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I've Got It Down To Two Choices


P3

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Since this is my first GPS, I am not sure which way to go. The Legend sounds like a perfect one for a newbie like myself and I'd be happy with it I'm sure. The hubby said he could use a GPS for his Commercial Real Estate and when we travel so why not get one that does more.

 

So the questions is.... should I just go with the Legend and just use it to GeoCache or should I get the SporTrak Pro and be able to use it for gaming and more?

 

Money is not the issue here. Or would you suggest another unit all together?:blink:

 

Thank you in advance for ALL advice and opinions. P3 :lol:

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... use a GPS for his Commercial Real Estate and when we travel so why not get one that does more. 

 

So the questions is.... should I just go with the Legend and just use it to GeoCache or should I get the SporTrak Pro and be able to use it for gaming and more? 

 

Money is not the issue here.  Or would you suggest another unit all together?:blink:

 

Thank you in advance for ALL advice and opinions.  P3  :lol:

Given, what you said .... money not the issue.... use it for travel....

 

I would recommend the Garmin GPSMAP 76CS

  • Autorouting... turn by turn directions with automatic re-calculation as you drive
  • 115Mb for maps
  • Color screen that's VERY good!!
  • Better Menu/Control/Buttons than the Etrex line
  • Real Estate Business.... You can write it off !!
  • There are those that will jump in for the 60C.... I'll take double the memory any day AND prefer the 76 size
  • Sources?; www.tvnav.com or gpscity.com

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... use a GPS for his Commercial Real Estate and when we travel so why not get one that does more. 

 

So the questions is.... should I just go with the Legend and just use it to GeoCache or should I get the SporTrak Pro and be able to use it for gaming and more? 

 

Money is not the issue here.  Or would you suggest another unit all together?:blink:

 

Thank you in advance for ALL advice and opinions.  P3  :lol:

Given, what you said .... money not the issue.... use it for travel....

 

I would recommend the Garmin GPSMAP 76CS

  • Autorouting... turn by turn directions with automatic re-calculation as you drive
  • 115Mb for maps
  • Color screen that's VERY good!!
  • Better Menu/Control/Buttons than the Etrex line
  • Real Estate Business.... You can write it off !!
  • There are those that will jump in for the 60C.... I'll take double the memory any day AND prefer the 76 size
  • Sources?; www.tvnav.com or gpscity.com

And if money is a small issue, get a Garmin V. Prices on it have really come down since the release of the 60C and 76C series.

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...[*]There are those that will jump in for the 60C.... I'll take double the memory any day AND prefer the 76 size...

Size does matter and the 76 is large. the 60 series is smaller and more portable. It has half the memory of the 76 which means you can put the entire state of Idaho in it for both City Select and Topo. If you travel a lot, you might have a use for more memory to include your home area and the areas you travel too a lot. Your husband will find City Select software (you have to buy this separatly) useful for his business and both of you will find it useful for travel.

 

The GPS V as mentioned is cheaper, has less memory (1/2 of Idaho in both map types) but it does include the City Select software. This is the GPS that I use and since it's not 'broken' I will use it until they come out with a GPS VI and then I'll think about upgrading.

 

Between your original ideas I'd look at a Vista and and the Pro, the Pro is a notch or two above the Legend.

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And if money is a small issue, get a Garmin V. Prices on it have really come down since the release of the 60C and 76C series.

The GPS V is definitely a good deal. The cost of the GPS itself is less than $150!!

 

Because it comes with the expensive mapping software, car mounting kit, and 12v lighter, you're saving big time.

 

The V can be found at $305 with shipping. Let me know if you're interested. :blink:

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:P I love it! You tell someone that you have it narrowed down to two choices, and the first several replies recommend different units! Helllooooo! Anybody home?!!

 

Seriously, though, when I upgraded from my old GPS315 awhile back, I had narrowed my choices down to the exact same pair. I went with the ST Pro for a few reasons;

-The Pro has a larger built-in basemap than the legend, and significantly more memory for additional maps, as well.

-Although the resolution on the Legend is better, the Pro's resolution is still good.

-I prefer the front button layout. I know alot of people like the buttons on the side, but I don't (and yes, I do/have used them, my son caches with an E-Trex yellow). For me, it feels awkward squeezing the sides.

-The Pro will utilize auto-routing software (Directroute), whereas I'm pretty sure that Garmin doesn't have any autorouting software for the Legend (I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong).

-I also feel that Magellan's menu layouts are more logical than Garmin's, but again, that's just personal opinion and is probably because I started with a Magellan.

-Finally, and this is highly subjective, but when looking at pictures of the two, I really liked the blue transparent case on the Legend. However when I actually held them both in my hand, the Legend's case looked cheesy to me, while the Pro's black w/silver just looked "richer".

 

Ultimately, they are both good units. The Pro is a bit more expensive than the Legend, but I feel the basemap, memory, and the ability to use direct-route software makes it worth the extra $.

 

Oh, BTW, you can't use either for gaming :o

Edited by 4x4van
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:o I love it! You tell someone that you have it narrowed down to two choices, and the first several replies recommend different units! Helllooooo! Anybody home?!!

Sorry, I read the post, all of it, thus I took time to answer all of it.

