hutchca

I just started caching and I always bring my digital camera with me. It occurred to me that the cache owners and/or others who have placed items in the cache may want to see what's there and what their condition is. So I've been taking a pic of the cache and contents and posting it with my found log. I've noticed nobody else seems to do this. So maybe it's improper or maybe it's just a waste of time. It's also taking space on the server. What do you think? Are pictures a good thing or a nuisance?

I have a Vista with the latest firmware (3.20) and have not noticed any problem. In fact I'm looking at it now and it's rotating somewhat even when I hold it vertical. The "Hold Level" indicator flashes sometimes but it never goes off even when It's sitting perfectly level on a table. Oops, I take that back. I can get the "Hold Level" sign to go off if I tilt the unit slightly sideways (left side up/right side down) though I know that's not level. In any case the compass continues to rotate and gives a pretty accurate reading even when I hold it in my hand at a slight angle. P.S. I never saw the software prior to version 3.10 so maybe they just made some changes to the compass graphics. Do you have the pointer turned off? The bearing pointer only shows up if you have a waypoint selected as a "goto" Otherwise the compass N-S-E-W should rotate around as you turn. Whatever direction is at the top of the screen is the direction you're facing. [This message was edited by Chuck & Kris on June 28, 2003 at 09:39 AM.]

There's another thread here on a similar problem. http://ubbx.Groundspeak.com/6/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=5726007311&f=7116058331&m=50260166 EDIT: Oops.. No electronic compass in your unit. Have you tried noting your location (Lat/Long) to see if it is changing also? If your location is moving around at random like that it sounds like a defective unit. Maybe a VCO losing lock or some other problem with the reciever.

I started with a Magellan GPS Companion+Palm M515. It was on sale for $100 with a $50 rebate so I figured 50 bucks for a mapping GPS is a no brainer. With a power adapter it's OK for driving but the 515's color screen drains the Palm battery pretty quickly so It's not a great solution for hiking. I recently got a Garmin eTrex Vista in preparation for a trip to Mt. Whitney. Except for poor reception under tree cover I couldn't be happier with it. I stumbled on geocaching.com while searching for PC software for the Vista.

OK. I assumed you were talking about the pointer on the Nav screen. If it's the pointer on the map screen you're concerned with, then what you want to do is switch from "North Up" to "Track Up" In "North Up" the pointer points in the direction you're moving. So if you're traveling south, the pointer will stay pointed towards the bottom of your screen. In "Track Up" the pointer will ALWAYS point to the top of the screen and the map will rotate as you change direction. If you're still pointing in the wrong direction, the metal frame of your vehicle or other objects in your vehicle may render your compass unusable. Try it with the compass turned off and see if it's any better. F.Y.I. The default settings automaticaly turn off the compass when you're moving over 10MPH and back on when you're under 10MPH for more than 90 seconds.

You're correct. If it shows course pointer, you're currently in bearing pointer mode. Are you using the little pointer in the data field or the arrow in the compass circle? Are you wearing anything magnetic? Have you calibrated your compass? You can change the north reference from true to magnetic but I don't see any reason to do that. I use north up. It really only affects the map. If you use track up the map will rotate to orient itself so the direction you are heading is at the top of the screen. In other words, with track up, the map rotates and the little arrow always points ahead. With north up the map is always oriented the same in the display and little arrow rotates to show the direction you are facing. If you're using the bearing pointer on the Nav screen you should be in good shape. The bearing pointer points in the direction of the coordinates you're navigating to (the cache). The direction you are moving or facing is just the top of the compass. In other words, the bearing pointer points in the direction you should be heading but not necessarily the direction you are heading. Think of it as pointing to a spot on a map. The direction it's pointing will change depending on where you are in the map. The direction of the arrow will change as you move but it usually won't change much until you get close. I find that the magnetic compass is often wrong. It can be thrown off by your surroundings. I usually re-calibrate the compass on site in order to compensate for the surroundings. If you hold down the top right button for a few seconds it will turn the compass on or off. Try it and see if there is a difference. When the compass is off, you have to be moving in order to get a direction. The display assumes you're pointing the eTrex in the direction you're moving. [This message was edited by Hutchca on June 23, 2003 at 05:56 PM.]

You should be able to post any questions you might have in the "GPS Units and Software" forum here in the Groundspeak forums under "Geocaching Related Topics". ---------------------------------------------- GPS Units and Software Any and all discussions about GPS units. Here you can talk GPS, GPS Units, and those miraculous satellites that give our game life. -----------------------------------------------

I usually start by cropping the photo to only show what's necessary. Then I resize the photo to around 640 pixels horizontal or 480 pixels vertical without changing the aspect ratio. Then save it as a jpeg with ~%90 to ~%50 compression. They end up at around 35-50KB P.S. I use Microsoft Photo Editor. It does all the above tasks nicely.

That's a better deal than I got. But I admit I didn't shop around at all. I payed $350 at REI not counting the $50 mail in rebate.

My eTrex Vista has done that to me once. It flashed a message on screen saying it had lost external power and asked if I want to run on internal batteries. Well I was on internal batteries to start with. I don't even have an external power adapter. I answered yes anyway and it continued working for about 30 seconds and then shut off. It did this about three times in a row. I suspect it was because it was too hot. It was sitting on the dash of my car and it was getting quite hot so I shut it off for a while and cranked up the AC. It hasn't done it again since. I suspect the heat caused a voltage drop in the batteries or it caused a CPU glitch.

The pointer should be pointing in the direction of your target, not necessarily in the direction you're traveling. In any case the built in magnetic compass can be turned on and off. If the compass is off, the direction indicated on the screen will be based on the GPS data from the direction you're moving in (assuming the GPS is pointing in the direction you're moving) If the compass is on, the direction will be based on the magnetic compass and will vary even while you turn in-place. If you're using the magnetic compass, make sure you calibrate it or it can be way off. Check you manual for how to do that. Also, there are two types of pointers on the "Nav" screen. You can change the pointer between "course pointer" and "bearing pointer" I recommend using the "bearing pointer". The arrow will point in the direction of your target.