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In search of the best GPS for geocaching.


happygranny

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I am currently using my Samsung Galaxy S4 smart phone for geocaching. I only get 1 gigabyte a month on my phone and just trying to search for a geocache uses that up in 1 hour of searching. Plus, it is very slow and lately has been very inaccurate in finding caches. I'm looking at a Garmin GPS/map 62s and have read pros and cons on this device. I want something dependable and user friendly, what should I get?

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A lot depends on your budget. I use a Garmin Oregon 450, acquired a few months ago. I like it a lot. It is very Geocaching-friendly, after the learning curve up from my 8 year old Magellan 300.

 

One thing to do will be to purchase the Groundspeak Premium Membership, $30/year, and worth every penny for the pocket queries of caches easily added to your GPSr.

 

Some factors to consider on your purchase:

Touchscreen vs. Button/Joystick user input

Camera added to unit

Screen size and resolution

 

There is a whole section of the forum related to GPS, and that part has a 'GPS Garage Sale' section as well.

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A lot depends on your budget. I use a Garmin Oregon 450, acquired a few months ago. I like it a lot. It is very Geocaching-friendly, after the learning curve up from my 8 year old Magellan 300.

 

One thing to do will be to purchase the Groundspeak Premium Membership, $30/year, and worth every penny for the pocket queries of caches easily added to your GPSr.

 

Some factors to consider on your purchase:

Touchscreen vs. Button/Joystick user input

Camera added to unit

Screen size and resolution

 

There is a whole section of the forum related to GPS, and that part has a 'GPS Garage Sale' section as well.

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The Garmin 62S is a good choice for Geocaching, and a decent value these days. Dependable? Absolutely. User friendly? Well, that depends. It is very easy to use once you learn how. But there will be a bit of a learning curve. You must remember that the GPS will have no access to cellular data, only direct access to the GPS satellites. That means you will have to load the cache information to the device BEFORE you go out. This may seem rather obvious to most but some folks have come to the forums befuddled because they can't just take the new GPS out of the box and go Geocaching with it. :blink:

 

As K13 mentioned, Premium membership would help you get the most out of a handheld GPS, because with Pocket Queries (a Premium feature), you could download up to 1,000 caches at a time instead of repeatedly clicking "send to GPS" for each individual cache. You would also get all the hints, descriptions, recent logs, etc.,....just clicking "send to GPS" only gives you the cache name and coordinates.

 

You will also discover that you will need to install topographical maps to the device, unless you choose one of the "T" models, which come with topo maps preinstalled. The base map that comes with the device only shows major highways and bodies of water and not much else. You can download the topo maps for free from a site like gpsfiledepot.com, or you can buy them from Garmin on an SD card that just installs easily in the GPS.

 

So yeah, once you learn how to use it and get it set up like you want, it can be very user friendly, but it will take some tinkering to get there.

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I have a Samsung Galaxy SII Skyrocked HD. I also only have 1GB of data. I never go over that. What Geocaching app are you using. I use NeonGeo in the Managed mode (not the live mode), and have no problem with excess data usage? The other option is to use NeonGeo (Maybe other apps do it as well) just like a handheld, by importing GPX files (aka pocket quaries) when connected to internet via wifi.

 

If you really want a handheld, the best right now lookes like the Garmin Monterra. It has wifi, and runs android, so you can still use the apps you love from your S4.

 

Edit: as I see you are not a Premium Member, my guess is you are using c:geo. That app, when using live maps, does use up a lot of data. NeonGeo that I suggested works best with a Premium Membership. With a basic membership, you can only download 3 cache pages per day. You can get the coordinates, and navigate to more, but only 3 cache pages per day. These are saved, so you can slowly build up a large number. Also, the GPS files and pocket quaries only works with a Premium Membership.

Edited by Andronicus
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I'm only familiar with the Garmin line. It's all a matter of compromises. What is more important to you? In no particular order :

 

1. eTrex 10/20/30 - small, inexpensive. Don't recommend the 10 for geocaching though.

