BikeBill

TheWeatherWarrior asked: <<What can the netbook do that a tablet can't.>> Like Red90 said, they can run GSAK. They can also talk to and transfer gpx files with a Garmin GPS, which my Nexus 7 tablet can't do. Edit: I just noticed you specifically mentioned a Win 8 tablet. That would probably work with GSAK and gpx transfer to GPS receivers, being Windows. If you have an Android or iOS tablet, though, you're out of luck.

Well, I picked up an Asus Netbook for $90 that I saw on CL. The usual story: The owner got a tablet and didn't need the netbook anymore. It has a 10.1" screen, dual core Atom processor and Windows 7 Starter. It's pretty much what I was looking for. It does Wi-Fi well (and tethers via my iPhone's hotspot) and has lots of USB ports. Cute little thing but is slow as molasses compared to what I''m used to, so I ordered a RAM upgrade to get it from one to its max of two GB. If that doesn't speed things up I have a good SSD drive sitting around. I also ordered a 12V power adapter. I think this will work out. I loaded GSAK and bookmarked all the appropriate Geocaching sites. I even logged a cache with it today! Regarding a previous poster's comment about loading all caches in the GPSr before leaving for a caching trek: I try to do this, but any number of times we ventured out of the planned area. As my 60CSx holds a limited number of caches, too many times I've ended up caching with the iPhone. This works pretty well but I prefer the Garmin, which generally locks on GZ quicker. Often I manually enter the coords from the iPhone to the Garmin, a tedious procedure. Lieblweb makes a good point about trying to use a tablet with the GPS. I have a Nexus 7 and it just doesn't work at all with the Garmin. I tried. Thanks for all the valuable input! Any further hints/tips/ideas for netbook use would be appreciated.

Walts Hunting and Red90: Thanks for the helpful replies! I hadn't even given thought to logging finds and you are right, I rarely like to do it on my iPhone. However, until I get home I sometimes forget some interesting details. Being able to log in the field with a real keyboard would be a plus. Red, I also have a DeLorme USB GPS that would run on a netbook. I've seen used netbooks in my area in the $100 range. I'm holding out for one with Win 7 loaded instead of XP, which many of the older ones have. People are switching to tablets and getting rid of their netbooks.

Does anyone take a netbook along on caching excursions? Used ones running Windows are pretty cheap and they’d be easier to pack then a full-size laptop. I figured that I could run both Groundspeak and GSAK, then hotspot the netbook to my iPhone to get it online. I could load caches to my GPS from the netbook if I ran into any in the field that I didn’t have pre-loaded. Is anyone doing this, and if so, how does it work out for you?

I have no idea how to do that.

That looked like a great plan and it says it works with a 60CSx. Plus it's free! Oddly, I couldn't find it on the Play Store on my Nexus. I looked it up on Chrome and found out why - it's not available in the US! Foiled again.

Sorry - I haven't checked this for a few days and missed some new posts. I did indeed want to transfer waypoints from the Nexus to the 60CSx. I realize the waypoints reside in the Garmin's internal memory and maps are on the micro SD. What I didn't realize is what Walts Hunting said about putting the GPS in mass storage mode. So I tried that just now. The Android 'saw' that there was a mass storage device hooked up to the USB port and would read the file structure. But under 'Garmin' it couldn't see anything because those files weren't compatible. Picture files are no problem for the Nexus but overall, it's file recognition is somewhat limited. I also tried going to the Groundspeak web page to transfer a gpx file from the Nexus right to the 60CSx. The Nexus couldn't see the GPS, of course. I think that RobertLipe may have hit the nail on the head when he said "60CSx requires Garmin protocol to transfer waypoints." and there is no Garmin protocol or driver for the Android. I tried downloading a gpx file onto the Nexus which seemed to work, but I have no idea where it went as now I can't find it. Incidentally, unrooted Nexus 7's read USB flash drives and SD cards just fine through Media Importer and an OTG cable. In fact, they have 'OTG' flash drives available now with a regular USB on one end and a male micro USB on the other, so no OTG cable is needed. Supposedly Media Importer will 'write' to a flash drive, too, but I haven't tried that yet. So it was interesting to experiment, but no success.

