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Thread: Why Do You Like Your GPS?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Solon, Maine
    Posts
    5,965

    Default Why Do You Like Your GPS?

    Can we start a thread on why you like your GPS. I've enjoyed my Garmin eTrex Legend, but it seems to be WAY off on the coordinates sometimes.

    Anyone have one they really like, and want to say why?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Augusta, Maine
    Posts
    119

    Default

    I have a little neon green GEKO 201. I like him because he is cute and no one else has one like him.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Brunswick, Maine
    Posts
    54

    Default

    I have a Legend too. It was my first GPS, so I don't have anything to compare it too. But...when I thought I'd lost it, I bought another just like it instead of upgrading or going Magellan (I found it when the snow melted after a big storm right outside my front door...it still worked!). I find the coords to be right on usually...EXCEPT when the batteries are weak, then it can be off by quite a bit.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Standish, Maine
    Posts
    140

    Smile

    I have a Magellan Gold and like the larger screen. I dont have to squint so much I still dont like wearing my over 40 reading glasses while caching.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Bangor, ME
    Posts
    6,343

    Default

    I like my Yeller etrex, cause it puts up with my abuse. It's been on 2 ATV flips, underwater several times, flown off a car roof at 40 MPH, And dropped many many times. Yet it keeps on ticking.
    And the number one reason I like it: It has found me 401 caches! Okay, actually only 400 because I found that one at Jenn's first event with no GPS or coords, but who's counting?

    PS: Don't tell her I posted that here.

  6. #6

    Talking The grass is always greener....

    My first GPS was a Magellan Meridian GPS, one of the basic brown and green models. I still have it and absolutely love it. The coolest thing about it is the SD memory chip slot. I keep a 256MB SD card in it and can store a ton of detailed maps and waypoints on it. I got it for a song when I bought it very cheap on a web site special and got a rebate for it on top of that.

    The problem I found with it when geocaching was that I constantly overshot the caches. Reading on the gc forums and other websites I learned it was being caused by Magellan's averaging process. It is refered to as the "rubberband" effect. I learned to live with it until one day when I delevoped GPS envy.

    It happened one day when the kids and I were out doing the Adam's Bog cache. As usual I ended walking some 80-100 feet or more past the cache location before the Magellan's averaging caught up and pointed me back to the actual cache spot. As usual, we eventually found the cache.

    Afterwards the kids wanted to climb on this huge rock in the area that the GPS lead us to before it rubberbanded. So while we are over there and they are playing on the rock I spot these two other folks walking in towards the cache looking at a GPS. They went right toward the cache area, no overshot at all! The kids finished conquering the rock and as we headed out we yelled over to the newcomers to say hello and introduce ourselves. It turned out to be Montana East and his daughter. They were right on top of the cache, bur were still searching, so we left them to continue their hunt and off we went.

    Over the next few days it really started to bug me how their GPS had guided them right to the cache area and ours always had us overshooting and doubling back. I was convinced that Montana East must be using the latest and the greatest in GPS technology. So deciding enough was enough, I went out and researched a new GPS. I found that the new Garmin 60cs was available, fell in love with its features and finally ordered one, paying nearly 5 or 6 times what I paid for my Meridian. While waiting for it to arrive, I decided to email Montana East and see what kind of super-duper GPS machine he had.

    He responded that he had the cheapest unit he could find at Wal-Mart, the Geko 101.

    Now don't get me wrong, I love my 60cs. Its auto-routing is way cool and we've found it invaluable during trips to unfamiliar places. We no longer overshoot caches. But I kind of feel like a horse's rear for buying an expensive GPS when it was a Geko 101 that actually gave me GPS envy!
    Last edited by Team Trout; 06-30-2004 at 08:53 AM.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Old Orchard Beach, Maine
    Posts
    15

    Default

    I've got a Garmin GPS III+ that I'm rather fond of.

    Things I like:
    It doesn't suck down the batteries too quickly.
    It's pretty rugged - survived several thumps with the ground.
    I like the detachable antenna, even though I don't have an external one to use in the car - maybe someday I'll roof mount one.
    It was free - a gift from my brother.

    Things I don't like:
    1MB of memory doesnt' allow for too many extra maps
    No setting for lithium batteries.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Hallowell, Maine
    Posts
    37

    Default Etrex Legend

    I really like the map feature on my Etrex. I have MapSource Roads and Rec and the level of detail is incredible. Even little obscure dirt roads show up on it. I do wish the screen was bigger and brighter, though.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Old Orchard Beach, Maine
    Posts
    15

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Geomaineiacs
    I really like the map feature on my Etrex. I have MapSource Roads and Rec and the level of detail is incredible. Even little obscure dirt roads show up on it. I do wish the screen was bigger and brighter, though.
    roads and rec is indeed good, but the topo maps leave a bit to be desired.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Brunswick, ME
    Posts
    1

    Talking Rino 110

    I've only used the position sending feature once -- a balloon at the Balloon Festival in Lewiston last summer kept in touch with their chase team on a set of Rinos -- but I use the GPS and the radios all the time. It's been very durable gets good reading quickly!

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