Etrex or Gecko 201 ?

[+paulnconnie]

Is the Etrex a better deal than the Gecko 201 ?

Maybe i should have bought the 201 since i am new . and do i need to know a lot of math for this ?

 

[This message was edited by paulbgosh on May 29, 2003 at 07:34 PM.]

[Nascat]

I'm a relative Newbie and I have a Yellow ETREX, I think it's the least expensive unit on the market. It hasn't done me wrong so far, I figured I'd start out slow and upgrade sooner or later. No math involved so far, I just take the Coordinates from the Cache page and feed it into the GPS and off I go. Just hang in there tons of advice should follow soon, just sit back and listen, most of these Cachers really know they're stuff.

 

Take Care, Michael

 

"Deep in the Heart of Jersey"

[+Renegade Knight]

Both will do the job. The eTrex takes AA batteries and the 201 takes AAA. I actually think (somone else verify!) the 201 is more advanced than the etrex yellow.

 

My advice though is whichever you get, get the cable to hook it to your computer. If you end up doing a lot of geocaching it will save you from making mistakes typing in the coordinates.

 

=====================

Wherever you go there you are.

[+CYBret]

I've run a poll on my site for the last few months concerning the virtues of the Geko. The majority of respondents would rather have a "real GPS" and quite a few would like to play with a Geko before buying it. Several do admit to having bought one already.

 

Personally, I think it's a lot of money for a small screen and some games. But I have to admit, I'd love to try "Geko Smack" out. If Garmin is listening, I think it would be pretty cool if they released PDA versions of the games (I'd even pay a nominal fee for them) just to drum up some interest.

 

Bret

 

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.

When a man found it, he hid it again." Mt. 13:44

[+paulnconnie]

Thanks to all for the great advice , i did order an Etrex from Amazon , free shipping and all I need to lose some weight my Doc said get outdoors so here i go !!

 

Paul R Bain Jr.

[+evergreenhiker!]

You made a solid choice, Paul! I totally trust Garmin products. Currently I use a Vista, but started with the Summit. My father has the Legend. All models are great for caching. After you've done this for a while, you might want to upgrade to a model that supports storing maps via mapsource. I just love this feature! I'd go with the Vista over the legend when are ready. It has the barometric altimeter in it. Very accurate if you caliberate it at known elevations.

[+briansnat]

quote:

---

The majority of respondents would rather have a "real GPS"

---

 

What about the Gecko doesn't make it a "real GPS"? It actully looks like a nice, compact unit with some nifty features for such a small device.

 

"Au pays des aveugles, les borgnes sont rois"

[+nincehelser]

quote:

---

Originally posted by BrianSnat:

What about the Gecko doesn't make it a "real GPS"? It actully looks like a nice, compact unit with some nifty features for such a small device.

---

 

I agree. I don't understand why some people keep dissing this unit. So it's small! That's the whole point! Feature-wise, it seems as good as or better than other non-mapping units.

 

George.

[+yumitori]

I have a Vista, and Peggy has a Geko 201. We've found that her unit seems to get satellite lock noticeably more quickly than mine does in narrow canyons or under tree cover. It also seems to 'hold' them better, and she doesn't lose reception as easily.

 

There's other advantages to the Vista, but the Geko should be a prefectly fine GPSr for many folks' needs.

 

Ron/yumitori

[+Team Shibby]

Having never used a Gecko, I can't speak about it being a toy. It is a 12ch. receiver and will work just as well as any other gps in its class.

 

What I do think is, Garmin knows how big geocaching has become and how much family influence is involved. So, what they have done is cornered the market with a GPS for the little treasure hunters. It is reliable enough to get them to the cache, but doesn't have all the big boy features like mom or dads gps. After all, alot of the other functions of a GPS are boring to most children. They just want to follow the arrow, and when they are not out on a hunt they want games to play. They get both with the gecko line and it doesnt break the bank either.

 

When my son gets a little older, he's getting one for sure

 

Kar

[+nincehelser]

What "big boy features" are you talking about?

