what GPS

[Chac-Xib-Chac]

Chac here, so what gps should I buy. :(

[Bill D (wwh)]

Moved from Help Offered to General, as it's more appropriate there and hopefully you'll get more replies.

[Bill D (wwh)]

Everyone's got their own preferences, but any GPS will do the job for caching.

Some points to note are:

Some lower end GPS units don't have the facility to connect to a pc - this means you have to enter all co-ordinates manually, which can become tedious and is prone to mistakes. Nonetheless, my second GPS is a Geko 101, which can't be connected to a pc, and I don't really find that a problem.

Some higher end GPSs have mapping facilities, where you see a map with your position constantly updated. Some like that, some prefer paper maps. (And I believe some prefer going blind with no maps at all!)

Caching uses co-ordinates of latitude and longtitude, for example N 50 34.123 W 001 23.456 Some quite old GPS units only display the decimal minutes to two decimal places, so the above would become N 50 34.12 W 001 23.46 This will give you a considerably bigger area to search, so if you buy second hand beware of that.

Prices range from well under a hundred to quite a few times that, so your budget is going to be a determining factor.

I hope that helps a little!

[60north]

I use a Garmin GPS 2+ as well as a Garmin Etrex Camo. Both are basic. The camo cost under £80 from www.expansys.com Hope that it is OK to say that! I have no link to them. Neither GPS has mapping, both take AA rechargeables. The GPS 2+ is more robust, but no longer made. You might pick one up from Ebay, but if you are going for something of that era try the Garmin 12 or 12XL. Robust bits of kit that will last ages.

[The Wombles]

Originally posted by Chac-Xib-Chac@Oct 13 2004, 08:36 PM
Chac here, so what gps should I buy. :(

Chac, it all depends (don't you just hate that...)!

It depends on your budget, whether you want it only for geocaching, as an electronic map, checking speed, in conjunction with a PDA for SatNav, walking, etc etc.

However, in addition to Bill's reply, if you're mainly interested in geocaching and want a GPS to try it and get going then units like the eTrex start at around £100 (sometimes a less on ebay) and will be perfectly good for caching.

Electronic maps are probably the most useful "in the field" addition, but maps are unique to the vendor so add considerably to the cost of a map-capable GPS. Personally I find this facility very useful.

Once you're hooked then automatic loading of multiple coordinates is invaluable, which is easily achieved using a PC connection and free s/w such as EasyGPS.

Useful comparisons of specific GPS units and technical data can be found on this website (http://www.gpsinformation.net/).

[Pharisee]

Originally posted by The Wombles@Oct 13 2004, 10:22 PM
Electronic maps are probably the most useful "in the field" addition, but maps are unique to the vendor so add considerably to the cost of a map-capable GPS. Personally I find this facility very useful.


Bear in mind that the maps on the little hand-held GPSr thingies are all 'road orientated'. Ok for navigating round the streets but they don't show footpaths and bridal ways.

[morrmorr]

is it possable to get a colour screen gps handheld with additional software that gives you 1 : 250 000 with contour lines?
am a newbie and know nout :-)

[paul.blitz]

Originally posted by morrmorr@Nov 5 2004, 01:24 AM
is it possable to get a colour screen gps handheld with additional software that gives you 1 : 250 000 with contour lines?
am a newbie and know nout :-)
As mentioned before, the maps in "normal" GPS units tend to be road orientated, which allows you to get the UK into about 200 meg.

Once you start wanting the UK at 1:50000, with coontour lines, then you're looking at a LOT more data.

So how DO you get those maps?

One common option is to have a PDA, and load the "required maps"... so for example, get a pocket PC and Multi-Map... MultiMap runs on the PC, but lets you download maps, routes, waypoints etc down to the PDA.

Then you need to get the PDA to know where it is.... 3 ways for that: (a) use an external handheld GPS (the yellow etrex....) and a serial cable; (B) get a plug-in GPS card for the PDA; © use a PDA bluetooth adapter and a bluetooth gps module. All of these will let you see where you are on the map.

(of course, if all you want is "a small unit that displays a bit of map" then any PDA with image viewing software will work!!!)

Then you need some "geocaching" software on the pda, to keep the cache details (eg on Palm units we tend to use "CacheMate").... usually one of the bits of software will give you a "bearing & distance to waypoint" display.

However, be aware that THIS solution is NOT road-orientated, so don't expect road navigation (you'll need something like TomTom for that).


There are a few PDAs about now that have integrated GPSr's (Garmin' iQue; Mitac PDA with TomTom....)

I guess a LOT comes down to (a) how much do you want to spend; and (B) what are you actually trying to do.


Paul