Choosing A Gps

[+braggsoldier]

I just happend along this site on the net a few weeks ago, and started reading about geocaching. now i am really exited to give it a try. I am stuck between to differend gps's right now: the Garmin GPSMAP 60C and the Magellan Meridian Platinum. i was hoping someone could give me some feedback on which is the better choice.

[+briansnat]

They are both excellent choices. The 60C has a color screen and the Plat doesn't. The 60CS has a dedicated geocaching mode and the Plat doesn't. The 60C is a bit smaller. They both handle autorouting, but the Garmin program is better at recalculating routes after a missed turn. The 60C has far better battery life (nearly double that of the Plat). The 60C holds 1,000 waypoints, while the Plat holds 500 (unless you buy additional memory cards, then it holds an unlimited number) ...which leads to the Plat's chief advantage. It takes memory cards, while the 60C has fixed memory (though its 54 megs is ample for most uses). Also the Platnium has a magnetic compass and barometric altimeter and the 60C doesn't (but the 60CS does).

 

If you travel frequently and far, you might want the ability to use memory cards and the plat would be the obvious choice. For most people however its just a matter of which features, look and feel you prefer. Both are great units. Another very good choice might be the Map 76S and 76CS. It's basically a 60C(s) with twice the memory in a larger unit (similar in size to the Plat).

Edited March 15, 2005 by briansnat

[+orome]

My Garmin GPSMAP 60C also has a dedicated geocaching mode, fwiw. Works like a charm!

[+Roo & the Bears]

I had been looking at the 60CS and the Meridian Platinum. I just bought a Platinum and love it. I have maps for 6 states on a 256mb SD/MMC card with room to spare and can store tons of cache waypoints on the card organized however I choose. I also use a SD card writer instead of the cable and I can flash the whole 256mb in about 1 minute.

 

I had looked at a friends GPSmap 60CS and thought the color display did not show up that well in daylight for my tastes. Another friend had loaned me his Meridian Color which is more or less the same as the Platinum (except for the display and the compass & weather functions). To me the Meridian was more natural to use. Their Mapsend Direct also has no problems at recalculating a route if you miss a turn or decide you don't want to turn where the GPSr suggested (it's still a machine and only follows the program - it's can't predict traffic congestion).

 

Also don't forget neither of these two models/brands come with installed maps beyound the basic base maps. To get detailed turn by turn and street level detail you will need to buy the software which matches the GPSr you finally decide on. You might want to figure this into you budget as without the software, there is not much point in spending the extra bucks for a routing GPSr.

 

Another thing I found the the Magellan was spot on accurate where as the 60CS wandered about a little in it's position fix before settling in on a cache location. I think the magellan software WAAS averaging was the reason (not sure if my friends 60CS was set to average or what other settings were on or off).

 

In the end I was impressed with the Meridian so I bought a Platinum model off of Ebay for considerably under retail (under $180 used). The greyscale LCD on the platinum is leagues above the color TFT LCD's in daylight readability.

 

As to the battery life of the Platinum, the main drain on battery power is the 3 axis compass. It can be turned off in the setup menus however if you don't need it at the moment or don't care to use it. If you don't care to use the 'real time' compass, then look at the Meridian Gold model as the Platinum is the same guts as the gold but with an extra sensor card added for the compass and weather functions. The display and other options are the same.

 

As to dedicated geocaching mode in the Garmin, you can do 99% of the same functions in the Meridian. I import my waypoints from the geochaching.com website, and dump them to my flash memory card (or upload via cable as waypoint only takes a second). I use the default 'crosshair' icon for unfound ones and change the icon to a round bullseye for found ones. The waypoint name matches the website cache index number and the Meridian has extended comments which hold the 'regular name' of the cache to make finding the full data easier. When I find a cache, I edit the waypoint name to show "//" at the end of the name and change the waypoint icon. The meridians will do several methods of GOTO including showing you a list of waypoints closest to your current location which is great for caching. I currently have about 200 of the caches nearest my house on the SD card and they show up on my map overlay as I drive around. It's real neat to 'see' all the caches and where they are in a populated area. SD/MMC cards make a world of difference in how you store and use the data, maps, waypoints. etc...

