Crid
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Posts posted by Crid
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There's no shame in posting a DNF. In fact I've posted one myself today.
Caches sometimes go missing. If you attempt a cache but fail to find it, a DNF can tip off the owner that the cache may have disappeared, or been put back in the wrong place, or simply be a trickier find than they had expected. As a cacher, if a cache has a string of DNFs followed by a maintenance log from the owner saying that it IS there but tricky to find, I'll be encouraged to not give up too easily. (I had one of those a couple of weeks ago - which I did EVENTUALLY find).
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60csx is a fantastic unit, however, I'd be tempted to get the model below (60something) that has the same features but not the barometric altitude sensor. Its useful, but on mine it bugs me as on a plane you will see barometric cabin height (8000ft approx) and theres no way to turn it off!
The flipside to this comment is that (I think) the compass and barometric altimeter come together. While the altimeter may not be terribly useful for caching, I find the compass VERY useful. If you don't have a compass the GPS will show your direction of travel on the pointer. That's fine until you stop and want to know if you're facing the right direction for the cache.
I also use the compass for "normal" navigation that has nothing to do with caching. If you've got to head out across a field in a given direction, it's nice to know you've got the direction more or less right.
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I had a 76CSx (basically a 60CSx in a different form factor) for a year before buying a Colorado. The Colorado has previously had some drift issues (mainly in "difficult" conditions such as under forest canopy) which could cause it to be several HUNDRED feet off course. Not at all useful for geocaching.
However, the latest version of the GPS firmware - version 2.8 - SEEMS to have sorted this problem. It's hard to tell for sure yet because - a ) it's hard to confirm that it's fixed unless it does it again, and b ) it's hard to do a like-for-like comparison right now because there's less leaf cover at this time of year. I've been running the new version for a couple of weeks now and SO FAR it's looking very good. Only time will tell for certain.
As at least one other poster has mentioned, the interface is a bit clunky compared to a 60 or 76. The new click wheel should have made things easier, but somehow it doesn't work that way. Probably because there are fewer buttons available. Either that or the programming team hasn't had much previous experience building user interfaces. (Let's assume it's the former, just to be nice).
On the whole the interface isn't a massive deal for me, although it does take longer to enter text. The Oregon is undoubtedly faster in that respect, but I can't comment on that unit because I haven't used one.
The paperless aspect of the Colorado is a massive plus for me. I don't have a PDA, so I was previously using a GSAK macro to load cache information into the address book of my iPod. That was a good solution given the hardware I had at my disposal (I wasn't going to buy a PDA just for geocaching), but the Colorado does it much better. In fact, I only use GSAK to load cache information into my 76CSx. For the Colorado you simply unzip the GPX files you get from a pocket query and upload them straight to the Colorado.
Paperless caching isn't necessarily a massive deal if you're only going after caches near your home. But if you want to cache while on vacation, or on a trip away from home it's fantastic. You don't end up printing off cache descriptions "just in case". No doubt in the future we will be able to check cache details online while "out in the field" (the iPhone app being one step towards this), but paperless caching with a Colorado is pretty hassle-free.
The Colorado may have a few annoying aspects, but if the new GPS firmware proves to be reliable it will be my main caching GPS for quite some time.
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Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately I won't be able to get my laptop online where I'm going and I don't have a PDA. My hope was that I could work things out from the information the GPS calculates, but it seems I won't be able to do that. And as somebody pointed out, I'm in the UK so the Garmin download won't work for me.
Thanks for the information link Gallet, although I see they talk about centrifugal force...
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OK, a slightly odd question here. I'm not completely sure it even belongs in this forum, but here goes...
My GPS units don't have marine maps on them, so I don't have Tide Prediction Stations. However, both of them can give me moon rise/set times for wherever I happen to be. So is it possible to work out when low/high tide is from this information, even if you can't work out HOW low or high the tide will be?
It is a caching question of sorts. On vacation last year I went after a cache on a tiny island that could be walked to at low tide. I failed to find it and I will be going to the same place on vacation next year. Not only that, I've just been checking caches in that area and a second one has now popped up on a different tiny island that can only be reached at low tide.
