Life Journey

OK, this may seem like a dumb questions - but what do you sign in the log book when you find a cache? Do you sign your screen name? I am a bit uncomfortable signing my real name - I guess I am paranoid about identity theft - even though I guess just my name doesn't hurt - plus I guess then if you recognized a name in the log you might re-connect with old friends (a long shot but possible). Anyway what do ya'll do? "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"

I finally broke down and bought the Garmin bike mount for my yellow etrex. Are these things stable? I haven't tried it yet, but I have a handlebar mounted flashing light and I've already had that thing fly off and hit the ground. I am not mountain biking - this is just hitting good old potholes in the streets of my neightborhood! Should I maybe hook a lanyard to the etrex also and tie that down - or is this thing really going to hold? "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"

I've spent today trying to figure how to remember and forget today at the same time. 2 years later and I still can't read this post without tears coming. I can't watch the news shows, read the news articles. I bought the book "Let's Roll!" (by the wife of the guy on the PA flight) when it first came out, and I can't read it yet. I have a book of email messages collected from AOL that day - I can't read that either. It was a scary day - it has been a scary time since. My brother-in-law was in Afghanistan for a year - his son was 10 months old when he left - he missed his first steps, first words. We pray he doesn't need to go back. While sitting in my office today, I had teared up from reading something, and someone walked by and wanted to know what was wrong. The person then said I should 'get past it - it's over' - but I am not ready yet. Thank you all for letting me know there are others who still feel this pain. "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"

Thanks for the replies. I had done a search and read a bunch of previous replies on the speedometer topic, but to be honest, a lot of them got really technical with the math and lost me. We were on really flat ground (there aren't many hills here, unless you count the one underpass under the interstate!) I think my friend did just use a number from the instruction book to set up the cyclometer. I didn't know the position of the magnet didn't matter - I've never had one, and I guess I never really thought about it. I was really more concerned with the distance travelled, since I use that as my training criteria, rather than time or speed - we'll see what happens this coming weekend! "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"

I used my Etrex yellow on a 30 mile bike ride this weekend with a friend who has a bike cyclometer - I trust my GPS speed accuracy much more than the bike computer accuracy since who knows where the pickup magnet is placed on the bike wheel and such - but here is my question - Is the odometer reading a function of the speedometer reading? I would imagine that for a bike computer - or in a car for that matter - that the odometer is the number of times a wheel turns, and the speed a function of time elapsed for that distance (I could be totally off, as I am not an engineer, mechanic, math whiz or anything like that) Of course, now that I am writing this, maybe the GPS is determining the 'odometer' reading from location changes, and the speed a function of time elapsed for those changes. I am probably making no sense - basically the problem is - the GPS speed and odometer readings were less than the cyclometer readings, and I certainly trust the GPS speed readouts - can I equally trust the GPS odometer readouts? Believe it or not, this caused quite a discussion on this bike ride (the bike cyclometer read over 2.5 miles farther in distance and usually about 2-4 mph greater in speed) "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"

Thanks for all the replies. I didn't want to use both GPS at the same time - just be able to switch depending on where I was biking. I looked at Garmin's mount bracket, I didn't realize it was just $18 - I had looked at Magellen's first and just assumed they were both around $40 - but... How does the Garmin bracket work - from the picture I can't tell how you would mount the unit - nothing to hold it to. I liked the idea of the cell phone holder/bracket on eastern mountain sports, and may go that route after I get more info. I am also planning a visit to Lowe's. Basically - I have the mount part figured out - it is how to attach the unit to the part that attaches to the handlebar that has me stumped - I was looking for something from which I could make 2 different holders - one the size of the etrex and one for the Magellan - either of which would then attach to the mounting bracket on the bike - does that make sense? Also my idea was to mount the GPS on the bike cross bar rather than the handlebar, where I could just glance down and read it. Anyway - thanks for the ideas, I'll let ya'll know what I figure out. "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"

