Triple Crown
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Posts posted by Triple Crown
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Thanks for the reply. I went and picked it up this evening after posting. It looks to be lightly used. I'm going through all the features with the manual I found online. A bit overwhelming at first but I'm sure the stuff that is needed will become second nature and the rest of the stuff I won't use will be forgotten about. haha
The most important manual is available at the Oregon Wiki
If it doesn't already have maps installed, you can get lots of free maps at GPS File Depot
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Hello geocaching world! We have been geocaching with a Garmin Nuvi and think we are ready to take the next step. There is someone selling a used Garmin Oregon 300 here in town and it is in our budget. (small, LOL)
Is it worth getting for $100 vs an Etrex 20 brand new for another $70? (the etrex 20 is the one that I narrowed down)
I haven't been able to really find much from other geocachers about the Oregon 300, a lot about the 450 and 550 but not this one for some reason. How is the accuracy? That is a big concern. Thank you very much!
I have the Oregon 300. The accuracy is as good as any of the other new breed Oregon/eTrex series (but no Glonass) It's just a little older than the 450. The only differences are that the compass needle is skinnier on the 300 than the 450 and when beaming caches to another unit, the 300 only sends the cache name & coordinates, while the newer models send the whole cache page. I would definitely recommend the 300 over the eTrex primarily for the larger screen, since my eyes getting to be 'mature'.
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I don't think there's a direct way to link them.
I've been sending PQ's to the iPad via DropBox and using them in an app called GeoBucket so I can have the same caches loaded on my iPad and my Oregon. It's helpful for looking at 'the big picture'
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Its already on those settings. Any other ideas? My older GPS and even my phone is way closer than this.
Sometimes you can be off if you are in automotive mode...the GPSr tries to keep you on a road.
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I wonder if they'll still have some ridiculous map tile limit like only 4000 tiles on the Montana. You'd think Garmin would release a unit that would let you load ALL of their TOPO US map and have it available for use instead of forcing you to buy a "T" model.
I keep hoping that Garmin will figure out that the 1:100,000 scale of the topos on their T models is insufficient for hikers. I would happily pay the extra $100 for the T model if they included the Garmin 1:24K regional maps, which include routable streets.
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I'm hoping the bluetooth connectivity will also allow other devices to use the GPS location info...like my wifi only iPad. That would be allow me to have a giant map in the car and a rugged but compact device to carry into the field.
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Conversely, if you do become a premium member and want to use GSAK (Latest Version), you can simply mark an area on the map and download all geocaches in that area in one GPX file, and then send it to your Oregon. Very quick and simple. No need for PQ's any more!
News to me! I've been dumping PQ's into GSAK and then filtering & exporting to my Oregon. About once a month I use the Geocaching.com access in GSAK to update everything in my database.
How do I mark an area on a map and download all those caches? I'm looking at a whole county which has about 6000 unfound (by me) caches in it.
Thanks.
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I am thinking of buying a new GPS e.g. the Garmin Oregon 450.
The only question I have is how well do the touchscreens perform in the rain.
My only experience is with a touchscreen phone (HTC wildfire) which I struggled with when water got on the screen.
I had to dry it off (and my hands) every time I wanted to select a new cache.
whereas my old ETrex works fine using buttons to select caches etc regardless of rain.
Is the Oregon going to be better in the rain than a phone and if not are there any other touchscreen GPSs that work well in the rain
The touchscreen on hiking GPS units is totally different than those on smartphones or tablets. It takes a lot more pressure to register an input, and it will work when wet or even underwater. That said, get a Zagg invisible shield or similar screen protector to keep your screen clear and easy to read. Because caching takes you out into the woods, you will be dropping your Oregon, face down, on gravel. With a screen protector, it doesn't matter.
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Hey everybody ...
I found a new Photoshop pal on Google+!
It appears you're having trouble with the zoom tool...
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I really like Geo Bucket for the iPad...you can get live updates or download PQ's into it. I use it on road trips because it gives you the big picture!
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Also check out the new Garmin GLO for iPad...
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Sounds interesting...there are also Wherigo players for Android and the iPhone...
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The Topo 2008 would be a good base map, but you can also get good (free) 1:24K maps from GPS File Depot for areas where you want better detail.
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Just to be clear, you are transferring the map to the microSD card, then renaming it something like Topo1.img on the card, then sending the second section and renaming it something else (Like Topo2.img)
The reason I ask is that I found it somewhat confusing that MapSource names the maps one thing (which is visible only on the unit), but when you transfer it to the card, the saved file is always gmapsupp.img
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Hey, everyone, I'm going to try to start putting out a few more hides and I'd like to make my cache pages a little more visually appealing. Can anyone point me to a complete idiot's guide to HTML? Or whatever method you guys use to insert pictures, different fonts, scrolling text, etc to your cache pages. Thanks!
Try this Linky
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The touchscreens on these units is pretty chunky...especially compared to a smartphone, so inadvertent screen presses are a real rarity...you need to be quite deliberate. I would also highly recommend a Zagg Invisible Shield or something similar to protect your screen...you're going to love it the first time (of many!) you drop it face down onto gravel, or swipe your screen with your dusty fingers.
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I like the Oregon a lot, but you can even go bit bigger with the Montana series. The big advantage of the dedicated units is that they don't depend on cell towers and they have much better battery life than any cellphone. The Oregon can hold 5000 caches and the Montana holds 12,000, so realistically, you can use your phone/laptop combo to load fresh data onto your GPSr before your trip then leave them at home or in the car. Both models are rugged and waterproof for puddles & streams.
