savant9

There really is no reason to use easy gps. Just unzip your PQ and place the contents in the /garmin/gpx/ folder.

Mine has been fine until I updated the firmware to 2.8. Immediately the calibration was way off, after a recalibration it has worked fine since. Hopefully it stays that way.

Here is a direct link, although I was able to get it just fine in Canada through webupdater. http://www8.garmin.com/software/Montana_WebUpdater__280.gcd

That banner is so annoying, and I was saddened to find that my Montana 650 displays that banner. Here's hoping they will also remove it from the Montana line.

I have "found" only 2 of my own caches, although at the time of the find I didnt own them: I later adopted them. As mentioned it is considered bad form to do so, however some people do, I won't.

Not a traditional. A puzzle, Multi, or a letterbox hybrid.

The biggest thing that basecamp is useful for is the managing/downloading of BirdsEye images. Other than that I use Mapsource for everything else. As stated earlier Mapsource > Basecamp.

I dont believe so, but there is a stopwatch function if you just need to count seconds for some reason.

Well technically, in Garmin terms, maps like Northwest trails are not called "custom maps". They are just third party maps, but that's not too relevant, I am just clarifying a term. You can send those maps to your gps using a couple different methods. You can use mapsource, basecamp, or mapinstall. Mapsource can be obtained by first downloading and installing Garmin's Training Center then applying the Mapsource Update Or Basecamp can be found here Finally Mapinstall is found here. If you have never done this yet, I recommend making a complete backup of all your gps files somewhere on your computer, in the event that you inadvertently delete something. Personally I prefer to use mapsource, so my instructions below will be for that. Basically.... -connect your oregon to your pc and ensure it is in mass storage mode - start up mapsource -make sure the mapset you want to install is selected in the drop down box at the top -pan the map to where you want -grab the tile select tool and highlight the regions you want in your mapset -once you have selected the tiles you want click the 'send to gps' button - point it to your oregon or the oregon sd card, whichever you prefer and hit ok This will create a file called gmapsupp.img in the /garmin/ folder of the gps (or sd card if thats what you selected). Most newer garmins (your Oregon included) support anyname ".img" files, so it is a good idea to rename that file now to something identifiable like NWTrails.img This will prevent the file from becoming overwritten the next time you decide to send a map to your gps, which will happen without a warning if you send another map to the same directory. I hope that helps, if anything is confusing I would be glad to clarify.

It doesn't appear they have 'broken' anything with this update, I recommend it over 2.40.

No thats not correct. "Custom Maps" does not refer to non-Garmin maps, it refers to a way of loading a georeferenced picture as an overlay. Any of the non-garmin produced maps listed here will show up as if it was an officially produced Garmin map, and can be loaded to any Garmin that accepts maps(even Nuvi's etc). More details here---> http://www.garmin.co...rail/custommaps Even though the Etrex 30 doesn't list custom maps, it hasn't even been released yet, so I wouldnt hold to those specs. I wouldnt worry too much about them as they have little value anyway as there are much better ways to display custom raster imagery.

Have you tried Moun10bike's Northwest topos ? They are free and I would be curious to see how you felt they compare with your other maps.

Here is a thread from awhile ago with some recommendations ----> http://forums.Ground...howtopic=251098 Also if you want to make a post on the BCGeocaching website there will likely be more suggestions for you. http://www.bcgeocaching.com/index.php

The intent is to show caches that you have previously marked as DNF, the option you would have been looking for is "Not Attempted".

It is very rare for me to not receive the answers to the questions. Once it was a local cacher that didnt send the info, so I just waited till the next event and asked for the answers in person. Another time I received no email after a week or so, so I sent a reminder to the cacher. No response to my email after another week, so I was going to delete their log, when I noticed that they had added a photo to their found it log. It was a unique photo (not a copy of someone elses from the gallery) so I just let it go. Would others leave a found it log that had a photo but no answers ever sent?

Did you make a backup of the device at all? You can check your recycle bin on your computer if they are there to restore. At any rate. I backed up my GC. Here are the caches <---Click.

