Another "which To Buy" Question...

[+Sanruft]

Hello Everyone~

 

I know this topic may have been beat to death by now, but I am going to throw my question out there anyway. (And I read through the forum posts ahead of time but have some "different" variations to the questions)

 

I had been using an etrex since I started last October, and have used it for about 250 finds so far. It's been ok for what I have done, but now it's time to upgrade. (I have Mapopolis on my PocketPC for directions, Microsoft S&T on my laptop for pushpins, etc...I want to "downsize")

 

I made the mistake of purchasing the Legend and absolutly hated it. (Believe it or not, I liked the etrex better) I returned the Legend today in hopes of purchasing the 60c, but learned that the software I bought for the Legend does not do autorouting on the 60c (I have the MapSource MetroGuide v.5) I cannot return the software as I had opened it for the Legend.

 

Buying the 60c PLUS the software for the auto-routing puts it more than I want to spend (But will if it is the ABSOLUTE best thing for geocaching and I will just throw away the other software I just bought), however, I also stumbeled on the Magellan Meridian Gold Package which seems to have very similar features. (For a LOT less money) I have searched the threads about the Magellan and cannot find what I am looking for.

 

Sorry to be long-winded, but I am looking for a comparison from those who have used one (or preferably both) of these units.

 

HELP!!!!! I'm stranded WITHOUT a GPS now!!!

[+gbod]

I made the mistake of purchasing the Legend and absolutly hated it. (Believe it or not, I liked the etrex better) I returned the Legend today in hopes of purchasing the 60c, but learned that the software I bought for the Legend does not do autorouting on the 60c (I have the MapSource MetroGuide v.5) I cannot return the software as I had opened it for the Legend.

I'm just curious as to why you hated the Legend. The Legend is an Etrex, plus maps plus memory.

[+Sanruft]

I made the mistake of purchasing the Legend and absolutly hated it. (Believe it or not, I liked the etrex better) I returned the Legend today in hopes of purchasing the 60c, but learned that the software I bought for the Legend does not do autorouting on the 60c (I have the MapSource MetroGuide v.5) I cannot return the software as I had opened it for the Legend.

I'm just curious as to why you hated the Legend. The Legend is an Etrex, plus maps plus memory.

I know that it is an etrex, (plus maps and memory and WAAS technology), but the maps were not what I expected and more importantly, as I travel up and down the state and in other directions, I use the "nearest" function. While the Legend also has a "nearest" function, it does not update itself (In update, I mean change the order of waypoints listed as you travel so you can easily see which ones are coming) With the Legend, you can see which ones are nearest but you must highlight each individual waypoint to see the distance, direction, etc...Also, you must exit the list and re-enter it if you want to see the "new" order of waypoints. Not very convenient when you drive. I can sort-of use the map feature for this, but again, the map feature was far less robust then what I had expected.

 

So since I am now looking for a better solution, I thought the autorouting feature may help with my caching adventures. (And who knows, I might not miss the "nearest" feature.

[+Renegade Knight]

Given that the maps for Magellan are not any better than Garmin's I'm not sure you have a good answer for your problem.

[CenTexDodger]

I don't have an answer for your problem, but I would advise you not to throw the software away--Sell it on ebay, you will recover some of your investment anyway.

[+embra]

I think the Merigold Traveler's pack is an excellent value; I particularly like the expandable memory capabilities. I can carry a 500-waypoint cache file with me, as well as 4 files just as large for benchmark waypoints around with me.

 

DirectRoute is not bad for a first release, although there are a few frustrating things about it that I hope will be fixed when they update the maps (supposedly in Novemeber). There is a good review of DirectRoute on robertlipe's site. The Meridian FAQs from the Meridian Users group is also located there; a read-through of that document will give you a good feel for the ins and outs of the Meridian.

 

Edit: Thought maybe I should throw in the fact that I started on a Venture, but for a Meridian once I had my GPSr legs. Haven't regretted it.

Edited May 19, 2004 by embra

[robertlipe]

I have a little bit of experience geocaching with the Magellans.

 

I don't understand RK's point about the maps, firstly becuase map deficiencies weren't listed in the original grievances and secondly becuase dollar per dollar, the DirectRoute maps ARE better - you get North America (well, by some loose definition) which gives you Navtech based maps for the whole area instead of the Mapsource approach which requires unlock codes which drives the price up for travellers and often requires overlapping products anyway.

