The Magellan GPS 315 or the Garmin eTrex GPS?

[Guest tbird2340]

I'm a newbie who wants to buy my first GPS and get started Geocaching. I want to know which is better for my first GPS investment. If neither of the two mentioned above then give me a suggestion. Thanks, Tom Scott

[Guest Linda]

You may want to follow this thread: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/ubb/Forum13/HTML/000319.html

[Guest c_oflynn]

magellan 315, it is great!

 

-Colin

[Guest arffer]

I just went through the same investigation. Frankly, I preferred the Garmin due to form factor and ease of use. But there was one little feature that I wanted that the Garmin didn't have - averaging.

 

So, for my two cents worth: if you don't plan on planting your own caches, go with the Garmin. But if you think you might ever creat your own cache, go with the Magellan just for the averaging feature.

 

If your not sure of why I say this, when you want to plant a cache, you need very accurate coordinates to enter into the cache database. With a unit that averages, you just set the gps on top of the cache and wait, oh say 20 minutes. Then record the position. Without averaging, you have to record the position, walk away say 100 yards, come back, and record the position again. Now do this say 7 or 8 more times. Now average all the results manually. See the difference?

 

Have fun!

[Guest emrldjetta]

Well I have both, so I speak from practical experience with both. I would choose the M315 simply because it gets better reception in thick foliage. Both are easy to use once you get familiar with them. The Garmin etrex is smaller and lighter, both use up batteries at about the same rate. Get some Nickel Metal rechargables from Radio Shack and you will be all set. The M315 does averaging which is nice but it lacks one thing the etrex has and that is a maximum speed register function. Both are high quality and durable. Good luck....Kyle

 

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It's always something.............

[Guest Iron Chef]

I'm with Emrldjetta on this one as the Magellan units have much better antennas. So pretty much it is a choice of whether you want better reception (Magellans and expensive Garmins) or some extra little features (Garmin). Although you can still find old Garmin GPS-II+ units out there for sub-200 USD that have a quadrifilar antenna and all the traditional gps features.

 

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-Iron Chef

_ _ _ _ _ _____ _ _ _ _ _

agefive.com/geocache/ ~ Fe-26

Lets Drive Fast and Eat Cheese!

[Guest arffer]

emrldjetta,

 

What is the maximum speed register function you referred to that the etrex has? Just curious...

[Guest Mike_Teague]

A field that shows the maximum speed the GPS has recorded since reset.

 

like:

 

http://home.earthlink.net/~kvuo/maxmax.jpg

 

 

[This message has been edited by Mike_Teague (edited 11 July 2001).]

[Guest kimbeattie]

Bought a Magellan 315 today. Now I have both an eTrex Basic and a Mag 315. I'm hoping the Mag 315 will get better reception in/under tree cover.

[Guest Iron Chef]

quote:

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Originally posted by kimbeattie:

Bought a Magellan 315 today. Now I have both an eTrex Basic and a Mag 315. I'm hoping the Mag 315 will get better reception in/under tree cover.

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Make sure to tell us all how it goes with the reception issue. If you can try to do a side by side test. I'm very interested in the difference that the antenna makes for relatively similar units.

 

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-Iron Chef

_ _ _ _ _ _____ _ _ _ _ _

agefive.com/geocache/ ~ Fe-26

Lets Drive Fast and Eat Cheese!

[Guest arffer]

quote:

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If you can try to do a side by side test

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I read somewhere that when doing comparisons, heep the two units at least 6 feet apart as internal rf emmisions can effect nearby units. If memory serves, there was even a statement that a Magellan can swamp an Garmin in this manner, but can't recall exact models.

[Guest emrldjetta]

Yes I believe the side-by-side test you read was on the Joe Maheffy web site. The etrex would have been great when I lived in Arizona but here in the midwest the Magellan with the superior antenna wins, hands down. for that matter, any receiver with an external antenna (helix type antenna) instead of a patch type antenna is going to receive better in tree cover whether it's a Magellan or Garmin. If you are interested you could do a web search on patch antennas or conformal antennas and you might learn some interesting facts. FYI......Kyle

 

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It's always something.............

[Guest kimbeattie]

I took the Mag 315 and eTrex out today. At the moment I'm a little disappointed in the Mag 315. On approach to the first cache, the eTrex pointed right at the cache while the Mag 315 had me going straight past the cache about 60 feet. (not even pointing in the correct direction!). After finding the cache, we compared readings for the same coordinates and there was a 40 - 60 foot difference.

