Guest mojo Posted July 9, 2001 Share Posted July 9, 2001 This will be our first GPS. Our primary uses will be on the ski boat for nav on big lakes like Tahoe and Shasta. We should be able to calibrate our boat speedometers as well. May even dash mount and run off the eTrex speed indicator. Other than boat use we do some hiking and backpacking as well as the occasional road trip. Of course we've been able to do all these things without a GPS before, but it will be fun to have anyhow. I'm looking at the Venture and Legend. The Vista seems nice but the cost is a lot more. The 76 looks good too, especially with the anchor alarms but again the cost is a lot more. If anyone has any ideas on the best model for our uses I'd like to hear them. Thanks Quote Link to comment
Guest Iron Chef Posted July 9, 2001 Share Posted July 9, 2001 quote:Originally posted by mojo:This will be our first GPS. Our primary uses will be on the ski boat for nav on big lakes like Tahoe and Shasta. We should be able to calibrate our boat speedometers as well. May even dash mount and run off the eTrex speed indicator. Other than boat use we do some hiking and backpacking as well as the occasional road trip. Of course we've been able to do all these things without a GPS before, but it will be fun to have anyhow. I'm looking at the Venture and Legend. The Vista seems nice but the cost is a lot more. The 76 looks good too, especially with the anchor alarms but again the cost is a lot more. If anyone has any ideas on the best model for our uses I'd like to hear them. Thanks The Etrex series of GPSs is good for the marine aspect of what you are talking about, but I'm not too sure about the hiking part as their antennas arn't the greatest and don't work so well under tree cover. West Marine also carries a special Etrex called the Mariner that has marine Navaids for boaters and some other stuff, it is essentially a Venture with these extra features added on and a different color case. Only trick is that you can only get it at West Marine or westmarine.com. The Magellan 330M is also a pretty nice marine unit from what I hear. ------------------ -Iron Chef _ _ _ _ _ _____ _ _ _ _ _ agefive.com/geocache/ ~ Fe-26 Lets Drive Fast and Eat Cheese! Quote Link to comment
Guest c_oflynn Posted July 10, 2001 Share Posted July 10, 2001 Hi, The magellan 330 is a nice unit. I've got a mag 315, its very good. The mag 330 has WAAS in it, so that makes it extreamly acurate. Also, the mag 330 has a bunch of nav-aids preprogrammed in, such as bouys. check out www.magellangps.com Colin Quote Link to comment
Guest Iron Chef Posted July 10, 2001 Share Posted July 10, 2001 Whatever you choose to get in the end, I would highly suggest that it has a quadrifilar or a quad-helix antenna. If not you may be looking to replace the unit in a few months. ------------------ -Iron Chef _ _ _ _ _ _____ _ _ _ _ _ agefive.com/geocache/ ~ Fe-26 Lets Drive Fast and Eat Cheese! Quote Link to comment
Guest Iron Chef Posted July 10, 2001 Share Posted July 10, 2001 I forgot to mention that the eTrex Venture and Legend are essentially the same unit. The only difference is that the Legend has some extra memory and a basemap of the US I believe that has major highways and surface streets. It does not do address to address navigation, nor is it designed to be a replacement for a good map. What else are you looking to get out of your GPS unit? The 76 and Map76 both have that nice big screen which you can't argue with, but the 76 series is much different than the eTrex models. Overall, remember that this is an investment of sorts and that you get what you pay for. I would also suggest that you look into the Magellan Map330 or 330M (mariner edition). ------------------ -Iron Chef _ _ _ _ _ _____ _ _ _ _ _ agefive.com/geocache/ ~ Fe-26 Lets Drive Fast and Eat Cheese! Quote Link to comment
Guest WJJagfan Posted July 13, 2001 Share Posted July 13, 2001 I love my venture! I've heard some complaints about the navigation button, but I've never had a problem with mine at all. I like to hike and backpack, and haven't had any problems with navigation or tracking. I like it better than the Etrex Basic and the Summit because of the higher resolution screen and the trip computer screen which shows alot of data at once. It is also WAAS enabled. Cost wise, it is actually less than the Summit, and only slightly more than the basic Etrex - especially if you purchase it online. I wanted to get my Dad a GPS for Father's Day, and was going to go with the basic unit. After reviewing all the info on it, I realized what a good deal the Venture actually was and couldn't bring myself to buy anything less for him. ------------------ WJJagFan Quote Link to comment