 

Sanruft, I normally avoid the endless stream of "what should I buy" questions, but yours has specific enough questions to be interesting. The 'find by nearest' behaviour you describe is very similar in the magellans. The list is sorted upon menu presentation and distance/bearing is shown only when the cursor is placed on the point, but it is calculated at that time. So if that's the specific deal maker for you, I don't think the Magellans will arouse you.

 

I'll say that in my geocaching experience, that's never how I hunt on a long drive anyway. I just leave the map set for "track up" and zoom out far enough to see the big picture. When a cache pops up at the top of the screen, I have plenty of time to decide if I want to swing that way or not.

 

The autorouting is very nice. And I'd agree that having it in your GPS instead of via Mapopolis is worthwhile. This does put you in the land of the V/60/Any Magellan that supports DirectRoute - and in the land of not being ablt to use your current Garmin map product.

[+Renegade Knight]

...the map feature was far less robust then what I had expected...

I just checked my GPS V and the Nearest waypoint list appears to operate the way the Legend does. Since I never use that feature like you this is a non issue for me. However since you do use it that changes things.

 

The V should run metroguide but I really don't think it will make you happier than the legend even though the price is dropping. It comes with City select which covers the USA and Canada though I'm not sure about Mexico.

[+john_underwood@charter.net]

I have heard it said that MG 4 will autoroute on a 60 series and MG 5 will not. Just hear say at this point. It is true that you will be able to get about $80 for MG5 on Ebay so all is not lost

[+Sanruft]

I don't have an answer for your problem, but I would advise you not to throw the software away--Sell it on ebay, you will recover some of your investment anyway.

Yeah, I will sell it on bay...Who knows, maybe I'll find a GPS device where this software may come in handy.

 

It wasn't just the map issue that I didn't like on the Legend, it was very difficult to make out the waypoint names on the map screen, the usability of the joystick, etc.... I guess that I thought it would be a lot better than the generic etrex and was very disappointed when I actually tried it out. It found some caches with no problem (And located them with more accuracy) but overall it was a disappointment. I thought by purchasing a 60c or a Magellan may help eliminate the need for the "nearest" feature by using the autoroute function.

 

Scrolling out on the map makes it a bit more interesting. Maybe I didn't give the Legend a fair chance before giving-up on it.

Edited May 19, 2004 by Sanruft

[+Sanruft]

I have a little bit of experience geocaching with the Magellans.

 

I'll say that in my geocaching experience, that's never how I hunt on a long drive anyway. I just leave the map set for "track up" and zoom out far enough to see the big picture. When a cache pops up at the top of the screen, I have plenty of time to decide if I want to swing that way or not.

 

The autorouting is very nice. And I'd agree that having it in your GPS instead of via Mapopolis is worthwhile. This does put you in the land of the V/60/Any Magellan that supports DirectRoute - and in the land of not being ablt to use your current Garmin map product.

This is VERY helpful information and I will take this advice into consideration. I like your comments on the Magellan and appreciate the fact that you have tried multiple units. I'd like to say that money is no object, but I do have to remind myself that this is "just a game".

 

I will make a decision by tomorrow and pick something up for the weekend.

 

Thanks to all who have helped with some responses!! I really appreciate the advice!

[+Renegade Knight]

One thing I've noticed is that the Sport Track Pro has much larger waypoint names than the Garmins I've seen (Vista, GPS V). It made loading up a new town cumbersom as the maps were obliterated by the waypont names. The smaller size of the waypoints on the Garmins made it feasable to load up a ton of waypoints for a cache dense area and not worry about screen clutter.

 

If all you do is load a days caching this is a non issue. I also don't know if the Gold, Platinum etc. change waypoint size relative to the Sport Track.

[robertlipe]

One thing I've noticed is that the Sport Track Pro has much larger waypoint names than the Garmins I've seen (Vista, GPS V). 

The V has a name size of 20 characters, IIRC. I can't recall Vista's, but I think it's 10. The Magellans cap at 8, but allow mixed case, so I guess you mean "displayed in a bigger font", right?

It made loading up a new town cumbersom as the maps were obliterated by the waypont names.  The smaller size of the waypoints on the Garmins made it feasable to load up a ton of waypoints for a cache dense area and not worry about screen clutter.