 

The only Geko I really don't have much respect for is the 101 which has no computer interface. The 201 seems pretty nice for a non-mapping unit. The 301 seems it could challenge the Vista except for fact it lacks mapping.

 

Aside from maps, what is it missing?

 

Maybe Garmin made an error. Perhaps they should have made it a super-sexy color and priced it $100 above the Vista. Human nature being what it is, I bet a lot would then be drooling over it because the the nifty small size.

 

George

[+Team Shibby]

All I meant is how many kids are really interested in other feature of the GPS (and Im not talking about teenagers!), like tripmeters and routes and celestial calendars or maps and tracks?.

 

Not saying the Gecko's do not contain these features, Im sure they do (or at least some) but I don't see a child being interested in them.

 

I guarantee if I held two GPS receivers side by side, one of them being a gecko, most kids would reach for the cute little yellow one with the green lizard on it.

 

If this GPS was designed with strictly adult usage in mind, I doubt they would have made it so small. Nowadays people like something small enough to slip into their pockets, but they already have that with their eTrex line.

 

Garmin may never admit that this was designed "for kids", but they have plenty of other receivers they could have improved upon first.

 

One more thing, why come out with 3 different geckos and not one of them can handle a map? Probably because kids do not drive

 

I should add that this is just my opinion, I don't work for garmin so it's not like im spitting out facts.

 

Kar

[CactusFlea]

I've got a 201 and really like it. My father has a Meridian Gold with all the maps and bells and whistles. Looks pretty nice. But when we were driving down the road, he had to have his hand either out of the window or right next to it to keep a lock. My 201 was in my lap and never lost signal.

 

I've thought that I might like all the maps and stuff, but part of the fun for me is looking routes up and getting lost anyway. Maybe someday when I've spent more time at this sport I'll upgrade, but for now, the 201 is the perfect unit for me.

 

Oh, and I love the bright yellow color and cute little gecko on the front.

 

Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?

[MarkJsn]

I've had a Geko 201 for a few weeks now and I think it's great! I've used it on a couple of camping trips and I found my first GeoCache with it without any problems. I use it both biking and hiking. I even used it in my truck and it never lost lock once.

 

I got one for my GF and just for grins last week I beamed my lat/lon to her cell phone to see if she could find me and her Geko 201 brought her 44 miles straight to my table!

 

When hiking I team it up with a Brunton 8096 GPS compass and the topos and I'm all set for just about anything.

 

Its been a great tool at a great value! Just my 2 cents.

 

MarkJsn

 

MarkJsn

San Francisco Bay Area

Non Impediti Ratione Cogitonis

[+Perrin]

I gotta agree with all the other geko 201 owners. It works great for me.

 

I compared it at REI with the garmin eTrex. There were a couple things that sold me on the geko over the eTrex:

 

1. According to the product info sheet, the geko 201 had a position accuracy of 3 meters vs. etrex at 15 meters. The Geko was pc compatible, had a compass and altimeter while the etrex had none of those. Finally the Geko supported more reversible routs than the etrex. (this was all info from the REI sheet, so if you disagree with any of that, don't blame me.)

 

2. I held both units and much preferred the button positions on the geko. The geko interface is also very easy to learn.

 

3. The geko 201 was only $25 more than the etrex, even after shipping from Offroute.com.

 

4. The most important point: The geko 201 got a good satelite lock, even inside the store while the etrex couldn't get a lock when we took both units outside.

 

Hope some of that helps.

 

My vote is for the Geko 201, despite the silly color and goofy critter on the front. But then my girlfriend does think the gecko is cute, so maybe that's a bonus afterall

 

Signature? I don't need no stinkin signature!!!!

[+Woof!]

quote:

---

Originally posted by CYBret:

 

Personally, I think it's a lot of money for a small screen and some games. But I have to admit, I'd love to try "Geko Smack" out. If Garmin is listening, I think it would be pretty cool if they released PDA versions of the games (I'd even pay a nominal fee for them) just to drum up some interest.

