Tahoe Skier5000

Do you guys know if the PN-40 is capable of displaying different info fields (on the map page, compass page etc) for both Hiking and Driving mode? I want different fields for each mode... i dont need a "next turn" arrow while navigating to a cache off road, i would rather use that space for something more useful. I know the GPS automatically changes the info fields for "navigating" and "non-navigating" mode, but what about within the "navigating" mode for both hiking and driving? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks for the feedback I figured it out... silly me I should have known, but the map orientation was set to course up rather than north up. I didn't even think about that being a problem but apparently it causes the map to redraw much more often with these pn-40's... Anyway, I changed it to north up and it seems to have fixed it! Totem, the maps i have on the gps right now aren't that big... probably 40mb at most and they're the topo maps, no imagery or anything.

Caches listed on the site are placed with Lat/Long coords in the WGS84 Datum and hdddmm.mmm Format. Your Garmin GPS was set to those Datum and Format units when it was shipped from the factory. Did you get this unit new, or did you get it used from someone who could have changed them? And you don't say how you are downloading the caches. Software used to download caches can also be set to a different Datum and or Format. Can you give us an example of a cache you downloaded ( by GC######) and how those coordinates look on your GPS display. To check/change your GPS units go to MENU / SETUP / UNITS and check Position Format and Map Datum. ok , yes i bought it new, less than a week ago. to load the coordinates i hooked my gps to my computer via the usb cable. From the geocaching website I clicked send to gps. for example on GCY4V3 the coordinates are listed online as N 40° 18.802 W 077° 02.419. They ended up on my gps as N 40° 18.867 W 077° 02.561. hope that is all the info you need, again I appreciate any help. It's probably your map datum... it should be set to "WGS84". Check that it is.

Hey all I've had my PN-40 for about two years now and have used it quite a bit. Aside from the following issue I have with it, I love the thing. I just came to realize after using my Garmin Oregon for a bit that the map redraws on the PN-40 seem a little excessive. When I hike around I like to leave it on the map page. The PN-40 seems to redraw the map (track log and waypoints) at least every 5 seconds. Granted it doesn't take too long to redraw, but it seems like it just redraws too frequently. Thankfully, the topography on the map and the location arrow stay put when the unit redraws the map screen, but the track log and waypoints disappear for a couple seconds while it redraws.... thus making it kinda hard to follow my track or navigate to a waypoint using the map screen. I think Garmin has a better design with their maps. I only notice my Oregon redrawing if i pan the map. Any suggestions on either, a) how to fix this, or how to deal with it. I don't know if its something I'm exaggerating and other people don't have a problem with it, or if it is a known annoyance. Thanks

It may be too late and I don't want to disturb you, but in my opinion you should go for the CSx. The plus in "bells and whistles" of the CSx over the Cx is quite worth the extra money, especially for geocaching. I don't care about the barometric altimeter too, but the eletronic compass was one of the main reasons for me to buy a GPSr in the first place. Before I bought the CSx I was geocaching using my mobile phone, which lacks a compass but has good GPS accuracy. When I was closing in on a cache and missing it, I often had to walk back and forth in a straight (!) line to give the GPS a chance to figure out were north is. Unless I did that I only knew how far the cache is away, but not in which direction. That increased my wandering around a lot and in dense vegetation this makes things very difficult sometimes. Even worse, in dense vegetation the GPS receiption is usually not that good, so you have to walk even further back and forth to get a bearing. Imagine yourself trying to walk 15 meters dead ahead in rough undergrowth just to learn you're just walking away from the cache. With the compass that's all a matter of the past. To me the compass is even more important then the high accuracy of the CSx because knowing the right direction is saving you more time than knowing whether the cache is 1 or 3 meters away from you. If I were you I'd return the CX once you get it and order the CSx instead. After all, you're about to spend a lot of money for a device that should accompany you a good while, so why don't you spend just a little more to get all you might need? Maybe it's just me, but whenever I had to choose between buying one thing and another version of the same thing that was slightly more expensive but had some features I didn't care about in the beginning, I was later regretting that I tried to save some money because I was back in square one when I figured out that indeed I wanted the additional features. The advantage of having an electronic compass may seem negligible, but only as long as you haven't had one. just my two cents... best, Pulvertoastmann The compass really isn't that necessary these days with the high sensitivity receiver units. You can literally walk about a foot now (sometimes less than that) to get a heading. It's not like the old days (like 3 years ago...) with GPSrs such as the eTrex Legend and eTrex Yellow where the compass was actually somewhat useful since they would very frequently lose a location fix if you were hiking in forested areas. In that situation it was very nice to be able to get a bearing to your destination if your location was lost. Reception however on the new units is so good that you're pretty much guaranteed a solid lock wherever you go.

