Need a hand held GPS

[mudboy dave]

I had my loved 60csx however someone liked it better than me I guess and decided that they'd help themselves to my glovebox. I just want something used that I can hook up to my laptop and get back into Geocaching with again. let me know if you got anything you want to get off of.

 

[Boyd]

IF you only need a GPS for use with a laptop, you can get a USB model pretty cheaply. For example: http://www.laptopgpsworld.com/2599-globalsat-bu-353-usb-gps-receiver

MS Streets and Trips also includes a little USB GPS receiver, costs maybe $70-$80. I have one of these Microsoft USB GPS'es. The reception is OK as long as you leave place it on your dashboard where it can see the sky.

 

[mudboy dave]

IF you only need a GPS for use with a laptop, you can get a USB model pretty cheaply. For example: http://www.laptopgpsworld.com/2599-globalsat-bu-353-usb-gps-receiver

MS Streets and Trips also includes a little USB GPS receiver, costs maybe $70-$80. I have one of these Microsoft USB GPS'es. The reception is OK as long as you leave place it on your dashboard where it can see the sky.

I'm realtively new to the GPS. I just sorta stored waypoint in my head lol. so I'm quite sure exafctly what I need. It will be used 99% of the time for Geocaching. I know on the CSX there was a way to download a bunch of geocaches tour your unit and it included the difficulty and name of the cache. I would still like to be able to do that so that way I don't have to write down all the info of the caches.

 

[Boyd]

OK, I guess I didn't understand what you meant when you said "I just want something used that I can hook up to my laptop". The USB gps'es I mentioned are just little gadgets that plug into a laptop. You use them with software running on the laptop to show your position. By themselves, they don't do anything and they don't have any screen.

It sounds like you want a regular handheld GPS that can also be connected to a laptop for downloading caches. That is something I don't do myself, so I can't help much.

The newest Garmin units support something called "paperless geocaching" where all the info you need is stored on the GPS itself. These would include the Oregon, Dakota and Colorado series as well as the Nuvi 500 and 550.

 

[mudboy dave]

OK, I guess I didn't understand what you meant when you said "I just want something used that I can hook up to my laptop". The USB gps'es I mentioned are just little gadgets that plug into a laptop. You use them with software running on the laptop to show your position. By themselves, they don't do anything and they don't have any screen.

It sounds like you want a regular handheld GPS that can also be connected to a laptop for downloading caches. That is something I don't do myself, so I can't help much.

The newest Garmin units support something called "paperless geocaching" where all the info you need is stored on the GPS itself. These would include the Oregon, Dakota and Colorado series as well as the Nuvi 500 and 550.

Out of the 3mewntioned, which would you reccomend??? I need durability as well. I heard one of the Garmins was very problematic, however I can't remember the name. Thanks.

 

[Boyd]

I have been very happy with my Oregon, but everyone has their own likes and dislikes. The Oregon 450 is very nice, but maybe more than you want to spend. Dakota 20 is also a good choice and will be cheaper. The Nuvi 500/550 will probably be the cheapest and easiest to understand, but they lack a lot of features that the Oregon and Dakota offer.

Let me make a quick "plug" for GPSReview.net here. There's a wealth of information in their Garmin Handheld forum: http://forums.gpsreview.net/viewforum.php?f=21 I'm one of the moderators there, so obviously I am biased