The geocache files are stored in a folder called /Geocaches/. Are you saying that the ones that came preloaded on the unit are gone or something else? The prelaoded caches are of little value anyway as they are stale and sparse.

As junky as Vantagepoint is, if you use that to retrieve and send the caches to your gc, it will automatically grab all the associated images that go along with the caches, which is kind of a nice feature.

The other painful thing is the way that basecamp wont "snap to a grid". Being that you are limited to such a small area per download, you need to make multiple zones to cover an area, then later you find that you missed a 30m wide strip some where so you need to make extra "patch" tiles to fix the map. It would be nice if you could just click select, predefined sections of a grid, so you dont need to worry about missing a sliver or waste the download on overlapping images. Garmins Birdseye server is also painfully slow for the downloads. The quality of the images is good though for Southern Vancouver Island, Fraser Valley, Lower Mainland., but other areas where the resolution is low, you can still select a 232mb piece at "highest" setting, yet when the DL is finished you see the file is only 15mb because the image is junk. I can live with a junk image for a remote location, but if they are going to limit by file size, they should do so by the true file size. I could go on on and on about the problems with Birdseye/Basecamp, but despite all that, the subscription for my Colorado just expired, so I bought a new one for my Montana. Its worth the $30 in my opinion.

Since NW topos contains NWtrails, it seems redundant to enable them both. If you are seeing a discrepancy between the two it should be brought to the attention of Moun10bike.

Ok, I have just double checked. My original GarminDevice.xml that I backed up from my Montana 650, as shipped with 2.30 firmware, has the mention of Wherigo that I posted in the initial post. The current version that is on my Montana with firmware 2.60 does not have this any more. Does anyone have a backup of their Montana before updating that can confirm this?

Thanks for the replies guys. I am not at home right now so I cant check if it is on my device right now. That came form my GarminDevice.xml as it was shipped. I made a complete backup of the unit before I used it all, so that was unaltered by adding any data. My unit came shipped with 2.30 firmware. Will check again when I get home.

The Garmin Montana series does not support Wherigo. That's what they have said all along since its announcement. Yet if you take a look through the GarminDevice.xml file it has reference to it... -<DataType> <Name>Wherigo_Cartridges</Name> -<File>-<Specification><Identifier>GWC</Identifier> </Specification> -<Location> <Path>Wherigo</Path> <FileExtension>GWC</FileExtension ></Location> <TransferDirection>InputToUnit</TransferDirection> </File></DataType> -<DataType><Name>Wherigo_Saves</Name> -<File>-<Specification><Identifier>GWS</Identifier></Specification> -<Location><Path>Wherigo/Saves</Path><FileExtension>GWS</FileExtension> </Location><TransferDirection>OutputFromUnit</TransferDirection></File></DataType> -<DataType><Name>Wherigo_Logs</Name>-<File>-<Specification><Identifier>GWL</Identifier></Specification> -<Location><Path>Wherigo/Saves</Path><FileExtension>GWL</FileExtension></Location> <TransferDirection>OutputFromUnit</TransferDirection> </File></DataType> Does this show hope for a later implementation or is the rift between Garmin and Groundspeak too big to allow it?

Actual geocaches, that are loaded as such and not loaded as waypoints cannot be deleted from the device without hooking up to a computer. As stated above the circle P is a parking waypoint, usually loaded when you add the XXXXXX-wpt.gpx file from a PQ.

In my local area there are a few erratics, and no waterfall EC's. I was never inspired to develop an erratic EC, but after reading through this thread I think I may just try to develop one to see if I can get it published. I have one in mind that is somewhat unique, I may just give it a shot. The majority of the fun in creating any EC is in the self learning and discovery, whether its published or not, you cannot take that learning experience away from me. If its good enough and gets published so others can enjoy, that's great. If it doesn't make the cut, C'est la vie. I know I will have enjoyed the research. I applaud the EC team in preventing EC's from becoming film cans under lampskirts.