Geocaching?

[IA_Seth]

Anyone here do any geocaching?

I am looking at buying a GPS for hunting/fishing/hiking, but I just went to a local geocaching site and it looks pretty fun.

Any suggestions on a particular GPS unit to purchase? Good/Bad Experiences? What things to look for or avoid?

Thanks!

[Redneck Socialist]

1. I have an older model Magellan

that I would give mixed reviews. It is the Magellan GPS 300. I bought it several years ago and I imagine that these days even baseline models have more features than mine.

My chief complaints are two. One, it has no electronic compass so it has to be used in tandem with a regular compass. This is probably a good practice in any event, but still sometimes it can be a PItA. Two, even moderate tree cover will interfere with it picking up signals resulting in loooong (at times) waits for it to lock on to satellites. Those are the bad points.

Now for the good.

It functions flawlessly on the boat. So if you are looking for something to mark the location of that offshore structure where you caught "the big 'un" this model will certainly do that. I also used it deer hunting to get the coordinates of my stands, then used mapping software to print out very accurate custom maps of my hunting areas. For me this was a big, big plus.

Unfortunately I'm not at all familiar with any new models you your mileage will no doubt vary.

[Caoimhe]

6. We've found over 1300 geocaches

I've had two GPSR's during our geocaching career. A Garmin Etrex Legend (blue, $250) and now a Garmin Etrex (yellow, cheap version ($99)

Both work well enough to find geocaches, believe me. I enjoyed the sort functions and graphical interface of the more spendy model. Any GPS can get you within 10 or 15 feet, and from there your geocache sniffing skills come into play.

Super fun hobby and a great family activity! Our dog has absolutely loved all our Geocaching hunts.

[amerikat]

2. I geo-cache. Been doing it for a few years.

It's great fun. I use a Garmin emap. THey no longer make that model. I bought it because it was the first GPS receiver to be reasonably priced and included base maps.

[amerikat]

3. Check out the geocache discussion board.

http://forums.groundspeak.com/gc/ Lots of info about getting started and hardware. Maybe even buy a GPS receiver here. Don't forget to see the forum for your particular neck of the woods.http://forums.groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?s=c47791d3b405d6532988b1630b8bdd66&showforum=17

[mtnsnake]

4. I researched GPS units for weeks last summer & finally made a decision

The interests in which I want to use mine are the same as yours, with the exception of hunting. I haven't geocached yet, but am looking into it. After reading the geocache boards on the web, the hiking boards, and everything else, I found that picking a new GPS is the same as picking anything else. Just when you think you have the perfect model all picked out, you read something else that makes you think twice about getting that particular unit.

I was basicly considering buying either a Magellan or Garmin. From what I could see, the only advantage that Magellan had over Garmin was that some of its users claimed it would continue to pick up a signal in denser canopy at times when other brands of units might lose their signal. However, other users would claim that the signals being picked up in that densest of canopy might not have been actual satellite signals, but "averaged signalling" or something like that.

Anyway, other than that one thing, the Garmin units seemed to hold the edge in popularity as far as being a great all-around unit, so I replaced my old outdated Magellan with a new Garmin GPSmap 60CS. I've been real happy with it so far, although I haven't tried it under heavy cover in the woods yet. Mostly I've used if for fishing but will be taking it on some bushwacking hiking expeditions in the near future. It takes a little while to learn how to use all the functions, so I suggest getting your unit a week or so in advance of when you want to start using it so you'll have time to learn its functions. For example, when using the "Find" function, I wanted it to show "Bearing" to that waypoint as one of its defaults but it showed something else. It took me a while to figure out how to get the "bearing" to show instead, but I finally figured it out.

Another reason I got the unit that I did is because, with the basic software that comes with it, I can connect it to the computer and type in the waypoints to the GPS, instead of doing it on the GPS itself, which is was too time consuming.

The only thing I liked better about my old Magellan was that some of its menu functions seemed easier to use, but I'm still learning with the Garmin.

Good luck. Let us know which one you get.

[IA_Seth]

5. Thanks!

I am thinking along the Garmin lines too...still kind of looking around a bit.

I will check out the 60CS..how much did you pay for that?

Thanks again!

[mtnsnake]

7. No problem

I actually forget how much I paid for this unit, but I bought it at EMS (Eastern Mountain Sports) when they were having a storewide sale at 20% off. I think it was somewhere around $350 or $400, but I'm not positive.

[YankeyMCC]

8. Been doing this for a couple years now

It's a lot of fun and a good excuse to get outside.

I use an Garmin etrex legend. I'm pretty happy with it, although it does sometimes seem to take a very long time to acquire a signal even in clear conditions. Definitely has trouble under thick canopy but so far it's worked well enough for me to find the caches most of which have been in wooded areas.