 

"Commercial Real Estate" means finding new properties at addreses that you may not be familair with. Routing would be a bonus here.

 

"Travel" whoa there it is again a place where routing proves it's worth!

 

Some of us saw the bigger picture they were talking about and gave an honest opinion. While I promoted the 60 over the 76, both would leave this couple happy.

 

Oh, while I'm on topic. I think that Garmins menu's are much easier to navigate. Whenever Night Stalker figures out how to do something with his Sport Track it's always buried under several illogical menus. I agree on the front button layout and both the 60, V and 76 have that.

 

A couple of other sport track comments. The screen resolution is flat out horrible with pixels that are so large that they make reading the map difficult at times.. Waypoints can eat up all the screen space so the maps are worthless if you upload all the caches in an area.

 

I can only vouch that the V has a game that I never play. A Gameboy Advance SP is much better suited for portable gaming.

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You guys are great!! Thanks for all you've written... I'm going for it!! Of course it's a totally different unit, a GPSMAP 76CS! Bought it moments ago. The hubby is thrilled and so am I! We realized just how handy this could be for his work and it's tax deductable (thanks for the tip on that!) I'll feel confident while using it to Geocach with the kids. This will be wonderful for family trips!

 

Again, thank you for your help.... e-mail me if you're ever in SW MI!

 

You've not seen the last of me here!!

 

Cheers, P3

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You guys are great!!  Thanks for all you've written... I'm going for it!!  Of course it's a totally different unit, a GPSMAP 76CS!  Bought it moments ago.  The hubby is thrilled and so am I!  We realized just how handy this could be for his work and it's tax deductable (thanks for the tip on that!)  I'll feel confident while using it to Geocach with the kids.  This will be wonderful for family trips!

 

Again, thank you for your help.... e-mail me if you're ever in SW MI!

 

You've not seen the last of me here!!

 

Cheers, P3

Congrats! and good choice (IMHO as another 76CS owner) :o

 

Don't forget, the basemap WILL autoroute, but you really 'need' City Select for autorouting on all the smaller streets, especially a necessity for a real estate business.

 

The link I posted above is to Amazon, I am told they have the cheapest delivered price.

 

(CS v6 has been announced. It ships around 7/15/04, you would get the upgrade for free even if you ordered v5 today, because the new version has been 'released'. For more info... Garmin's - all too hard to understand - Unlock page...

 

BTW, who did you order from?

 

If you find you need accessory cables and such: GPS Geek (a.k.a. Gilsson Tech) can't be beat!

 

RAM mounts are great and become relatively inexpensive once you expand to multiple uses (i.e. car, bike, etc) RAM Mounts specific to the 76 series...9301430135J.gif9301430135DA.jpg

Edited by Us 5 Camp
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Sorry, I read the post, all of it, thus I took time to answer all of it.

 

"Commercial Real Estate" means finding new properties at addreses that you may not be familair with.  Routing would be a bonus here.

 

"Travel"  whoa there it is again a place where routing proves it's worth!

 

Some of us saw the bigger picture they were talking about and gave an honest opinion.  While I promoted the 60 over the 76, both would leave this couple  happy.

 

Oh, while I'm on topic.  I think that Garmins menu's are much easier to navigate.  Whenever  Night Stalker figures out how to do something with his Sport Track it's always buried under several illogical menus.  I agree on the front button layout and both the 60, V and 76 have that.

 

A couple of other sport track comments.  The screen resolution is flat out horrible with pixels that are so large that they make reading the map difficult at times.. Waypoints can eat up all the screen space so the maps are worthless if you upload all the caches in an area.

Sorry, you're right...I overlooked their comment asking to possibly recommend a different unit. However, as I said, the SporTrak Pro will do autorouting, with directroute software, which pretty much covers your "real estate" and "travel" arguments. Again, I was simply concentrating on the two units that were listed as their initial choices, particularly since they were the exact two that I had chosen between.

 

But a couple of your other observations are, like mine, only objective opinions:

 

As for the menus, you like the Garmin, I like the Magellan, you say tomatoe, I say tomato... To me, it's the Garmin menus that are totally illogical. I get totally frustrated when I use my son's E-Trex because the menus don't make sense. On the other hand, I can always easily navigate the menus on my Sportrak. They just make more sense to me. Since I've seen people make the same argument for both, I have to conclude that neither has the upper hand here; it's simply that I started out using a Magellan, and others started out using Garmin. To a GPS newbie, many of the terms used in GPS technology are completely new, so "logic" doesn't always come into play. You have to know what you want to do and what terms refer to that in order to apply logic. Since the menu layers/layouts and even some terms are different between the brands, once you get familiar with one, the other doesn't make as much sense.

 

Yes, resolution is less on the ST, but I certainly wouldn't call it "flat out horrible" (how many caches have been found using an E-Trex yellow, which has an even lower resolution?). Some waypoint icons are smaller than others, and if the icons are filling the screen, then chances are I'm zoomed out to far for the map to be that usable anyway. Or I can turn the icons off. In any case, resolution is relative. A few years from now, the resolution on your V may very well be considered "horrible" by some. Amazing how the "latest and greatest" convinces us that our current items are no longer worth diddly! :ph34r:

 

In any case P3, enjoy your new toy and welcome to the Geocaching community!

Edited by 4x4van
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