 

That's a good thing and a bad thing. It's true that if you have 200 caches in a 6 mile circle the screen essentially melts. Of course, you can't convey useful information about 200 caches in 3.85 square inches. If used right, I could imagine the Vista's higher resolution being handy here, but the difference between 38,400 pixels (SporTrak Color) and 46,080 pixels won't make enough of a difference to matter in this regard.

 

Do the Garmins scale them based on density or if you have one waypoint on your map and the unit is in the dash mount, is it small enough that it's unreadable? (While I've used many borrpwed Garmins at my desk for GPSBabel development and in the woods with peers on a "wanna trade while we hunt?" basis , I've never navigated a "Hammer Time" caching day with them.) Personally I delete a waypoint after I've hunted it so as the day goes along, my maps get cleaner and it's easier to see the direction to head to achieve my target "smilies per square mile/hour" goal. (Yes, I really do use metrics like that.)

 

If all you do is load a days caching this is a non issue.  I also don't know if the Gold, Platinum etc. change waypoint size relative to the Sport Track.

 

If, OTOH, you want to load a LOT more than a day's caches into your unit, even the 1,000 waypoint limit of Vista is no match for flipping them to and from an SD card...

 

The Meridian and mapping SporTrak models (and the 330) are identical in this regard. Indeed, identical firmware version numbers across product families are identical in most regards.

 

If you have techie questions about the Magellans not answered in the linky links below, contact me. I've spent a LOT of time studying those things...

[+Renegade Knight]

It was font display size I was talking about. Using the V while driving hasnt' been a problem. I also use the zoom out method in looking for caches on a trip on occasion. The display size hasn't been an issue but the GPS V form factor will let me set it where I need it on the dash when I'm using the zoom method.

[+Alan2]

If you have a PPC with Mapopolis, why worry about routing on the Legend using Metro 4? I have had a Vista which is a Legend on steroids. SInce I got my PPC I autoroute with that using Mapopolis and only use the Vista on the trail. I have Metro 4 but have stopped using the routing feature because of the PPC and Mapopolis. Before you get rid of Metro 5, remember its POI's are more robust and recent then Metro 4.

 

Good luck

 

Alan

Edited May 19, 2004 by Alan2

[+Alan2]

Oh, one other thought. I now use the PPC with Mapopolis maplets created by GPXtomaplet a freee program that show ALL the caches around where I'm driving. If I like the cache, I click on it and auto-route to it on the PPC. That's easier than using the Vista to find the nearest caches.

 

I use GSAK to load the Vista with all the caches as well but only need that when I'm on the trail.

 

Alan

Edited May 19, 2004 by Alan2

[+Sanruft]

If you have a PPC with Mapopolis, why worry about routing on the Legend using Metro 4? I have had a Vista which is a Legend on steroids. SInce I got my PPC I autoroute with that using Mapopolis and only use the Vista on the trail. I have Metro 4 but have stopped using the routing feature because of the PPC and Mapopolis. Before you get rid of Metro 5, remember its POI's are more robust and recent then Metro 4.

 

Good luck

 

Alan

hmmm....Interesting. I have had Mapopolis for about a year and a half and have never been able to enter a wayoint or coordinates. Can you explain how you are able to do this with Mapopolis?

[+Alan2]

First off you ought to download their latest map viewer program. I think it's up to 4.42. It's free.

 

gpxtomaplet a free program allows you to create Mapopolis maplets with the cache info with the coordinates. from .gpx format files. You then transfer the maplet into your PPC and the cache locations show up with little icons. So as you are driving, you can select the caches nearby and then route to the ones you want to. Of course since the cache is usually in the wods, the routing will get you close to the park nearest the cache.

 

There are nmerous ways to create .gpx files for gpxtomaplet. You can download from the geocaching.com page or use GSAK to collect them from Pocket Queries or you can convert you waypoints in your GPS using programs like g7towin and others. Check the forums.

 

Finally, if you want to create a location in Mapopolis based on coordinates, hit Find and select coordinates and dial in the coordinates you want to create a point. You can then route to it. You can also select from the map and the coordinates wll display whereever you tap the screen.

 

Alan

Edited May 20, 2004 by Alan2