Mineral2

It can always be deleted. It gets rebuilt from the data files (gpx, ggz, etc.) when the device is powered on. It's there to make accessing the data faster.

I'll chime in with my perspective. I don't think I could ever buy an eTrex after using an Oregon. It feels too limited, and I'm not a fan of the joystick controller. I would buy a gpsMAP 65 or 66 first, if not go looking for another Oregon. However, I've been using my Oregon less and less these days, finding that my phone and one of several available apps are just as easy to use and often more convenient. I take the Oregon with me on hikes and for geocaching trips when I'm out of service, but even then I find myself planning ahead and downloading PQs for offline use. I mainly use the GPS for hike logs and backcountry navigation and my phone for geocaching - it's rare that I'm making major hikes to a geocache, and when I am, that's when I'll use the Oregon for geocaching. I imagine you carry your phone with you while you're out anyway, so unless there's a reason you are dead set against using it for geocaching, I'd give it a try.

For future, Basecamp isn't the most effective geocache manager. It's great for tracks, waypoints, and routes. But for geocaches, there is a lot to be desired. You can either manage lists or pocket queries and load the GPX files on your device directly, or you can work through a geocache management program such as GSAK. Something like this will help you keep geocaches more efficiently. To remove a geocache, you can mount your GPS in mass storage mode and navigate to the GPX folder and delete the gpx files containing the geocaches. This may be trickier to decipher if Basecamp didn't name the file with the type of data located within it, and GPX files can contain multiple data types (waypoints, routes, tracks, and geocaches). Again, this is where GSAK comes in handy because you'll export a file containing only geocaches and related data.

I'll interject that it can often just be easier to make a waypoint in Garmin Basecamp and then send it over to your eTrex.

When creating a geocache, we can enter coordinates in any format and the system converts it to DM.M format. This is useful for those times where grabbing coordinates from Google Maps is easier than visiting the location with a GPS (events, some virtuals). However, once the cache listing has been created, we can only modify coordinates in the DM.M format. Since the coordinate field on the edit cache page is a single field, I would like to request that we have the ability to input any coordinate format just as we can when first setting up a geocache.

Accidentally left my Oregon 600 at a hotel after loading some geocaches onto it. Whoops. (They have it in their lost and found and I will pick it up on the way back.) But I find myself not missing it, at least as far as geocaching is concerned. That may change over the summer when I'm hiking... and geocaching in the mountains.

It might be worth slowing going back to basics. Tell us what you HAVE successfully accomplished with this unit. You say it's not getting a fix, but are you complaining about turning it on for the first time? Is it not getting a fix within 20 minutes, or is it not getting a fix after several hours? Are you trying to load BirdsEye maps via a computer or wirelessly? Are you connecting to WiFi or using your phone as a hotspot? Have you paired the GPS with your phone? And is your phone set up for data tethering (you will need to make it work in the field)? Do you have an active BirdsEye subscription (costs extra and is linked to your hardware)? Is it set up with your GPS's serial number? Is this your first Garmin GPS device? Have you come back to this forum to read what we've replied (fair question as many will ask their questions and not check back in)?

I'm going to convince you to go ahead and just do it. No point in supporting obsolete and unsupported hardware and software standards. For the few remaining diehards who refuse to live in the present or even the less distant past, they can figure out how to support their lifestyle on their own.

I've never had a problem prying the batteries out. I start with the positive-up battery and just press down on the positive end while pulling it out of the cradle. No need to nic the exterior of the battery. Once one battery is out, the other pops out from the side.

I can tell you from experience with an Oregon 600 and Oregon 450 that when power save mode is turned on (IE, screen turns off after 15 seconds or I turn it off), it still records tracks. As long as the unit is still powered on, it will still collect data with the screen turned off.

My guess is UTC. Displayed time can be converted from UTC using Time Zone data, but I'm betting that all calculations are made using UTC.

This. Right here. I'm still using my Oregon 600, but the rubber has formed a tear by the user button (not the power button) and I have to make sure I press it at the right angle or the plastic pin will pop off the button and I have to use tweezers to get it back in place. I'm patiently waiting for Garmin to update the Oregon line so I can have a more updated touch screen handheld. I guess I can search for an Oregon 700 since it's unclear whether Garmin is going to continue the line, or even continue developing its handheld GPS lineup at all. Honestly, I find myself geocaching by phone these days and just using the Garmin for hiking/backpacking/backcountry adventure trips. Phone apps work just as well, if not better, and I can run and download PQs for offline storage on a whim if I'm going out of cell service. I just don't turn the Garmin on very much these days. But I'm also not ready to throw it away either.

