+wife&mom Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 (edited) I am considering the purchase of a Geko 201... the price seems amazingly low for the features. Does anyone have experiences (positive or negative) to share? Edited March 29, 2004 by Scienceteacher&Fam Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 People like them who use them. The 201 is as low as I'd go as you can hook it to your computer to download waypoints. Quote Link to comment
coolclay Posted March 29, 2004 Share Posted March 29, 2004 Before buying any new gps you should always try one out first, you can do this at many different places such as Wal-mart, Dicks, Circuit City, just about any commercial place that sells gps's. I personally would never get a geko, their screen is extremely tiny, not many features, and I don't like the bright colors. But for small convenient "pocket" gps's their great. If it does what you want it to do great. Go for it but you should definitely try one out first or at least buy somewhere that has a good return policy in case you don't like it. Quote Link to comment
+GeckoGeek Posted March 30, 2004 Share Posted March 30, 2004 (edited) I am considering the purchase of a Geko 201... the price seems amazingly low for the features. Does anyone have experiences (positive or negative) to share? Negative: Unit has an unprotected power button so it's easy to accidentally turn on. It uses AAA batteries so it doesn't have the run time of a eTrex with AA batteries. Positive: I just summed up the worst. Otherwise it's a fine unit. Works well. More money just buys features, not more accuracy. Edited March 30, 2004 by GeckoGeek Quote Link to comment
Vlad Posted March 30, 2004 Share Posted March 30, 2004 (edited) Surprisingly readable screen and the colours might make them a bit easier to find if you dropped one by accident. Perfectly capable of executing goto's and trackbacks - nice light weight and small, unobtrusive hardware. The thing I do dislike and in my opinion is a big negative is the AAA batteries. Now you've got to carry spares of those as well as AA's for your other gear... Hmmm if everything else you use (like headlamp etc) uses AAA's then that wouldn't be a negative - it would be a positive... Totally agree not to get less than Geko 201 - data xfer to/from the PC and the ability to run a cig lighter power cord are nice-to-haves... Edited March 30, 2004 by Vlad Quote Link to comment
johnwesley Posted March 30, 2004 Share Posted March 30, 2004 I have an E-Trex legend and love it I was considering the 201 but when you consider that you have to fork over another 40 bucks for the computer cable that doesnt come standard with the 201 and then look at the diference in screen size and the mapping function on the legend it was very easy to convince the wife that I realy needed to spend the extra doe up front johnwesley Quote Link to comment
Vlad Posted March 30, 2004 Share Posted March 30, 2004 Yes excellent points John - when you factor in the PC cable and the other features you described the Legend is definately the product to buy. Geko's are not nearly as big a seller as the Legend for those very reasons... If you can get mapping for very little more $$$ why wouldn't you take it? But if you're really intent on a Geko... Quote Link to comment
+wife&mom Posted March 30, 2004 Author Share Posted March 30, 2004 oh, I did not even think about the cable being extra... so I guess that my task is to convince my hubby that $40 more is a good investment... hey, wait a minute, he usually is a push over my wonderful husband! Quote Link to comment
+bons Posted March 30, 2004 Share Posted March 30, 2004 when you consider that you have to fork over another 40 bucks for the computer cable that doesnt come standard with the 201 If you're paying $40 for a $8 cable then you're getting ripped off. http://www.gpsgeek.com/page5.html Geko's are not nearly as big a seller as the Legend for those very reasons Yes. The two great lies of geocaching:1) You need a cable to enter waypoints, despite the fact that they don't help with multi's, mystery, or any traditional with more than one waypoint (such as the ever helpful "the parking lot is here" waypoint). 2) You need the mapping feature of the legend. Really you do. Despite the fact that you could buy a PDA and go paperless for the same price you really need the mapping feature. You WILL be entering co-ordinates manually. The real question is, do you want every co-ordinate for every local cache on your Garmin or on your Palm Pilot (available for the cost difference between the Legend and the Geko). If they're on your Geko, sorting between them can be a real pain. If they're on your palm, you also get the text, the hints, and everything else you need to find the cache. Quote Link to comment
