PirateKatz

1. I got my eTrex Vista back in 2002 (or maybe a little earlier) 2. Never had any problems with the rubber around it 3. The unit lived in my glovebox for several years and has spent a great deal of time on the dashboard. I bought a new eTrex Vista HCX back in January and it hasn't had any problems.

You can get a Vista HCx for $214.00 and a Legend HCx for $170 on Amazon.

I just purchased an Oregon 200 and noticed this exact issue. The screen looks very washed out when compared against a 60Csx or my Vista HCx. It definitely has a lot of features that make up for this but having a visible screen is a pretty important part of a GPS.

Please disregard -- I figured it out! Apparently, you want "Hide on Map" to be displayed to have it visible on the main map. I guess the logic is that the option listed on the button is what you want, not currently what it is set to.

I just purchased a Garmin Oregon 200 and so far am incredibly frustrated (I'm a long time 60CSx and eTrex user) and am desperately hoping somebody can help. I've uploaded a series of tracks by copying a gpx file to the unit. All of the tracks can be viewed individually when I select "Track Manager", then the track I'm interested in, and then "View Map". But when I go to just the map screen (not via Track Manager), none of the tracks are visible on the map. All of the tracks have "Show On Map" turned on. I really can't figure out what's going on. Is there some setting that I'm missing? I've never had this problem with the older GPS units that I've used.

Thanks for the info. We're pretty much in the same situation. We've had several very large projects that involve tens of thousands of photographs and are looking for ways to handle that much data. We've also thought about using a netbook and logging photo logs directly into a database but that really only works for car based projects. A camera that can store attributes as well as positions would be a huger saver and would probably pay for its self in short time.

Wow, that's a very cool device -- Thanks! If you don't mind me asking, can you recommend any venders? We currently just use standard Sony cameras and every time we take a picture, we log the frame number as a waypoint in the Garmin. We then just download the waypoints directly into ArcMap as a shapefile. I'm the GIS Specialist at my office and am always looking for more efficient ways of processing photos, especially on larger projects.

I was wondering if anyone can recommend any GPS units with cameras built in and actually has personal experience using them for logging photos? I do environmental surveying and typically log the locations of photos with a 60Csx. I realize the Oregon 550 might not have the best camera in the world but it seems very convenient to take photos, and log the positions, on a single device.

Has anyone tried using something like a 10 round ammunition pouch -- The ones with individual slots where you slide rounds into?

My old Vista used to do this. I updated the firmware and the problem went away -- In the interim, the problem went away by disabling WAAS.

I've never had any problems using el cheapo USB-to-Serial adapters; I think mine were from Monoprice but I'm not sure. I also bought an all-in-one adapter off of eBay that has the adapter built into the GPS cable and it works fine. It also uses the same generic drivers as the my old blue & silver adapter and it's very convenient not having to use multiple cables.

According to the cache description, the appropriate parking area is on the side of the road: This cache is located on the guardrail of the northbound lane of 13 highway between Lexington and Richmond before crossing the Missouri River. You must pull off onto the shoulder, turn on your flashers, and watch for traffic as you walk behind the guardrail and look under the end of it. If you do not feel safe pulling off the side of the highway and getting out, please do not attempt this cache. Thank you!

Placing a cache requires approval from the appropriate landowner or land manager. Presumably, the cache owner got permission from his or her's state Department of Transportation prior to placing it. If it were illegal to pull off onto the shoulder and loiter on the side of a highway, why would the DOT grant permission? Or do people just lie about obtaining permission prior to placing a cache?

I just upgraded from an old eTrex Vista to a new Vista HCx. My nephews also got Venture HC's for Christmas. The difference between the old eTrex line and the new ones with the high sensitivity receivers is night and day. I think you'll be very happy with the upgrade.

You might want to try setting the USB-to-serial adapter to a lower COM port (1-4) and see if that helps.

Garmin continues to support (and offer map updates) after discontinuing older units. That's been my experience too. I have a very old, long since discontinued Garmin StreetPilot that I've been able to update every 2 or 3 years. I just updated the maps last summer. I probably should have just purchased the lifetime updates a few years ago but I had no idea that this unit would last as long as it currently is. I also currently use a very old version of Garmin's TOPO software for my handhelds. I've never bothered to upgrade because contour lines don't tend to change frequently and the old version isn't locked to a single device.

I've never done a front yard or driveway cache but I wouldn't have any problems doing so. If you live out in the country, I bet a geocache in the front yard could act as a security system, with the random coming-and-going of people in your yard.

I'm also from Huntington, WV.

Maybe I just haven't had enough coffee today but... Is it even possible to find the center of three points while using geographic coordinates, without getting into some very complex math to correct for varying X/Y scales and not working on a Cartesian plane? Geographic coordinates are incredibly cumbersome for determining length & area. The cartographer in me says to project the three points into an equidistant projection appropriate for the location of the cache and then solve from there using basic geometry. Though, I can't believe any cache would require this... :-)

I've used a very cheap adapter from Monoprice (or some other random place on the net) and have never had any problems. I also agree that it is very important to set the device to a low COM port. I bought an all-in-one converter & cable off of eBay and am very happy with it. It's less bulky and less cables to deal with and works with the same generic Prolific drivers I had with the other adapter. It can also power the device via the USB port (my other adapter can't do this) -- http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...e=STRK:MEWNX:IT

You'll need to pick up a USB to serial converter. I bought one from Monoprice several years ago and have never had any problems with it. Just recently, I purchased an "all-in-one" cable off of eBay and it also works fine. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...e=STRK:MEWNX:IT I think the trick to any of these adapters is to install the correct drivers and make sure they're assigned a low COM # (1-4).

Awesome -- Thanks!

Hi, Both of my nephews got eTrex Venture HC's for Christmas and I wanted to set them up and show them the basics of geocaching. Their home computer is an Apple laptop -- something I really know nothing about. Can anyone explain what I exactly I need for them to easily upload geocaches to their GPS's? I looked on the Garmin driver's page and didn't see anything listed for Apple at: http://www8.garmin.com/support/collection....ct=010-00633-00 Are there special Apple drivers out there? I'm assuming they will need to have Garmin Communicator plugin installed, so they can upload directly from the geocaching webpage, is this correct? What software is available for uploading .loc or .gpx files to the GPS? Is there any very simple software (I'm thinking closer to EasyGPS than GSAK) for an Apple? Thanks!

Why would requiring permission end geocaching? The current "wink-wink, nod-nod" system where people just accept most caches don't have explicit permission make it very hard on those of us who try to do things the right way.

I think this would prevent the vast majority of incidents. I wonder what percentage of parking lot caches actually have permission to be where they are -- I suspect the number is closer to 0% than it is 100%. I've been the situation twice, where I've gone through the hoops of trying to get permission by making phone calls over the course of a few weeks, only to have someone place caches in the same place w/out permission in the meantime. It's incredibly frustrating.