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We had similar problems with a brand new out of the box eTrex Legend (blue) with fresh batteries and few (if any) downloaded waypoints. Took the batteries out and put them back in and it worked fine for about a half hour. Did it again and repeated the fix. It hasn't happened again since then. Seems to be an issue with the Legend, and not external forces.

What GPS, connectivity cable and GC interface are you using? You may have to install the correct drivers for the cable you are using on your GPSr. All of my GC is done on Macs with 10.3.9+, and while it's not the world of PC software, there are plenty of us Macheads out there geocaching without issue. I'm sure if you provide more info, there will be plenty of help to follow.

Ok, I'm not going to fall over the cliff following everyone else's dissatisfaction with the new system, but I am wondering something. As an owner and manager of a couple of website communities myself, I am responsible for implementing and testing all of the second and third-party software that is used on the site. From the chat software to the basic software package that drives the galleries and the forums, it's all developed and programmed by others and installed by me—on my own schedule. Which means that if I want to choose to use 3 year old vBulletin software and not "upgrade" to the newest version, I can if I want to. As long as the forums and everything else are working, I am not forced to make a change from what works, and my readership is comfortable with. So I'm puzzled as to why you were "forced" to update this map software? And what seems to be from the outside as a very complicated fix to make these new maps serve correctly and have the features that users have become reliant on, looks to me more of an effort than the predicted "complicated workaround" to keep the old system functioning. Call me confused, but I'm a designer—and inherently lazy—so I look for the easiest and simplest solution for all issues in front of me. It just seems to have created a LOT more issues to revamp everything completely than it would have been to adapt the old system to the new maps. Just a guess, but the feedback on the forums seems to be 30 to 1 against the new maps. And while I know that people generally are abrasively resistant to change of ANY form, that ratio seems like a seriously losing number to me. Just some feedback and wondering from the peanut gallery... doug

I bought a blue eTrex Legend to start out with to see if my wife and I would enjoy GeoCaching, and for about $100, it works great. We love the hobby and plan on doing it for a while. This winter, we'll upgrade to a newer whizzy model and pass this one onto another beginner. The eTrex works in about 95% of the places you will be going, but sometimes gets a little spastic in heavily covered trees or by large metal objects. We're aproaching our 20th find this weekend, and the eTrex has gotten us to within 10 feet of ground zero every time. One thing to pay attention to, is the cable plugs. A lot of computers do not have serial ports (Macs, laptops, etc) and the cable that is included with the eTrex is a Garmin plug to serial, which doesn't work at all if you are using a laptop. I had to drop another $25 on a cable adapter to convert serial to USB, so at that point, I could have spent the money initially and bought a nicer model with USB connectivity. Also, make sure to have the eTrex set to WGS84 coordinates. You'll hate the game if you have it set incorrectly.

Wow, the rules seem to be a bit restrictive, no? Who's going to travel to Starved Rock every 30 days to "check" on their GeoCache and then report to the IDNR that they checked it? And it HAS to be a clear container? Kinda takes some of the fun out of a good hide, eh? I like the mandated list of things they want to even consider it, too. Sounds like the fun suckers are in full force at the IDNR. That would be a good reason why there aren't many/any GCs at Starved Rock State Park. Too bad, too. I can't think of too many better places to enjoy a day of caching in this area.

I can understand the frustrations with the change, as it seems really unproductive to be testing "live on the fly," though I don't seem to be bothered by most of the major issues. I'd say the old version was easier to use (more intuitive) for the way we use the maps, but my only two gripes are the size of the icons—just a couple pixels too small—and the non flexible map height. I can see what the intent was, but it seems like a step backwards. Keep the features and usability of the original map system, but improve it—don't just change everything for the sake of changing things. It really hasn't helped usability or legibility at all. And maybe take a cue from eBay and PayPal and run the new version side-by-side with the old version while allowing users to sample the new one, and give you feedback as you develop. Just a suggestion, I know it's a thankless job. Oh, and all of you having issues with IE, step into the 21st century and download Firefox (www.mozilla.org). You'll wonder why you ever used Internet Exploder.

People pad their find counts for their own reasons. Cheating or not, you're only doing yourself a disservice to fudge your own statistics (i.e. accepting "finds" for watching someone light thier own internal gasses). To me, I don't even know why anyone would bother participating in this hobby/sport/exercise. I could care less what anyone else does with their find counts. But if someone is going to lie in their statistics, what's the point of even playing the game in the first place? Just go on a hike and be happy to be outdoors. Some of you guys are really amusing.

You are if you choose to brag about your scores after your rounds. You're all well within your right to cheat the games and cheat yourselves however you want. I choose to play the game by the way it was intended. Suit yourselves.

It's a game of honor, with rules made intended to promote fair play and a reasonable assertion that statistics kept are the same for everyone—just like golf. If you choose to play golf by kicking the ball, taking a dozen mulligans and playing "gimmies" on every 10-foot putt, then that's your business. But then anyone else is also perfectly free to think anything we like about your lack of ethics and intent in "the spirit of the game." Don't complain when someone judges you by your actions. I'll choose to play fair, by the rules, and keep my integrety and honor intact. And for nothing else to know that I play the game the way it waas originally intended—not to cheat the system because "it can be done."

$50 and no demo is unfortunate. There are lots of free/shareware solutions out there for Macs that work just fine for uploading and downloading waypoints, too. It may be a fantastic program, but I'm not dropping $50 just to see if it works.

It didn't work for me until I gave it a baud setting. Then it worked perfectly. Type: Garmin Port: usbserial Speed: 4800 I haven't tried other speeds or baud rates, but it works flawlessly and fast, so no real need to screw with it anymore. doug

I just recently started playing with this stuff, and I'm 100% Mac-based. After trying a few different program interfaces, I settled on Mac SimpleGPS. It lacks some things that a couple of other programs I tried to use have, but it's stable and communicates very well with my Garmin eTrex Legend. I had been setting up MacCaching, and I really like the controls and interface, but it refused to see my Garmin. I got tired of screwing with it to continue to use it, so I looked for other options. Be aware that whatever GPS you buy, make sure it has USB cables and connection capability. I didn't do that before I bought my Legend, and found out later that the cable included is a Serial cable (for older PCs), and needed a $30 adapter cable with a Mac plug-in to connect to the computer. Depending on what OS you're using, the cable and plug-in compatibility could potentially be an issue. After the fact, it appears that newer and higher end GPS handhelds come with USB cords.

Greetings all! My wife and I just started GeoCaching recently, so we're still learning the GPS and figuring out how things get hidden. I was looking for one recently inside a cruck of a large tree, and while I was climbing only a few feet off the ground, I though to myself, "how do you call into work tomorrow if you fall and break something, dummy?" Anyone been injured searching for Tupperware filled with Happy Meal toys? Bad enough to miss work or something else important? -doug