Etrex20 or 30?

[Ian gaggiaport]

I'm considering a gps. But apart from the altimeter, compass, and the possibility of using a hrm and a cadence sensor - for audaxing, is there a good reason to pay the extra for the etrex30?
What does the pannel think
Thanks

Ian

[fhills]

I recently (and probably much to the shock/amusement of folks who know me) bought the 20 and am very pleased with it.

Great with openstreetmaps, once you've gone through the rather steep learning curve, not helped much by the documentation (but lots by folk on here).

I couldn't see the point of paying the extra for the compass - once you are moving the 20 knows which way you are going and as someone on here probably said, it may be best/safest to carry an old-tech compass as well anyway. And I didn't buy it for training, but for cycling around Europe. I can live without the altimeter - I don't want to get too hung up in studying data - the thing's meant to be an aid to enjoyable cycling in my view.

[rwa.martin]

I bought the 20, mainly based on price as I couldn't reasonably justify the extra (approx) £50. The electronic compass would aid knowing direction when stationary and may perhaps make the "sight 'n go" function slightly more accurate. I've no experience of GPS electronic compasses so don't know just how good they are. I am a bit concerned by the need for regular recalibration but maybe that's a non issue. A barometric altimeter is good for advanced hill walking but probably overkill for the level of navigation I undertake. As for linking to cadence sensors etc. I'd probably be using a cycling specific device if I wanted to do that rather than the etrex.

I think my advice would be if you can afford it, buy the 30 - you don't have to use the features if you don't want to but they're there anyway. If you can't, you'll not be disappointed with the 20.

I do think the firmware is still a bit immature in the 20/30 series. There's reports of "sticky" positions and I've got an ongoing problem with map data disappearing from the active route page. I think this will come good though so even though you're probably paying a financial and features price for being an early adopter it's probably a better long term bet than the older HCx models, even though they show as still being current.

Any questions, please ask.

Rich.

[Ian gaggiaport]

Thanks for the replies.
I still think that the upgrade to the etrex 30 is another £50 on features I wont use.
I would have liked a 'real' speedo option to minimise clutter on the bars though.
One thing - I don't want to do is spend hours preparing the device before a ride or even be forced to get a new mac to run it. But I'm assured by others that it will be easier than I think.

[toontra]

On my Vista HCx I use the altitude quite a lot.  Often if you are on a long climb (think Alps or Pyrenees) then you have no need for navigation (there's only 1 road) but it's useful to be able to chart your ascent.

For that reason, when I upgrade it will be to a 30.

[frankly frankie]

This question is an old chestnut and the point that is sometimes missed is that with the altimeter comes the 'Elevation Plot' page. 
   also   
Although the altimeter itself is, like the compass, of dubious extra value, that page is quite nice to have especially when away on a long tour.  It's good in 'live' mode, or to review the day's activity in the evening (as illustrated above), or to preview the next day's Track (if it has elevation encoded).
It's not available on the old non-barometric Legend, and I assume not on the E20.

[edit - apparently a wrong assumption - see Martin below]

[another edit to add 2nd screenshot showing a predictive view of profile following a Track]

[bikefish]

some models - eg Foretrex 401 - do not utilise the extra baro/alti and compass functions well. The barometer for 401 is a single read - and no comparison to gps altitude (to enable a weather trend).
On this model I think gps altitude is default off.
The compass is 2 axis - so if unit is not horizontal the bearing will be innacurate. The Foretrex 301 lists for $50 cheaper and without these features has a longer battery life.

BTW for any mapping Garmin you can always add a contour layer to any road map

[Ian gaggiaport]

Thanks FF
This is exactly the info I need to make the right choice.
I had assumed that I would have the gps based altimeter on the E20 that would give me this info, albeit with some inaccuracy.
I wonder if in a firmware update that the speed sensor would begin to work. It seems odd that the ANT works for the hrm and cadence but not for speed.

I

[rwa.martin]

The elevation plot is available on my E20 - obviously though it's only accurate to the GPS level.

Ian, from your profile it looks as if you're based in South Wales. I'm in Pembrokeshire; if you're down this way you're welcome to give my Etrex 20 a test run.
Rich.

[frankly frankie]

The elevation plot is available on my E20 -

In that case whast I wrote earlier is duff gen for these 2 models - only applies to the older Legend/Vista.  Good to know.

And @Ian, to clarify, you do get the GPS based elevation on the non-barometric models (any of them) - it's just that generally if you want to see a graph you have to get it back to a PC. 

And it's highly arguable if one can be described as 'more accurate' than the other.  The main advantage of the barometric system is a smoother plot with fewer spikes and general irregularities - which tends to give a lower and probably better estimate of total climbing.  However most PC software which looks at altitude plots will smooth the spikes out anyway.

[Ian gaggiaport]

Thanks for the offer Rich but I'm based in Cardiff and although ive done the A40 to pembs I'm not sure I fancy it at the moment
I know that , while I have the cash, if I don't  get one this week in the sales I never will
Thanks FF for all the info I might just get the 30 just to be "future proof".
I've read most of your blog so it's time to hunker down over the mac and work out all the map stuff now.

[rwa.martin]

Although I said I've got elevation profiles on my etrex20 I'm not convinced it's the same as the etrex 30 - I would need to see them side by side to confirm whether they are exactly the same or a "crippled" version.
Also, I've just found that "sight 'n go" has been removed from the 20 with the latest firmware upgrade (2.50).

[ferret]

does anybody know if the eTrex 30 can use the garmin connect program I use with my edge 305 to upload/download routes etc.

[frankly frankie]

There is a 'Garmin' connecting mode, alternative to the more usual 'USB Mass Storage' mode.  You can set it up to allow switching between the two modes.
I don't use garmin connect, but in this mode it is recognised by Mapsource, and I think that is using the same technology?  However I have to say that my E30 doesn't play with (my) Mapsource very well, so the same may be true of garmin connect.  I await further replies with interest.

[fuaran]

I'm not sure if Garmin Connect will work automatically, using the Garmin Communicator plugin.
But it should work if you choose the option for manual upload, then upload the Current.gpx file.

[ferret]

So if I want to keep a record of my rides eg distance, time, total climb etc so that I can see if I'm getting better/quicker 

I could always use something like bikeroutetoaster or similar, I think the only thing I would miss from the edge is the little man I can compete against, this isn't because I'm a sad lonely git as I ride most of the time on my own & it's too easy to take things easy