Handheld GPS Unit For GeoCaching

realter wrote:
Can somebody explain the excitement of this hobby? To me it seems you have a machine that takes you directly to the cache. I just don't see the fun in it.

As others have said, it takes you to the general area of the cache, you still have to look for it.

For me, the fun part is planning a hunt somewhere I haven't been before. It's a great excuse for me to take my daughter out and see different things.

If you've tried it and didn't enjoy it, great, it's not for you, but if you like the outdoors, give it a try, you might actually enjoy it.

It's a hobby, and just like any hobby, there are people who love it and people who don't. For me, I don't understand the fascination with model trains. I've tried getting into it, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

To the OP, I too have the Garmin Oregon 450. It's a great GPS that does way more than I need it to. One of the things I thought I would like about it was the BirdsEye feature - you can download aerial photos from Garmin. I actually found this to be a pain, and the aerial photo quality wasn't that good compared to a smartphone.

I use both the Garmin and my smartphone. If I'm planning a hunt, I use the Garmin, if it's just a spontaneous check where I happen to be, then the smartphone.

Well, I decided on the Garmin Dakota 20 as it seems to be a good starter unit at $169.95. No way am I taking a netbook out on the trail or my smartphone. One drop and whoopsie!

Thanks everyone for your input!

WoodGlue

realter wrote:
Can somebody explain the excitement of this hobby? To me it seems you have a machine that takes you directly to the cache. I just don't see the fun in it.

You are somewhat correct, however......the one hiding the cache might use "camo" to really disguise the cache to the point that you can't see it. Also, the hider's GPSr coordinates might not be the same as what your GPSr sees which makes the find much harder. It is not as simple as walking up to a point, looking down and saying" there is the cache". It doesn't always work that way.

A lot of cache hiders want to take you to something interesting.We once found a cache at a civil war battle field in the middle of Oklahoma.

Others subject you to a puzzle to solve before you get the final coordinates.

Can somebody explain the excitement of this hobby? To me it seems you have a machine that takes you directly to the cache. I just don't see the fun in it.

You may have a device that takes you to the cache, but most caches aren't obvious. I have found hides in fake rocks, fake cacti, birds, rats, hollow branches, even a small coffin. Also, many caches take you to places you would never have gone to, a great view, a hidden lake, a historical location. And, there is the satisfaction of finding the cache, especially if you have several people looking for it.
If you know of anyone who does it I would recommend going out with them and giving it a try. If it's not for you, no big deal, but there are millions out there that really enjoy it. It adds a little adventure into their lives.

Can somebody explain the excitement of this hobby? To me it seems you have a machine that takes you directly to the cache. I just don't see the fun in it.

I use and love my Garmin Oregon 450. Great unit. I also use my smart phone. Its a Motorola Razr Maxx HD. With Verizon, not a whole lot of places I am without signal, but there is a few. I have been a paid member of Geocaching.com for many, many years. I don't get to go as often as I used to, but still enjoy it when I can.

And a color screen is a nice thing to have, but not a requirement. :)

For dedicated caching, we started with a Magellan Triton 400, then a 500. Maps cost extra... eventually we looked into the Delorme PN series, and the PN-60 fit the bill nicely. It INCLUDES comprehensive maps for North America, no extra cost.
One of the extras is a rechargeable battery from DeLorme, at $13 it is the only way to go. Anytime the unit is plugged into the computer or a power tap, it charges the batteries. Alternatively, standard AA cells can be used.
Another plus is connectivity - the internal memory or SD card can be mounted as a volume on your Mac or peecee. Geocaching's pocket queries can be copied to the waypoints folder, and you now have a great paperless geocaching device.
A mount/cradle is a nice addition as well - we have a RAM mount in our motorhome and our GMC Canyon.

The only problem we've had is the unit has stalled on us a time or two over the last several years, and the only solution is to remove the battery pack for a few seconds. We've loaded the latest firmware updates.

We've been caching since June 2009, and currently have found 1742 and have hidden 44.

camperpaul wrote:
It seems to me that most of the people responding here have never been Geo-Caching.

To find a cache, you enter the latitude and longitude in degrees minutes and seconds (accurate to 0.01 seconds) and follow your GPS to the cache.

Up to date road maps are useless when the cache is two or three miles from the nearest road (those are the easy ones for beginners).

One of my most memorable finds was in the middle of an open field; when I reached the lat/long coordinates the published altitude of the cache was 35 feet above the elevation (MSL) shown on my eTrex.

You may have guessed it; I had to climb the one tree in the middle of that field.

Hit "Ctrl+A" to see how I found that cache.

I wouldn't speak for everyone here if I were you. Been caching for a few years and have quite a few caches under the belt.I have taught the sport to a lot of noobs, given classroom instruction about geocaching. I think I do know something about the sport.

And to toot my whistle, I have found caches in 30 states and 2 countries :p

camperpaul wrote:
It seems to me that most of the people responding here have never been Geo-Caching.

To find a cache, you enter the latitude and longitude in degrees minutes and seconds (accurate to 0.01 seconds) and follow your GPS to the cache.

Up to date road maps are useless when the cache is two or three miles from the nearest road (those are the easy ones for beginners).

One of my most memorable finds was in the middle of an open field; when I reached the lat/long coordinates the published altitude of the cache was 35 feet above the elevation (MSL) shown on my eTrex.

You may have guessed it; I had to climb the one tree in the middle of that field.

Hit "Ctrl+A" to see how I found that cache.

You may be right that some people have not ever been Geocaching, but they seam to all about it.
My GPS is made just for Geocaching and works good and my favorite finds are in the mountains, the beach and the desert. I use my netbook laptop to get me to areas that I have not been to, I have the caches downloaded to it from the Geocache.com site, Im a member their.
I have found caches from Oregon to Colorado

It seems to me that most of the people responding here have never been Geo-Caching.

To find a cache, you enter the latitude and longitude in degrees minutes and seconds (accurate to 0.01 seconds) and follow your GPS to the cache.

Up to date road maps are useless when the cache is two or three miles from the nearest road (those are the easy ones for beginners).

One of my most memorable finds was in the middle of an open field; when I reached the lat/long coordinates the published altitude of the cache was 35 feet above the elevation (MSL) shown on my eTrex.

You may have guessed it; I had to climb the one tree in the middle of that field.

Hit "Ctrl+A" to see how I found that cache.