GPS GPS GPS
I need you guys’ opinion.
We have a GPSMAP® 76CSx. I am contemplating selling it and get a Oregon® 450.
Am I a complete nut case and there is no need to make a move like this, or will it be the best move I will ever make?
I am attracted because I could download more than just the name and GCXXXx for caches, because I could maybe get better maps, because it gets the satellite faster(??), and it says that it comes with a world map with shaded contours (is this topo?). I also hear that you can subscribe and get the ”birds view” mode which could be kinda neat.
Let me know what you think guys. Tks
Ok, here’s what I can tell you. I had an eTrex Legend HCx for more than two years and it did me great. I managed to get a lot of information and caching out of that (more than 1500 finds). But I had been thinking about an Oregon for a long time and when the 550 came out, I really liked the idea of the camera. So, I bought one just recently.
I LOVE it. I have done some caching with it and so far, it has been awesome. I still love my Legend but the Oregon is FAR superior.
Couple of things to note:
– All GPS units come with a basemap so unless it says specifically that it comes with a topo, it doesn’t. The basemap might be a bit better but from what I could tell, it’s the same basic map all units get. But yes, it does support shading and lots of other stuff.
– If you want to purchase maps that have 3d contours and other “cool” stuff, they do work on an Oregon.
– I have never heard of them obtaining a satellite lock faster. Mine works about the same as my old one did.
– I have a subscription to the Birdseye satellite imagery service and let me tell you, it leaves a lot to be desired. The software used to get the sat images to your GPS is HORRID. There are other ways to get satellite images onto your GPS, but yes, it does support it.
– It also supports custom maps and map overlays which allow you to take say certain types of satellite images and overlay them on top of a City Navigator map. Very cool stuff.
– Last, but absolutely not the least, it gives you true paperless caching. Out of the box you get the cache code, the name, the full text description, the hint, and the last 5-10 logs on the cache. This alone has made my caching experience easier and better. Plus, it also has field notes which means that everytime you log a find or DNF on your GPS, it logs it to a text file which you can then upload directly to geocaching.com, and do your logs from there. No more need to go one at a time through the GPS finding each of your finds. Now they get recorded to a file which you can use later 🙂
If you have the money, get it. It’s absolutely worth it.
What he ^ said. 🙂
We started out with an e-trex legend and then got the Oregon 300 over a year ago. We’re not in the least bit techies so probably use it to about 1/20 of its capabilities but, like Zor, we LOVE it.
The touch screen is so easy to use, one or two-handed, and the field notes make logging your caches so much easier….especially if you do a power trail or a few days of hard caching. When we did the Stud Mill Rd in Maine last year it was so easy to log the 131 finds!
Before, we’d print out the cache pages and lug around scads of paper or just have the GC code and no other info on the cache. Now, we have all the info we need. The code, the name, the description, the hint, the logs, etc.
It’s made caching so much easier and more fun! Definately worth it.
Tks for the info. As far for the money, I think I have a plan, I only have to convince my boss, I mean my lovely wife (Sorry Didi, I don’t know why I make this mistake from time to time).
Now that I am a father, I have access to another gift in June, so with this, my birthday in May, if I sell the GPS we have PLUS, if she agrees that her Mother Day’s gift would also go towards the new GPS, Voilà! Isnt this the best plan ever 😉
I have now to figure which one of the Oregon I need … or want 😉
The 450 sounds nice, but maybe I don’t need this much, or maybe I need more…. Hummm, now what….
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/compare.do?cID=145&compareProduct=14903&compareProduct=63349&compareProduct=26875
The 300 and 450 are virtually identical. The only real difference is that the 450 allows for 2000 waypoints vs 1000. That means you could in theory load 2000 caches into it. The 550 adds the camera and the ability to load 5000 caches on it.
If you want more than 1000 caches on the unit then you want the 450 or 550. Guess it totally depends on how you manage your caches
Oh and one more thing, totally off topic. How do you pronounce your nickname?
Is it knee-moe-die-die or Neh-mod-i-dee?
LOL, we get this one soooooo often LOL!!!
Your first one is correct.
Nemo like the waltdisney fish, and Didi like if it was Lady Di’s nick name, I guess pronounced Die-Die.
Knee-moe-die-die LOL
One of Didi’s sister’s kid always called her Aunty Didi. My wife’s family were calling me Moe, but the same kid for some reason, started to call me Nemo, and I became Nemo to them from thereon. When we got a GPS, my boss, eh, wife, picked up the nickname for Geocaching 😉
I would keep the GPSmap 76CSX which has a better antenna then the
Oregon and buy an ipod touch and the Geosphere App ( about $210.00 )
It’s like having the web pages with you.
You can have as many logs to a cache as you save in GSAK.
It also uses field notes which will upload to geocaching.com.
Plus you have all the benifits of an ipod touch
music, Web access , videos, photos etc.
I suspect that one of the things that he might be looking at is paperless caching. Although using an iTouch or PDA gives you that ability, it does require you to manage two distinct devices. I agree that the antenna on the 76CSX is probably better than the Oregon but I guess it really depends on how many devices he wants to carry.
I used to carry around a PDA with my GPS and after awhile, I found it very cumbersome. Everytime I got to a cache that I was having issues with, I’d have to dig out the PDA, find the cache listing, and then dig out info. Same with my iPhone. The phone app I have works awesome and has tons of stuff in it, but it comes down to me having to open up another device to get the info I want.
On an Oregon, everything is in one single device. I’ll be continuing to carry my phone with me but I suspect that I won’t use it for caching much anymore.
I have a Garmin GPSmap 60cx along with an iPod Touch with Geosphere loaded on it. I agree that you always have to carry two devices around and I’m not always comfortable to carry the Touch around since it’s not really built tough. It’s just too bad that i bought this GPS this past summer, the Oregon 550 looks like a real nice device. Paperless geocaching is a must for me and so far the GPSmap 60cx and iPod Touch kind of does the job.
Tks guys for all the help.
I guess our decision is made. Tonight we are heading out to Sussex to buy the Oregon 450. I will put our 76Csx with car charger and all for sale with the help of this guy down there. I believe he puts it for sale on his store website.
I take a week off next week and we will most likely head north NB. I plan on doing a bit of fishing but we will of course try to find a couple of caches there with this new toy!
Just a quick one…Do I need GSAK to download all the cache page in this GPS, or will it download the whole thing if I just press the icon “download” on the cache page?
As long as you are getting the GPX file, you will get everything you need. If you use the .LOC file, you don’t get much beyond the coords of the cache.