I'm guessing high tide is at the moon's equivalent of midnight and noon (moon directly overhead, or on the opposite side of the earth) and low tide is halfway between high tides? Moon Noon (for want of a better name) is presumably halfway between moon rise and moon set? Or is it more complicated than that?
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When I was looking to buy around the middle of last year, I was faced with the same decision. (This was just before Garmin released the HCX range). Since the 60 and 76 are basically the same unit (just in a different form factor), the deciding factor for me was simply that the 76CSx was cheaper.
Never regretted getting it. Fantastic unit.
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The GSAK macro stores the cache details on the iPod as contacts (in the address book). The iPod has a limit on how much text it will display for any given contact. One issue I encountered was that if the description is really long, you can't see the hint. Nevertheless, it's still a pretty good way to do paperless caching. That's particularly useful if you're caching away from home (vacation, business trip, etc).
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Garmin 76CSx and Garmin Colorado. If the new Colorado firmware turns out to have fixed the drift issues (so far, so good) that will become my main unit.
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Yesterday I went out on my bike for the first time in a few years. Since I've got a GPS since I last rode it, it made sense to take off the speedometer and put a GPS mount on instead.
I was cycling in an unfamiliar part of a wood. One thing I discovered on my return journey was that the ride out was a gradual slope downwards. Which, of course, was a steady slog upwards on the way back. In hindsight, perhaps setting one of the data fields to altitude, or having the GPS on the altitude track page might have tipped me off to this.
Are there any cycling GPS users who can advise how best to configure the GPS for this use? It's a Colorado, so I can set up different profiles for different uses.
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Unfortunately it hasn't been fixed on the Travel Bug Map page.
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I use the 76CSx, which is really just the 60CSx in a different form factor, and believe me, it works fantastically. So I think you'd be making a great decision in getting a 60CSx.
I'm also a happy 76CSx owner. The 60CSx is a fine unit.
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I was out caching recently with a friend. He's not a geocacher as such, but he's come along caching with me several times and really enjoys it. We both work in IT (although different areas of it) and we got to talking about the technology behind GPS.
I'm a geek through-and-through, so I find GPS fascinating from a technology point of view. So I came to geocaching through learning about GPS. Even though I know how GPS works, I still find it amazing that it works so well. So although I cache and map, it's fair to say I'm pretty inseperable from my GPS - walking, cycling, driving - I've nearly always got it with me. In fact, I have two now (bought a Colorado several months ago).
My friend on the other hand isn't interested in how GPS works. But he enjoys geocaching because it's an interesting use of existing technology. A treasure hunt for the 21st century. (He also enjoys traditional treasure hunts where several teams are competing against one another at the same time). He's borrowed my GPS a couple of times so that he could show other people what geocaching is about. He's also taken the GPS paragliding and we had fun looking at his tracks in Google Earth (showing the altitude). He's more interested in the uses of the device than the workings of it.
I'm curious to know what other cachers' opinions are of GPS. Are you fascinated by how it works, or is it just a tool to use?
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It also appears to be broken if you follow the "view map" link on a travelbug logs page. (The search map is working for me).
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It's really down to whatever floats your boat. There are those who treat geocaching as a sport, and those who do it just as a bit of fun. In the same way that some people are competitive about cycling, whereas others just want to go for a leisurely bike ride once in a while. I'm the latter camp on both issues.
Along with geocaching, I also enjoy using my GPS for mapping (openstreetmap.org). Both activities encourage me to go walking in new places, rather than sticking to the same routes all the time. This has helped me to rediscover my love of walking and also helped me shed some weight (about 20 pounds so far).
One of the nice things about geocaching (for me, anyway) is that the numbers are only as important as you want them to be. There's no leaderboard showing who has had the most finds this month. I'd never be on it anyway, but for me the fun comes from the activity itself. I'll happily do a multi that takes a couple of hours and yields a single find at the end of it because I get the enjoyment from the walking, the finding and (if I go with a friend) the company. Cachers who are interested in the numbers would probably go after cache-n-dash's and get several finds in the same period of time, because that's how THEY want to play the game.
