Triple Crown

GSAK is going to take some practice but the help forums are terrific and the moderators are very responsive. For your current filter question, choose a cache near the center of the shore and right click on it to open the menu, then select 'Set this cache as the centre point' GSAK will then re-order the database for you. Next click on the Set Filter button at the top (magnifying glass icon) and in the Distance field change it to 'Less than or equal to' then enter 30 miles. GSAK will then display all caches within 30 miles of your center point cache (which will be diplayed in the top margin of the Set Filter dialog box) Finally, send the caches to your GPS or export them as a GPX file which you can share with your friends so you all have the same caches loaded.

Once you have submitted your query, you need to check the box for the current day of the week to tell it to run. The box should stay checked until it runs, then the time/date it ran will appear in the right column on the 'Your Pocket Queries' page.

Pocket queries with less than 500 results get emailed to you, with more than that they email a notification that they are ready to download and you have to go to the 'Pocket Queries Ready for Download' tab on the Pocket Query page. Usually PQ's are generated in less than 5 minutes, but occasionally they take longer (like until just before midnight)

There are a couple of different ways to go about this. GSAK allows you to have multiple databases, so I keep 1 for my home area, another for my finds and others for when I'm planning a trip. Your Oregon can hold up to 5000 caches in up to 200 files plus an unlimited number of POI's. I run several different Pocket Queries (I exclude found caches) and load them all into my unfound caches database. Then after I go caching I mark the ones I found in GSAK and then move those to my 'My Finds' database then I re-run those Pocket Queries and add them to my unfound database so that I'm always updating the unfound caches with new logs. There is a fantastic macro called GarminExportBeta that allows you to export not only the caches in your database, but all of your finds and hides (as POI's so there's no limit)

The 3-axis compass in the newer high end units works quite well even when standing still. The older units require that the unit be held level (not convenient for viewing) and the electronic compass just doesn't work very well.

In my opinion the extra cost for the electronic compass & altimeter is not worth it. You can get excellent free topo maps from GPS File Depot and you can get free routable street maps from OpenStreetMap but I do really like the Garmin City Navigator NT (DVD version so you can put it AND topo maps on your own 4GB microSD card together)

Cool tools! I really like it!

I had a similar experience. Just to be sure I checked my geocache_visits.txt file with notepad and verified no dupes there. Next I deleted all my field notes and uploaded them again and the second time I got the right number and no dupes. Weird.

The Oregons are a little different from the eTrex and 60 series... The text file geocache_visits.txt will show all your finds with time & date & field notes. (viewable only on a computer) The only way to view your finds on the unit is by proximity. There is definitely a quirk when loading GPX files. For consistency, I always first delete the old GPX files, then disconnect and reboot, then re-connect and load the new GPX files. Works every time. If I just delete the old files and add the new files in 1 step I frequently find that lots of the caches are missing.

Doesn't the Garmin 24K Topo INCLUDE all of the streets? You should be able to install all of that one plus the City Navigator NT tiles from the areas not covered by the topo maps. On my 60Csx I had all of the CN plus 1:24k GPSFileDepot topos of California and 1:100k for most of the Southwest all on my card. Definitely use a card reader/writer, it's significantly faster than writing to the card while in the unit.

Dang! Looks like Nye County has wiped out everything above #443. See Log here.

I use GSAK to filter caches then view them all on a map with Cache'Eye. There is even a GSAK macro (myCacheEye.gsk) that automatically exports your caches. The resolution of the aerial images is fantastic too! Here are some screenshots...

You can visit Kill Bill's Church GC1BWC1 in Lancaster.

I thought Garmin would fix any problem for $99.

Well I'd narrow it further to the Oregon 450 since the 300 & 400 are discontinued. The Dakota 20 is slightly smaller overall but I like the bigger screen on the Oregon. I tried the PN-40 and it's a very good unit and the PN-60 is even better, but in the end I went with the (now discontinued) Oregon 300. Familiarity with Garmin products was a factor for me, but the clunkiness of the DeLorme settings and that I hated their mapping program finally swayed me. You might also consider the Garmin 62s which has all the paperless features and the screen is a little easier to read (non-touchscreen) if you're doing a lot of biking, since it's hard to adjust the screen angle once on the bike mount.

one of the possible settings for the data fields is "waypoint at dest", which may be what you're looking for. the "small data fields" dashboard is probably your best bet. Yes, you can touch each of the data fields and select what information you want them to display. The most useful are Waypoint at Destination and Distance to Destination, for the other fields I have Time of Day and Bearing to Destination.

The easiest way is when on the compass page, press the small dashboard button in the lower right corner and then select large or small data fields instead of one of the geocaching dashboards. Then the arrow will point to the waypoint you're navigating to. Don't forget to switch back when you want to navigate to a cache again. As an alternative, you can set up a separate 'Waypoints' profile so you don't have to change settings within a profile, just change profiles.

Unfortunately the Garmin hiking units don't come with street maps other than major freeways. You can purchase street maps for the US & Canada (City Navigator) for around $70 online or you can get free ones at www.openstreetmap.org and free topo maps at www.GPSfiledepot.com

Garmin MapSource or BaseCamp should work. You can probably do it in Google Earth too.

The next generation of your GPSr is the Garmin 62s, same form factor but with all of the paperless features and you can load it with GSAK. It has the same features as the Oregons (except the touchscreen) but some people find the screen easier to read in bright light. I had the 60CSx and loved it, then got the DeLorme Pn-40 but traded it in for an Oregon 300 (now discontinued) My next unit will be an Oregon 450 since I really like the touchscreen.

You might look at c:geo but using it might violate Groundspeak's Terms Of Use.

Another sad lose of a dear pet. Doubly hard to come at this time of year I'm sure. Heartfelt condolences, Harmon & Sandy, SD Rowdies Thanks, you guys... For all of my friends who aren't on FB, here's a link to a photo tribute of Max's wonderful life. We will miss him terribly... :( Max (the dog) So sorry to hear about Max. That's a very nice photo tribute. "A good dog never dies. He always stays. He walks besides you on crisp autumn days when frost is on the fields and winter's drawing near. His head is within our hand in his old way." -Mary Carolyn Davies

You can't see the hint until you are navigating to the cache. Select a cache, then 'GO' then when you press the Geocache Icon you should see the 'Show Hint' button.

It's pretty easy, just make sure you have good light & clean hands and use lots and lots of the spray!

Run the WebUpdater to get the latest non-beta software. Get the Zagg screen protector. It makes your screen almost impervious to scratches. Well worth it!