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We have some friends who are interested in geocaching and they are looking for some suggestions on a basic GPSr to purchase. I have been very happy with my Garmin GPSMAP 60c, so I have suggested that they look at the basic, non-mapping version of the GPS 60. Does anybody have any other suggestions on units? The eTrex or Geko are very affordable, but I have never used either one. Plusses or minus on those?
I have and I know that BRDad has and found many caches with the etrax. I have upgrade from an etrax the the 60c. So they may like the etrax ok. I would not recommend the geko.Quote:
Originally Posted by Slate
Basic noncolor mapping garmins are very affordable as well. you could look at the etrax. Ask Haffy. THats what he uses.
I recently bought an eTrex Vista C. I have alot good to say about it but only have the old eTrex personal navigator to compare it too. The Vista C has autorouting and tons of other options. The color display is a little small but that is of little concern to me personally as I hook it up to the Laptop for larger maps and mapping. Its small size make it convenient to carry and easy to put in a shirt pocket. It is fairly easy on batteries, I can generally get 20 hours of continuous use out of 2 AA batteries. I can say that this little unit is so full of options that it will take a considerable amount of time to fully be comfortable with and knowledgable with it advanced features.
If money is a concern I would recommend the eTrex personal navigator. It was my first GPSr and was super simple to use. It was no frills and all business, you put in the coordinates, either manually or through GSAK or similar programs and off you went. It basically has an arrow telling you which way to go, which coordinates are the closest --nearest function-- to your current position, a routing function that I never used and a tracback feature that saved me from ever having to mark my starting position. Its simplicity was simply its greatest feature. As with the vista c its small and very easy on batteries.
Bear in mind I've never held another GPSr other than the two mentioned above but I do like the Garmin eTrex series.
I have an etrex and mine works fine and they r cheap like 99 bucks at walmart. I tried a magellen i wasn't impressed with that at all. and you try to use the support and its what support.
We liked our eTrex, but wanted more and upgraded to the GPSMap 60c.Quote:
Originally Posted by Slate
I think it would be best if they went for the 60C. Yeah - it's a lot more expensive - but offers so much more than the eTrex.
Also the SporTraks are affordable by Magellan
I would suggest maybe borrowing one for a few days and see what you like. At the time when I bought mine, the Etrex Vista ,it was about the best in the market but now I would probably buy the "X" series of Garmins with the new Sirf chip because it gets much better readings under heavy tree and canopy cover. In the long run if you can afford it, get the best that is out there and you won't regret it. Thats just MHO. :D
Garmin GPS 72 $150 I've had mine for almost 4 years! and it still works great and out of 109finds, I've only had about 2 DNFs due to crummy signals. I wouldn't trade it for anything.... (except maybe a GPS 76)
With only 10 finds on my belt I hardly feel qualified to comment but must. Hubby bought me a Garmin GPSmap 76 C for Christmas as he knew I wanted to start Caching. NOW that is starting out with, I now know, one of the very best. I had to take a class to learn how to use it and at that still needed help. A friend has an older model Etrex and she and I started out. We did great but she had the knack of knowing what to do and how to search. There is a lot more to this game than just the tool! Took out my son-in-law and family today and forgot mine (he was bummed) and we used his basic old Magellan and got 5 finds in our day. Again - probably basic thoughts- it is not necessarily the machine - buy the best you can but get the training & practice to back it up. Just my thoughts as my hubby paid loads and I would have had as much fun, probably at my novice level with a E-trex, but I will hopefully work up.
More Magellan bashing? :)Quote:
Originally Posted by hollora