New to this
Ken & Stace
We are new to this and are well and truly hooked. Having great laugh.
Problem is the GPS we have is a Magellan 310 which is about 10years old and
only goes to two decimal places.
How much of a handicap is this going to be?
Does anyone else use one like this?
Thanks
Ken
CJJE
Glad to hear your enjoying your new hobby!
By definition your Magellan will give you a bigger error on the cache's
actual location, so you will be reling on the hints and eyesight a lot more.
Another significant problem is that it is probaby less sensitive than newer
GPS units so will giev an even bigger error when under trees, cliffs etc.
And when you come to hide your own caches you will be passing on these
errors in the published location!
If you are hooked, I would look to put a newer unit on your wish list. I
would suggest the essentials are to have an electronic compass, and to be
able to download hints from GSAK. Decent mapping and contour lines are also
handy.
Chris
"Ken & Stace" <sta...@bigpool.com> wrote in message
news:KPi%l.19976$y61....@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
Dan
I started with a Magellan that went only to two decimal places. It was
usable in places that were very open with few possible hiding places, but in
rain forest or broken country it was useless. I bought a Garmin etrex which
was better, but ended up buying a map60CSx to get greater accuracy in said
rain forest and gorges etc. My advise is to decide if you really feel like
you would want to continue the sport. If you do, go for the best GPS you can
afford. Too many "Couldn't Finds" where others seem to be able to find with
ease, soons turns you off the sport.
Cheers,
Dan
"Ken & Stace" <sta...@bigpool.com> wrote in message
news:KPi%l.19976$y61....@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
John Borowski
GPS units have come down in price (as technology tends to do) over the
years. In the USA the basic Garmin eTrex can be found fairly easily for
around $100US (or under.) So getting a newer GPS would be my recomendation.
"Ken & Stace" <sta...@bigpool.com> wrote in message
news:KPi%l.19976$y61....@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
rickman
Hi Ken,
I don't know why everyone is suggesting that you buy new units. My
first GPS was a used Magellan Meridian Gold (with serial cable) from
eBay for about $125, IIRC. I then bought map software for about %50
(an older version that is not locked to a single GPS unit). Now that
same Merigold goes for $50 to $75 and I can give you a copy of the
software for free...
The Merigold has a great user community which reverse engineered the
internal code enough to restore the lost WAAS capability due to the
replacement of a couple satellites. That's loyalty!
BTW, partly because I tend to take things apart to see how they tick,
my screen stopped working and I ended up buying a Meridian Yellow
which is nearly as good as the Merigold. They are a bit cheaper
yet.
I would not recommend an electronic compass or any other of the
"advanced" features. If you take five steps with any decent GPS it
will tell you everything a compass will tell you!
Rick
lilz021
Rick,
I am new to geocaching as well and actually just bought the Magellan
Meridian Gold on ebay
only to find out it only went to 2 decimal places which have made my
searches difficult.
I was just wondering if you knew where to get a serial cable as I
cannot seem to find one. And do you think
I will need added software to the device?
How was your luck with the Merigold? Do you have any suggestions or
hints on using the device to be more accurate?
Thanks- Mike
rickman
There is something wrong. The Meridians display and accept
coordinates in thousandths of a minute which is three decimal places.
I don't have my unit handy so I can't check, but perhaps the
coordinates can be in a different format which looks like it only has
two decimal places? There are any number of different formats such as
degrees, minutes, seconds; UTM and others. Check your settings. If
you go to the display page on the Meridian that shows the current
coordinates, it should show degrees and minutes with three digits to
the right of the decimal point. If not, there is something wrong.
Rick