Guest jc364 Posted July 13, 2001 Share Posted July 13, 2001 I have an Venture and it will do all your asking it to do. I love it!! I saw a previous post about tree cover. I've been in some dense tree cover and very rarely lose reception. Also its water proof. Quote Link to comment
Guest Iron Chef Posted July 13, 2001 Share Posted July 13, 2001 quote:Originally posted by jc364:I have an Venture and it will do all your asking it to do. I love it!! I saw a previous post about tree cover. I've been in some dense tree cover and very rarely lose reception. Also its water proof. You're lucky. And to explain the forest thing, I live in a redwood forest, so the 100-350 foot trees eat the signal for lunch. But even then my Venture can't keep a signal even in light tree cover which is disappointing. If you have a signal and enter lightly covered area you may be able to maintain a lock on 2-3 sats, but eventually it will lose it in a matter of mins. This is even worse with moderate cover. My accuracy under light cover two days ago was 853 feet... ;~) on my scale of preformance that rates just wee bit under "piss poor preformance." When I have a clear sky though the unit is remarkable though. I like the premise of the venture as being a good all in one unit (thats why I got it). And I defiantly agree that it is a much better buy than the basic etrex unit, but I must say that in my opinion it is the antenna that makes the unit and the etrex line sports a really cheezy antenna. Unless it has a clear line-of-sight with the sats it isn't going to want to play. Having WAAS ability in the unit is nice when you have a signal and can see 47 or 35, but my own tests show that the Venture is about as accurate with WAAS on as it is with it off. It may just be my unit though, although I've heard others complain of the same problem. And I've seen Magellan units keep a lock while my etrex was rendered useless for navigation and just became an expensive clock. Needless to say, I'm in the process of getting a new unit. So I'll do some comparisons once I do. ------------------ -Iron Chef _ _ _ _ _ _____ _ _ _ _ _ agefive.com/geocache/ ~ Fe-26 Lets Drive Fast and Eat Cheese! [This message has been edited by Iron Chef (edited 13 July 2001).] Quote Link to comment
Guest jc364 Posted July 14, 2001 Share Posted July 14, 2001 Iron Chef, You must have a bad unit. I'm currently sitting in my computer room with one window 8 feet away, blinds closed and I have a lock on 3 satelites!! In by book, thats great reception!! Quote Link to comment
Guest gstrong1 Posted July 14, 2001 Share Posted July 14, 2001 I agree with Iron Chef 100%.Up here in the Northeast, you will not find an eTrex model that will hold a satellite fix under heavy tree cover.I purchased a III Plus back in March when I was introduced to geocaching, & was having a ball.So much so that when the eTrex Vista came out in April or May,I got on the pre-order list for one & couldn't wait till it arrived.All the features that it has, I thought it would be the perfect unit.The day it arrived,I grabbed it & headed out after a cache.Man, was I spoiled with the III Plus!I got 10 ft. into the woods at the cache area,and the Vista gave me the old "lost satellite reception".Happened again & again on every cache hunt in wooded areas.Vista is the top of the eTrex line & it is not a good unit for geocaching.Its a great little unit for about anything else, but don't plan on depending on one in the woods.The III plus is less expensive than the Vista & is a fabulous unit that is as dependable as they come.Lacks the memory capacity of the Vista, but what good is a lot of memory if I can't get a satelite fix.I also picked up the MASP76 for just a few dollars more than the Vista & it too leaves the Vista in the dust.This is not my opinion, this is fact!At least that is the way it is up hear in New York.Maybe our leaves have lead in them.I am not alone in this observation.The antenna on the eTrex line is terrible. ------------------ Gary "Gimpy" Strong Rochester,NY Quote Link to comment
Guest jc364 Posted July 14, 2001 Share Posted July 14, 2001 Well that is interesting. I can only attest to what my Venture does for me. Maybe the area of the country you are in does have a direct bearing on reception. I'm in North Carolina and usually in heavy tree cover I have a lock on at least 4 satelites. If there is anyone out there that just can't stand thier Vista, please mail it to me. I'll give it a good home!! Quote Link to comment
