Mineral2

It seems that many of the feature differences between Nuvi models is purely software limitations: the ability to load and store routes, the ability to speak street names, display speed limits, paperless caching, etc. Therefore, it shouldn't be out of the question to simply install software/OS onto the device to bring about this functionality. I'm sure Garmin has placed blocks preventing the software from one model to be installed on another, but are there any 3rd party installations available to bring such advanced functions to introductory models? I'm thinking of something analogous to the Magic Lantern for Canon DSLR's which have been able to add extra features that take advantage of existing hardware.

In handheld models, you can create and save routes in your GPS, or you can create routes between waypoints in Basecamp and then save them to the GPS. This is now possible in some of the mid- to upper level nuvi units. I believe they also support routes with more than one "via" waypoint. Compare this with your Nuvi 50, which creates a route when you select "go to" and input your destination. But this route is not saved for use again later.

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So... why not just put all of your tracks into a single map?

Well, the app, if you use the official app, is $10, while a GPS will run you well over $100 (or 200). The app will connect directly to Geocaching.com for you, so you can actually log your finds in the field, provided you have 3G service. On the other hand, once your battery has run down, that's it. You're done for the day. With a GPS, you just pop out the batteries and insert a fresh pair and keep on going. So... There's no right answer here. It depends on many factors: Where you live -> which influences the level of cell phone reception you'll receive when you're geocaching; the type/style of caching you plan to utilize -- Will you be in cities and towns or out in the wild green yonder -- Will you mostly collect one here and there, or will you go out on all-day or multi-day trips trying to find as many as you can -- Will you be caching with a power source (car, ATV, etc) or by foot. Depending on how you answer these, a cell phone or a dedicated GPS may be more appropriate.

Aside from resetting your trip odometer every time you get to a waypoint, there's no easy way to to see how far you've travelled from the last waypoint. You could make note of your odometer at the waypoint, and do a little math each time you look at the GPS. The trip odometer can be displayed on just about any screen. If you're trying to make directions for someone else to follow, the best thing to do is get these distances from your track later on in Basecamp. *edit: I just found one possible solution, and that is to use the Stopwatch page, and at each waypoint, start a new "lap." You can view your lap distance as distance from the last waypoint.

The built in map is not suitable for geocaching. But you may not need to purchase additional; there are lots of good maps for free on http://www.gpsfiledepot.com and also http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl. And google is your friend, just search for "free garmin maps" and you'll be sifting through far more options than I've suggested here. I have to disagree here. Geocaching does not require a map. Therefore, any map is suitable for geocaching. In fact, if you really want to get technical, using a GPS for any kind of navigation doesn't actually require a map. Maps are useful extras that let you see your destination in relation to geographical land marks, or help you plan a route on the fly, but it's not the in-GPS map itself that will get you to your destination.

This is a key piece of the OP's requirements that argue against the Garmin Montana, namely, it's not an inexpensive device. The DeLorme cost is a little bit over half of what a Montana would cost. A Garmin Oregon 450, at under $200, is a worthwhile contender. It can do everything the OP requires except recharge batteries in the unit. Birdseye satellite imagery subscription is the same cost as DeLorme's version, $30/year.

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/prod33379.html Garmin's website is confusing to some extent: It claims that to buy a Lifetime Maps subscription for your device, it has to contain a pre-loaded version of City Navigator. Yet, the compatible devices include the handhelds which most definitely do not come with City Navigator. I'd contact Garmin and ask if you were to purchase the Lifetime subscription for your Montana if it would install and work properly. That's if you're willing to pay the $89 for it. Otherwise, just bring your Nuvi in the car and put OSM on your Montana.

You'll need to purchase a map update, or a lifetime maps subscription. This will let you download updated maps directly to your device (with a SD card in it), and/or to your computer first so you can use it in Basecamp and select portions to send to your GPS if you don't want the whole map installed at once. What it comes down to: You have to buy map updates for every device. Your Nuvi was probably a "LMT" or "LM" version which comes with a lifetime maps subscription. The Montana does not, and won't use your nuvi's subscription. If you're not using your Montana for vehicular navigation, you could save yourself a few bucks and use Open Street Maps (OSM) on it instead. These are free, routable, and worldwide, though the data depends on a user-maintained database. It's great for routing between waypoints. It's not quite as great at getting you to specific addresses in many places. Apparently it's really great in Europe, not quite as good in much of the US. But... as I said before, it'll still route you along roads, and even some trails, to waypoints which makes it great for handhelds.

The Monterra isn't replacing the Oregon series. It's arguably an upgrade/replacement for the Montana series. The price of the Oregon won't come down with the release on Monterra, rather, the Monterra will be priced much higher.

Doesn't the Garmin Montana accommodate a Li-Ion battery pack that can be recharged without removal? I have no reason to amend my original post. But... the Garmin Montana is a.) expensive b.) requires extra costs to get all of the extra map displays Just curious why you require a dedicated internal rechargeable battery when the use of AA's (rechargeable or not) is more convenient in the field?

On the etrex 20 the map name does not have to be named gmapsupp.img. No, it does not, but that's the file name that Garmin gives its maps, and the bundle comes with a Garmin topo map on an SD card.

