MnGCA

Buzzygirl · Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 8:23 am Post subject: eXplorist GPS receivers

This looks interesting...

https://www.magellangps.com/en/products/product.asp?PRODID=1014

I'm seriously thinking about getting one of these when they start shipping, but it'll depend on the price... these claim to be more accurate than other receivers (to within 10 ft. of goal). I'm sort of vacillating though, thinking that a more accurate GPSr may take some of the fun out of the hunt for the cache.

Looks like there are three receivers in this series, with the 200 and 300 versions having more bells n' whistles than the 100. I really don't need maps or other fancy stuff, though.

If I do decide to get one of these, I'll probably put my eTrex up for sale. Not sure yet what I'm going to do though.

Centris · Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 8:36 am Post subject: Re: eXplorist GPS receivers

Buzzygirl · Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 8:54 am Post subject: Re: eXplorist GPS receivers

Kitch · Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 9:05 am Post subject:

the only reason I'd look at them is for the price....

it looks like they are about 90-130 bucks......

Kitch · Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 9:08 am Post subject:

http://www.tigergps.com/maex200haheg1.html

oops wrong on the price of them...but still a good price for the units...

http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=3989972

$100 bucks for this one....

sui generis · Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 9:23 am Post subject:

Keep in mind too, just because it has capability of being accurate to within 10 feet, doesn't mean it will be. All WAAS enabled units seem to have the ability to be within 3 meters, but rarely seem to get that close around here. It all depends on tree cover, weather, etc.
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robertlipe · Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2004 1:39 pm Post subject:

The deal-breaker for geocachers on the explorists is the absence of a PC interface.

That's right. The 100,200, and 300 don't have a serial port and they don't have a replacement like USB, Infrared, Bluetooth, or Psychic Connection. So you have to enter waypoints by hand.

How quaint...

Buzzygirl · Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2004 7:52 am Post subject:

Hm, I guess the lack of a PC interface wouldn't bother me. I don't have one for the eTrex and don't mind entering waypoints by hand. I usually only enter a few at a time anyway.

I'll keep my eyes open to see if I can find any reviews on these new GPSrs in the near future.

SirPoonga · Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2004 10:53 pm Post subject:

Buzzy, It isn't hard to make a cable for your etrex.
All you need is wire, soldering equipment (borrow a friend's), a serial cable plug (I believe female, not going to crawl under the desk and look), and the pluig for the etrex. Actually, you don't even need the plug, I hacked a credit card.

You can get all the parts at radioshack minus the plug for the etrex. For that go here:
http://www.pfranc.com/projects/g45contr/emap/index.htm

There tells you how to make a cable.

Here's my credit card hack.
http://www.mngca.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=836

Then you need software, luckily www.geocaching.com provides that with EasyGPS.

I usually grab a bunch of caches for an area. Works out well to download them all to the gps.

15Tango · Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2004 11:10 pm Post subject:

I sometimes think I would be better off without the PC interface--I'll just download a bunch of caches into the GPSr off the "seek nearest caches" page, and then go hunt them without even seeing the cache page and thus having no idea what I'm looking for--last week, I spent a good half-hour looking for a regular cache that I should have found right away based on the difficulty and terrain rating, then I finally looked up the cache page on my cell phone and saw I was supposed to be looking for a micro instead of a regular--once I got into the right mind set, knowing what I was supposed to be looking for, I found the cache right away.
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DigiFerret · Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2004 4:04 pm Post subject:

One nice thing about these units is that they finally made some in BRIGHT colors. Think about what would happen if you dropped your unit by accident on the forest floor. I don't know how many times I've dropped my Legend (which is transparent blue) next to a cache and had a panic attack because I thought I lost it. The basic eTrex is a nice bright yellow, but the rest of the line are all dull and dark. I like the bright orange unit they have, but it looks like the high end unit is another dark color.
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robertlipe · Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2004 10:57 pm Post subject:

DigiFerret - For colors, carry them in a bright case such as http://www.cartom.virtual-space.com/gps.htm - this helps protect the unit, too. (And I use my lanyard to tie it in a tree so I don't lose it)

15Tango - you're a charter member, so you can get pocket queries. Use software with a brain that loads the difficulty/terrain/cache type into your receiver and that helps solve that problem. It isn't a coincidence that GPSBabel does this since that's how I hunt much of the time.

SirPoonga - for those without soldering irons (or just less patience) the $8 cables from http://www.gpsgeek.com are nice. The shipping is abusive, but get together a club order to spread it out and it's no biggie.