Handheld GPS for detecting

[digginbullets]

How many of you guys use a handheld GPS for detecting? I ran across a Garmin Etrex the other day for $25.00. It is an older unit but still works great. I'm gonna use it to help me get back to some of the old homeplaces I find out in the middle of nowhere. Also to help me get back to my truck when I get lost.

Mike

 

[KurtB]

I have been thinking about getting a cheaper unit for exactly the same reason. Let us know how it works for you. Any recommendations on a good, low cost GPS unit would be appreciated.

Thanks

Kurt

 

[wayne_etc]

I have a garmin 76csx although I use it for geocaching. The yellow Etrex will do you good but it might loose the satellite signal if you are under heavy tree cover. On the other hand, $25 is a good deal. For a little more you could get a Etrex Legend. It has a bit of a better receiver but will still struggle in heavy woods.
The higher priced units will receive a signal even in the deepest woods.


w

 

[digginbullets]

Here is a picture of the Garmin Etrex. It will store up to 500 waypoints and run for 22 hrs. on a set of batteries. I got it just to try and if I like using it I may get a better one.

 

[XLT-user]

Mark all the sites and then relocate them with ease..It really improves your chances of returning to a site I find. before I would always say going to hunt this or that place and then forget about it.

 

[Mike Hillis]

Only thing I dislike about it is the cost of the maps

HH

Mike

 

[Waterdog]

I got a Lowrance H20 a while ago for when I launch my boat it the morning ( total darkness) at the lakes. Then when the sun comes up everything is green all around you, (which way did I come in at) makes it easier to find the right boat launch.
I have taken it with me to several places, marked where I find old foundations and other hot sports. Then when I log my finds, I can log my coordinates. makes it easy to find again or develop a pattern of where the real house sat verse the rest of the place. The H20 does not have the battery life of the Garmin E-trex but it serves me for what I need. Never get lost again... I would go for a $25 unit. I paid more for the lawrance but I feel it is better.
Nothing like trying to find your way out of a lake and the boat launch is not where you thought it was.
HH

 

[I a thr]

I've got one just like it and it is excellent. Seems to work real good in woods also. I have been scanning old maps into my computer as a jpeg file and then download them to Google Earth as an overlay. You can rotate, shrink, enlarge, and ghost them to fit after downloading and then able to see old sites on modern aerial photos. The mouse pointer hoovering a spot will give you the coordinates at the bottom of the screen. These coordinates can then be input as a waypont on your Garmin. With that information you can go to the waypoints in the field that you stored to do your detecting. Oh, I forgot you can set an alarm to go off when you walk to a set radius of your waypoint. Make finding old spots a bit easier but remember accuracy only as good ad the person that created the map you use as your overlay map.
Bill