Guest Jebediah Posted July 14, 2001 Share Posted July 14, 2001 ted by Jebediah (edited 14 July 2001).] Quote Link to comment
Guest Rubberhead Posted July 15, 2001 Share Posted July 15, 2001 Getting to your original question: Do you need mapping and to be able to track changes in elevation and barometric pressure? If yes, eTrex Vista (about $350) Do you need mapping only? If Yes, eTrex Legend (about $250) Do you need to track elevation and barometric pressure only, without mapping capabilities? If yes, eTrex Summit (about $250) Do you only need locations of cities, navigational markers or other points of interest, without the ability to draw detailed maps? If yes, eTrex Venturer or Mariner, (about $170) Do you need basic waypoint, tracklog and route capabilities with lunar phases and hunting & fishing information? If yes, Garmin eTrex Camo (About $130). If you only need basic waypoint, tracklog and route capabilities then the eTrex yellow (About $120). If you have a computer and plan on doing any real serious Geocaching, the Venturer is great because it is the cheapest unit that comes with a high resolution screen, multiple routes, and the data cable comes with the unit. If you just bought the yellow etrex and the data cable, you?d already be up to $140. Why not spend another $30 and get all these features. Garmin has a tech sheet that does a side-by-side comparison of the eTrex family at http://www.garmin.com/specs/eTrexfamspec.pdf The only units not on this sheet are the Camo and the Mariner, which is available only at West Marine. Needless to say, but I went through this decision process about a month again and settled on the Mariner (basically a Venturer, pre-loaded with marine navigational markers). If you buy the Venturer, you can down-load the marine information from the Garmin website. Garmin often updates the firmware that runs these units, so getting a data cable, will give you the ability to download firmware updates from the Garmin website. Quote Link to comment
Guest One-Eyed Willie Posted July 25, 2001 Share Posted July 25, 2001 I just bought an Etrex Legend and let me tell you that I'm absolutely thrilled with it. I heard the horror stories about Etrex having to do with lost reception in thick forests. Let me assure you, I get a signal anywhere outside, in my bedroom sitting by the window, and in my car. I'm not sure but maybe Garmin's newer units recently built have improved with reception. Just stating that I wouldn't trade my Etrex for anything else. One-Eyed Willie Quote Link to comment
Guest raptorrider2001 Posted July 26, 2001 Share Posted July 26, 2001 I have had my Vista for a couple of months now and becoming more comfortable with it each time I use it. I reently spent 2 weeks in Co. with it mounted on the handle bars of my atv and rode in some pretty heavy cover on trails up to an elevation of 10622' according to the Vista. Not once did I lose a lock. I am very happy with it although sometimes I seem to experience a little trouble with the click stick. Either it doesn't always work or I do not click it hard enough. A little more time will tell if it is going bad, I guess. I also have received the WAAS signals several times and was not able to tell much difference in accuracy with it than without. Quote Link to comment
Guest ecbaatz Posted July 27, 2001 Share Posted July 27, 2001 quote:Originally posted by raptorrider2001:I have had my Vista for a couple of months now and becoming more comfortable with it each time I use it. I reently spent 2 weeks in Co. with it mounted on the handle bars of my atv and rode in some pretty heavy cover on trails up to an elevation of 10622' according to the Vista. Not once did I lose a lock. I am very happy with it although sometimes I seem to experience a little trouble with the click stick. Either it doesn't always work or I do not click it hard enough. A little more time will tell if it is going bad, I guess. I also have received the WAAS signals several times and was not able to tell much difference in accuracy with it than without. RaptorRider2001, Would love to see the track of that ride. Can I get a copy of the track. I can load it into my Delorme Topo USA. I also ride an atv (Suzuki King Quad) and am just getting into using the GPS. Currently have the Etrex Vista. I am enjoying it so far. ------------------ Eric Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.