New To This!!

[nicola123]

Can anyone advise of the best GPS to get started with, have looked at some and they are very expensive, but dont want to waste money on a basic one and then have to buy another one, can anyone help please??

[nicola123]

can anyone help really need advise

[+chaos reloaded]

There are many good GPSrs on the market.

 

I think most people will say any of the Garmin eTrex series will work just as well as anything out there.. starting with the little inexpensive yellow one and working all the way up the chain.

 

You first have to decide what features you need/want.

[nicola123]

thank you for your help, sorry to sound a bit green, but i guess until we have done a few we wont know what features etc we will need

[+Perrin]

I started with a Geko 201 over a year ago and haven't felt the need to upgrade. The only disadvantage to this model ( and the 101) is that they run on AAA batteries. If you don't care about that, then its a good choice IMHO.

 

If I were to upgrade I would pick one of the Garmin models. Again that's just opinion. But I like them because they are generally more compact then the Magellans I've looked at.

 

If you don't care about mapping capabilities, the less expensive ones work fine. I have a PPC that I use for maps and download all my cache locations onto that, so I don't need that feature in a GPS.

[thamesmead]

Hi nicola,This is my first post.I heard about Geocaching 2 days ago on the BBC(I live in London,England).I have a mobile phone with a sat/nav and GPS capability.I think its a little basic but good enough if a little delicate for starters.I would also be interested in the replies to your post.So if you don't mind I'll be eavesdropping.ttfn

[+chaos reloaded]

Do you want maps on the screen? If so what kind? Street Maps? Topo Maps?

[nicola123]

i only heard about two days ago.......nice to know i am not the newist!! topo maps, sorry lost me, just dont want to get lost out there!!

[+chaos reloaded]

I would reccomend looking at either the Garmin eTrex Legend or the eTrex Legend. Visit www.garmin.com for technical specifications of each.

 

PS if you're asking about topo? I'm not sure if you're saying you need them or if you're asking about it... Topo maps are maps detailed with the elevation of shown terrain.

[nicola123]

thank you for your help will look at the website nite all

[+Kewaneh & Shark]

The Magellan Meridian series and the Garmin GPS III, IV, & V series are both excellent units that are intuitive, easy to learn how to use, and loaded with features that won't be outgrown anytime soon. I have a Meridian and have used a GPS III & V extensively. You can't go wrong with either.

- Kewaneh

[+JMBella]

IMO, one of the most important feature you'll need is the ability to download the cache coordinates right to your GPS from your PC. Even if you're only a weekend cacher you will love not having to punch the coords in by hand.

 

Both Magellan and Garmin have models that will do that.

 

The Magellan SporTrak Map I believe is the entry level Magellan with this capability. You can grab one on ebay starting at .

 

Garmin has the eTrx Venture. Again I believe this would be the lowest priced Garmin that you could DL coords to. This looks like a pretty good deal for 128 bucks.

 

I started out using the Magellan but got frustrated by the infamous slingshot effect they have. They tend to lead you up to 100 feet past your waypoint before whipping you back around. I now have the Garmin 60CS which I have virtually no complaints with.$142 and up.

Edited February 16, 2005 by JMBella

[+BigHank]

I have both a Garmin and a Magellan. Started out with the Magellan and it worked just fine... took a lot of abuse, too, in the form of inadvertent drops on a mountain trail, falling off the hood of my truck at 20 miles an hour, and a few other things. It is still working fine...in fact, my son uses it now mostly for his caching. I would not have given it up, except that my job "forced" me into accepting a new Garmin Map60CS for work (and of course, I get to keep it with me, so during those non-work times I might as well use it, after all, it will build up my proficiency with it and I'm sure if you give me time I can think up more reasons ). I like the Garmin a lot, and it is about five or so years newer than the Magellan and has some great features the Magellan does not. Yet, if I were to buy another for myself, I would still give some serious consideration to the new Magellan Explorist models. I like the idea of being able to put SD chips in and expanding memory that way.

 

The thing is, as I tell folks who ask me what amateur radio gear to buy: buy the best that you can afford now, even if you don't think you will need all the features, because six months from now, you'll be glad you have them, and you won't have to spend more money to upgrade.

 

Good luck, and welcome to a really enjoyable hobby.

[+ytimk]

I started a few weeks ago. I got a Garmin etrex (the yellow one) for about $60.00 US on ebay and so far it's worked great for me. I suspect I will need a more advanced model in the future once I start getting into some more difficult caching.

 

Good luck!

[+LthrWrk]

Nicola

 

Check the Forums Garage sale. Nothing wrong with starting with a used gps or anything else. I have had great luck using stuff I got in the garage sale.

 

Good Luck and welcome to the game.

[+Nicandy]

Hi nicola,This is my first post.I heard about Geocaching 2 days ago on the BBC(I live in London,England).I have a mobile phone with a sat/nav and GPS capability.I think its a little basic but good enough if a little delicate for starters.I would also be interested in the replies to your post.So if you don't mind I'll be eavesdropping.ttfn

hiya, it seems the bbc has got alot to answer for, they're the reason i'm here too! I'll also be eavesdropping on this thread so keep the recommendations coming in but having read other thread the yellow garmin etrex seems the way forward.

[IceKnight (aka VectorJoe)]

If at all possible try and borrow one or go out with someone else. Now since you just heard about it recently, you probably don't know anyone who has one.

 

So you can approach this in 2 different ways.

 

1) Get the cheapest you can get but are still comfortable that it is good quality.

