Selecting A Gps Unit

[Michael950]

I am new to hobby, and I do not have a GPS unit. I would like to start geocaching to get some additional excersise (incentive to get out and run/walk/bike/etc.).

 

Are there any reccomended units?

 

If I create a Track Log, can I transfer the log to any maping software?

 

I am considering the Garmin eTrex Vista (b/c it is about the cheapest with street mapping capabilites). I am trying to stay at or under $275 $300 is max.

 

What features to look for?

Do not want to be under trees and get poor reception.

Edited June 23, 2004 by Michael950

[Leemann]

Hello you have many choices from Garmin and Magellan etrex vistas a good choice smallsize ect has a patch antenna tho. the magellans meridian series are good too they can use sd cards larger size and have helical antennas.

Your choice I'm sure you'll find one you like. Check out Joe and Jack's website

for info on GPS units I think theres a link to it on this website.

 

Cache You Later

 

Leemann

 

PS Tree cover? then Magellans do better under tree cover.

And the sd cards I heve the meridian green with 64 meg sd card

lots of map there.

Edited June 23, 2004 by Leemann

[+New England n00b]

The eTrex Legend is what I use - a fair sight cheaper than the Vista. Does not have the altimeter & electronic compass, and only has 8 MB of map memory. I have fit almost all of southern NH & northern MA in that area though (Mapsource TOPO).

 

Is the extra 16 MB worth the money? I dunno. Not for me. The altimeter wouldn't do anything for me, and I have a real magnetic compass that doesn't draw extra battery power from the Legend.

 

At $200 or less, it works for me.

 

Under tree cover, AT WORST, I get 50' accuracy. Most times however it is 20-30', plenty accurate enough for geocaching or general purpose hiking.

 

Good luck with your decision!

[HardrockScooby]

I am new to Geocaching too. Actually, I just started yesterday. Radio Shack sent me a coupon (and flyer) for $20 off anything over $50. The Garmin Geko 101 was only $100, so I went to buy it. When I got there, the Geko was already $15 off because of a sale and they honored my coupon, so I got it for only $65! For that much, you can't beat anything! Even though I used it only yesterday, I used it about all day! For a new beginner to GPS's, I found it really easy to use, really small too! Check it out at Garmin.com. It's not the best and I know that, but $65 is awsome for a GPS, and it's got a lot of features I think are useful! I am marking everything, work, home, caches... Good luck and happy hunting!

[+Renegade Knight]

The vista you are looking at is a good all around GPS.

 

The questions you need to ask yourself are if you want mapping on your GPS or if you just want to stay with desktop mapping.

 

Also the Vista has an Electronic Comapss on it. It's nice but not critical.

 

Lastly there is auto routing. Some GPS's let you look up and address and head to it via a pointer like a normal waypoint. Others will route you on the streets and tell you where to turn to help you get there. If you want auto routing that's a different GPS still.

 

One thing you do want for your intended use (uploading tracklogs and routes) is a data cable. The Gecko 101 does not support the option so I'd bypass it in favor of the 201 or better.

 

Most desktop mapping software does support an interface with a hand held GPS. Garming and Magellan both have wide support for this.

[+briansnat]

The Vista is a good choice, but the Legend is cheaper and also has street mapping cababilities. It has about 1/3 the memory of the Vista however.

 

PS Tree cover? then Magellans do better under tree cover.

And the sd cards I heve the meridian green with 64 meg sd card

lots of map there.

 

Geocaching alongside Magellan users, I have not found this to be the case. The fact that Magellans do not tell you right away that they lost the lock and instead tries project the route is probably what keeps this myth alive.

Edited June 25, 2004 by briansnat

[+Kit Fox]

Since I received my new GPS 3 days ago, i'll share my experience. Money was an issue also, so I did lots of reading before deciding on a unit. I wanted a GPSr that had mapping software available for it.

 

I opted for a Magellan Meridian Gold. I saw prices anywhere from over $300 down to $169.00 . I ended up purchasing the "Merigold" from www.shopharmony.com with a canvas case for a "shipped to my door price" of $204.00 . For about $100 +/- , I can order Mapsend Directroute to give me step by step directions. I really like the Merigold for geocaching and will purchase the DirectRoute software at a later date.

 

Just my.02

 

Bill,

[+GeoRetep]

Geko 201 works for me. Right price, features, and durable. I run pocket queries for my area and upload the info to the Geko. This saves a huge amount of time trying to type in the coords (and usually getting something wrong). I always carry a normal compass around to help me get an accurate bearing.

 

For example, one time my brother and I COULD NOT find a cache after over an hour. I set the Geko down on a table (under tree cover mind you), and let it settle out and get a really strong signal. After about twenty minutes I read the bearing and distance, used my trad. compass and walked right to the cache! It felt amazing.

 

Anyway the Geko works great for me - not having the street mapping capabilites just makes me know the area better and makes the find more of a challenge.

[+GeoRetep]

Geko 201 works for me. Right price, features, and durable. I run pocket queries for my area and upload the info to the Geko. This saves a huge amount of time trying to type in the coords (and usually getting something wrong). I always carry a normal compass around to help me get an accurate bearing.

 

For example, one time my brother and I COULD NOT find a cache after over an hour. I set the Geko down on a table (under tree cover mind you), and let it settle out and get a really strong signal. After about twenty minutes I read the bearing and distance, used my trad. compass and walked right to the cache! It felt amazing.

 

Anyway the Geko works great for me - not having the street mapping capabilites just makes me know the area better and makes the find more of a challenge.