They come in a few flavors. Both models come with or without digital cameras and with or without pre-installed topo maps. I usually recommend against both options because the camera isn't anything special, and the topos are 1:100K which are not detailed enough for hiking.
Another point, the Garmins only come with crude base maps, so you'll need to download free maps from GPS File Depot or Open Street Maps or purchase maps from Garmin...I would recommend the DVD version of the maps so you can use them on all of your computers as well as your GPSr. The City Navigator maps are great street maps, and cover the whole US, or you can get the regional 24K Topo maps which also include the same routable streets.
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You're going to want 2 devices. A netbook or iPad/iPhone for the web connectivity, and a paperless GPSr for walking around a dropping in the creek.
On the iPad there's a slick app called GeoBucket which allows you to download PQ's or just show you the closest caches to your position...I really like the large screen too.
I like the Oregon 450, but the new eTrex series has the same features in a smaller form factor (not so good for my mature eyes though)
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Recently purchased a Garmen Oregon 550 and am going out tonight Caching for our first time. I would love to be able to take pictures with our Oregon and upload then to our own personal Map. Is this possible? If so what program do I use....Google Maps? Or can I use Basecamp with my Ontario Backroads? or GSAK? I am new too Basecap and GASK but was able to upload my query to my unit...a big fisrt hurdle...lol.
Happy Caching to ALL
Jeff And Denise
Check out EveryTrail
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I'm using the Publish Logs feature in GSAK 8.1.1.66 and saw an example of a macro I want to run for each log in the GSAK help file. It is Example 1 - update the GSAK user notes with the log text (that you just published) from Geocaching.com. I created the macro shown in Example 1:
If seek($_PublishCode)
$result = sqlite("sql","select lText from logsall where rowid = $_PublishId2","SqlGet=Yes")
$d_UserNote = sqlGet("lText")
SqlGetClose
Endif
The problem I have with the macro is it erases all of the existing information I've stored in the GSAK user notes instead of appending it to the existing GSAK user notes. Do you have a macro command to append the published log information into the GSAK user notes?
What about a similar macro that puts the data in the GSAK Log Section instead of the GSAK user notes?
Thanks,
Chris
I think if you ask the question on the GSAK forum you'll get an expert response really fast...
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Hi everyone,
I currently have a Garmin eTrex -- one that is old enough to require a serial connection. I generally connect it to my Dell laptop with a serial/USB connector to download cache info from Geocaching.com. I load a handful of caches, go out and do them, and then clear them for the next bunch. Sometimes I even delete them as we find so we can just "go to nearest". We also will print the Geocaching pages to PDF and load them on an iPod Touch so we have documentation in the field.
We're planning a trip to Britain in a year or two and I'm pondering how to do caching as we go. We're planning on traveling by rail and backpacking to hostels so I'm not going to be carting my computer around. So I don't have my serial port or PDF print capabilities etc etc etc.
I obviously have to change my ways and would like to hear some stories about how people have managed travel for a few weeks.
Do you load buckets of stuff on a GPS before you go? Use Internet Cafes or libraries? Do you mange the documentation from Geocaching in some way? How do you manage tracking what you've found over the long term?
I think a new GPS is in our future as part of our travel plans.
Anyway, thanks in advance for your advice and help. I'm looking forward to seeing what sort of cool strategies people have come up with.
Cheers
I usually travel with a laptop, but since the newer Garmins all use a USB/micro USB cable, you can get by with just the cable if you use internet cafes or library computers. You can download pocket queries into DropBox or SkyDrive or something similar, then just drag & drop them into your GPSr as you need them. You can use the field notes feature of the new Garmins to keep track of all your found caches.
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I'm pretty sure 5.60 is a non-beta release...the beta releases never end in 0.
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Result: end of a geocaching holiday!
I transferred a couple of caches via Wireless Sharing to an eTrex 20. The first transfer completed, but the device kept hanging in the 100% completed screen, so I did a power-off reset, and all was good. The next few transfers went fine. Then the last, same thing, the Montana hung again. So I did a power-off reset and then all my caches and saved tracks (except the last track), were gone!
This was with fw 4.03
Take heed when you try to share wireless with your Montana!
(off to e-mail the software team)
Battery power is an issue with any transfer. If either unit is down a bit, wireless transfers are very difficult.
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Has anyone used an RV to do the ET Highway powertrail? What has the experience been?
The caches are about 50' off the highway and on dirt roads...you're probably better off using the RV as a camping home base and a smaller car for the actual caching...any rental car will work, but it's dusty.
Garmin 300 anybody have experience with this model?
in GPS technology and devices
Posted
Since you've already got City Navigator, you're pretty much set for street maps, and that makes your purchase a great deal! Making a backup copy of the maps on your microSD card is also a great idea.
One thing to consider when adding maps is to remove the microSD card from the unit before transferring large files. File transfer to the GPS directly is really slow, but using an SD card adapter makes it much faster. There is an XML file on your GPS in the Garmin folder called GarminDevice which identifies your serial number and is what the City Navigator map is locked to. I copy this file onto the microSD card so the MapSource or BaseCamp program thinks your microSD card IS the GPS, which makes transferring files easier.
Also, if you don't already have one, a Zagg Invisible Shield or equivalent screen protector is a great way to keep your screen in perfect shape.