Does anyone have any ingenious homemade bike mount ideas? I have both and Etrex yellow and a Meridian Platinum and would like to be able to take either along on my road bike rides (no mountain biking - we don't even have hills around here!). I really don't want to buy 2 different brackets, plus have the hassle of changing them out when I want to use the other unit. I just keep thinking of maybe trying to fashion one with an adjustable cell phone holder and a mounting bracket that used to hold a strobe light. Maybe some padding and velcro to secure? Or am I taking too much of a chance? I just wanted something I could use for either unit. "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"

Thanks everyone! I found the Lexar this weekend at Target for $38 - a little pricey, but at least it will do everything I need, and it's small and light, so I can use it instead of my zip drive to transport files on SD back and forth from work. "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"

Does anyone know if you can find a card reader that reads SmartMedia cards, SecureDigital cards AND xD cards? My current reader reads only the SmartMedia cards (which my old digital camera uses). I thought it read SD, but it doesn't. Now I'm getting the Meridian Platinum and want to get a SD reader. But I will also be buying a new Olympus digital camera in the next few months, and want to be able to have a reader for the xD cards it uses. Is there one reader that will do all? I've seen the 6 in 1 readers on ebay, but they don't list xD cards. Does anyone know? "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"

Right now I am leaning towards the Meridian Platinum (waiting for some overtime work). But I had been wavering between the Etrex and Geko 201 (and still may depending on how things go). It seems to me the Geko has features the basic Etrex does not. Here's what I got out of the Garmin site: Waypoints: same in both (500) Routes: Etrex - 1 with 50 waypoints Geko - 20 with 125 legs/route (is this waypoints?) Tracks: Etrex - autotrack with 10 saved tracks Geko - 20 tracks with 10,000 trackpoints (what's this?) Plus both have a 'trackback' feature. Trip computer/odometer: Both have: current speed, average speed, sunrise/sunset, resetable max speed, trip distance, trip timer Geko adds separate trip timer, 'configurable trip computer screen' The rest of the specs are comparable - the Geko has WAAS - but the accuracy is rated the same on both (on Garmin's site). I had borrowed an Etrex, and I like it, except I find I cannot really use it one handed (I think my left hand must be kind of weak, plus I have small hands). I just held the Geko in the store and I must say I find it much more comfortable to hold and use the buttons. But - even the guy at the store tried to put down the Geko, telling me it was more of a toy (although he also thought it only stored 10 waypoints, but that is another story). So - thoughts? "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"

quote:Originally posted by smilelydog:I believe you can only download waypoints from NGS to your Garmin. So, if you download the series of waypoints, will it then show on the Garmin maps (or Magellen maps if that is what you have?) "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"

I've decided to just go for it and get the Meridian Platinum - the best price I've seen is on shopharmony.com $257 - $50 rebate. Anyone have experience with this company? They also have the Palm Zire 71 for $40 less than any place I've seen and an Olympus camera I've been thinking about for a great price. Are they ok, or are these prices too good to be true? Thanks for any help!!! "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"

My indecision is costing me money. gpsonsale had the Meridian for $109 after rebate, now it is up to $129 after rebate. I hear people say they've seen the Meridian for $99 - but I don't live near a Fry's - anyone know anywhere else they are available for that price? "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"

If you were deciding between the Etrex yellow and the Geko 201 - which would be more important to you... Etrex basic yellow has battery life of 22 hours (but that is apparently in some kind of 'battery save mode' - I don't know what it is if you don't use that mode) or.. Etrex Geko 201 with battery life of 12 hours (don't know about the battery save stuff) but is WAAS-enabled, which if I understand correctly, gives better accuracy. I am currently borrowing an Etrex basic, and am still deciding between one like it, the 201, or the Meridian (but I really want the Platinum). So - just wanted some thoughts on this - and any real-life experience. "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"

Hey CWL I like your idea of the personal travel bug. Let me see if I understand the process after reading the FAQ. Step 1: I buy a Travel Bug. Step 2: When I find a cache, I log it on this site. While logging my find, I place the travel bug in the cache, then retrieve it from the cache. This is a 'virtual' place and remove. Step 3: Repeat step 2 with each find of a cache. This would then log my finds for me, right??? I am really new at this, so bear with me if I have this totally goofed up! Thanks! "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"

