imajeep

I dunno--it seems like a pretty fair price. I got $235 for a very similar package on eBay last month. The holster doesn't come with the unit. Garmin charges $25 for it.

Does your son geocache? Does he have friends who geocache? If so, go out with them a couple of times to see what the game is all about, and to learn a little bit about GPS before taking the plunge. I jumped in a couple of months ago and discovered pretty quickly that I had purchased a GPS that wasn't well-suited to my particular needs. I cache in the woods a lot, and I use my GPS for hiking. But the unit I bought lost reception under tree cover. Fortunately, I was able to sell the unit on eBay, after which I got a 'high-sensitivity' unit that works much better. Also, my first few finds were pretty frustrating exercises, because I didn't really know what I was looking for. In retrospect, I suppose I should have learned more before rushing in. If you don't have friends or relatives who geocache, look for a caching event in your area. Geocachers love to get together, and they are very welcoming of newbies. Events can be searched just like caches. So, find an upcoming event in your area and go to it. You'll make some friends, and you will learn a ton.

Sunset Novelty had a package of 12 for $19.95, delivered, on eBay. I bought a package to use as trade items.

Thanks for the eBay heads up. There are currently 980 available and they're sold individually so I think they'll be there for a while. Curt Do you have a link to the ebay listing? Thanks

There is another thread on this topic. firefox, for some reason, generates a PDF in the old format. IE generates a new format with holes to punch and a line for folding. But the format is off--see other thread.

Love it! LMAO! But we'll have to change our nom de guerre to '"ImANnneep" Newbies Not Nearly Educated Enough to Pa s s

Wedding ring located in a micro at N84° 123.45' W087° 67.890'! Also coordinates for an ammo box containing the bouquet!

I don't have that problem. The only time I need to recalibrate my compass is when I change the batteries.

We're going to be in Yellowstone in early September (after Labor Day). We haven't been there before, and we're looking for day hikes. We are staying in Grant Village, but most of the nearby hikes seem to be lake loops, and we're looking for something with a little more vertical. If we were to do just one 3-6 mile day hike of moderate difficulty, which one should it be? What would be considered Yellowstone's 'signature' hikes? Thanks!

Meat tenderizer? Do I bang myself on the arm with it where the wasp stung me, or on the head?

I'd suggest getting one of the 'H' models. They have Garmin's new high-sensitivity receiver. Much easier to range to the green from deep in the woods off the fairway (my usual location).

FWIW, our Garmin GPSmap 60Csx gives pretty good track distances, on both the handheld, in MapSource, and in Google Earth. We use it mainly on 3 to 6 mile hikes, in both desert and forest environments. It gets awesome reception under the trees!

Thanks, that's actually very helpful! It gives me enough to start comparing the lines and their models. I'll come back when I've researched a bit more and can focus my questions.

Hey Groundspeak, are you listening? Help us out here!

I'm a fellow newbie, and I hate DNFs. A real blow to my ego. I really hate it when the last five logs say 'easy find' or 'quick grab', and I can't find it! I've decided that it's part of learning the game. I've been told that as I find more caches, I will get better at finding them, and that does seem to be the case. So, I guess I'm learning. My first three finds took multiple trips and some real searching on each one. The reason, I think, is that I went after micros, which are often more difficult to find than ammo boxes in the woods. But I had a DNF on one of those the other day!

Okay, I just printed out a few PDFs of cache pages, and I'm stumped. Being a good geocaching citizen, I folded along the line, just as I was instructed to. Now what? It's not an even half-page fold, and I notice that there are two grey circles on the left side of the page. They look like hole-punch marks, but for what? I've never seen a binder with rings configured like that! We use a duplex (two-sided) printer to reduce the number of trees we slaughter in the course of our geocaching. (Yes, I know we'd be greener if we went paperless, and we may do that at some point.) If the page is designed to be hole-punched, then we lose the back side of the page. For the moment, we are returning to the rebellious ways of our mis-spent youth, and proclaiming "No, we won't fold along the line!" and "No, we won't punch holes!" We'd make picket signs, but there goes more paper and wood. In all seriousness (well, half seriousness), what's the thinking behind the new PDF layout? What are we missing here? Thanks.

Before you plop down some money (or unceremoniously refrain from doing so) make sure you are looking at the correct software. "US Topo" has always been 1:100K and "US Topo 2008" is the latest version since Ver3 There is another Garmin Topo map called "US Topo 24K National Parks." The latest version is Ver 3 (updated last year) with no current update. I bring this up because your question implies that the 1:100K in US Topo 2008 is a change from what you are using now. If it is a change then you must be using US Topo 24K National Parks, and if this is true then US Topo 2008 is not an upgrade since its a competely different product. Well, that was precisely the point of my original question. Since Topo 2008 has the same resolution as V3 (which is what I have), why would I upgrade? Given the addition of shading (which I have on National Park Topo 1:24K and like), vertical modeling of routes, and street names, I'll probably get it at some point.

You may need to upgrade your receiver to get better reception. I had an eTrex Vista that lost reception under thin or partial tree cover. I upgraded to a Garmin 60 Csx, which has a high-sensitivity receiver, and that solved the problem. That's a good unit, and Garmin has just upgraded the eTrex line with some high-sensitivity models.

ROFL!

Uh-huh! Suuuure the 60cx was creating phantom tracks! Just how uncomfortable was that living room sofa, anyway?

Welcome to geocaching! I'm a newbie, too. If a cache is listed in the Geocaching.com database, it is active, unless it has been 'archived' (retired). The best way to determine whether it is still being found is to look at the log for the cache. If a cache has been found in the last week or month, it is almost certainly still 'active'. But if the last three or four logs report 'Did not find', the cache may be missing. Enjoy!

I'm looking for an automobile navigator. My wife and I use a 60CSX for hiking and geocaching, but we want a larger screen and voice directions for automobile navigation. I'm scratching my head over the fact that Garmin has two lines (Nuvi and StreetPilot), with a number of models in each line. Here is what I'm trying to figure out: What are the differences between the Garmin Nuvi and StreetPilot lines? Which is better for automobile navigation? Why? The Nuvi 350 seems to be the most popular model. Is this the best model? Why? Thanks!

David and Liza Veeneman (a/k/a 'imajeep') on the trail up Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia (USA) Memorial Day Weekend 2007:

Parker Mesa Overlook. Maybe a half-day. Three miles out to a spectacular view of the LA basin, and three miles back. But a half-dozen more caches along the way. Load the coordinates into Google Earth and whip around to the view from the overlook. Very cool!

I just figured this one out the other night. You can also turn the time slider off, if you don't use it: View Menu > Show Time > Never.