First GPS

ootini · Post by **ootini** » Thu Oct 15, 2015 9:12 am

Hey all,

I'm after my first proper GPS unit, so far I've been using my phone with back country navigator on it, but it's become too unreliable (not sure if it's the phone, or the app). Basically it absolutely canes the battery life and for some reason the compass / rotating map function on the app has gone massively tits up. It basically insists I'm aiming in one direction, refusing to rotate until it does a complete 360*. Difficult to explain, but it's a pain in the arse.

I've done some Googling and it looks like the best basic starter unit is the Etrex 20. Any other options I should consider before hitting the button?

Thanks

Zippy · Post by **Zippy** » Thu Oct 15, 2015 9:33 am

ootini wrote: I've done some Googling and it looks like the best basic starter unit is the Etrex 20. Any other options I should consider before hitting the button?

It's quite expensive at the moment... http://uk.camelcamelcamel.com/Garmin-eT ... ext=browse

atk · Post by **atk** » Thu Oct 15, 2015 9:37 am

I have an etrex 20 and like it, used for plenty of audax riding and off road stuff. If I was going to buy again I might consider the 30 on the off-chance I want to measure my heart rate or something (think the 30 does that...) but for now I'm not convinced that's worth the extra ££ for me.

I should probably point out that my usage is super basic - load a track, zoom in a bunch and follow the pink line on the map. After 3 years using it I've still not tried to figure out how to make it route somewhere or if it does turn-by-turn navigation (does it even have that functionality!). I'll read the manual one day...

Having just seen the above post/price, I remember paying about £90 for mine new, might start taking a better care of mine now!

Trail-rat · Post by **Trail-rat** » Thu Oct 15, 2015 9:44 am

Zippy The low price of the 20 in your link was probably when they were clearing stocks them out to make way for the 20X model.

the 20 and 20x are currently the same price on amazon.... and more so amazon and their resellers dont seem to be very reliable on differentiating between a 20 and a 20x.

Can get an Etrex 30x on handtec (have used them before for edge 500s) for 141 quid. and the etrex 20x for 105 quid.....

http://www.handtec.co.uk/catalogsearch/ ... q=etrex+30

My tag on question to this is - if i were to buy an etrex 20/30/X What else to i need to make it a usable system - a bike mount ? a special type of rechargable battery ? a charger ? and further to that - is there any real viable reason to buy a 30x over a 20x ?

Bearbonesnorm · Post by **Bearbonesnorm** » Thu Oct 15, 2015 9:47 am

I prefer the touch screen on the Dakota to the joystick on the etrex but in reality, there probably isn't much real difference between the two.

Mariner · Post by **Mariner** » Thu Oct 15, 2015 11:39 am

I went the etrex route in preference to say edge because the batteries are AA rechargeable.
I can swop them out on the go and recharge using a pebble and usb recharge holder.
I am not sure if the edge batteries are accessible or it is a send off for replacement.
Unless you have a dynamo you need to consider your power management if you are
going away for periods of time without access to mains charging.

Scattamah · Post by **Scattamah** » Thu Oct 15, 2015 2:04 pm

The joystick in the Etrex is easier to use than any touchscreen when you have gloves on that don't have conductive fingertips.

PITA to take gloves off in the rain and cold to deal with a touchscreen.

Greetz

S.

johnnystorm · Post by **johnnystorm** » Thu Oct 15, 2015 3:01 pm

Scattamah wrote:The joystick in the Etrex is easier to use than any touchscreen when you have gloves on that don't have conductive fingertips.

PITA to take gloves off in the rain and cold to deal with a touchscreen.

Greetz

S.

Not a problem on garmins with their "old fashioned" resistive screens. Give it a stout prod with anything (ooh err missus) and it'll register.

johnnystorm · Post by **johnnystorm** » Thu Oct 15, 2015 3:04 pm

Mariner wrote:I went the etrex route in preference to say edge because the batteries are AA rechargeable.
I can swop them out on the go and recharge using a pebble and usb recharge holder.
I am not sure if the edge batteries are accessible or it is a send off for replacement.
Unless you have a dynamo you need to consider your power management if you are
going away for periods of time without access to mains charging.

If you are using a battery to recharge batteries you're wasting power as there will always be a loss. You'd be better plugging the battery pack in directly to the device.

Scattamah · Post by **Scattamah** » Thu Oct 15, 2015 3:20 pm

johnnystorm wrote:Not a problem on garmins with their "old fashioned" resistive screens. Give it a stout prod with anything (ooh err missus) and it'll register.

Ta for setting me straight. I'll stick with my Etrex 20...robust little thing that it is. :)

Greetz

S.

Mariner · Post by **Mariner** » Thu Oct 15, 2015 9:40 pm

If you are using a battery to recharge batteries you're wasting power as there will always be a loss. You'd be better plugging the battery pack in directly to the device.

Could be very wrong but I was under the impression etrex did not recharge via usb.

Trail-rat · Post by **Trail-rat** » Fri Oct 16, 2015 8:42 am

from what I've read and witnessed it will not charge from usb but it will run direct from usb power. - how ever you probably would be needing a buffer battery in your system if using a dynamo. Also not sure if you need a garmin" on the go" lead like you do with the edges - to stop them going into comms mode.

Im pretty much set to press go on an etrex 20 .... is the loss of an electronic compass that much of a loss bearing in mind i rarely leave home without my trusty silva. - i cant see much use for the "bump share" of routes that appears to be the only other feature the 30 gains over the 20.....

