Mineral2

The correct answer is: All of them. Pretty much all handhelds released since 2006(?) are compatible with paperless caching. They all give you your position, and the position of the cache that you download to the unit, and thus can calculate the direction you need to walk to get to it. You don't NEED a map to geocache. You don't NEED satellite imagery to geocache. But pretty much all of the current and recent GPS models on the market with a few exceptions can support mapping and satellite imagery (the latter costs extra). There are no GPS's like the app, except the Garmin Monterra, which you could actually install and use the app. The app lets you live search the entire database and log your finds on the spot. You can't do that with a GPS. You have to do some pre-planning and download caches to the device before you go, and log your finds on the website when you return. So, the answer to your question: They're all good for geocaching. YOU have to decide what model is best for you: How does it feel in your hand, what kind of interface do you like: touch screen, buttons, a single joystick; do you want extra premium features like a barometric altimeter and 3-axis compass. Look at the specs of each GPS model and you decide which one has the right combinations of features for the price you want to pay. Most importantly, go to your local outdoor shop and try one out in your hand.

It looks like they're both transparent overlays that only contain trails and a few waypoints. Though, it should overlay on top of the eTrex's basic base map. You should still see the base map unless you disabled it. For a topo map, try installing Minnesota Topo (I assume you want a Boundary Waters map).

I made my workflow even easier: created a BASH shell script that batch unzips all PQ files directly onto the GPS.

Agreed, magnetic compass isn't much good in a car. Will need to turn it off now since the option to set a time delay between compasses is gone. I use mine for auto navigating as well as geocaching so enabling/disabling the compass is a bit of a pain.. especially since Garmin removed the disable compass (page) button. But that's what profiles are for. Create/modify the auto navigation profile to not use the electronic compass, but enable it in your geocaching profile.

There's an off-chance that Spy-bot will catch the progarms, but be unable to uninstall them. You may need to re-boot your computer into safe-mode and run spybot again to completely clean off the malware. Just a heads-up.

Well, I logged on here on my computer and it shows the caches I found so...... It also shows on here that is compatible with my phone. Just won't let me download without paying (again). Other apps allow you to log finds on the website too. Go to https://play.google.com/apps on your computer (not phone) and see if the geocaching app is listed. I suspect it's not, but that gives you a list of every app you've bought/installed at one point regardless of whether it is installed on either of your phones currently.

You sure it was the official geocaching.com app you had before, and not one of the alternate apps?

apps are bought through your google account, and it's google that remembers when you have purchased and app. The only time you'd have to purchase the app twice is if you bought it through a different store (example: iTunes store for an iPhone vs. Google Play for Android)

I'm not sure what download link you refer to, but I have ad-block running, which blocks ads, and it's likely that you clicked on an ad and not an actual link to a real program. It's likely that you just installed some sort of malware that you're going to need to remove. http://www.safer-networking.org/ That's a link to a program called Spybot Search & Destroy. It is a reputable program for finding and uninstalling malicious software that your anti-virus software doesn't necessarily cover. Be careful, be safe, and maybe start using Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome with the ad-block add-on installed.

uh... fix #1, stop using Internet Explorer. Fix #2, use pocket queries. You should employ fix #1 regardless of whether or not you decide to use Fix #2.

The eTrex 10 can technically hold 2000 geocaches as per Garmin, although I could have sworn that this unit was originally limited to 500 geocaches. Despite this, the eTrex 10 has some serious limitations that my advice would be to save your money and put it toward an eTrex 20 or a GPSmap 62, which is currently now $10 less than the eTrex 20 at newegg.com. Think about it, as the 62 has a larger screen, a more robust case, and an easier to use interface than the eTrex line.

Well, this is interesting, according to Garmin: I've referenced this page many times and I was pretty sure the Oregon 450(t) was limited to 200 GPX files. Perhaps this was an oversight, or did Garmin recently change the limit with a firmware upgrade? I know that last November, I ran into the 200 GPX limit when new caches I loaded didn't show up on my device in the field while older ones were still there.

PS, the specs for the Oregon 450 should read 5,000 geocaches.

