Etrex Yellow For Venture Or Legend?

[seren8]

Hi all.

 

I am brand new to GPS and geocaching. I was sort of pushed into it because my dad just gave my wife and I the eTrex yellow for xmas. Well, I like to research the heck out of electronics purchases, and so I immediately began scouring around the web for reviews to make sure it was a decent GPS (which is why I usually like to buy my own electronics!). I found the geocaching.com link on a review on the circuitcity web site, and, well, here I am.

 

Geocaching sounds like a lot of fun, and my wife and I are both looking forward to trying it out (we live in NYC and don't have a car, so for now that will be the main use of the GPS). I have somehow forced myself not to open the package yet until I make sure it is the best one for us, as beginners. Apologies if the questions below have been answered in previous threads...I did do a search, but then I began reading lots and lots of other threads, and, well, it's a bit overwhelming and time-consuming, and since I have to return this unit soon if I'm going to, I figured I would go ahead and post.

 

Now that my long-winded introduction is over, let me get started...

 

1. One thing I definitely want to do is hook up my gps to my PC. I was going to buy the combo serial/lighter adapter cord from Amazon since it is cheaper than most places are charging for just one or the other. However, then I noticed the Venture will come out to around the same price, and it includes 1mb of memory. Do you think that it is more wise to just return the yellow one and get the Venture?

 

2. Regarding the memory on the Venture, I'm a little hazy on how the memory works. The Venture has 1mb of memory, and the yellow has no extra memory, but waypoints can still be loaded on the Yellow, right? Does that mean that the 1mb is additional memory just for full maps?

 

OK, that's all for now. I have other questions about connecting the gps to my Palm T3, but I will save those until later (I'd better settle on a unit first!). Oh, and I know the Legend is another option, and it seems like a much better option. I am not opposed to spending the extra (since the cost of the Yellow can be taken out of what I have to spend, since it was a gift) but I am also hesitant to spend that much more on it when I have never done any of this before, and have not decided that I for sure like it. If there are reasons why I should spend the extra, then I will.

 

Overall, though, I must say that I am tempted to keep the Yellow, just because IMHO it looks (physically, not in specs) the best out of all of them. I love the fact that I could find it anywhere, whether dropped in the woods or buried under a pile of my junk!

 

Thanks in advance for any help!!!

[+Team Tigger International]

There have been an amazing number of caches found with 'lil yellow'. As a caching device, it's pretty good. Enjoy it, and you can always upgrade to a different model later.

 

Wulf

[Neo_Geo]

First off, these gizmos need to see the sky in order to work. The less sky that's visible, the less these things are gonna perform for you. I personally had an eTrex Legend and an eMap in the vicinity of Madison Avenue and 56th Street. I was rather busy while I was in town then, but I got a few chances to turn on my GPSrs outside. I never got a lock on my position the whole time I was in town. The buildings just block so much of the sky!

 

In fact, I have problems getting a lock as a pedestrian in Washington, DC - and buildings are generally limited to about 10 floors there. I am able to get a lock if I'm on a street corner there, and it usually holds it once I've got it, but then sometimes I lose it. At best, I think it's gonna be very tough to get a lock in NYC, and even tougher to maintain it. You might do well to post another question regarding other users' experiences in Manhattan.

 

Keep in mind that this was my hurried experience with using these things in NY, but to be honest, I wasn't to disappointed because I truly wasn't expecting for it to work.

 

With that said, if you're interested in doing some caching in the surrounding boroughs, I will give you my input on your questions.

 

1. Yes, the cost of a cable pretty much justifies the upgrade to a better unit which includes a cable. But you can get a cheaper cable at GPSGeek.com. Your call...

 

2. Although the Venture has 1MB of memory, that memory is only good for Points of Interest (P.O.I.s for short). POIs are kind of like waypoints that are built-in to the map data. They include hotels, restaurants, shopping, tourist attractions, etc. You will NOT be able to load any maps into the Venture. If the idea of a mapping unit intrigues you, then it would probably be worth it to you to go ahead and spend the extra money on the Legend.