Zippy · Post by **Zippy** » Fri Oct 16, 2015 9:02 am

Trail-rat wrote: i cant see much use for the "bump share" of routes that appears to be the only other feature the 30 gains over the 20.....

I bought a 30 over the 20 because there was bugger all price difference at the time I purchased and it just had a few extra features that I may use, including barometric altimeter, the compass and ant+ connectivity

The new etrex 20/30x appears to have a slightly larger memory and an upgraded screen resolution. I don't know how much other hardware has actually been updated though - so I don't know if it would render maps faster. Obviously it's always a features vs cost exercise, but the x version is better than the non x version - so if they're the same price, then get the x version. I don't think the additional few pixels is worth an upgrade if you already own one though.

Trail-rat · Post by **Trail-rat** » Fri Oct 16, 2015 9:07 am

sorry to be clear it is the 20x and 30x im swithering over.

http://www.gpscompared.net/garmin-etrex-20x-vs-30x/

Handy website for anyone else looking.

seems i missed the barometric altitude.

Ian · Post by **Ian** » Fri Oct 16, 2015 9:11 am

The barometric altitude feature helps overcome the usually pessimistic ascent calculations via strava, using the tip from DrMekon on the other thread

Zippy · Post by **Zippy** » Fri Oct 16, 2015 9:12 am

Trail-rat wrote:sorry to be clear it is the 20x and 30x im swithering over.

To be honest, 20x sounds fine for your needs, the 30x would be nice to have though.

And for all those who don't have the "x" version, I stumbled across this polish video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcFQ4uHhWBg and can conclude that there's not much difference!

whitestone · Post by **whitestone** » Fri Oct 16, 2015 9:16 am

DCRainmaker is always worth a look http://www.dcrainmaker.com/product-reviews/garmin though he doesn't seem to cover Etrex units.

danielgroves · Post by **danielgroves** » Sat Oct 17, 2015 11:02 am

While we've got the talk going about etrex 20s and 30s going on, I'll be buying one at some point in the next few months. The main point of doing so is for a big touring trip next summer (potentially six weeks on the road

). How does it work with recording where you've been? I know they can only store so much, as limited by the internal storage, but how much can they actually store?

The Garmin website says "10,000 points, 200 saved tracks", but in all honestly this doesn't mean a huge amount to me! The aim is be able to save the entire route for another project on return which I want to use the data for.

Sorry for intercepting the thread.

Dan.

Ian · Post by **Ian** » Sat Oct 17, 2015 11:56 am

The capacity of any single track uploaded to the device can't be more than 10,000 points. Track data recorded on the device (referred to as the "current" track) may also have a memory of 10,000 points, which in a days riding with medium frequency you'd struggle to fill.

But in any case, there is an track archive, which the device will automatically shunt the current track into when its 10,000 point memory gets full. Track data stored in the archive isn't viewable in the map screen; only data stored in the current memory. On multi day rides, I've left the device to do its thing and it's never been an issue. If you want to archive data at specific intervals, eg at the end of the day, you can do. Once archived, the current memory can be cleared down.

I don't know what the total capacity of the archive is, but a days worth of data is only about 1-2MB, so over 6 weeks you'll still have a manageable amount of data.

HTH :)

Matt · Post by **Matt** » Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:24 pm

Halfords doing 810 for bargaintasric £189 today only

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/cycling ... e-computer

Another 10% off with BC membership

So could be had for £170

Trail-rat · Post by **Trail-rat** » Sat Oct 17, 2015 8:47 pm

Oops , prices on handtec were -vat. Gits.

How ever Bergfreunde.co.uk doing them for 147 inc vat and delivery and have raving reviews for service compared to hand tec.

danielgroves · Post by **danielgroves** » Sun Oct 18, 2015 9:55 am

Ian wrote:HTH :)

Just what I was hoping to find out. Thank you Ian :)

DrMekon · Post by **DrMekon** » Sun Oct 18, 2015 1:52 pm

The bump share thing can be a absolute godsend if you are in the middle of an event and realise you / your mate failed to sort out the messed up file the organiser supplied - I've transferred a fixed GPX to another rider at 4 in the morning in the middle of a 600 before. It's a really nice thing to have. Additionally, I rely on HR (and cadence on my road bike) to keep myself from going into the red / slacking off when sleep deprived. Having previously had a Etrex HCx without ANT, it's been lovely to have.

I'd never rely on an Edge 8x0 series - they always seem to be the ones that fail. My mate's bricked so comprehensively on the TCR, it was replaced by Garmin.

If you are looking to save some money, the refurbed units from Handtec are what you get back from Garmin if they do a warranty replacement. I'd not hesitate to have one.

Trail-rat · Post by **Trail-rat** » Mon Oct 19, 2015 7:54 pm

WEll for what its worth i ordered an etrex 30x off bergfruend today .

150 odd quid with the bike mount,

Starting to wish i just ponied up for the chain reaction one.

Had an email asking for id showing my address and name to prove my cc wasnt being cloned.

Sent them througha scan of my driving licence with other details blanked out..... Apparently not good enough.

Tough its all your getting .

Will see how this pans out in the morning .

lionelrik · Post by **lionelrik** » Tue Oct 20, 2015 10:14 am

ahhhhh .......thought that might be too good to be true. Was looking at the Oregon 600 but will back off if they are not kosher.

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