Woodstramp

Apparently, Wendigos are not as adept at escaping modern trail cams as 'squatches. Maybe too preoccupied with sating thier hunger for human flesh! I must say that ancient Algonquian zombies are much creepier than anything Hollywood has produced.....by far! (sorry, should let this go, but it is almost Halloween.) Boo!

Programmer, You are new. The 60csx is a tool that was was designed so well that it has a "beloved" status here with many. Me included. You coming here and voicing your displeasure with it is like someone coming to a duck hunter's forum and telling folks "I tried a Labrador Retriever this weekend...they suck...I want a new dog." Actually, sviking's suggestion to give it to your kid has merit....I get a new gadget...the first person I call is my daughter. She figures it out in like 30 minutes, then shows me the ropes.

Bert, You happen to get a good pic or video? Would love to see that. I was hunting high on a mountain ridge about 10 years ago. High enough that I knew that there'd be no one in sight. Got settled in. After an hour of being still and soaking in the beauty of cool air and fall colors I saw a man in a red shirt. He was about 75 yards down the ridge below me. Some brush between he and me, but there he was, facing me, red shirt,leaning against a tree looking my way. I was first alarmed, because the leaf matter on the ground was like corn flakes. Walking through that stuff would have alerted me to him coming in. Kind of creeped me out. I don't like to move much on a blind, but this bugged me enough to get up and check him out. Just few yards of moving and he vanished! The man in the red shirt was a collage of leaves from that particular vantage point. I (no joke....truly) keep a small Flip video cam in my car at all times. I want to be the first to take a credible video of a UFO or a Alabama Skunk Ape (local BF species). When I hit the woods, the Flip is in my shirt pocket. The proof could be worth millions. Also, a buddy of mine has some really cool trail cameras for his hunting lease. The things are amazing. They can do stills and video, are motion activated, have IR illumination so as to not spook critters that wonder by. He, of course, uses them to get familiar with deer on the property, but he has pics of most any critter. Deer, possum, hogs, dogs, coyotes, bobcats, house cats, squirrel etc. Critters of about any size/shape with warm blood. I would think a 10'tall/ 500lb 'squatch could easily trip one of those. These things are not that expensive. Oh, I forgot....hunters and biologists use these in the Pacific NW too. Bigfoot must not be warm blooded or is sophisticated enough to foil modern electronics. A truly amazing animal. You get a good pic or video, chunk of BF hair, turd or leg bone.....I'll be the first to eat crow.

"Bigfoot? Have you seen him?" If you mean "Bigfoot" as om the legendary, mythical, huge bi-pedal primate species that has the power to have never left any trace in the fossil record (or hair, or poop) and has been able to evade the eyes/bullets/bay dogs of hunters on the north american continent for centuries......no, I haven't. Niether has anyone else, really. As to screams in the wilderness.....the large cats that do live in "bigfoot country" can make some loud and and alarming sounds. One time, while hunting, I heard a whitetail doe make really strange and loud sound. I've explained and tried to repeat that sound to much more experienced hunters and none of those guys have ever heard a deer make the sound I attempted to reproduce. Also, the main guy at the BFRO place has a telling last name......Moneymaker.

I was thinking that is the way it worked, but never having used the more modern Garmin units, didn't know for sure. Thanks for verification, Savant.

I read on one of these threads on new Etrex units that they have a 'profile' setting. Did some googling and ran across a Wiki page on Oregons. This profile function appears to be a way to customize a handheld for different users or uses on Oregons. What I'd like to know is this.... If I had a new Etrex, could I load a City Navigator SD card for autorouting and then also have topo maps on internal memory for outdoor use, then set up an "automobile" user profile for car routing with CN, then switch to an "outdoor" profile for the woods with the topos ? Just wanting to clarify. Thanks.

Chilli, I reckon the value of an electronic compass is in the eye of the beholder. I finally got a 60csx with an E-compass. This moment for me was like that scene from Crocodile Dundee when his girlfriend turned on the TV and said: "Mick, this is a TV...you can watch it." He replies: "Yeah, my mate had one of those years ago." Then he turned it off.

I don't think any better data is available. Someone could collect better data from cartel mules/coyotes. They know where every nook and cranny is.

Bryan, If I recall, the blue Legend has 8MB of internal memory. As you select tiles (with the map tool) in Mapsource just eyeball the total size of the map files on the left side panel. Keep the total under available memory. You will also need a serial cable (if you have an available port) and maybe a serial to USB adaptor (if you don't have a serial port)

I took a look at what was available for Mexico on GPSFiledepot. Looked like they did have a topo, but no roads, save for one region. I do recall having a "Canada and Mexico" road map disc that came with Topo8 when I bought a Delorme PN20. I never used it or been to Mexico to verify how detailed the info is. If I recall, that disc was for roads only. You are a Garmin user, but you might pop in at the Delorme forums and ask around to see what is available. You may have to buy a map subscriotion to get more detail of Mexico,like topos or aerials. These maps, of course, would have to be used on a Delorme. I'm sure the folks there would be more than willing to tell what options would be available. Or...I think Garmin may sell a decent mapset of Mexico.

