pepperblues Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 I am in the process of deciding on the purchase of a gps unit. I am most interested in using this for backcountry hiking/climbing in Colorado. I will use it when riding my bike and I will also use it in the car. After reading about GC, I would like to get involved here, too. My budget is in the $300 range. What beginner books would you recommend to start to get educated in the full use of a gps? Any thoughts/suggestions would be much appreciated. pepperblues Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 For your use I'd say a GPS with a Quad Helix antanea will do the trick due to tree cover when hiking. In your price Range the GPS V, and the Garmin 60C will both give you good service. You may have to work hard to find a good deal on the 60C. Everything else will blow your budget (and the 60C might allready). Others can speak for the Magellan line. Quote Link to comment
+JohnnyVegas Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 (edited) In the Magelln line there are two that would suit your needs' The Sport Track map sells for about $240.00 ad has 6 mb. of memory that you can load maps onto. The Sport Track Pro will sell for about $245.00 and has 23 mb of memory that you ca load maps onto. These price are from GPS city. for the extra $5.00 I would buy the pro model If you want to load maps into one of these you will have to purchase Magellan software. The Topo map software is around $80.00 The street map software is about $80.00 The the Map send direct route is about $120.00 Both Garmin and Magellan offer very good GPSr. I use Magellan because of some softeare features that Garmin does not includ in there TOPO software. One if these are terrain projetions and the other feature I like is that the Magellan software include the names of the streets and Garmin does not, this means you do not need to buy the street maps if you are on a budget. The Direct route is the new version of Magellans street map software, this software will give you turn by Turn directiions. Stay away from the Magellan explorist series, none of these offer a data input for a computer. You might also check both Magellan and Garmins web sites for any rebates, it seem they have rebates going about 10 months out of the year. Edited October 5, 2004 by JohnnyVegas Quote Link to comment
+Siberian Cacher Posted October 6, 2004 Share Posted October 6, 2004 I am in the process of deciding on the purchase of a gps unit.I am most interested in using this for backcountry hiking/climbing in Colorado. I will use it when riding my bike and I will also use it in the car. I just upgraded my Garmin E-Trex to a Magellan SporTrak Map. It was at Best Buy for 189.00 and then has a $30.00 mail in rebate for making it ~ $160.00. I also bought MapSend streets and Destiniations on Ebay for $34.00 ($45.00) with shipping. I really like this model of GPS. I down regions (cities for me) which has all the streets, POI, etc. I set the unit in my cupholder and drive around town... it tracks you on the streets very well! Of course, you have to watch where you are going as sometimes I get engrossed in the little map screen This was a very nice step up from my E-trex. I downloaded about 300 caches in my area and you can scroll over them and see the notes, add your own notes, etc. I will probably get the Mederian Gold or platnium for around $300.00 as my next unit which can use XD cards for unlimited mapping capability. Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment
+Cherokeecacher Posted October 6, 2004 Share Posted October 6, 2004 From the Magellan Line, I would suggest looking at a Meridian Gold or Platinum. The ability to load multiple maps on a SD card is great and the use of SD cards also give you unlimited storage, well up to 1 gig anyway. I am not comparing these to any of the mentioned Garmin’s, but if you are looking at Magellans, I would suggest the Meridians over the SporTrak line. Also Magellan® MapSend® Topo can be purchased here for $26.95 after a mail in rebate Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted October 6, 2004 Share Posted October 6, 2004 ... One if these are terrain projetions and the other feature I like is that the Magellan software include the names of the streets and Garmin does not... I've noticed this. When it comes to terrain features Garmin and Magellan are about the same. But the street names was a nice feature when caching out of town with just the GPS Topo maps. For Garmin to have street names you have to use City Select, then depending on your GPS you can route. However City Select doesn't include topo information. Quote Link to comment
pepperblues Posted October 6, 2004 Author Share Posted October 6, 2004 Thanks for all this information! Knight, are you saying that the Magellan series has the street names and Garmin does not?? pepperblues Quote Link to comment