2. Oregon 6xx series - touch screen (capacitive touch). Nice display.

3. GPSMap 64 series - quad antenna

4. Montana - like the older Oregon 450 on steroids

5. Monterra - Android based, with wifi. Expensive. About same size as the Montana.

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We're very happy with our Garmin 62s and at the price it can be found for these days, it's absolutely worth it. It's definitely a learning curve as others have mentioned, but once you've got it, it's easy enough.

 

As always I'm going to recommend the 62S also. Recently selling for $200, there has never been a better deal on a top end GPS....has great button arrangement, quad antenna, 3 axis pointer, and more.

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I am not tech savvy, but I really like my Garmin 62s. Takes a little while to get used to, but I was doing OK by our third outing with it. My Magellan GC was OK, but not as accurate and the screen was too small for me. Also upgraded because the Mag quit. One hint - whichever Garmin you go for, Internet Explorer doesn't seem to get along with it. Try Firefox or Chrome.

If you have any more questions after you've bought your unit, just ask away. Lots of folk will be glad to lend a hand. Me too, if I can [:)]

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My Garmin Etrex 20 gets me there with minimal fuss. It's a good tool if you're using it to find the cache, but are logging either by phone or online. The screen could also be larger, but it's fairly accurate and at a nice price point.

I'd have to agree on the eTrex 20. I have several different Garmin models and use and love them all, but the 20 was easiest to use right out of the box. I like the way it feels, it has great battery life, always accurate and almost always available around the $170.00 mark. From time to time the eTrex 20 "bundle" (GPSr, case, and Topo map on SD card) goes on sale, too.

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The Garmin 62S is a good choice for Geocaching, and a decent value these days. Dependable? Absolutely. User friendly? Well, that depends. It is very easy to use once you learn how. But there will be a bit of a learning curve. You must remember that the GPS will have no access to cellular data, only direct access to the GPS satellites. That means you will have to load the cache information to the device BEFORE you go out. This may seem rather obvious to most but some folks have come to the forums befuddled because they can't just take the new GPS out of the box and go Geocaching with it. :blink:

 

As K13 mentioned, Premium membership would help you get the most out of a handheld GPS, because with Pocket Queries (a Premium feature), you could download up to 1,000 caches at a time instead of repeatedly clicking "send to GPS" for each individual cache. You would also get all the hints, descriptions, recent logs, etc.,....just clicking "send to GPS" only gives you the cache name and coordinates.

 

You will also discover that you will need to install topographical maps to the device, unless you choose one of the "T" models, which come with topo maps preinstalled. The base map that comes with the device only shows major highways and bodies of water and not much else. You can download the topo maps for free from a site like gpsfiledepot.com, or you can buy them from Garmin on an SD card that just installs easily in the GPS.

 

So yeah, once you learn how to use it and get it set up like you want, it can be very user friendly, but it will take some tinkering to get there.

 

You mention topographical maps. Is that the one Garmin advertises for $99? Just curious as I am waiting on deliver of a 62s and my Droid Maxx cell phone as pretty good maps on it but seems like I need to add maps to te 62s.

Bob

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You mention topographical maps. Is that the one Garmin advertises for $99? Just curious as I am waiting on deliver of a 62s and my Droid Maxx cell phone as pretty good maps on it but seems like I need to add maps to the 62s.

You have a few choices.

 

1. OSM maps are not topographic (no elevation info) but may be sufficient for your needs, depending on area. In my area, almost all trails are marked.

 

2. GPSFileDepot may have free topographic maps for your area.

 

3. Garmin has a 100k topographic map for the entire US, or for different regions.

 

4. Garmin has 24k maps of different regions of the US, and 25k "Topo Pro" maps of different regions of Europe.

 

Check out the free options first and see if they're sufficient for your needs.

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I would recommend the free maps from GPSfiledepot.com. I've found them perfectly capable for Geocaching...I can't imagine Garmin's $99 maps would be much better.

 

Of course, if you buy Garmin's maps installation is just a matter of popping the SD card into the unit, I think. With downloaded maps you have to go through a couple of extra steps to get the maps to the device. So if you're even mildly computer savvy the free maps are an option...if you don't have the skills or the patience and do have the money, you might prefer the Garmin maps.

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