 

The memory advertised by the manufacturer relates strictly to mapping/POI data (unless otherwise mentioned). All of the Garmin handheld models store waypoints, tracks and routes in separate areas of the memory. So if you had an 8MB Legend and loaded it up with 8MB of map data, you would still be able to store all 1,000 waypoints, 20 routes and 10 saved tracks.

 

Magellan makes a couple of units which accept SD or CF memory cards (can't remember which type of memory). Those models combine mapping, waypoints, routes and tracks all in the same memory. 500MB would hold a lot of maps, waypoints and tracks!

 

Once you've seen how these things can more or less precisely track your ant-like movements on this big blue marble we call Earth, odds are that you're going to enjoy it! But then again, given the limited amount of visible sky in Manhattan, if that's primarily where you plan to use it - then sadly I must say that you probably wouldn't have much fun with it. Again, I'm speaking from my own experience and expectations. Your mileage may vary!

 

...Just my 2¢

Edited January 12, 2005 by Neo_Geo

[+Renegade Knight]

Neo_Geo steers you on a good path.

 

The Ventur has a better screen and WAAS and comes with the cable.

 

The yellow doesn't have WAAS, which I leave turned off on my GPS and will serve you well.

 

For the same money the Venture is a better GPS. On the other hand the Yellow was a gift and will keep you caching until you figure out what all you want in a GPS then you can pass on the yellow when you upgrade and not have to explain about the return.

 

In your shoes I'd get the cable and keep the yellow until I upgraded to something much nice down the road.

[seren8]

Thanks to all of you for the great advice (and thanks Neo Geo for the link to GPS Geek - great prices!). Well, I was considering just keeping the yellow and buying the cable, and then upgrading later, but decided just to have one more look at the Legend on Amazon just be sure. It wasn't showing the price, so I added to my cart, and it was only $135! Since this was approximately the price I was going to pay for the yellow and the cable total (not considering the cables on gpsgeek), this seemed like a great deal. Especially since I've only seen the Legend for around $170 everywhere else.

 

To make it even sweeter, Amazon is giving a $15 coupon towards a future purchase, so I added a case for the unit, and also had to add a cheap battery charger (just to get it over the required $150). So basically, I am getting the Legend at what seems like a great price, and the case is virtually free.

 

Of course, since I am new to this, maybe this deal isn't as good as I think it is, but from all the other sites where I've seen the Legend for sale, it sure seemed like a good deal to me. What do you all think?

 

Oh, and Neo Geo, thanks for the warning about caching in NYC. I had never considered buying a GPS before, since I figured, what good would it do in NYC?, but when I saw all the caches listed on the site for the city and the boroughs, it seemed like there is a pretty active community in this area. I guess if I have to, I will just focus on the caches not directly in the city.

[Neo_Geo]

I just downloaded the 100 caches located nearest to the center of Central Park. I loaded them into my Garmin MapSource maps on my computer, and then deleted all of the caches located off of the island of Manhattan. There are 42 cache locations remaining on Manhattan, and 13 of them are in the confines of the park itself.

 

So, there are places in Manhattan where people are getting a lock on their positions. I imagine they didn't continue to hold the locks very long.

[peter]

I think you'll find the Legend to be more versatile than either the basic eTrex or the Venture would have been.

My experience when driving around in Manhattan with my eMap was that I usually kept a good lock although it did lose it a few times. When walking it's good to initially find a particularly good spot like a corner with relatively low buildings so you can see quite a bit of the sky. Stay at that spot at least until the receiver is getting a position lock and preferably at least a minute or so longer so it gets signals from as many satellites as possible. Then even if reception is lost later it'll be easier for the unit to reacquire the satellite signals. Minor changes in your position can make it easier to get the satellite signals - if you have problems check the satellite page that shows where the satellites are located up in the sky which can help you find spots where you'll have the best reception. Also note that the eTrex models get best reception when held nearly horizontal with the flat antenna above the screen facing the sky. Your body also blocks the signals so holding the unit out a bit lets it get a better signal.

 

Happy caching!

