What Would You do?

[threx]

From a lead on one of the posts here on this very forum, I purchased 2 GPS V's on very good deals. I am obviously selling one of them but my dilemma is, should I sell both? I am new to geocaching, heck, I haven't even gone on a a cache hunt yet although I am planning to do so this weekend. That is, if I decide to keep the other GPS V. I think that with my experience, or lack of it, an Etrex Legend or Emap would suit me perfectly fine. The Magellans are too bulky for my taste.

Personally, I like the idea of a large memory bank for maps as I like driving around and getting lost.

 

What would you knowledgeable guys recommend?

Keep the GPS V or settle for the Etrex Legend?

Is the difference of $150+ dollars (the Etrex Legend has $ 50 MIRebate) that much significant in comparing the two?

 

Thanks in Advance.

[+briansnat]

quote:

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What would you knowledgeable guys recommend?

Keep the GPS V or settle for the Etrex Legend?

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I have a Legend and its a nice unit for the money. But since you already have the GPS V, stay with it.

It's packed with a lot more features and has a much better antennae than the Legend.

 

"Life is a daring adventure, or it is nothing" - Helen Keller

[threx]

quote:

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Originally posted by BrianSnat:

 

I have a Legend and its a nice unit for the money. But since you already have the GPS V, stay with it.

It's packed with a lot more features and has a much better antennae than the Legend.

 

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The GPS V would make a whole lot more sense, especially with the turn by turn capability. I do a lot of driving around as means of relaxation. With it, I could probably go to the edges of the Sierra Nevada range and still come out alive. Anyway, I'll be off to my first geocache hunt this Saturday with my new GPS V. Wish me luck people!

[+Centaur]

I have not had any other GPSr then a V, and I read the messages here before buying it. I am glad I did.

See my road report HERE.

 

Dont let the talk about on 19 Megs of memory throw you. Unless you live in a very populated city (where 19 megs will let you load half of Chicago and the outlayign suburbs) you can load a fairly vast area of land in the memory. Out west, on our trip, I was able to load a large area of coverage along the interstates. Also, the V has a full basemap of ALL major highways in the US built in, even if you dont have the closeup mapsource data loaded, it will still route you to the major highways. Yea, I would have liked memory cards, etc. But I wanted a GPS for the trip, and i like the Autorouting feature of the V. The screen resolution cant be beat. The antennna is very good, and Ill get signal lock under heavy coverage where GPSr's with builtins lose it. If your going to do alot of driving, then invest in one of the small external roof top antennas, youll almost always get 8 to 12 birds locked up then.

I bet you that at some point Garmin will come out with a V with memory expantion or cards or whatnot, but for now, I don't think a V can be beat. You got it, use it. Just because you are new to Geocaching dosn't mean you cant start off with top notch equipment.

-Centaur

 

[+Centaur]

I have not had any other GPSr then a V, and I read the messages here before buying it. I am glad I did.

See my road report HERE.

 

Dont let the talk about on 19 Megs of memory throw you. Unless you live in a very populated city (where 19 megs will let you load half of Chicago and the outlayign suburbs) you can load a fairly vast area of land in the memory. Out west, on our trip, I was able to load a large area of coverage along the interstates. Also, the V has a full basemap of ALL major highways in the US built in, even if you dont have the closeup mapsource data loaded, it will still route you to the major highways. Yea, I would have liked memory cards, etc. But I wanted a GPS for the trip, and i like the Autorouting feature of the V. The screen resolution cant be beat. The antennna is very good, and Ill get signal lock under heavy coverage where GPSr's with builtins lose it. If your going to do alot of driving, then invest in one of the small external roof top antennas, youll almost always get 8 to 12 birds locked up then.

I bet you that at some point Garmin will come out with a V with memory expantion or cards or whatnot, but for now, I don't think a V can be beat. You got it, use it. Just because you are new to Geocaching dosn't mean you cant start off with top notch equipment.

-Centaur

 

[umc]

Just ordered my V yesterday and it should be here tomorrow. I came from a GM 100 which I had for the past four years and still love it. I just wanted something new and different. I use my GPSr for hunting and fishing along with on trips. The V will help me with the Trip part a lot more along with my new found hobby of GeoCaching. You can never have too many gadgets especially when it comes to GPSr's. Stay with the V (I don't have mine yet but can say) you'll be glad you did.

 

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The 'idiot' who should be banned because he likes to spend all day annoying people while drinking beer.

[umc]

*forgot*

 

Also make sure to read Centaur's road trip thread because that will be sure to convince you. Very good thread for any V owner or soon to be owner to read.