 

Later the same day I took both GPS units out after another cache. As we approached the cache there was usually a 1/10 mile difference on the distance reading of the two units. As we got nearer the cache, the distance differenced varied between 5 - 20 feet (which is much more acceptable than the 40 - 60 feet earlier in the day).

 

Something else I noticed is that the Mag 315 display doesn't seem to update as quickly (or as often?) as the eTrex display.

 

Lastly, the disply on the eTrex is much easier to read in all lighting conditions.

 

On the other hand, the Mag 315 consistently locked on to more satellites than the eTrex. The eTrex lost all contact once when I was holding it down by my side and the Mag 315 never totally lost contact. Not a lot of tree cover today, so I can't comment on how the two units did under the trees.

 

I don't think I have enough experience with the Mag 315 yet to draw any conclusions from the above data. I'll be doing more caching this weekend with both units and I'll continue to report my experiences.

[Guest Jebediah]

"...both use up batteries at about the same rate."

 

I disagree completely. I regularly get 20-22 hours out of the eTrex on no-name alkalines, and never once got the 15 hours claimed on the 315 no matter what kind of batteries I tried - 12 hours was the best it could do. Magellan has never claimed the 315 to be as efficient as eTrex.

 

Keep the patch antenna on the eTrex horizontal and held slightly away from your body for best performance.

 

Also keep in mind that many of the GPS website reviews are tech-oriented, written by trailbound folks who like options and gadgets. Frankly, they don't really understand or appreciate the plain eTrex, and you can see this in the comments. There is little or no mention of actual outdoors testing in remote terrain and adverse conditions - wet, heat, cold. But those who need something genuinely waterproof, rugged and simple - backpackers, climbers, soldiers, small-boat sailors etc., love it.

 

[This message has been edited by Jebediah (edited 14 July 2001).]

[Guest kimbeattie]

Not too happy with the Mag 315 after today's outing. The biggest problem I have had with the Mag 315 is that it doesn't seem to update the GOTO display as often as I believe (based on my experience with the eTrex) it should.

 

For example, The direction of the cache is straight ahead. I have the position arrow and the GOTO arrow lined up. Now, if I turn around (180 degrees) and walk away from the cache, the unit often will not update for as long as a minute and over 100 feet. Is this a problem with just my unit, or do other Mag 315 owners notice this type of behavior?

 

The above is just an example pulled out of thin air, but it does describe the situations I have encountered. The eTrex on the other hand, seems to update very often, seeming to be very sensitive to position.

 

What I should do is find someone in the Sacramento area with a Mag 315 and go out with them to see how their unit behaves as compared to mine.

[Guest Iron Chef]

ron Chef

_ _ _ _ _ _____ _ _ _ _ _

agefive.com/geocache/ ~ Fe-26

Lets Drive Fast and Eat Cheese!

[Guest kimbeattie]

quote:

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Originally posted by Iron Chef:

I've had the same problem too. It does seem like these little units get data bottlenecked sometimes which slows down all the extra goodies was this the first time it had done that?

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No, this is not the first time.

 

I've had the Mag 315 for less than a week, but I've been out everyday since I got it. The first day, the eTrex pointed right to the cache (about 40 feet away on my right) while the Mag 315 pointed straight ahead and didn't reverse direction until I was a good 100 feet past the cache location.

 

Today, while searching for Gentle Misery, the eTrex unit continued to update on a regular basis (the GOTO arrow moving in small increments as I approched the cache area) while the Mag 315 kept pointing in the same direction regardless of which direction the cache was actually in!

 

Very frustrating, particularly because I bought the Mag 315 because I wanted a GPS unit that functioned better under tree cover. (The tree cover today was light, and the neither GPS ever lost satellite lock.)

 

 

[This message has been edited by kimbeattie (edited 14 July 2001).]

[Guest kimbeattie]

quote:

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Originally posted by Iron Chef:

I've had the same problem too. It does seem like these little units get data bottlenecked sometimes which slows down all the extra goodies was this the first time it had done that?

---

 

No, this is not the first time.

 

I've had the Mag 315 for less than a week, but I've been out everyday since I got it. The first day, the eTrex pointed right to the cache (about 40 feet away on my right) while the Mag 315 pointed straight ahead and didn't reverse direction until I was a good 100 feet past the cache location.

 

Today, while searching for Gentle Misery, the eTrex unit continued to update on a regular basis (the GOTO arrow moving in small increments as I approched the cache area) while the Mag 315 kept pointing in the same direction regardless of which direction the cache was actually in!

