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Garmin etrex updates etc

Curious if anyone has a Garmin etrex. I realize it is bottom of the line, but I am curious how people have upgraded it / made it better through different software upgrades etc.

any thoughts appreciated - if you are using an etrex that you altered somehow after taking it out of the box, please let me know!

thanks

Still have it still run it. Never done anything to it. I use it sometimes, but mostly use my phone. I essentially only use it when I want to use the track feature. Even caribou hunting I preferred my phone. Pre-load google maps and you can drop waypoints etc. The etrex also burns through so much battery that it gets annoying on a 6-10 day hunt. Phone will last almost the whole hunt on one charge instead of 8 sets of AA's.

I just got the eTrex20 added onX maps card to it and I plan to skirt some private property for elk this year. Screen is way to small but with the maps you can zoom in pretty well and I know the area I will be hunting. I also put my phone in airplane mode but use an app on my phone as well.

Download the Basecamp and then check out GPS Depot. You can find some pretty good maps for free that are easy to upload to your Etrex. https://www.gpsfiledepot.com/

You can make waypoints on Google Earth and move them over to Basecamp then onto your GPS.

Read around and you'll find all sorts of simple things to do with it.

I have the etrex20 and like it more than my Dad's fancy Garmin Oregon. Only thing I don't like is inability to lock the screen.

Look up GPS file depot, add any state's maps you want. Pretty easy if you are even a little tech savvy. Some states are better than others as far as delineating private/public but I don't do a lot of precision border skirting so never been a problem. Otherwise OnX maps are pretty well reputed. Learn to make your own routes and you are doing everything a GPS needs to do.

I have an older Etrex Vista and still use it all the time in the East as well as on my Western Hunts. era simple to use and accurate enough for my uses.

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