 

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The 'idiot' who should be banned because he likes to spend all day annoying people while drinking beer.

[+leatherman]

The only feature that stands out on the GPS V is the directions. I found that feature very inaccurate. It also wasn't that important to me. You may feel differently.

As for sensitivity their both about the same. Even though they have different antennas.

I'm not sure why you think the Magellans are bulky compaired to the blocky GPS V.

 

Preparation, the first law to survival.

Mokita!

[azog]

Like any geeky hobby, one tends to upgrade over time. I'd keep the V, and skip that process.

 

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Chickenfoot! Come back! You're not a freak! You're just stupid!

[Moun10Bike]

quote:

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Originally posted by leatherman:

 

The only feature that stands out on the GPS V is the directions. I found that feature very inaccurate.

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It depends on what maps you are using. The City Select mapset is awesome in an urban area, while Metroguide has amazing coverage in rural areas. Both claim to have "full coverage," but I have run into issues trying to use Metroguide in cities (it doesn't have the best info on one-way streets, etc.) and City Select in the country (the latest version is still missing many rural roads).

 

quote:

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I'm not sure why you think the Magellans are bulky compaired to the blocky GPS V

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You can rotate the antenna and the display orientation on the V, which gives it a very comfortable form for handheld use. I was surprised at the size of the Meridians when I first held one, although I still find them comfortable to hold.

 

[+leatherman]

My only experiance with the GPS V is caching with CarCache. He really likes the routing feature. However it's inaccurate enough for me not to like it.

When the route sends you off an overpass that has no exit to the street it wants you to turn on, I question it's accuracy.

 

CarCache is not happy with the units accuracy/sensativity. When we go out hunting together his coordinates will be jumping around. While mine is pretty steady, and I've already started searching. I try to tell him not to "force the coordinates" and start searching sooner. However I can see his point. If he was out by himself, how could he start searching if he can't get a steady signal?

 

I almost bought a GPS V. One click away. However I'm very happy with the unit I did get.

 

Preparation, the first law to survival.

Mokita!

[+Criminal]

Last weekend a "new" icon suddenly appeared in a search for nearby caches. With the Garmin V I just loaded the cache coordinates and away I went. The V autorouted me right to the parking area without downloading, printing, or even consulting a paper map. I was not sure how to get to the park but the V was. The V did not know about the one-way roads in the park but I was still able to figure it out. It then came off the dash and lead me right to the cache area.

 

Woof-poof, another "first find" for me!

 

If your house catches afire, and there aint no water around,

If your house catches afire, and there aint no water around,

Throw your jelly out the window; let the dog-gone shack burn down.

**Huddie Ledbetter**

[+Centaur]

quote:

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Originally posted by leatherman:

When the route sends you off an overpass that has no exit to the street it wants you to turn on, I question it's accuracy.

 

CarCache is not happy with the units accuracy/sensativity. When we go out hunting together his coordinates will be jumping around.

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I too have seen this "not a real exit" on my V when it was using the builtin autoroute basemap and not the uploaded mapsource data. I have found the mapsource 4.01 to be 95% accurate so far. Biggest glitch i have seen in it in 2 months of use as been one country road that was offset by 500 feet then where it actually was.

As for accuracy/sensitivity, i have no other unit to compare it to, but from all accounts on here, its one of the more accurate and sensitive units. I have used it under heavy tree cover and had lock 90% of the time, and always when reaching the final cache location. My repeatability with it is very high, that is a location I mark with it one day will turn up at the "0" point the next day +/- 10 feet. I dont think I can ask for much more then that. All these are just my own experiance, YMMV.

-Centaur

 

[+Centaur]

quote:

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Originally posted by leatherman:

When the route sends you off an overpass that has no exit to the street it wants you to turn on, I question it's accuracy.

 

CarCache is not happy with the units accuracy/sensativity. When we go out hunting together his coordinates will be jumping around.

---

 

I too have seen this "not a real exit" on my V when it was using the builtin autoroute basemap and not the uploaded mapsource data. I have found the mapsource 4.01 to be 95% accurate so far. Biggest glitch i have seen in it in 2 months of use as been one country road that was offset by 500 feet then where it actually was.

As for accuracy/sensitivity, i have no other unit to compare it to, but from all accounts on here, its one of the more accurate and sensitive units. I have used it under heavy tree cover and had lock 90% of the time, and always when reaching the final cache location. My repeatability with it is very high, that is a location I mark with it one day will turn up at the "0" point the next day +/- 10 feet. I dont think I can ask for much more then that. All these are just my own experiance, YMMV.

-Centaur