Hmm. This thread interested me because I have a Nexus 7. I tried connecting it to my Garmin 60CSx via the OTG cable and though the Garmin recognized the connection (at least for charging) I didn't know how to access or transfer any files. File Manager didn't show anything on the Garmin. Either it won't work or, more likely, I don't know how to make it work.

Jester - There are number sizes for O-rings, and from my limited understanding a #13, which is really a -013 would be a pretty close fit for a normal bison at 7/16" but a bit fat in cross-section. You can see a boring size chart here: http://www.marcorubber.com/sizingchart.htm These are non-metric sized O-rings, but of course there is a lot of overlap. Your #6, if it translates to a -006 would be really small, so maybe you are right in thinking you are dealing with a manufacturer's proprietary sizing. I figured most Bisons are made overseas and would be metric. But in the case of geocaching if you get a size that's close and it seals, it's good enough. If you were working on the Space Station things would be more critical. I got a bunch of the 11mm x 1mm size so a buddy and I can replace the O-rings on a few of our own caches (I mostly hide bigger stuff) and to replace missing O-rings on others as we come across them. This is assuming the log is dry, otherwise there's no point.

I wanted to get some spare O-Rings to replace the missing ones on the Bison's I keep finding with the seals missing. I wasn't sure what size to get. I have an assortment kit (of fractional sizes) but nothing seemed to be a perfect match and there were only a few of each size. Keep in mind this is for what I would call a 'standard' Bison tube. The bison's I have measure 14mm (or about 9/16") outside diameter. I ordered a pack of 50 Viton (good stuff) O-rings from eBay for about $6 and they are a great fit. What I ordered was 11mm inside diameter with a 1mm cross section. If you see metric O-rings listed as 2mm cross section, they are a bit too fat and probably aren't metric anyway, they are probably 1/16 inch. Hope this saves someone some research.

jholly said <<My 1390 also hit the wall. I was able to delete unused/unneeded stuff for that update. The next update it again hit the wall. I put a 8GB micro SD card in it and it has been happy ever since.>> and sussamb said <<Just add a SD card to your 760 and you'll be fine for a long time >> Thanks to both of you for the advice. I was under the impression that the maps couldn't be put on the SD card as the unit accessed map information from its internal memory. Good information to know.

Regarding useful life of the unit: I have a Garmin Nuvi 760 that I bought new around '08. A couple years later I purchased the Lifetime Maps and successfully upgraded the unit once or twice a year. A few upgrades ago the downloads became bigger than the available memory of the Nuvi. This is a known problem and can be solved by going into the unit's memory and deleting unneeded languages, etc. This fixed the problem but I expect that sooner or later the updates will require more memory than the unit has available no matter how much stuff I kick out. That might be the 'useful life' of the GPS. BTW, I recently upgraded to a 5" Nuvi 2597LMT. Wow, what a difference in boot up, satellite lock and route calculation times! Also, the new OS is a big improvement over the older model, which mow resides in my secondary vehicle. Someone above mentioned that they rarely upgrade maps because roads don't change that much. Maybe this is true for your area, but you're also updating all the restaurants, libraries, parks, and other POI's.

You can load the Oregon 600 with an unlimited number of caches. I have a 60Csx (predecessor to the 62) but am saving my sheckels for a 600. I have no complaints about the 60Csx, though, other than I've worn the labels off the buttons.

A pet peeve about some rest stop caches: I like to use them to give trackables a good start on long journeys, if that's what the owner wants. That's why I like to see rest stop caches that are big enough to take a GC or a TB. Too often the rest stop caches are micros.

I'm in the same situation as the OP. I've been waiting for the roll out of the 600 series and was hoping the unit would have the bugs worked out by now. I was also waiting for the price to drop a bit but it seems like Garmin has price control on its newer items. Everyone seems to have them at list price. I just bought a new model Garmin Nuvi 2597 for my car and paid list price for that, too, but that was about half what a 600 goes for. In the meantime, my five year old 60Csx still works, but I've worn the labels off most of the buttons. As long as I can still remember which is which, I'm good to go!