I, too, mainly use the Groundspeak app. But I also have GCDroid and Geooh Go installed. Both are good alternate options. Geooh Go has a built-in Wherigo player which I find is better than the standalone WhereUgo app.

@quadsinthemudd is a very active and prolific cacher. He's been known to log finds weeks to months and even years later in some cases after making the find. I know he's not the norm and we shouldn't expect enough people logging after this date to break the record. But it does happen.

It's too bad we didn't break the record. However, it seems a bit disingenuous to still award the souvenir.

Try using Basecamp to build your routes.

Ugh. I came here to make a similar post and request to Groundspeak (anyone listening?) that they revive the platform. At the very least, update the website with the same aesthetic and technology used in the geocaching website. And more importantly, develop and maintain a multi-platform tool for creating Wherigo cartridges. Wherigo has so much potential, but it's so inaccessible to creators.

PQ's download as a zip file. You have to double click it to extract the GPX file. If you are using a Mac, be sure to empty the trash before disconnecting your eTrex. That will ensure the old GPX files are actually deleted. The eTrex 10 has some file limitations put on it, able to display only 2000 geocaches, so make sure you aren't loading more than that. Check the geocache filters to make sure they aren't set in a way that will hide all geocaches. And finally, if the PQ is of any significant distance from your current location, they may not appear in the list.

Thank you for clearing up any confusion.

So delete isn't a permanent deactivation, then.... Maybe they need to include an archival process.

If I'm hosting an event with food or at a restaurant where a group reservation is necessary, I will ask people to RSVP with their will-attend by a certain date and in their log, mention their party size. This will give me a rough estimate of how many to plan for. I can't require an rsvp, but it's been rare for more than a few people to show up unannounced and I have yet to run out of food at a bbq event. Should the day arrive where it become a problem... well, it's first come, first served.

Keep on waiting. I'm hoping the delay is related to the chip shortage. Garmin hasn't been releasing much in the way of new hardware in the last two years.

Loc files should have been depreciated as well... Where are you seeing that option?

Yes, maps that you buy are locked to the device that you register them with. It sucks, but going forward, be aware that there are great (and sometimes even better) free alternatives you can use. This is pretty much your support forum for Garmin handheld GPS. Garmin has never maintained forums specific to handhelds. Who knows why, but the Geocaching community has picked up that slack. Sucks they didn't email you back. Did you try calling their European support office? There are no SIM cards for GPS devices. They don't connect to cellular networks and thus don't need a data plan/phone identification number. So don't try putting a SIM card in a Garmin handheld. Perhaps you meant SD card? Those should transfer just fine between devices. Yes, the eTrex devices are clunky and slow. They always have been. Now that I think about it, all GPS devices are slow. Probably because they are equipped with low-energy processors to save battery life. Though keep in mind that the eTrex line are their cheapest / introductory models, so don't expect them to be as feature rich or robust as a gpsMAP 66 or an Oregon model. Garmin DOES still support the eTrex 22/32x. As long as they still produce and sell a product, they will support it. You can geocache and navigate with a phone just as well as you can with a Garmin GPS receiver, so in the end, you might be happier going that route. Those of us who are GPS diehards will still use them. But we do notice that without any real competition (Garmin IS the handheld GPS market) and a dwindling customer base, garmin hasn't had the incentive to develop these tools like they used to, and so they are dropping the ball on technology and performance. New models are often released with glaring bugs, and some lines are so overdue for an update that according to prior timelines, we'd be seeing a second next generation coming out by now (where's our Oregon update!?). I digress. As the button on my GPS is developing a hole and stops working properly, I find myself using the GPS less and less for geocaching and only as a hiking trip logger.

I would start here: https://garmin.opentopomap.org/ You can download topo maps for any region of the world and install them into Basecamp and make routes, waypoints, and even draw tracks to save and export as GPX files. Bonus: You can install the map on your eTrex 32x instead of buying Garmin's France map all over again.