[Neo_Geo]

I'd say that sounds like a pretty good deal. Keep in mind that the high-detail street level maps (MetroGuide) will cost about another $70 to $80 if you decide you want to upload maps to the unit.

 

I've purchased a few items from Amazon in the past, and I've always opted for the free shipping. Although they say that it can take up to nine days (or whatever), I've always been pleasantly surprised by 2nd or 3rd day arrival as I live just outside of Washington, DC.

[+Renegade Knight]

...Your body also blocks the signals so holding the unit out a bit lets it get a better signal...

Very true.

 

The legend is a good all around entry level GPS. It will give you a taste of maping and serve you well.

[RealActionMan]

The legend is a good all around entry level GPS.  It will give you a taste of maping and serve you well.

I wouldnt even call it entry-level, but more in the middle of the scale. The Gekos and yellow 'Trex are entry-level, IMO.

 

I was in a similar situation at Xmas, only I got a Geko 201. I returned it and got a Legend for about $30 more after tax because I really wanted a mapper. Looking back, I wasnt that bad off with the Geko. Since you already had an eTrex and already exchanged it for a Legend, I dont think you'll be disappointed. The map helps put thigs in perspective instead of seeing a wavy line floating in a blank screen.

Edited January 13, 2005 by RealActionMan

[+Couparangus]

I'm with Action Man. If the GPS unit doesn't have mapping capability it's of rather dubious value, IMO. I bought my brutha a Garmin eTrex Legend for Xmas after researching this all. Although memory is limited to 8MB, that's enough to plonk your area (and more) into. With the programming cable included, all you need to add is a computer and software. If you're frugal, older copies of Mapsource are changing hands for very little money now.

C-A

[+geobc]

OK, that's all for now. I have other questions about connecting the gps to my Palm T3, but I will save those until later (I'd better settle on a unit first!).

If you want to connect your T3 to your GPSr via a cable, you will need a GPSr that supports serial i/o, instead of USB only. The reason for this is because the T3 (or any Palm, for that matter) isn't a master USB device, nor is the GPSr. Both are "slave" devices so they can't talk to each other. However, your T3 can talk via RS232 (serial) if you buy the optional cable. Some GPSr units, like the Garmin V, the 76C/CS and the 60C/CS among others, support serial i/o as well as USB. So, with my T3 and a serial & nullmodem adapter, I can exchange waypoint/track data with my 76C.

 

You can use a Bluetooth/serial adapter connected to your GPSr but as far as I know, that is only good for outputting NMEA data from the GPSr and isn't able to xfer waypoints and track logs.

 

I know this is too late since you already bought, but I think something like the 60C might have been more suitable if you really want the GPSr to talk to your T3. Either that, or an older generation like the Garmin 12XL or V which is serial only (no USB).

 

I'm not 100% up to date on all of Garmin's offerings so someone else might have a better suggestion for you.

 

GeoBC

[+Bozz]

The Yellow is a decent unit, but you might enjoy the Legend more -- because of the basemap and ability to add more maps if you so choose.

 

I own both models in question, and the Yellow finds just as many caches as the Legend -- the Legend is a much more "usable" model because of the controls, maps, memory, screen resolution, etc.

 

Bozz

[+triryche]

Get a Vista or something like a 60cs if you can.. the extra memory is well worth it.. I own a Vista and the power & memory of such a little device still blows me away!

 

More GPS and GeoCaching Info at:

http://www.qsl.net/k9drx/

[+Papa Bill]

I have to vote for the Legend. I got one for Christmas and I love it. Versatile little critter and once you load EasyGPS or ExpertGPS on your computer (they are both free), you can load all kinds of stuff straight off the web.

[+wmfisherman]

To me, the basemap included with the Legend is worth the extra cost. When driving down the interstate, I can find what facilities are at the next few exits by querying the basemap on the Legend - pretty valuable if you do a lot of traveling.

[Neo_Geo]

...once you load EasyGPS or ExpertGPS on your computer (they are both free), you can load all kinds of stuff straight off the web.

EasyGPS is free. You gotta pay for ExpertGPS. You can download a free trial verion of it HERE. I think it works for just 30 days.