Yogazoo, Kolenka and whoever else may have gotten their hands on one of these new units: How does the accuracy seem to be (with GLONASS) and how long does the unit take to load all those satellites? Is the compass accurate and responsive? Thanks for all the helpful feedback you guys have been giving on the 600's! I definitely am looking at one to supplement my aging 60CSx.

I've been keeping an eye on this thread and I've really got the itch for one of these new Oregons. My 60CSx works fine (except the symbols are wearing off the buttons) but I'd love to have a new GPSr with more current features; and one that would lock into satellites faster. I wouldn't buy a new 600 until after it was out for a while (let it get over its initial teething pains) but I'm getting anxious to see how good these will be. This 'Hurry up and wait' period is getting tedious!

Google Earth is commonly off by 30 feet, sometimes hundreds of feet for a number of reasons. I like and use Google Earth and have maybe 10+ years experience with it. It's pretty good within the limits of the technology. Coggins: I agree with what you said and have occasionally experienced Google Earth being inaccurate, too. In the case I mentioned, however, GC3CQVG, it was definitely a GPS anomaly. Google Earth was accurate, and the Garmin matched it exactly when I went back to check the next day. Since then, cachers have commented that the coord's are dead on. I'll continue to use Google Earth to double check my new cache coord's if they are out in the open.

If you are hiding a cache in an open area, you can double check your coord's with Google Maps or Google Earth. I use a Garmin 60Csx, a pretty accurate unit, but I still double check with one of the above map sites when I can. Once I hid a cache at the corner of a building, then used the averaging function of the GPSr to take about 50 readings. I went home and checked the coords on Google Earth to find I was about 30 feet off. Why? I dunno. A bad satellite day or a solar flare or something. Anyway, I went back, did the same process over and came back with dead-accurate readings. Now if you have something hidden in the woods, forget about the above!

<< but... I couldn't get over the disappointment of it not having expandable memory (no micro-SD card),>> I bought my two kids Nexus 7's for Christmas. I included OTG cables (about $5) and 16 GB flash drives for expandable memory. Download "Nexus Media Importer" ($3) and you have your expandable memory (read, not write, IIRC). And yes, the Nexus 7 is available in a version that connects with AT&T or T Mobile. As far as how it would work for geocaching? Frankly, I don't think it's sturdy enough for use in the gnarley stuff. The screen is durable but not unbreakable and it's not at all waterproof. Bill

I checked the picture and that is indeed a snapped off piece of utility/hobby knife. Maybe it was put there with malicious intent. But it's also possible that it ended up there accidentally. You intentionally snap off the end of those blades with a pliers to get to a new edge. Maybe someone snapped that end off and it went flying and ended up in the cache. At any rate, like the posts above noted, I would never let little ones rummage through a cache container unless I had checked it first.

+1 Bill

The new Google Maps for iOS6 just became available tonight. It has full screen on the iPhone, turn by turn directions and other good stuff. Hopefully, it's accurate and bug-free. I just installed it and here is the link: https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/google-maps/id585027354?mt=8 Now we need Groundspeak to get out a revision of the iPhone Geocaching app that uses the new Google maps, is full screen on the new iPhone and gets rid of any known bugs. I'm holding my breath! Bill PS: I tried the turn by turn and a message box popped up that said this was a 'Beta' program and I had to check a box to acknowledge this. The turn by turn worked, though. And I just saw that the NYT has a review already: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/13/technology/personaltech/google-maps-app-for-iphone-goes-in-the-right-direction-review.html?hp&_r=0

How about a pre-form tube? They hold in soda under pressure (once they're formed) so they should stay water-tight. Or a pre-form with a bison in it? Bill

To the OP: I have one Decon out as a cache and initially it was a leaker. I retrieved it and used an appropriately sized rubber band as a seal. I also coated the sealing areas with some Vaseline to help seal and reduce the opening/closing effort. I've had no wet log complaints since then and it's been over a year. I have two more Decons and haven't used them yet. They are just so hard to open and close that I'm afraid cachers wont close them properly. On the one I do have out there, I drew arrows to the four corners and wrote "press here until lid clicks" or some such thing. Bill