tobiah

It seems that I lost my Colorado 400t. The only way I can hope to find it would be to buy another unit. Then the Colorado is bound to show up the next day. I liked the Colorado topos, and paperless caching, but there is so much else not to like. I was considering a Pocket PC, but I know nothing about them. Will it be possible to load maps on one that would equal the Colorado? What about paperless caching? Which unit? Why can't I seem to make a new paragraph with this strange text editor? Thanks! Tobiah.

Are you paying the $10/3 months or the $30/year? I joined in 2003, when there was a monthly billing option of $3.00/month. They have been taking that money out through PayPal ever since. Now my credit card number has changed, but I can't find anywhere on my profile page or on my PayPal site that will allow me to change the card that is being billed. Thanks, Toby

The bank issued me a new credit card with a new number. I looked all over my account pages, but I didn't see any place where I could change the number that is automatically charged each month for premium membership. I tried the 'renew membership' link, and it warned me that I'd be creating a new subscription and could be charged twice. Maybe I should just do that as the old number is no longer valid. Isn't there a regular place where I can update my credit card information? Thanks, Toby

It may be that it is new to me, but the front page seems to have gone from ok, to a little less than ok. I've always had one complaint, which is that my primary mode of search, the map, takes a few steps to get to. Even if I want to search hundreds of miles away, I normally put my own zipcode in the old upper right hand corner box, then have to wait for the Ventura caches, *then* finally click on the map, and navigate to where I might go that day. It seems that the new page is a little more awkward, although I can still search by zipcode. It would be so nice if a cookie could identify me, and start me off with a map of my area every time I log in. Thanks

I have four pocket queries delivered daily. Twice now, one of them will be delivered several hundred times all at once. Because of the attachments, my mail server times out unless I delete them 10 or 20 at a time. That's not very fun. Anyone else seen this? Thanks, Tobiah

Colorado 400t. I make 500 cache pocket queries and dump them to the Colorado to blanket my area. I really which I could make queries with more records. 10,000 would be nice, and I have plenty of memory for that. As it is, I have to run several queries to blanket a 100 mile radius.

I started using geocaching maps to determine where the fun spots might be in the mountains in my area. Now, I think that the caches take precedence. I fly around in googleearth looking for the day's hike, and don't consider any areas that don't have a few caches in them.

I never realized that this was ever considered an issue. I hike a lot with other folks that aren't too interested in caching. They can get impatient while I walk around in circles, pausing the hike. Quite often, I will make visual contact with the cache, then keep going in order not to hold up the rest of the party. I guess I'll make a little more effort to sign the log from now on.

I believe reading Groundspeak is working on this. For now, it's up to the author to include the link. Hi, I like the cut of your jib. I'm a programmer, yet I haven't delved into the Wherigo language as yet, though I'd like to. Any kid words and more savory links will be appreciated. Thanks, Tobiah toby@rcsreg.com

I got mine from an ebay vendor with a good reputation. I paid just a few dollars over $500 with bike mount included. While I was waiting for the unit, I did the research that I should have done before buying. I was terrified that the vendor simply got a good deal on some of the older units with battery probs, etc. It turned out that the serial was recent (18Z015458) and the unit does not exhibit any of the hardware problems that I've seen outlined on the net. While I'm happy with the unit over all, I share the point of view of so many that feel that the firmware has shortcomings. I look forward to seeing at least the most obvious snags being solved in future firmware updates. If anyone is interested, the ebay vendor was 'fantasysailing', and the auction will be available to view for a while at: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...N:IT&ih=007 Shipping was quick too, eight days from auction win to unit in hand. Tobiah

Googleearth doesn't recognize my 400t. I guess that's because it appears to the computer as a storage device. There doesn't seem to be any other way to import routes into googleearth. Gsak is the same way. Any suggestions? Toby

I didn't do heavy research until after ordering the Colorado on impulse from eBay ($508.90 shipped including bike mount). I was terrified to see the barrage of negative comments, even from people that had bought units recently. I am one who's experience has been totally different. Battery: Last night I ran for a solid 10 hours using the backlight now and then. That's not what Garmin promises, but I never expected 15. 10 Hours blows away anything I ever got out of the Vista C using the same batteries. Right now I'm entering the seventh hour of continuous full-power backlight use, an I still have three bars! What more do you want for a couple of AA's? Now, I am using 2700mah Powerex batteries. I don't think alkalines would come close in comparison. Another note on batteries: to my horror, I got less than an hour on a fresh set, until I remembered to set the unit for NiMh. When the unit sees what it thinks are alkalines at 1.2 volts, it figures that they are pretty much toast. Display: About what I expected after owning the Vista C. I think it looks fine in the sun. I wouldn't mind if it cranked up a little more on batteries, given the performance I'm getting, but I don't think about the display. It's working well. Features: Some people complain about certain technical features being missing. I too gasped to find that some of the Vista C features were not there. Now that I have had the unit for a couple of days, I realize that the only one's that are missing are either ones that I loved to brag about but never used, or ones that the Colorado eliminates the need for through a more thoughtful design. Maps: The shaded topo's are far more readable, and being able to truck around the mountains in 3D looking for a canyon out is cutting edge. It's not google earth, no, but it's definitely nifty, and will probably be useful in the mountains. Geocaching: This is really why I bough the unit. Printing out caches was always laborious. Sometimes I would forget the papers, or pick up the wrong stack, or have to fight the stack in the wind. Now it's one click, and I know it's in there. Description, logs, and hint. When finished caching, I upload a file, and just go down the list to log what I found. I've had problems remembering which caches I had found after a couple of weeks have passed and I have forgotten to log. I think 20 - 30% of my caches go unlogged for forgetfulness. Now I can just save up the finds, and *blam* my list of unlogged caches is waiting for me. Wherigo: Not enough around me to try yet, but how cool is that? I don't have much to complain about. The rock and roller is fine, quite usable, although not a godsend. One great bane is the text entry. Scroll through caps alpha to numbers to lower alpha to get to an 'm'? Fortunately, I don't have very much need for data entry when I have a computer. Transferring a cache from a buddy on the trail will be a pain, but hey, if everyone had a Colorado, we'd be zapping them around wirelessly, and granting description etc. I seem to stand alone in that I am tickled with the Colorado. I recommend it to cacher's in particular. I do think it is a bit pared down if you love endless labyrinths of menus (I kind of do too) and from what I hear it may be missing some of the more technical navigational features (heck you can project the compass, what more is there?). If you are like me, and your GPS is your companion on the trail, on a bike, and getting a cache, then this may be your unit. My serial number was 18Z015XXX. Try to get one as late as possible, because I understand that there were some hardware problems somewhere earlier than that, and hopefully anything else will come with firmware updates. I'm using the beta 2.51 firmware. Tobiah