+rusty_tlc Posted October 6, 2004 Share Posted October 6, 2004 I'll add my two bits for the meridian series, I have the Platinum but would get the gold if I had it to do over. I just don't use the barometer and thermometer that much. My B-inlaw has a sportrak, the problem with it is not enough memory and no way to upgrade. When they go on vacation he has to load the region they are going to, then re-load the local region when he gets back. With my platy I can load Topos for the entire western US. Quote Link to comment
+JohnnyVegas Posted October 6, 2004 Share Posted October 6, 2004 (edited) From the Magellan Line, I would suggest looking at a Meridian Gold or Platinum. The ability to load multiple maps on a SD card is great and the use of SD cards also give you unlimited storage, well up to 1 gig anyway. I am not comparing these to any of the mentioned Garmin’s, but if you are looking at Magellans, I would suggest the Meridians over the SporTrak line. Also Magellan® MapSend® Topo can be purchased here for $26.95 after a mail in rebate I would agree that the Meridian is a better unit from Magellan, but when you add the cost of the memory card which the Sport Traks do not require it will be hard to keep the total cost in the $300.00 price range that was recomend. As far as the 6mb of memory in the Sport track map, that is plenty for geocaching, it is not a very big job to load another area into your GPS if you are going to be geocahing in another area. I use my Sport Track in the San Francisco area and Sacramento without having to change my map. I also have a Meridian gold running Direct Routed, but it stays in my truck for street navigation. Edited October 6, 2004 by JohnnyVegas Quote Link to comment
pepperblues Posted October 6, 2004 Author Share Posted October 6, 2004 As of right now, I'm looking at the Magellan Gold, in a package w/TOPO, from The GPS store, for $270. Thoughts/comments....... pepperblues Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted October 6, 2004 Share Posted October 6, 2004 As of right now, I'm looking at the Magellan Gold, in a package w/TOPO, from The GPS store, for $270. Thoughts/comments....... pepperblues Like Johnny Vegas was saying, the topo maps in the Magellan show the street names. The topo maps on Garmin doesn't show the street names. Both do about the same job for topographical features. Quote Link to comment
+Cherokeecacher Posted October 6, 2004 Share Posted October 6, 2004 As of right now, I'm looking at the Magellan Gold, in a package w/TOPO, from The GPS store, for $270. Thoughts/comments....... pepperblues Meridian Gold for $189.95 and TOPO and 16mb SD card for $25.95 after mail in rebate. For a total of $239.95 minus $20.00 mail in rebate = $219.95 + $10.01 for shipping (this is what it was to Houston, TX) = $229.96 Net cost after rebate. See my reply to your PM for the links Quote Link to comment
+NavySparksandtheMrs Posted October 7, 2004 Share Posted October 7, 2004 I just recently purchased a Garmin etrex Vista C which I am very happy with. May I suggest you check out http://www.offroute.com/ for whatever unit you decide on. I got my Vista C there at an excellent price. The service was outstanding on both it and another item I bought last week. Ordered both one day and had them the next. They use to be posted on geocaching's home page but recently have been replaced by REI. Why I do not know as REI's prices are VERY high. Quote Link to comment
+Night Stalker Posted October 8, 2004 Share Posted October 8, 2004 I own the Magellan SporTrak Pro and a Garmin 60CS. I did appreciate the street names on the SporTrak Pro, but no longer need them because the 60CS gives me auto-routing to the closest point on a road to the cache.... The 60CS is out of your price range, but the 60C will do the same thing. It just wont have the compass or barometer. You will have to look hard, but I believe you can find a 60C for $300 on the net. This will not include the software, but once you have the hardware you can acquire the software later. I paid $400 for the 60cs, but haven't used the extra features enough to justify the additional price. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted October 8, 2004 Share Posted October 8, 2004 (edited) For that money I'd go with the Garmin V. It was an excellent unit when it was $450 and it's even better now that it's come down in price. Because you want to use it for hiking and backpacking I'd personally avoid the Magellan Meridian series. The Meridians are huge. An eTrex Vista would also be a good choice. Its also came down in price so you can get the unit and topo mapping software for around $300. I prefer the eTrex for backpacking because its a compact, lightweight unit. It fits easily in my pants or shirt pocket. You can't do that with a Meridian. The Vista also has a barometric altimeter which is a nice feature for climbing. Edited October 8, 2004 by briansnat Quote Link to comment
Captain Clown & Matt Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 If anyone is inetersted in a good GPS cheap check out the Garmin eTrex Legend C at Target on-line. Someone had to have goofed it's listed with carrying case for $169, to arrive at store and ship around the end of November. The picture is of the Legend but the name and description is for the color Legend c. I already bought one and told a few other cachers about it. Target Quote Link to comment