Between the Dakota and Oregon I would ask yourself what is most important... small unit size, or a larger screen. The Dakota and Oregon are almost identical operationally. The Dakota cannot do terrain shading or 3D rendering of maps like the Oregon can. This would be helpful if you plan on using the GPS with Topo maps as you can see a relative depiction of what the terrain ahead might look like on the GPS. Aside from the 3-axis compass, the Dakota does not have anything that the Oregon doesn't. Personally, I would go with the Oregon but only because I prefer the larger screen. The 3-axis compass is nice, but the 2-axis compass on the Oregon works just fine if you know how to use it properly. (and most of the time I keep it off to save battery, since I can get a GPS direction just by walking about a foot).

Looks good Starband Are you able to change the color scheme at all on the Endura's?

YOU personally might not... but lots of other folks will. Already do, actually. 1) Satellite coverage may eventually be more cost effective than cellular -- but the near term evolution still gives cellular the edge in most locations. 2) You have a legitimate concern about battery life -- regardless of where your "always on" connection is coming from. That's why I carry spare batteries in an external pack and keep an eye on power managements. 3) But going forward (this thread IS about evolution aftrer all), I'd expect incremental improvements in battery life and including unconventional on-the-go charging methods (solar, kinetic energy, etc). 1. I understand that. I suppose if you never left the confines of the city where cell service is plentiful, this type of coverage would be fine. I prefer to live my life a little outside the boundaries of a city where cell service isn't a reality. A cellular streaming data system is an absolutely failure for my needs. 2.) Why go through the hassle though, honestly, of carrying bulky battery packs and having to micromanage your power saving settings. What fun is that? Seriously, that is annoying as all hell. All I have to do is slip in two new freshly charged AA's I bought for $5 at the store and on I go. No battery packs. 3.) I am excited about electronics evolving, to an extent. However, the trend right now atleast is leaning towards disposable use, and data tethered (to a central system) electronics. Things like sealed rechargeable batteries, for example, are likely the way of the future (which I hate). It means to me that the device I buy has a definite service life of X many years before I need to depend on Garmin or whoever to fix or replace it. This is unnecessary from a consumer point of view. I see why businesses love it, because its an easy profit and guarantees a revenue stream from people having to buy all new units in 2 years or replacing the expensive batteries. I, on the other hand, feel like a dog on a leash... I can't stand it. The fact that real-time streaming data is becoming an integral part of new electronics doesn't bother me so much as long as there remains a backup way of doing what I have to do. Give me the ability to download maps, traffic, weather, or whatever whenever connected, but also give me the ability to fall back on a stored version of what I need in case I don't have service. Evolution is great, so long as we the consumers keep companies in check and don't let things get out of control. GPSrs should always and forever be: durable, reliable, and last as long as it can until the buttons fall off.

disregard

I would not buy a GPS with always-on data connection via the cellular network. I can just see it now... On a hike, having a good time, taking pictures of the scenery, then... no map... Where did it go?!?! Oh yeah, no cell service out here! Stupid, stupid idea. Same thing with having rechargeable lithium ion battery packs in GPS devices. Stupid idea. Give us easy to find and obtain AA batteries (and rechargeable AAs). Atleast until a much more robust rechargeable battery is designed that can last atleast 10 years and give the user 2 weeks or more of use on one charge. The only way always-on data will work is if they can make it very reliable and available everywhere you have a view of the sky. Satellite data is where I'm thinking. This is the future. Not there now as capacity/cost is an issue, but we will be in the next 7-10 years I'm thinking.

Splashy is correct..."angle" is everything. I have "old eyes", wear glasses, have a Zagg screen protector on my Oregon 550t, and can see/read it perfectly in bright sunlight...it may be necessary to tilt it a bit left/right or fore/aft...but that's an intuitive movement and very natural. Bill Exactly, its all about the angle you hold it at. Even my 400t is very readable in direct sunlight.