+GOT GPS? Posted March 30, 2004 Share Posted March 30, 2004 So much you can do with a little GPS like the Geko, like sticking it in a little pocket sewn into the top of a hat so people cant see your GPS, like at Cedar Point. You can hide it in a car also, but of course that can be bad. Quote Link to comment
+JohnnyVegas Posted March 30, 2004 Share Posted March 30, 2004 (edited) I am considering the purchase of a Geko 201... the price seems amazingly low for the features. Does anyone have experiences (positive or negative) to share? If you are going to want to download waypoins directly in the Geko you will also need to purchase the cable, these are around 38.00. For the sam money you can find a Magellan Sport trak map or a Garmin Legend, even if you never load a map onto them, the will include the cable. I would lean toward a Magellan product. The antennes in the gekos and E-trex are not very good under tree cover. I have used both, If you really want a garmin get one with a better antenna. Havingworked for a GPS retailer as a buyer for several years, even the Garmn rep would tell me that the e-trex and geckos would have problems under trees. Edited March 30, 2004 by JohnnyVegas Quote Link to comment
+CurmudgeonlyGal Posted March 30, 2004 Share Posted March 30, 2004 The power button on the newer Geko's have been recessed a bit and have a little 'ridge' around them so you can't accidentally turn them on/off. When we bought ours I made sure ours had this 'new' feature! I'm quite fond of our 201. We argue over just who gets to hold it. No one wants the fancy GPSr, we all want to fondle the Geko. (Hmmm.) I LOVE having the buttons on the front of the unit as well - the eTrex really bugged me having them on the side. Not a big deal if you're used to it, but I find I am much, much faster at entering coords if the buttons are on the front. -=- michelle Quote Link to comment
+mochalatte Posted March 30, 2004 Share Posted March 30, 2004 If you are going to want to download waypoins directly in the Geko you will also need to purchase the cable, these are around 38.00.... I can't comment on whether the Geko 201 will come with a data cable or not, but if you need to buy one get this one from GPSGeek for $7.45. I've purchased 2 of their cables and their external antenna and have been very happy with the experience. Quote Link to comment
+bons Posted March 30, 2004 Share Posted March 30, 2004 If you are going to want to download waypoins directly in the Geko you will also need to purchase the cable, these are around 38.00. Apparently, I need to repeat myself: If you're paying $40 for a $8 cable then you're getting ripped off. http://www.gpsgeek.com/page5.html If you're telling people that they need to spend $40 for a $8 cable, then you are doing them a huge disservice. Quote Link to comment
+Sparky-Watts Posted March 30, 2004 Share Posted March 30, 2004 I'm quite fond of our 201. We argue over just who gets to hold it. No one wants the fancy GPSr, we all want to fondle the Geko. (Hmmm.) Kinda makes me wish I'd been born a Geko! Seriously, I started caching with a Geko 101, and it was great, except for the AAA batteries. I didn't mind entering waypoints by hand, and has been mentioned, you'll most likely be doing that on multi's or puzzles anyway. I never had any problem with tree cover on my 101, nor have I had any with my Legend. I only upgraded to the Legend because I wanted mapping software. I loved my little Geko 101, and I think it was a great beginner model. I paid about $80 for it, and sold it for $50 on eBay, so I got my $30 worth out of it!! As far as cables, yeah, definitely go to GPSGeek! I've bought quite a few items from them, and their service is remarkable!! Most of all, just make sure you judge all the options for all the units you consider, and find the one that's right for you and your price range, not what someone feels is right for them. Afterall, you're the one that is going to be using the unit! Good luck and let us know what you decide on!! Quote Link to comment
