommendations here, but go with what fits your GPS goals. Quote
+Team Og Rof A Klaw Posted October 21, 2003 Posted October 21, 2003 Mapping is good for getting to the trailhead. A magnetic compass is good for finding the cache. A good big screen is good if you want to use the GPSr in a dashboard mount. I went with a GPSMAP 76S. No regrets. ____________________________ - Team Og Rof A Klaw All who wander are not lost. Quote
Fushi Cho & Co. Posted October 22, 2003 Author Posted October 22, 2003 Don't know how to do this but thanks to everyone who's post replies. I've gone for the Etrax basic Yellow unit. All I want it for is locating Caches - Does that sound Bourgeious Quote
+Touchstone Posted October 22, 2003 Posted October 22, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Fushi:Don't know how to do this but thanks to everyone who's post replies. I've gone for the Etrax basic Yellow unit. All I want it for is locating Caches - Does that sound Bourgeious You can't get more bourgeious than that . I think you'll be happy with the Etrex. I have the close cousin to the Etrex, Emap. I'm very happy with it. It's got maps and PC link. I'm not sure about magnetic compass, and I'm not sure I'd know how to use it if I did Guess I have something else to learn now. Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. The rest go geocaching. Quote
+Renegade Knight Posted October 22, 2003 Posted October 22, 2003 Next on your list will be data cable. Quote
JoeHKill Posted October 22, 2003 Posted October 22, 2003 I dont think that the eTrex "yellow" has a data cable plug in. And that could be a big drawback unless you want to enter all the cords. by hand. I would personaly by a geko 201 (like in the picture next to my name) for about 10 dollars more you get a smaller unit with more features. Quote
Deego Posted October 22, 2003 Posted October 22, 2003 The eTrex Yellow does have a data cable plug in . I have been using mine for 18 months now and does the job Deego ------------------------------------------------------------ I am not lost, I am geographically embarrassed www.briandeegan.co.uk www.GeocacheUK.com Quote
The Jeff and Susan Team Posted October 22, 2003 Posted October 22, 2003 Go with the Geko 201. It's only a few dollars more then the etrex yellow but many more features and much smaller and easier to carry. I use a Garmin V and my wife uses a Geko 201. No difference in finding caches. The Jeff and Susan Team (formally jis1) The Jeff and Susan Team Our Passion is Cachen jis1@ix.netcom.com skatz1@ix.netcom.com Quote
+Triac Posted October 22, 2003 Posted October 22, 2003 The etrex yellow is at 100 dollars and the data cable at around 30-40. Might as well get a Legend that comes with a cable at around 160. Quote
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