 

---

 

That wouldnt really work because the games use the actual function of the gps. Its not like the snake games on nokia cell phones. You need a big open field, and then you run around to the coordinates where the game takes you.

 

I love my litte geko 201. The size is perfect, how big do you really need a compas needle to be?

 

Happy Halloween

[+CYBret]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Woof!:

That wouldnt really work because the games use the actual function of the gps. Its not like the snake games on nokia cell phones. You need a big open field, and then you run around to the coordinates where the game takes you.

---

I've got a cable to connect my PDA to my GPS...use it for maps and other stuff all the time. Besides, Garmin has a Palm based GPS already (iQue), so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for them to release such a game.

 

Bret

 

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.

When a man found it, he hid it again." Mt. 13:44

[+woodsters]

We just bought a Gecko 201 tonight. It is small. I was surprised whne I saw it upclose.

 

Brian Wood

Woodsters Outdoors

http://www.woodsters.com

[+RJFerret]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Perrin:

1. According to the product info sheet, the geko 201 had a position accuracy of 3 meters vs. etrex at 15 meters.

 

4. The most important point: The geko 201 got a good satelite lock, even inside the store while the etrex couldn't get a lock when we took both units outside.

 

---

 

Just three quick points...

 

1) The "3 meters" only applies if you can pick up the WAAS sats, otherwise you're at the same 15 meters as everyone else. If you search the forums, you'll find only people on the open water or great plains in the South can pick up these elusive sats. (When more get launched that might change, but for the vast majority currently...)

(1b) WAAS doesn't help much geocaching as the hider typically doesn't have it. So the cache is anywhere in a 40' range--if you can pickup WAAS sats, having roughly a 10' accuracy within that 40' is pretty meaningless...

 

2) On #4, that isn't a fair comparison. It depends on whether the unit has previously been cold started and configured to get a lock previously. If both units had previously been locked on, THEN it would be a fair test. In that example, it sounds like the eTrex hadn't been configured or allowed find sats previously while the Geko had (if they've changed their software they aren't advertising it--which would me a MAJOR feature advancement blowing away the competition [read: not likely]).

 

3) Batteries. The Geko's AAA's will last about half as long as the eTrex's (specifically 12 versus 22 hrs.) So you're looking at double the cost or recharging twice as often.

 

Now that I've broken this down, I'm recommending the basic eTrex to my friend over any Geko (especially since she's tech-savy).

 

(Nevermind they go for $70ish here and on eBay...)

 

Just providing more info/insight,

 

Randy

[+Kite and Hawkeye]

quote:

---

1. According to the product info sheet, the geko 201 had a position accuracy of 3 meters vs. etrex at 15 meters.

---

 

I've never been quite sure what that meant -- that your everyday GPS will give you accuracy of 15 meters or better 95% of the time, or something like that? Because on an average day, we've got 20-foot accuracy estimates most of the time. We have the occasional drop to 35 or 40 feet, but we've never had to find a cache relying on accuracy that poor. Well, except that one time downtown, where signal bounce was so bad we were hundreds of feet off at times, but that was unusual...

[+greengecko]

After everything is said and done, there will be more said and done. That’s why they make all types. Bottom line, I certainly like mine!

[+Rubberhead]

I recently had to decide between the Vista, Summit and the Geko 301.

 

Both the Summit and 301 were around $200 and the Vista was $244.

 

I decided on the Vista because 1) Battery life and size, 2) better, higher-resolution display (100x64 Black-and-white for the Geko and 128x64 4-level gray for the Summit), 3) mapping

 

Since the Vista was only $44 more and it included the cable the total incremental cost was more like $24 for a very high-resolution display, mapping, 24 MB of memory, and the "Accessories" like calculator, calendar (which I use alot), and area calculator. The only thing I gave up was having to carry 3 ounces more weight.

 

Ducks - Flying, great tasting, geocaches of meat