I need a new gps, and have no clue about them.

Discussion about anything geocaching tech related! GPS Units, PDA's, Paperless Caching, etc. (For NWOGEO web issues, please use "Website Related Forums".)

Moderator: Steering Committee

Post Reply
User avatar
novah
Infrequent Poster (1 - 49 posts)
Posts: 24
Joined: Tue 2008-04-29, 00:00:00

I need a new gps, and have no clue about them.

Post by novah »

So i have a GPS that is as basic as you can get, gotten from walmart for like 70$. That being said it stinks. I want a new one!

The gps i have makes me manually enter 43 degrees 34.592 north
every time for every mark.

on the website there are obviously built in functionality for other types of GPS's and honestly its a bother punching them in over and over especially if we have 15 we want to go find, it willt ake us 30 minutes just sitting at home to prep for it.

What do i need to look for to find a gps that can use the stuff on geocaching.com or just has wireless or something built into it?

help!!

-novah
User avatar
Stumpy75
Super Level Poster (1k - 1999 posts)
Posts: 1070
Joined: Mon 2005-07-25, 00:00:00
Location: Toledo, Oh

Re: I need a new gps, and have no clue about them.

Post by Stumpy75 »

Check out the Garmin 60Cx(or the 60CSx, that has a built in compass and altimeter/barometer). It also has the super-duper receiver in it that works a LOT better under tree cover! It's a good unit that many here have.

Plan on buying the City Navigator software with it, which gives you detailed maps of the entire country(teh GPSr comes with basic large highways, etc preloaded). Also plan on buying a 2GB chip for it, so you can actually load the entire country at one time onto the GPSr.

The software you get with it will allow you to load waypoints into the GPSr from GC.com(.gpx files), via a program called MapSource(supplied with the unit) and a USB or serial port on your computer. Pocket Queries are zipped .gpx files. There is also a feature on each cache page that will allow you to DIRECTLY download the coords to any Garmin unit.

The City Navigator also works with the MapSource software to get you detailed roads to look at on your computer so you can plan routes, ect.

I have the 76C, which is an older unit that does not have the memory or receiver that the newer ones have(Christmas is coming...). The 76C series looks a bit different that the 60C series, and is really meant more for the marine side. Both units are waterproof, but the 76C series floats. Both work about the same.

I'm sure you will get a lot more advice soon! Hope I helped a bit though...
Last edited by Stumpy75 on Wed 2008-09-17, 01:53:18, edited 2 times in total.
Image
User avatar
schwnman99
Frequent Poster (200 - 499 posts)
Posts: 426
Joined: Mon 2006-09-18, 00:00:00
Location: Oregon, Ohio

Re: I need a new gps, and have no clue about them.

Post by schwnman99 »

Ditto!
Image
User avatar
2trux
Moderate Poster (50 - 99 posts)
Posts: 67
Joined: Sun 2006-11-19, 00:00:00

Re: I need a new gps, and have no clue about them.

Post by 2trux »

No matter which GPSr you buy, consider purchasing GSAK ($25) to manage your waypoints. It's got tons of features and will allow you to upload the coordinates directly into a supported GPS.

EasyGPS (free), allows you to upload the GPX and/or LOC files into one's GPS, but is very basic compared to GSAK.
novah wrote:on the website there are obviously built in functionality for other types of GPS's and honestly its a bother punching them in over and over especially if we have 15 we want to go find, it willt ake us 30 minutes just sitting at home to prep for it.
As far as units are concerned - how much do you want to spend? Stumpy's recommendations are good - be prepared for sticker shock. A Garmin 60Cx costs about $300, the City Navigator software ~$100, ...
User avatar
T-Hunter
Super Level Poster (1k - 1999 posts)
Posts: 1438
Joined: Thu 2007-04-12, 00:00:00
Location: Paulding' Ohio
Contact:

Re: I need a new gps, and have no clue about them.

Post by T-Hunter »

Garmin doesn't include the city navigator software anymore? I bought 2 different Garmin units (Ique m3 and Etrex Legend HCx) and got the software included with both + updates.
I like to use Beeline on my PDA for cache management and paperless caching.
User avatar
2trux
Moderate Poster (50 - 99 posts)
Posts: 67
Joined: Sun 2006-11-19, 00:00:00

Re: I need a new gps, and have no clue about them.

Post by 2trux »

Unless you bought a kit of some sort, to my knowledge, City Navigator has always been an extra.

The Legend HCx and the 60Cx (or 60CSx) ship with "Garmin MapSource Trip and Waypoint Manager". City Navigator, Topo, ... come at an added cost. If you purchase one of the 400 series Colorado's or Oregon's, they come preloaded with maps. But they cost $$$!
thunter16148 wrote:Garmin doesn't include the city navigator software anymore? I bought 2 different Garmin units (Ique m3 and Etrex Legend HCx) and got the software included with both + updates.
User avatar
GizmoGuy411
Uber Level Poster (2k - 2999 posts)
Posts: 2085
Joined: Sat 2003-05-03, 00:00:00
Location: Midwest U.S.A
Contact:

Re: I need a new gps, and have no clue about them.

Post by GizmoGuy411 »

Many of us have the Garmin GPS MAP 60 or 76 CSx, or CS series GPS units.

Take a look at the thread about them here in the "Geocaching Tech" forum here: http://nwogeo.org/Forums/viewtopic/t=564.html

Stumpy did a great job of summing everything up, and offhand I can only add a couple of things that are important enough to mention.

If you are using a GPS unit for Geocaching, then take a good look at EVERY geocaching cache page. Garmin GPS units are the ONLY ones supported for direct downloading of coodinates from the page without using a third party program. (Duh.... Stumpy DID mention that.... after I re-read his post!)

The other thing, is that regardless of what GPS unit you finally opt for, be sure it has the SiRFstarIIIâ„¢ GPS navigation chip (or newer SiRF chip) that Stumpy mentioned. You can read more about it here: http://gpstracklog.typepad.com/gps_trac ... i_why.html

It would really be great if you bought a Garmin Colorado or better yet an Oregon (with touch screen) and brought it to one of our NWOGEO Meet & Eats to show it off. I'm sure we would all love to see one in person. :)

On the serious side, if you really can afford either of those, I would opt for the 300 series of them and just get the City Nav software on DVD and load it to your own MicroSD cards. If you REALLY want preloaded maps, then my next choice would be the 400t series to get the topographic maps. Then still get City Nav, as above.

Oh yeah... City Navigator North America 2009 NT is the latest version. However the DVD for 2009 may not be available quite yet. (The update from 08 to 09 IS available). The "NT" means that the data is more compact. It will fit all the data on a 2 gig MicroSD chip.

If you happen to do the GPS unit comparison thingie on the Garmin site, don't be confused by the "NA" for base maps. It means "North America", not "Not Available".

Note on MicroSD chips. A 2gig chip is the largest you can get without going to the the MicroSDHC generation. The 60/76 series can NOT read the HC chips. The Colorado and Oregons may not accept the HC chips either as their specs only mention MicroSD not MicroSDHC.
Image
Post Reply