[thorin]

I second (or third or whatever) the Vote for the Geko 201. It's priced great, has a good spec list, great battery life, and a very simple interface. I've never had any problems caching with it. Oh and you can easily conceal it in your hand if any muggles happen upon you.

 

Thorin

[+briansnat]

I second (or third or whatever) the Vote for the Geko 201. It's priced great, has a good spec list, great battery life, and a very simple interface. I've never had any problems caching with it. Oh and you can easily conceal it in your hand if any muggles happen upon you.

 

The Gecko 201 is a nice unit. My wife uses one, but I think the OP wanted a mapping GPS. The Gecko doesn't have this feature.

[thorin]

He just wanted to be able to transfer a track log to his mapping software. Which I'm 95% sure is doable.

 

Thorin

Edited June 25, 2004 by thorin

[+AstroDiver]

Well, I have a Geko 201. I'm looking for info to get a GPS that works under the trees. Mine was totally lost today. I have several Garmins units but none that will work for GeoCaching. My Geko 201 will now be a backup for my Garmin 182 GPSMAP Chartplotter!

[thorin]

Weird, I've never had a problem with tree cover yet. Are you using it in WAAS or Normal mode? (Not trying to talk you out of getting something else, I'm just curious if the mode greatly affects it's ability to maintain a signal lock)

 

Thorin

[+briansnat]

Well, I have a Geko 201. I'm looking for info to get a GPS that works under the trees. Mine was totally lost today.

 

Trees effect ALL GPS units. I have an eTrex Vista and my wife has a Gecko 201. We use both under heavy tree cover and don't have any more problems than other GPS users. I even get reception in my pocket sometimes. Maybe an occasional loss of signal, but it comes back immediately. So quickly that it isn't an issue.

 

Two tips that might help. First, turn your GPS on while driving to your destination and well before you go into the woods. It operates much better if knows where the sats are before you go into the woods. Turning it on under tree cover and expecting it to find all the sats is expecting a bit much.

 

Second, the Gecko (and the eTrex) likes to be held flat, face up, pointing to the sky. If you hang it upside down from a laynard around your neck, clip it vertically to your belt, or hold it in your hand dangling at your side, you will lose reception. My wife uses the Gecko and had a habit of doing the latter, then complained when she lost the signal. I explained to her how to hold it and she's never had a problem since.

Edited June 29, 2004 by briansnat

[+Team Perks]

My primary GPSr is a 60CS, but I also have a base eTrex and an eTrex Legend that I purchased previously. The base eTrex seems to do just fine under tree cover, but for some reason the Legend gets really fussy and loses signal very quickly, even if I'm holding the two of them right next to each other.

 

That said, I have found the Legend to be otherwise a good little machine at a reasonable price. I don't normally need the altimeter or the compass functions, and the mapping features--though not nearly as impressive as my 60--are nice to have.

[+tirediron]

My primary GPSr is a 60CS, but I also have a base eTrex and an eTrex Legend that I purchased previously. The base eTrex seems to do just fine under tree cover, but for some reason the Legend gets really fussy and loses signal very quickly, even if I'm holding the two of them right next to each other.

 

That said, I have found the Legend to be otherwise a good little machine at a reasonable price. I don't normally need the altimeter or the compass functions, and the mapping features--though not nearly as impressive as my 60--are nice to have.

One more vote for the Legend. (Although I'm hoping to graduate to a 60CS soon). It's a great starter unit, and has all you need for years of 'caching.

[+briansnat]

he base eTrex seems to do just fine under tree cover, but for some reason the Legend gets really fussy and loses signal very quickly, even if I'm holding the two of them right next to each other.

 

Have you upgraded the Legend's software lately?

[EL34]

I use a Garmin map76S but they may be more money than what you want to spend.

 

The reason I like Garmin stuff is because there is a custom piece of software out there that lets you download your own custom home made maps into Garmins. I am not talking about mapsource stuff. Mapsource doesn't have the goods in my oppinion.

 

I create all my own custom maps using OziExplorer software. The maps are created from tracks, waypoints, USGS data, topo maps, etc and then downloaded using GPSmap.

 

I think it is alot nicer to go bushwacking in the woods if you have all the trails, logging roads, streams and stuff that may not be on any map loaded into the GPS before you set out on foot.

 

I am able to download all the geocaching.com waypoints and convert them to .WPT OziExplorer waypoints. These can then be loaded as part of my custom map. There is no manual entering of any data. Of course you can download the waypoints into the Garmin using OziExplorer if you want.

 

All the goecaching waypoints can be laid on top of any number of map types in OziExploer. Sattellite images, USGA topo's, Terra server images, MrSid landsat images. It's very cool.

 

I am not sure what Garmin models are able to download custom maps, but it is a very nice feature to have. Having my custom maps as a background map on my GPS has saved my butt more than once when bushwacking.

Edited July 1, 2004 by EL34

[+Tahoe Skier5000]

For that price range, a GPS V would be a good choice. The package includes everything you will need including: City-Select mapping software, car mounting kit, 12v adapter, and PC cable.

 

All of this for $300

 

They are also built a lot better than the etrex line.

[+Cache Viking]

For that price range, a GPS V would be a good choice. The package includes everything you will need including: City-Select mapping software, car mounting kit, 12v adapter, and PC cable.

 

All of this for $300

 

They are also built a lot better than the etrex line.

I started with a Garmin III+, sold it to a friend and got the Garmin V. I love this thing and take it everywhere. The autorouting has been wonderful for getting around other cities. It was not till a recent flight to TX that my wife totally realized how handy it was in getting us to our destination and then again for finding everything we wanted to do while we were there.