Archived tracks do not count toward your GPX limit or your stored track limit. I would still look into using the pocket query feature as its benefits extend well beyond the 200 gpx file limit problem. For one, you don't have to spend time clicking on every geocache you wish to visit, and then clicking the "Send to GPS" link for each one. Instead, you can download ALL geocaches for a given area (up to 1000) or a filtered subset. This means: 1. You don't have to pick and choose which geocaches to load before an outing. 2. You can change your plans on the fly because other nearby caches will already be loaded for you. 3. It's real easy to re-run a query and get updated listings from time to time. Some people pair this with a geocache manager, but PQ's on their own are immensely useful.

But many phones also accept ant+ devices such as a wireless temp sensor and all of the other accessories you mention: a USB power cable, a mount for your bike, etc. My original point was that if you're going to carry your cell phone with you to provide internet to the monterra, then why use the monterra when it does the same thing as a cell phone except make calls and access wireless data directly? I understand that android phones are not great trail navigators. I would have kept the Montana for that, or replaced it with an Oregon. I just don't know that I see advantages of carrying a Monterra while hiking.

That was your first mistake... paying for maps when there are perfectly good free maps available. Use the eTrex H if you prefer, but even if you don't need the color screen or mapping abilities, it's faster, holds more data, and connects directly to your computer via standard USB interface instead of the extremely outdated serial interface. It's good for paperless caching... yes, you can bring all of the cache description info with you on the GPS. There are plenty of reasons not to buy a 10-year old GPS model.

This seems to be a popular topic in which there are almost constantly at least two open threads on the first page asking about this exact same question, and you'll find dozens of recent threads with a simple search. They all come up with the same conclusions. One of them is listed here. The other... well, I'll see if you can find it by reading some other threads. Hint: It has to do with taking advantage of your premium membership. Edit: I should clarify that it's not always obvious when people are posting about this topic by the original topic description. For example, there's on titled "Downloading cache to Garma eTrex 20" that is really about the "Send to GPS" feature and not the Garmin eTrex 20.

1. Are you downloding the caches individually (send to GPS) (see 2.) or through a Pocket Query (see 3.)? 2. If you answered individually (example: using the 'send to GPS' features), check that you haven't hit your 200 GPX file limit. Garmin GPS's will only read 200 GPX files. When you reach this limit, geocaches will be "installed" but not viewable on the GPS. Get around this by using Pocket Queries that allow you to package up to 1000 geocaches in a single GPX file. Check the number of .gpx files in your /device/Garmin/GPX folder where 'device' is your device name or drive letter if you're a Windows user. 3. If you're already using Pocket Queries, or even if you're not, try Sussamb's solution above.

But if you're bringing your smartphone with you to act as a hotspot, why use a Monterra in the first place? It just seems redundant to take two electronic devices that can run the same software.

For most of us, the answer is no. The annual change is so small, it's going to go unnoticed. The 10-year change can be a degree or two depending on where you live. But the thing is, the USGS is on top of it, and the declination data to correct for the difference between magnetic and true north is updated in your GPS. The only time it may affect you is if you're using an old GPS that's no longer receiving updates, and hasn't been updated in over 10 years. And even then, with your compass off by only a degree or two, it won't affect short-distance navigation.

Ah, yes... the GPS can only display plain text. This happens with geocache descriptions too. Any formatting, including paragraph breaks, gets removed.

Ok, I was interested enough to just test it out myself. The answer is: Yes, using the method described above. In fact, BaseCamp will read in a KML file and then you can export everything as a GPX, or just send to GPS. Waypoints do keep their comments/description from Google Earth (and I assume from Google Maps as well).

To test it out: Download and install Garmin's Basecamp program. Import your GPX file into Basecamp and see what detail in in each waypoint. If the description remains there, then it'll also be there in the eTrex 20. If not, then no. You can always add the description in Basecamp, which is easier than trying to type it out in the GPS itself.

For reference, it seems that the latest version of Google Chrome is blocking plugins on pages by default until you allow plugins on a certain page to work. Just allow the plugin when the notice comes up and reload the page.

My Oregon 450t has been doing that recently, too. I wondered if a recent firmware update broke the compass calibration, but on the compass page, it still seems to point in the same direction as my magnetic compass.