If you're going to be in the southwest, go to www.gpsfiledepot.com and download Desert Southwest. It's a free routable topo map for Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, and parts of California. There is a california topo map that will cover the rest of the state, but it's not routable.

So, I don't know the direct answer. However, here are some suggestions that might help you troubleshoot: Some simple things to try: Take the card out, turn on your GPS, turn it off after it boots up, and put the card back in. Make sure the firmware is up to date. Take MtnHermit's advice and check that the map is simply disabled (tell us if it even appears in the maps list). If those don't work, here are some quick and easy things you can try at home: 1. Verify that the GPS is recognizing the SD card and/or that the SD card is installed correctly. There's really only one way to install an SD card, but still, there are things that can happen. For example, the card might not be seated far enough forward to touch all of the contacts. One method of verification that the GPS is recognizing the SD card is to plug it into the computer, go into mass storage mode, and see if both the GPS and the SD card mount as drives. If everything is working properly, they should both mount as two drives. If the SD card fails to mount, then you have two options: It's either a faulty SD card or a faulty SD port on the GPS. If it's the card that's faulty, the GPS should mount another SD card without problem. If it's the GPS, the SD card should mount in another GPS without a problem. Then again, if it's the GPS, it should fail to recognize any SD card you put in it. 2. If step 1 passes, check that the SD card actually has data on it. There should be a Garmin folder and within it a file called gmapsupp.img. That's the map image. If that file is there, great! I could still, by chance, be corrupted. While in mass storage mode, launch Basecamp. It should begin loading the map into memory (may take a few minutes). If you can't access the map in Basecamp, then there's something funky going on with the files on the SD card. If everything seems fine on the computer, but not on the GPS, then maybe give Garmin a call if no one else has offered other suggestions here first.

Unless Garmin has altered the way maps work from previous models, any new maps are enabled automatically.

There are plenty of free (legally free) maps for GPS's, especially for Garmin units, so you don't have to spend extra on the "t" models that come with the topo map. Besides, a map is not really necessary for geocaching.

Given that the Oregon 450 costs just as much as an eTrex 20 (or less), I'd go with the oregon and have the 3-axis compass. Sure, you'll have a lot of other features that you don't need for geocaching, but you never know when you'll decide to start using the GPS for other navigational activities.

Lately I've been managing PQ files from the terminal. It's quite easy to run unzip and point the output to the GPS device, and go into the /Volumes/GPSNAME/Garmin/GPX folder and rm *.gpx. Granted, I keep only geocaches on the SD card and waypoints and tracks on the GPS itself, so it's easy to only delete the pocket query files. But all of my pocket queries seem to start with a number 11******_PQ_NAME.gpx, so I can also use rm 11*.gpx and only get rid of the PQ files.

You don't really need any program. You just navigate directly to your device drive and drop them in the Garmin/GPX folder. Make sure to unzip them first.

Unfortunately, there is no way to delete caches on the GPS itself. You must plug it into the computer to remove them. If they are individual gpx files, you can simply open the gpx folder on the device and delete them, but it's easier to just open up Basecamp and delete them as basecamp will identify which ones you have found and which you have not. Plus, this is another method of deleting individual caches from a pocket query gpx file.

I would guess that any "greater than introductory" model should suffice. Though I was under the impression that all models used the same antennas these days. Just make sure you look for one with a high sensitivity receiver and GWAS support. GLONASS might help too. Remember that there are lots of factors that affect signal strength, tree canopy being one of them. It really depends on how thick the canopy is. I wouldn't expect signal to be lost in the dense woods of the southeast, but maybe if you're under a tropical rainforest. You can also lose signal in deep canyons or any place with a limited view of the sky or if you're getting interference from other high powered signals (can't think of any good examples right now). So before you blame the GPS, make sure it's not a problem that is bound to occur because of your location.

I'm not sure that GLONASS is any more accurate than GPS, it just allows your device to lock onto more satellites quickly so that your location estimation variance drops sooner. So, accuracy improves in the first 10-30 minutes, but after that, it's probably no better than just using the 12 GPS satellites. On another note: do the GLONASS devices really use two different antennas to access each system?

Nah, you mis-understood the use for UTM... It's useful for transferring your coordinates to a paper map, where the UTM grid is drawn out at a finer resolution. But then, I learned to navigate with a map and compass, and learned to integrate GPS technology on a non-mapping unit. But for geocaching, it matters not which coordinate system you use (the datum, however, is important). Your device will convert all coordinates to whatever system you are using, and then plots your location and gives you a fairly accurate bearing with which to follow to get to the cache... that is, if your unit can keep good signal reception. (I don't think the high sensitivity antennas were standard back then)

You can load PQ's directly onto any GPS that mounts as a mass-storage device. I download the Zip files directly to my hard drive and I've written a short bash script that will unzip each one into the proper folder on my GPS. By the way, the Garmin Oregon 450-550 holds 5000 geocaches and 2000 waypoints. They are separate categories on the Garmin units. The GPS 62 and eTrex series also hold 5000 geocaches. The Montana series holds 12,000, and the Oregon 600 holds 4 million. See Here for more information But, as a previous poster mentioned, if you're storing that much data, do you really want to be keeping it all updated on a regular basis? Unless you regularly travel in a way that you need to load more than 5000 caches and keep them with you, 5000 is more than enough for normal use.