Neither approach is necessarily "right" or "wrong". It's just personal preference.
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When I was looking to buy last year, the 76CSx was cheaper. Since they are both basically the same unit (except for form factor), I went for the 76. Great unit that I have been very happy with.
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You can also see how much "track lag" the OR has, note the green waypoints are behind all of the red and blue points (I walk in counter-clockwise direction and drop these waypoints on all three units at the same time as I'm moving). Also note how the OR cuts the inside corner on most of the turns.
I've noticed my Colorado and 76CSx both do this in the past. I think it's an averaging thing - the GPS doesn't just start averaging when you stop, it averages all the time. I'm not sure if it increases the number of points it averages when the EPE goes up.
When I'm out mapping on foot (my other GPS hobby), I've taken to stopping for a few seconds if I turn a sharp corner or if I mark a waypoint. This allows the average to "catch up". Before I realised what was going on, I had a few instances of walking the same track in both directions and wondering why waypoints marked on the way out (for gates, bridges, etc) didn't match up on the return journey - especially when under forest canopy.
I also had quite a few instances of walking past caches because the averaging made it look like I hadn't quite reached GZ yet. Again, mostly when under forest canopy. I've now taken to walking slower as I get close to GZ.
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I think my only grumble is that "regular" covers such a wide variety from Lock & Locks to large ammo cans. Most of the time that's not a problem, but it is an issue when you've picked up a large TB and need to find somewhere to drop it off. Also, if I had a better idea of the cache size I would know when I should or shouldn't bother taking larger swag items with me.
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I'm hoping they release a standalone version of this firmware soon, since I have no desire to install Web Updater.
Why??
Because I was under the mistaken belief that it was an app that sat in the background regularly "phoning home" to see if there were new updates. Having looked into Web Updater further, I now realise I was wrong.
Sorry to disagree, but I installed 2.51 beta, 2.60 and 2.70 all from standalone downloads.
I'm talking about GPS Chipset firmware. Unit formware has been issued as standalone, but GPS Chipset firmware has not.
My apologies. I misunderstood.
I've now upgraded to 2.80. With the nights drawing in I'm going to get less chance to do any decent testing after work, but there's still the weekends.
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I'm hoping they release a standalone version of this firmware soon, since I have no desire to install Web Updater.
Garmin has not been releasing these as standalone downloads for awhile.
Sorry to disagree, but I installed 2.51 beta, 2.60 and 2.70 all from standalone downloads.
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Just make sure you take out all the fireworks before you use them as caches!
And also that I don't take a geocache to the party.
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Another vote here for the 76CSx. I've had mine for over a year and still use it even though I now also have a Colorado. A friend recently took it paragliding in southern France and came back with some fantastic GPS tracks that looked great in Google Earth. (The CSx has a barometric altimeter - which I've not had much use for myself, and a compass - which I have).
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I've had a couple of larger ammo boxes sitting in my conservatory for months. Last night my other half decided that she wanted to have some fireworks for this year's bonfire night (a good excuse for burgers and hotdogs too). Those ammo boxes will be perfect for storing the fireworks on the night - it's not that big a step from what they were designed for.
And as a bonus, I didn't get "that's nice dear", which is the usual response when I mention ammo boxes. (She secretly enjoys geocaching, but tries not to admit it.
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I'm hoping they release a standalone version of this firmware soon, since I have no desire to install Web Updater.
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Just tried it myself and I can also confirm that a new query ran straight away (even though the previous query I had tried to run was also brand new). So perhaps the initial problem is now cleared and it's now just a scheduling problem?
Should I Buy a Garmin Colorado ?
in How do I...?
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Or have a mechanism where a waypoint can have a parent geocache. That way you could be heading for the waypoint (part of a multi, for instance), but still easily have access to the cache description.