 

Check with friends and relatives and see if you can get a first hand look at both models and then make a decision. Also if there is a Geocache group near you that has monthly meetings I'm sure they would love to tell you of their favorite GPSr and why, as well as show theirs off.

Edited March 16, 2005 by Roo & the Bears

[+braggsoldier]

ok, now with the fixed memory of 54 megs in the garmin, about how many maps is 54 megs worth. i mean if I go out on a 3-4 day backcountry hike and need the topos loaded will that do me? and also does that 54 megs include the space for all waypoints or is that already pre-figured?

[+briansnat]

ok, now with the fixed memory of 54 megs in the garmin, about how many maps is 54 megs worth.  i mean if I go out on a 3-4 day backcountry hike and need the topos loaded will that do me? and also does that 54 megs include the space for all waypoints or is that already pre-figured?

I just loaded Mapsource Topo in a 60CS. In it I was able to fit all of NJ, CT, RI, Mass, most of NY (from NJ to the Adirondacks) and west to about Syracuse), easter PA from the Delaware River to Scranton, all of Delaware and parts of NH and VT and it came out to 52 megs. So you can hike for 5 months before you run out of maps in a 60CS.

 

I see you're from Ft Bragg, so I just checkedyour area. Mapsource Topo for your area will fit all of northern California from San Fransisco to the Oregon border and the entire state of Nevada on a 60C(s)

 

The 54 megs is map memory and is separate from the waypoint memory.

Edited March 17, 2005 by briansnat

[+DaveA]

ok, now with the fixed memory of 54 megs in the garmin, about how many maps is 54 megs worth.  i mean if I go out on a 3-4 day backcountry hike and need the topos loaded will that do me? and also does that 54 megs include the space for all waypoints or is that already pre-figured?

The size of the map regions varies with the product. The autorouting software, for example, takes up more space than non routing software due to the routing software containing more data.

 

Having said that you can store enough of any current map product in 54 mb that there is no fear of hiking out of the coverage area.

 

The only reason the memory cards are nice is that you can load up an unlimitted amount of maps and have them at the ready when you want them. Of course the expandable memory is also nice to be ready for tomorrow's maps that may include a lot more info than today's products.

 

Having said that I think your needs will be met with either GPSr you are considering. They are both great units. I would think more along the lines of usability for yourself. Try and hold them both in your hands if possible. Look at the screens of both in the sunlight. Check out the navigation menus/buttons. This is what you will notice in the field.

[+orome]

ok, now with the fixed memory of 54 megs in the garmin, about how many maps is 54 megs worth.

Currently, I have street-level detail for miles surrounding US441 and I-75 up from Orlando to the Great Smoky Mountains, across I-40 to Asheville and back down I-26 and I-95 to central Florida, all in the 54 megs of my Garmin GPSMAP 60C. No worries!

[+briansnat]

The size of the map regions varies with the product.

 

It varies with the product and within the product. For instance, with City Select if you're in a populated area (NYC, LA, etc...) you might be able to get a few hundred square miles on your GPS, but you can probably get the entire state of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho on it.

 

With Topo a mountainous area will take up more memory than a flat area. For instance I said I was able to fit northern California and all of Nevada on the 60CS, but I probably could fit all of 3-4 plains states on it.

[+Night Stalker]

I recently took a trip to Los Angeles. I was able to download City Select for Idaho, Montana, the LA Basin out to Yuma Arizona. Topo maps would have taken up a lot less room. I don't find that the 54 meg is a restriction for me and I travel all the time and use my GPS to get directions wherever I am going. I also have a Magellan and agree that it seems to be a little more stable when I am searching, but not enough to make me want to go back. One of the reasons I bought the 60 was because I had read that there were issues with the auto-routing software on the Magellan. I am glad to here that is no longer a problem. I don't know whether the new Magellans have a USB connection, but the Garmin does. This downloads and uploads infomation in 1/10 the time of the old serial connection.

 

[+braggsoldier]

I want to thank everybody for all the info. I finally ordered me a gpsmap 60c. Hopefully I will be caching very soon. Thanks again.

[+Anonymous']

60c is a good choice. Once I get some money I'll probably be getting the 60cs