azman Posted April 2, 2004 Share Posted April 2, 2004 If you are going to want to download waypoins directly in the Geko you will also need to purchase the cable, these are around 38.00. Apparently, I need to repeat myself: If you're paying $40 for a $8 cable then you're getting ripped off. http://www.gpsgeek.com/page5.html If you're telling people that they need to spend $40 for a $8 cable, then you are doing them a huge disservice. Glad to see I'm not the only one who can't understand why people choose to throw away money. Quoting prices of $40 for a cable is just trying to scare people. www.gpsgeek.com has the cable for under $8 Quote Link to comment
thorin Posted April 26, 2004 Share Posted April 26, 2004 Here's another source of cheap Gecko (Garmin) data cables: http://pfranc.com/cgi-bin/list?pid=eD1 Quote Link to comment
thorin Posted April 27, 2004 Share Posted April 27, 2004 Or even better: Do It Yourself Quote Link to comment
+Prairie Dog Posted April 28, 2004 Share Posted April 28, 2004 Or even better: Do It Yourself j00 R L33t H4xOr! I'm always amazed at the creativity and resourcefulness of the people in these forums. Nice hack! Quote Link to comment
+SandRaven Posted April 29, 2004 Share Posted April 29, 2004 We have a Geko 201 and love it. The screen is fairly small, but since it store maps, your only looking at a few number and a compass, most of the time, and for that, the screen is more than adequate. I put velcro on the back of mine, and keep it on the shoulder strap of my backpack. We also have a laptop, so we can use it with mapping software on the road if we want, but rarely do. We got Topo USA 5.0, which does routes like MapQuest. I give it my home and my destination, and it creates a route. I then download the route to the Geko (201), now our Geko tell us how far till the next trun, and when We get to a turn, our Geko lights up and points the way to turn. Quote Link to comment
+4agers Posted April 30, 2004 Share Posted April 30, 2004 I just purchased a 301 and was worried about the screen and how small it was. Neither is a factor. As a geocacher that likes to travel light it rocks. I've had several gps' but this is my favorite to date. Batteries a little bit of a bummer though. Quote Link to comment
+SBPhishy Posted April 30, 2004 Share Posted April 30, 2004 (edited) 1) You need a cable to enter waypoints, despite the fact that they don't help with multi's, mystery, or any traditional with more than one waypoint (such as the ever helpful "the parking lot is here" waypoint). You can always look to bons for the "anti-cable" opinion... No, they are not NEEDED. But, after a while, and ESPECIALLY if you ever go paperless, not having one will drive you nuts. If you can load 500 caches into your PDA in 2 minutes, what does that matter if it takes you 5 hours to manually type in 500 into your Geko? Also, no, they don't help with multis, but they do for the first leg. That's all for the most part. The MAJORITY of traditionals dont have more than one waypoint, and some mystery's are mystery's for different reasons than not having the right coords. That's all. For 8 bucks, it's crazy not to have a cable. If you are planning on caching frequently, it can be a huge drag not to have one. But, you definitely do not NEED one. Edited April 30, 2004 by SBPhishy Quote Link to comment
+GeckoGeek Posted April 30, 2004 Share Posted April 30, 2004 Another advantage to having a cable - you can update your firmware. Garmin has issued something like 4 versions in the past year. Quote Link to comment
thorin Posted April 30, 2004 Share Posted April 30, 2004 Another advantage to having a cable - you can update your firmware. Garmin has issued something like 4 versions in the past year. Agreed. I just bought my Gecko the other night and it's software is version 2.3 when I checked the site I noticed they're up to 2.5 (with signifigant fixes in 2.4) so I'm gonna have to upgrade. I'll post a bunch of pics and stuff once I've made my cable. Do you guys think tranfering a few waypoints (up and down) between the unit and some software (likely GSAK) is sufficient test of a cable to go ahead and do a FirmWare upgrade? Thorin Quote Link to comment
+sTeamTraen Posted April 30, 2004 Share Posted April 30, 2004 The firmware upgrade procedure comes with lots of built-in checks. It's pretty hard to corrupt your unit. Just make sure the battery symbol isn't on "zero blocks" before you start Quote Link to comment
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