[Garmin Oregon 2.99 Beta Available]

First, more beta releases is better, not worse. It means they are continually working on improving the product and the user experience. We want Garmin engineers trying to come up with the best unit software.

 

Second, beta is beta. That's why it's beta. If you don't want to risk buggy software, don't instal beta, obviously, or wait until early adopters have tried it and get their impressions.

 

Railing against a company because you don't like their beta software is an incredible waste of energy.

[Oregon 300 Newbie Questions]

fratermus probably doesn't have experience with the Oregon series because this series does not have a menu option to delete gpx files. You have to do it manually like SamSpade47 said. When you connect the oregon to the computer it will show up as a drive. Navigate to that drive, then Garmin, then GPX and delete the gpx files.

 

For #2, you can't create a geocache with the unit and you can't modify the coordinates form a geocache on the unit. What you can do is convert the geocache to a waypoint and then use the waypoint manager to edit it. When you view the listing of a geocache, there is a flag itcon at the bottom. Pressing that will save the geocache as a waypoint. Then you can use the Waypoint Manager to modify the coordinates.

 

Hope this helps,

JetSkier

 

Yes, this is the correct information for the Oregon. Geocaches on the Oregon are not the same as waypoints. Waypoints can be created, edited and deleted on the Oregon. Geocaches can only be transferred from a computer as a .gpx file and cannot be edited or deleted on the Oregon.

 

If you are using good logic in your pocket queries, then you may not need to delete geocaches on the Oregon.

[Coordinates or GPS wrong?]

I have a Sportrak and it can be very accurate, provided you give it a chance to settle. The Sportrak averages waypoints automatically, so if you keep moving you will always overshoot the target. Then, if you turn around immediatley and go back, you will overshoot it in the other direction.

 

The solution for me is to let the GPS settle for a few minutes. That usually gets me very close.

 

The other thing that Magellan recommends is to self-calibrate the GPS by turning it on, leaving it in an open area and allowing it to sit for a while (e.g. 60 minutes). I have done that and it seems to work.

[hints for paperless caching]

The hints are right there and, for those that don't want to read them, on a separate page from the cache description page.

 

At first, I could not figure out how to get the hints. Then I realized that you had to press "Go", and then "Geocaching" in order to get the menu where you can go to the hints.

 

It's brilliant, really. You get the hints, but they're not spoilers because when you look at the cache description you don't see them right away.

[best gps for paperless caching?]

The Oregon 300/400t is excellent for paperless caching.

 

I haven't used the PN-40 so I cannot comment on it vs the Oregon.

 

I cache with my 11-year old son, and he too just wants to find "treasures" with a minimum amount of fuss and bother. We are not avid cachers, but we enjoy the activity. We used a Magellan Sportrak and paper caches for a couple of years and, while it was adequate for finding co-ordinates, it had little else to offer (and the screen was often difficult to read).

 

Our new Oregon 300 is wonderful for caching (and adequate but not great for automobile use). Once you figure out how to generate a pocket query at geocaching.com and download it, then you will have the closest 500 or 1,000 caches right in your GPS. If you frequently go to another location (e.g. Grandma's house, the cottate, etc.), then you could generate another PQ for that location and you would have another 500/1,000 caches in your GPS. That number of caches would keep me and my son busy caching for a long, long time.

 

The Oregon displays everything about the cache - description, difficulty, hints, child waypoints, and even logs. That is fantastic for us, because it means we can just throw the GPS in the car and head out to geocache - no preparation whatsoever required. If we find a cache, we log it and it no longer appears on our GPS geocache list. Then we can either upload our caches found through geocaching.com or do it manually. The whole thing is very easy and intuitive, and the Oregon is fairly friendly out in the field.

 

The only significant drawback of the Oregon is the screen visibility, but if you follow the hi-visibility recommendations on the Oregon wiki page, and downlad an all-white background, we have not found the screen visibility to be a major problem.

 

I am also using GSAK to filter and manage my PQ's, so that I only download to the GPS the caches that I want, but GSAK is not necessary for paperless caching with the Oregon.

 

I am very happy with the Oregon for paperless caching.