Disagree on both your main points, my e71 has always lasted me a day and always got me close enough to find the cache, nothing anecdotal about it. Ruggedness may be an issue, agreed, but otherwise my e71 is ideal, always with me, if i've got some spare time wherever i am, just whip it out - geocache navigator, quickcache listing and robert is your mother's brother. Did that once whilst parked up waiting for an appointment to find a cache was on the lamppost outside my window!! Ugh, geocaching with a phone... Phones are O.K. for urban caching, or like Prime Suspect said, impromptu caching. However they have some severe disadvantages compared to a stand-alone GPSr that make them terrible overall: - Rechargeable battery pack (YUCK! no easy or convient way of fixing this problem if your battery dies unexpectedly out in the middle of nowhere) - Battery life is lousy since you're sharing system resources with other phone functions like the phone itself and any data transfer in the background. - Durability a major issue - Update rate is usually too slow - Maps used by the apps require data connectivity, which, if you're out in the middle of nowhere where the fun caches are and usually no cell service exists or is too slow, you're screwed. I could go on, but this is only a short list of things I hate about caching with a phone, the battery issue being the biggest. I know because I have the iphone 3g and bought the geocaching app and regret it. If people think that thing is fun to cache with, they have no idea what it is like with a stand alone device. Bottom line IMO, using a phone to geocache is like cooking a thanksgiving dinner in a microwave. You don't know what you're missing.

GPS units don't care where they are. They work everywhere in the world. Jim what bout one dem Yerapeein countries?? they work there too??

"Turn off the Oregon, press and hold the upper left corner of the screen and power the unit on. You will eventually be asked if you want to reset user data. If you answer "Yes" the unit will be master reset." Link

ummmmm - there is no version 3.7............. Hes referring to the 3.7 GPS firmware version

This is based entirely on past experience with Lowrance GPSr's. I still have the original iFinder model from 2003 when I bought it. It was and still is a very solid performer! I don't use it much anymore, but occasionally I still give it a go if I feel like mixing it up. Lowrance does a great job with the UI and software design on their units. I am totally sold on it and wish Garmin and Delorme would follow suit in some areas. Where Garmin seems to be dumbing down their line of GPS's, taking out features that existed even on past models, Lowrance for the most part, has remained consistent with what they offer. There were features on the iFinder I found incredibly useful, like being able to manually change the position update rate, increasing or decreasing the track smoothing, having full control power saving settings etc... It was great. I love my iFinder but don't use it anymore since it old school tech. Reliable, yes, but old school. I have faith that the Endura series will continue the legacy once they work out the quirks and fix the bugs. I am contemplating buying the Sierra model soon here. I realize it is still somewhat BETA right now, but also know that the firmware fixes will smooth it out in time. Don't let the newness of the GPS prevent you from buying it... firmware fixes are free, easy to get, and on the way. Just my 2 cents.

Yeah, definitely update the firmware to the new 3.15 beta before making a judgement. The new firmware is very stable.

That link to the picture does not work. I would like to see the picture if it can be reposted or something. hmm.. it was broken at first but it now seems to work for me. Try again and if that doesn't work, try this one: Another source for the picture

I have no problem with it in the context of everything here. Thats why I visit these forums in the first place. To help people out. It doesn't bother me... its a recreational forum. On the other hand... if this was work and people were asking me the same questions over and over again, I would get a little irritated.

I use the Garmin slip case and a screen protector I bought at walmart, made for an iphone. I cut it to shape and it works fine. Picture here By the way, the slip case is awesome. It is well worth the money in my opinion.

Also went for a hike today with the 3.15 beta loaded. Couldn't be happier with the performance! Dead on accurate the entire time. Got to the cache and left the GPS there for about 10 minutes. The distance did not shift by more than 5 feet. Tracks have been as smooth as butter and also dead on accurate. Pics: GPS Track

Which datum are you set to? Should be WGS-84.

First off, great decision getting the PN-40 Second, get a couple sets of rechargeables and the short battery life wont even be an issue. If you're trying to extend the life, you can try putting the GPS on "battery save", turn WAAS off, compass off, and set your screen brightness low. Doing these things I can squeeze about 12-14 hours on a set of nimh's.

I thought that was the entire point of forums. If no duplicate threads were created, I would go ahead and say that 99.9% of all questions would be covered by a thread somewhere. What fun would that be? Kennh, I would highly recommend (of those choices atleast) the Venture HC with Topo and waypoint manager. You will definitely love having the maps on there, trust me!

wow, excellent post Rad!