Cache Hunter D

Where I'm at we have tons of these slugs, they are a huge problem for people with gardens. I've never seen them anywhere else, funny that the first time I'd see a picture of them would be from Scotland.

Yup, shouldn't have any problems as long as you punched in the coordinates right and had the right datum. Hope that helps.

I had the same problem with my MeriPlat. The thing that fixed it was to tell it to use the GPS course for the compass then switch it back to magnetic. Seems to happen with my MeriPlat often if I'm around too much metal, but switching it a couple times always fixes it. Also, you'll notice the compass drift if you hold it vertically. Even though it's 3-axis, it's alot more accurate in the horizontal. Hope this helps.

I think if you are using a GPS reciever that takes a memory card and have a card reader you can use GPSBabel to convert it to the GPS' native format. Then you should be copy them to the card and load them off the card in the GPS. Hope that helps.

I keep the Topo loaded in my MeriPlat, however I live in a completely flat place so it never shows me Topo lines. Does let me see if I'm about to walk into a canal though. I think it was worth getting just for that.

I'm using a Manhattan adapter and haven't had any problems with it yet. OS 10.2.6, MeriPlat.

Or you can go to www.geocaching.com/pocket Hope that helps.

Also, thick woods can make the GPS reciever less accurate. Both for you and the hider.

Force upload mode on and try again? The instructions are in the readme I think . . .

Personally I love the new search setup . . . Seemed pretty straigh forward, and I like how it looks.

When I first got my MeriPlat I had problems like you are describing, but for some reason they seem to have gone away. Either that or I just haven't noticed them anymore. I have upgraded the firmware since then, but the problems resolved themselves before I did that. So I guess basically I'm saying that it just seems to happen sometimes?

So it's not just me getting those? I thought it was just something being flaky with my MeriPlat. I knew MapSend could edit the routes, but not tracks. Thanks for the tip.

If it's a short hike you can turn up the track detail on the MeriPlat and it will help, but it's still a problem. If I turn mine off, then drive somewhere else and turn it back on, I get a track going straight from where I last was to my current loc. Just one of those goofy things. Makes saving track to route kinda difficult.

I use mine as an excuse to take a break from work and chat with my boss about them, does that count?

Most all electronics *can* be disconnected hot, it is just recommended you do not do so as you can cause power irregularities while connecting/disconnecting. This is esp. true of connector types that use male/female type plugs (read PS/2, if you were planning on using the connectors from the mouse on your wiring.) So on opinion . . . I really wouldn't worry about it. I do it all the time with various electronics and nothing has fried on me yet from it. And seeing as how a GPS unit uses flash memory, you (should) have more of a buffer with it. Hope this helps.

I use a RAM mount for my MeriPlat, it has a huge (4") suction cup, so it never slips or falls off, and the mount is modular if I want to mount it to something else, I just buy a new base and not the whole mount. Only drawback is the power connector won't stay in the cradle, I have to screw it on and off. I was disappointed when I found that part out, but other than that small annoyance the mount is very well built.

I have calibrated other electronic compasses in a car that way, but not a Vista. Tried with my MeriPlat and I couldn't get the calibration to take in the car (Also couldn't do it by driving in circles, had to rotate the thing in place.) It kept detecting all the metal nearby and telling me to move it and try again. One nice thing with the MeriPlat's compass as well is it is 3-axis, so it works vertically and horizontally (But I have noticed a very slight drift in the vertical position.)

Gas here is around $1.95 per gallon. I spend $50 a week if I don't get to go hit caches. With caching I'm around $100 a week in gas. When are those Iraqi oil wells coming online?

Another thing to keep in mind is that the color can use an external antenna, the Plat can't. Hope this helps.

I've got a few programs that work, but aren't really useful to me until I figure out how to mount my laptop in my car. Only problem is with all of them, it would be easy to accidentally corrupt your GPS since they don't have any security built into the service. GpsDrive GPS3D GPSMan Hope this helps, -W

I can't believe with all the information we wrote in here, every single one of us until Renegade did not mention that unless it's an electric compass, it won't work if you aren't moving . . .

About the electronic compass being affected by vehicles, I've found it really matters what type of car and where in the car you have it. With my MeriPlat (in a Camaro, fiberglass body), between the seats, the compass points true. If I move it to the windshield, mid-car, it always points to the engine. In a Honda, the compass points to the nearest wall most of the time. To simplifiy it I just keep it set to use GPS course instead of magnetic north when I have it in the car. Hope this help, -W

Or on the later firmware revisions there is a Card Utilities Menu that has a format card option. Hope this helps, -W

I believe it will update when the cache page is updated (either by a new log entry, or the owner updating the page.) Hope that helps, -W