eggman7360 Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 Sounds like you may be in some rough terrain sometimes... so I just thought I should say it would be a map/compass backup in case of cold or dead batteries. Quote Link to comment
metalweb Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 (edited) I just got started in geocaching too. I ordered a Meridian Gold for $164 + $10 shipping. I also picked up a 128MB SD card for $27. The GPSr came from Harmony Computers and the SD card came from Best Buy. Today is the day for the first cache but so far the GPSr tracks me around town perfectly. As far as the size of the meridian I don't think its too big, if you hiike with a backpack it will clip on to a shoulder strap nicely. I like having the large screen too. Edited October 16, 2004 by metalweb Quote Link to comment
pepperblues Posted October 16, 2004 Author Share Posted October 16, 2004 THANKS!!!! Everyone for the replies. I just got my Meridian Gold on Thurs. I am really pleased so far. I really like the general feel when operating the Gold. I think the menus are easier to get around in, too. I don't think there will be any problem w/size when hiking/climbing. There is alot to learn.....but it is going to be fun. Will be asking more questions in the future I'm sure. Going on first hunt today. pepperblues Quote Link to comment
peatry Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 We were talking to a Bass Pro Shop guy about this very topic and I found this website that might help you. If you read this topic from "peatry" on Oct. 9, we were choosing between 2 GPS's. We narrowed it down to two by this website then asked which one was better. The GPS V DELUXE has good memory, an option for external antennae, and comes with MANY features that you have to buy otherwise. It is also on sale at the Bass Pro Shop until OCt. 25 for $299. $50 off. BUt, here is a website that recommends GPSs for hiking & geocaching. It gives what you "need" as far as features & which of the GPS are good and which are NOT recommended for such. http://gpsinformation.us/main/gpshiking.htm Good Luck! I hope that I could help! rgiddens11 & peatry Quote Link to comment
+Jinxt Posted October 16, 2004 Share Posted October 16, 2004 Hope you are enjoying your first hunts Pepperblues. We made the same choices as you did initially and we're really happy with the set up. We've had ours for a couple of months and we have 19 cache finds logged We haven't needed to use the Topo maps much yet, but I can see how they may be helpful when we take this hobby further away from home. Best luck out there. Jinxt Quote Link to comment
+JohnnyVegas Posted October 20, 2004 Share Posted October 20, 2004 I just saw the Magellan sport track map on clearance at radio shack for $169.99 and Magellan has a $30.00 rebate listed on their web site now, at $139.99 after the rebates, that is hard to beat. Quote Link to comment
Emerald232 Posted October 22, 2004 Share Posted October 22, 2004 I ended up getting a Magellan Sportrek Color for about $220 on a website out of New York City. I believe that was a good deal. It's a great GPS. There is an issue with GPS antennas that you want to research. Some types are better then others. This Magellan get's a lock pretty darn fast and in fairly thick forests. Not all can do that. Make sure you look into this antenna business before you purchase. I am nothing but happy with my purchase! It's a great GPS ... much better then many I have seen and many that my friends have. I also purchase the Magellan topo map software to load into my GPS ... it's not that great. The topo maps are not all that accurate. It does have street maps/addresses, which is nice when i am driving around an unfamilure area. I also ended up getting Maptech Terrain Navigator topo map software that does 3D movable maps and it is fantastic. You can see exactly what the terrain is going to look like where you are going and it allows you to plan where to place a Geocache. It's very useful and the easiest to use 3D displaying map software I have found. I did a lot of research on this. Quote Link to comment
+Kit Fox Posted October 22, 2004 Share Posted October 22, 2004 For those of you that are still looking for a GPS, ShopHarmony www.shopharmony.com has the best prices on the net . I bought my Meridian Gold for $164.00 and added a case for a total of $203.00. It was shipped to my house in two days. http://www.shopharmony.com/product.asp?i=MAGMRD59802 Quote Link to comment
+seeker22 Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 Just get a little yellow etrex fom Target, do a little research on geocaching.com, and you can find any cache that a 1000 find cacher can claim. Might be more fun with a fancy geek machine if you're into it, but not necessary. Have fun Quote Link to comment
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