During the second half of 2011, Garmin released a new generation of their 10-year old eTrex GPS line. Options range form a basic black and white display on the eTrex 10 all the way to a color screen with nice additions like a compass and built-in barometric altimeter with wireless route sharing on the eTrex 30. These units are very competitively prices and are marketed to hikers, bikers and geocachers for handheld use. We all know that people will use these for more than simply handheld use, so without further ado, we present some innovative solutions.
December 29, 2011
Mounting Options for the Garmin eTrex 10 20 30 GPS
January 17, 2011
Popular Mounts for Geocaching
The internet and a GPS make great partners together. Unfamiliar with geocaching? It’s a modern day treasure hunt using a GPS. Where do you find out about the hidden treasures? There’s a lot of websites out there that publish them. The premier sites are geocaching.com and groundspeak.com but several others are out there as well. The sites deliver coordinates by state. Don’t forget to sign the hidden log when you find it.
So the question is what GPS should you use and then where do I put it? Your best bets are the handheld GPS units from Garmin or Magellan (eXplorist series). Garmin seems to cater most to the GPS recently announcing some add-ons for current GPS owners.
Check out the Garmin Chirp which is a wireless beacon that will work with the Garmin GPSMAP 62 or 78 series. It also works with the Dakota and Oregon series. The Chirp will act as a wireless beacon to help target the location. This makes geocaching lots of fun and cheats a bit. We have seen caches hidden in fake bolts. Who the heck is going to find a fake bolt and know to open it up?
We’re the MountGuys Blog so you know we’re going to break into a conversation about the types of mounts to use. Our favorite for geocaching is the belt clip mount. Having your GPS on your belt beats putting it in your pocket and having it fall out. By the way a lot of caches are hidden in the woods, so placing the GPS on your belt frees your hands for any balancing acts you might need to do.
You might be on your bike when geocaching. Having a bike mount allows you to keep both hands on the handlebar and the GPS in front of you.
Whatever you choose to use for geocaching, you will have a lot of fun, and it’s free. You will also discover new parts of your country that you may not normally travel through so having a good GPS at your side is an excellent idea.