Notmuchtime, (If this is legit...) You can do what you will with the fruits of your labor. But, I tend to agree with RedBarn on many of his points. You seem to be approaching "us" for ideas for your puzzle and hopefully not wanting to make your prize a geocache. Believe me, I'd be the first to grin like a possum as I dial in the clued combo to your safe, but I sure wouldn't make it a geocache if I were in your shoes. There are a lot of good folks in geocaching, but I wouldn't give over half of our group a dime. Most of us have enough disposable income to buy electronic doo-dads and waste literally tons of gas. Judging from my experience more than half don't have the decency to even close a container properly after a find or to muster enough to sign more than "THTF". There are a lot of better places your money could go. Just this last weekend we took a kid camping with us. A new friend of my daughter. Family had a abusive husband, he is gone and this kid's mom raises her children in a small traier court on her one income (and some government help) Bought made me tear up when the boy made the comment after I cooked breakfast: "Real bacon, almost forgot what it tasted like....we've only had turkey bacon for years." If you are just looking for ideas, then you are in the right place. Plenty of good/creative ideas can be found in caches.

I believe that there is a Yahoo group online that caters to the old Magellans. I know they used to have a Magellan Explorist group on Yahoo groups. Also, if memory serves, from my Explorist usage, you may be able to load .loc files into EasyGPS (free) and then shoot the cache files to the SD card. Also, if I recall, cache files had to have a .gs suffix type files to use them on an Explorist (which I understand is simular to Meridians)

The only reason I can think of to switch to magnetic is if you were using your GPS in conjuncton with a non-declination adustable compass.

It takes some brains to aquire an engineering degree. A smart fellow could also easily figure out 2+2=15 if the man who sees he gets paid every month likes that type math. Especially in the current obomony....I mean economy.

ecanderson, Nice reply there, but you forgot something... You negelcted to preface the reply with "Dear Mr. Falcone,"

jjome, Thanks for the pics.

I ran by our local Bass Pro today...low and behold....all three new Etrex models were on display. I didn't have a ton of time, but got to look at the different screens. Looks nice...there was an HXC next to one....the 20 felt lighter and less bulky....side by side the screens looked to be the same size and clarity. Fonts were an OK size for my past 40 eyes. Just wished i could have seen a loaded cache description page or a detailed topo. Maybe one of you can take some screens shots of those too. (Purty please).

Sounds interesting. Especially if the profile function could be customized. Maybe "automotive" could be set to turn on CN maps, then when you go to the lake or woods a topo could turned on with another mode. If you find out more about this I would really be interested in details. Thanks.

I'm not familiar with City Navigator; by chance are you asking about a proximity alarm? If so, yes, that feature is in the eTrex 20. Also an alarm clock and a stopwatch. It can also sense Garmin Chirp devices; I'm hoping to try it out on a local Chirp cache soon. Winter, The reason I asked about the new Etrex and sounds is because that is handy when using a Garmin handheld as a car navigation unit. I do this with my 60csx with a Garmin City Navigator SD card installed. I use it with topo maps and with CN. Topos for the woods use, CN for everyday use. Handhelds have smaller screens than a Nuvi, so having turn warning alarms activated when routing with a handheld is nice. Just give you a heads-up aid for autorouting. The new etrex has a good bit of internal memory. The 60csx does not. That would be handy. In my case, I could load the topo maps on internal memory and have the CN card loaded too. Right now, with the 60, I have to swap topo and CN cards when I want to transition. That would not be necessary with the Etrex. I'm guessing that with the Etrex you could just turn on/off map types as needed. Also glad to see it has an alarm clock. That is one function my 60csx does not have. That would be handy in my use.

I'd be interested in how long these new etrex units can sip on a pair of alkaline batteries. Garmin's specs say 25 hours. If that is true...big plus. Also...someone mentioned these units can make sounds (cbeeps-chirps)....another plus if you use City Navigator. I wonder if it has an alarm clock function like some of th older handhelds had?

Just happened to have the Sean Hannity show (Fox) on right now. They are discussing current administration scandals (Solyndra/stimulus money squandering, etc). They are talking about Lightsquared and how someone in the WH coerced a general to go along with the LS deal. Just a heads-up. They generally replay Hannity later if you want to catch it.

39 Steps, You are aware that you can load GPSfiledepot.com topo maps on a SD card and use them in the Nuvi. I do it all the time. The free topos (and other transparent maps) available for my area of the world are quite nice for woods rambling. My 60csx and Nuvi have not only topos, but public land boundaries and hiking trail transparency layers. I can just pop in the SD, turn off CN and I'm good to go in most situations with the Nuvi. Cowboy can best that if he downloads aerials of his schoolhouse area and then trace roads in his Delorme software. That info/map can be cut/sent to a PN. From aerials you can trace cattle trails, much less a logging road that might not be listed on a Garmin or Delorme software. One major advantage Delorme has over the free topos for Garmins if the user has access to a Delorme maps subscription. I've done that many times with my Delorme. Of course, the subscription is paid.

Well, the first color display handheld I bought, a Delorme PN20, would exhaust a good set of fresh alkalines in 7 hours of real usage. I think Garmin advertizes in the specs that the 60cxs will get like 18 hours out of those same alkalines. In my first usage/rundown test it lasted 22 hours before a low battery warning. I'd say that is outstanding. Another reason I will never sell mine.

The 60CSx is brilliantly readable in bright sunlight. I've never seen anything else like it. I totally agree with that observation. That is one of the main reasons I will never sell mine.

Stop posting pics,Kunarion. Saw those and started scratching. I won't dare even touch the screen.