 

Very frustrating, particularly because I bought the Mag 315 because I wanted a GPS unit that functioned better under tree cover. (The tree cover today was light, and the neither GPS ever lost satellite lock.)

 

 

[This message has been edited by kimbeattie (edited 14 July 2001).]

[Guest c_oflynn]

What firmware version do you have loaded in the mag315? I have a mag315, and have not noticed that happening. Normally mine spins back after a few seconds or so. I'll have to test it out though!

 

Colin

[Guest kimbeattie]

quote:

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Originally posted by c_oflynn:

What firmware version do you have loaded in the mag315? I have a mag315, and have not noticed that happening. Normally mine spins back after a few seconds or so. I'll have to test it out though!

 

Colin

---

 

Firmware version = 3.14 which is the most recent I believe.

[Guest c_oflynn]

Hi,

 

I just went on a bike ride to test it out. Approching the landmark, the thing worked fine. After a few seconds it pointed behind me when I past the landmark. Coming up on the landmark again, it didn't work so perfect. It took longer, mabey 5 - 10 seconds before it registered behind me. On a bike that is a few hundred feet. I think that getting nere the landmark you have to give the unit some time to sort everything out. I guess it isn't opperating entierly "real-time", but when just using the cordinents everything is fine.

 

Colin

 

PS: I have 1.07, which came with the GPS, i'm waiting for my cable to arrive

[Guest c_oflynn]

Hi,

 

I just went on a bike ride to test it out. Approching the landmark, the thing worked fine. After a few seconds it pointed behind me when I past the landmark. Coming up on the landmark again, it didn't work so perfect. It took longer, mabey 5 - 10 seconds before it registered behind me. On a bike that is a few hundred feet. I think that getting nere the landmark you have to give the unit some time to sort everything out. I guess it isn't opperating entierly "real-time", but when just using the cordinents everything is fine.

 

Colin

 

PS: I have 1.07, which came with the GPS, i'm waiting for my cable to arrive

[Guest nlazarus]

Ok I need a little guidance, as fas as I ca n determine a Gramin is good if all your doing is looking for caches. Whereas if you plan on hiding caches you need a magellan because the auto averaging feature makes it easier to determine the chache palcement.

[Guest arffer]

nlazarus,

 

Since I first posted my two cents worth above about the benefit of averaging when placing caches, I have come to experiance what a help they are in finding them also.

 

Take a cache hunt yesterday (note: had very good multiple satellite locks during entire hunt). Headed down trail until GPSR indicated that I was no longer getting closer, but was in fact getting further away. Now I stop and wait two minuets to average. Took compass bearing and headed off in that direction, again watching the distance drop on my GPSR. From experiance, I have learned to stop when about 100 feet from the cache, and let the GPSR average again. In this case, I stopped due to heavy brush when the GPSR said I was still 110 feet away. While averaging, the distance kept dropping; 100 feet, 80 feet, 60 feet 20 feet, then the compass swung around behind me and the distance stopped at 27 feet after 2 minutes of averaging. Turns out I had actually passed the cache, and by averaging, my accuracy got much better. I turned around and found the cache. Since I have learned the trick of stopping around 100 to 150 feet from the cache and averaging, my finds have gotten MUCH quicker. I personnaly would now never own a GPSR without averaging.

 

Have fun!

[Guest tnunnery]

From several previous discussions:

 

<

 

Check out the thread at http://forums.Groundspeak.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/000160.html . According to various sources (including Garmin and techs on sci.geo.satellite-nav), waypoint averaging is no longer needed.

[Guest arffer]

of all the readings it gets, and therby significantly further reduce the EPE.

 

Averaging may have originally been developed to combat SA's artifical EPE, but it is still a viable feature to reduce the unit's inherent EPE in my book.

 

I have no interest in trying to convince or sway the opinions of anyone on this topic. The above statements are purely my opinon.

 

Thanks!

[Guest AZMark]

Kim B;

 

Most likely (due to the fact your looking at 2 GPS units) your not walking fast enough.

 

The Mag 315 will start to average if under 2.5 miles per hr. Great for finding your exact position when planting a cache, but you're right, a pain when seeking sometimes.

 

Thru many seeks with the 315 I've learned to walk fast, or to stop for a few seconds,,,let the averaging even out a bit, then line up the sun on the display with the actual bright thingy in the sky, then head off in the direction the Maggie tells you.

 

Hope this helps.