OK, I had pretty much decided on the Meridian yellow at $109 after rebate. I was going to buy the Topo maps, which I figure is about $50 after rebate. Now I'm up to $150 (leave the card out of it for the moment). OK, I see I can get the Meridian Platinum for about $200 after rebate. Now, the Platinum has a few extra features (although I'm not sure I understand the barometric altimiter part) - and also has 16MB base maps. Plus I worry the Meridian yellow is being discontinued. So, if I skip getting the Topo maps for now, I could get the Platinum for only $50 or so more than the basic Meridian. Will the 16MB base maps (over the 2MB) compensate somewhat for the data I won't get without the Topo maps? And a big question for me - how clear and easy are these maps to read in such a small space anyway? "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"

OK, let me make that a little clearer, I checked the site again. The $199 (which would be $149 after rebate), includes the basic maps ($29 pkg) plus a case. The probably better deal in that case is the $154 after rebate deal which includes Streets and Destinations but no case. In this instance you get the &75 rebate (instead of the $50 rebate) because you are getting the higher end maps pkg. Anyway - I still see the difference as being the fact that you can use the SD card on the Meridian and not on the sporttrak - but I have looked at so many configuration lately I could be confused! "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"

At gpsonsale it seems the Meridian yellow after rebate and with basic maps ($29 pkg) is $109, and the SportTrak Map is also $109 after rebate (no basic maps pkg). The difference I see is that the Meridian yellow (or green) allows the SD cards for map loading and the SportTrak doesn't, but has an extra 6MB to load maps to. However, I am thinking the Meridian may be being discontinued so I don't know if that matters. "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"

All of a sudden, over the weekend, the price on the basic etrex at Amazon went from $99 to $109, and the geko 201 from $118 to $139. Plus the cost of the MapSend maps (topo and streets) for Magellan went up about $10 apiece. Any idea why? (I've been tracking prices trying to decide what to buy). "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"

I'm finding this unit pretty cheap and am wondering if the reason is that is it being discontinued. If it is, should I be concerned about that? "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"

I borrowed an Etrex (basic) this weekend to play with. How does it determine the elevation it displays? I live in New Orleans, so I know I'm pretty low, but I found it interesting that in driving across the Lake Pontchartrain twin spans, my elevation was -3 feet! "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"

Hey pizzachef - where in La are you from? So you think the $110 for the Meridian is good? I've just learned (from here) what the SD cards are (I was behind the times thinking they were like SmartMedia cards), but I already have a card reader/writer that I use with my SmartMedia cards for my camera - it works with SD cards also. So I am looking at $109 for the basic Meridian yellow which comes with the cable and a basic streets CD. I might spend another $25 for a 32MB SD card - would this give me a good start? I was really liking the Geko, but the price comparison with the Meridian doesn't make it too attractive. "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"

I am under the same dilema... The $50 rebate does apply to the Meridian if you buy a MapSend product - and gpsonsale.com is including the $29 basic Streets so that it qualifies. It is $109 after rebate if you buy the yellow and $119 after rebate if you buy the green - I emailed them on why, and they said it was because they have more of the yellow! I had really liked the Geko 201 (of course, I've actually seen this one and have never seen the Meridian, which I think would help my decision) - but even though the price looks the same - remember you still have to buy the cable - and the cable is expensive (Even at under $20 on ebay). Maps notwithstanding, if Garmin included the cable for the price, my decision would be much easier! "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"

Hi Evergreen - it's interesting you write - you know, this morning I'd just about decided on the Meridian - but during the day someone here at the office mentioned they'd heard of screen problems on Magellan - so now I'm torn again. I think they said the problem was something with screen visibility. I wish I could find the Meridian somewhere around me so I could see it first. "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"

Ok, I've finally decided on the Magellan Meridian. Now - it comes with a 2MB base map - and a MapSend U.S. Streets CD (not the Streets and Destinations, this is a $29 version instead of a $75 version.) Now, should I put out another $50 or so (after $25 rebate) for an extra mapping software? And, if I do, should I get the Streets and Destinations, or the Topo? Or - the rebate is good until the end of June - so I could maybe wait and see? Also, I think maybe this model is so cheap because it is being discontinued - should I be concerned about that? Thanks - you all have been a great help! "I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"