 

If you go this way, I would get an magellan or garmin or maybe lowrance low end to see if you like it. The problem with this method is that if you do like it, you may want more features.

 

If you go with this method I would say at least get one that will connect to a computer.

 

2) Get the best that you can *afford* for now. If you have a budget for 150 pounds, then try and spend that.

 

If you go with this method, then you need to see what is in your price range and then choose from the features. Once you know what features you want, then you can check the used models.

 

Personally, I went with method 2 and after weighing the features available (around a year ago), I went with a Meridian Gold model.

 

Some features you will need to consider. (in no particular order)

 

1)mapping

2)computer interface

3)memory

4)display (color/monochrome, size)

5) if mapping, then software available most units will only upload proprietary maps into the gps itself

[+diverhank]

Can anyone advise of the best GPS to get started with, have looked at some and they are very expensive, but dont want to waste money on a basic one and then have to buy another one, can anyone help please??

You'd need the waypoint downloading capability because manual entry of coordinates (like in a Garmin yellow eTrex) is not that good and you will quickly grow out of it.

 

If you haven't got a GPS car navigator yet...you might want to think about getting a Garmin Quest or for cheaper, Garmin V. It is a great car navigator and also great for geocaching. It's portable, waterproof with rechargeable batteries (last 10 hours or so)...so this would not be good for multi-day hiking/geocaching trips. With the Quest, it makes getting to the cache site easy. Then you can just take it out of the car and to the cache site. I use a Garmin 2610 car navigator to get to the cache sites. I love having the 2610 (a car navigator with maps of the entire US and Canada) as I can see all of the loaded geocaching waypoints on the maps as I drive by. This makes unplanned geocaching a fun activity in itself. But I can't take the 2610 out of the car (no batteries) so I'm using a Forerunner 201 for the actual geocaching. The only problem with the FR201 is that it will only hold 97 waypoints...not enough. I probably will buy an Etrex Legend very soon to get the 500 waypoints (or is it 1000?)

 

The PDA/GPS combo like the Garmin iQue3600 would be even better if it were waterproof and more rugged ...since you can download all the waypoint description, hints and other info via the use of a software like cachemate and have everything at your finger tips - car navigation to get there, cache descriptions/hints and gps guidance to the caches in one package.

[peter]

You'd need the waypoint downloading capability because manual entry of coordinates (like in a Garmin yellow eTrex) is not that good and you will quickly grow out of it.

The basic yellow eTrex will let you download waypoints/tracklogs/route information from a PC. It doesn't come with the cable standard, but you can either make one or buy one for less than $8.

 

But unless you find a really good deal on the yellow eTrex, I'd recommend going up to the Legend model which usually doesn't cost very much more, has a nicer screen, includes the cable, and has a basemap standard and the option to download detailed maps. Then you can add the map software later and see what features you'd eventually like to have. An inexpensive option for the map software would be to look for slightly older versions on eBay or elsewhere. Roads don't change that much in a year or two, so these work almost as well and are generally much cheaper.

 

On the Magellan side, the SporTrack Map or used 330 models would be good ones for getting started.

[+JMBella]

I started a few weeks ago. I got a Garmin etrex (the yellow one) for about $60.00 US on ebay and so far it's worked great for me. I suspect I will need a more advanced model in the future once I start getting into some more difficult caching.

 

Good luck!

Hmm... do you remember the name of the person you bought it from?

[+NightPilot]

Took a quick look on ebay, and saw a Legend being auctioned with a high bid of $64, about 2 hours to go. Most of the sellers are dealers, and the prices are too high, selling reconditioned yellow eTrexes for over $100. Bad deal, but you can find good deals if you look and are patient.

[NickPick]

It seems that the BBC (and caching god SimplyPaul) has a lot to answer for.

 

I think that for basic geocaching, any GPS will do. If you also want routing capabilities to help you drive to the cache location, then that'd be a nice additional extra. Me - I use a yellow etrex.

 

I'd say a data cable is very useful, as entering waypoints manually is painful, and could introduce errors.

 

For those of you in the UK, the UK forum has an "adopt a newbie" thread, which might help put you in touch with an existing cacher, so you can see what it's all about without having the initial expense of buying your own kit.

[+Greymane]

I envy you. In the UK you have access to the OS topo maps. They are so much nicer (and more up to date) than our USGS topo maps. I guess you can do that when your entire land mass is about the size of Oregon.

[+diverhank]

The basic yellow eTrex will let you download waypoints/tracklogs/route information from a PC. It doesn't come with the cable standard, but you can either make one or buy one for less than $8.

 

Wow. I didn't know that the yellow Etrex can do that. Thanks for the info...All of a sudden the yellow Etrex is attractive...because I don't need the maps, already having the Garmin 2610 for that.

 

Do you know if the yellow Etrex and/or Etrex Legend can project a waypoint? I recently run into a multi that requires a projected waypoint (given bearing and distance). That stumped me completely since my Forerunner 201 is very basic and does none of that. It doesn't even display a numeric bearing, just an arrow...Thanks.

[peter]

Do you know if the yellow Etrex and/or Etrex Legend can project a waypoint?

Yes, they both support projection of waypoints where you enter the bearing and distance. I'd recommend the Legend since for just a little more you get the included cable, better screen, WAAS, basemap and option to later add detailed maps, more waypoints/trackpoints/routes, and easier panning and other functions with the clickstick.

[+psychoraven102]

I'm going with the GPSmap 60cs... it looks awesome