IanNMissy

I had completely forgotten I had posted in here... My T300 broke after a few days uf very light use, so I traded her in and traded up.... Got a Garmin Vista HCx. Nice unit, but now I'm locked in a little more for maps.. I did see the Free topo data for Garmin. Is there a smaller download? If not, no big deal, just trying to save some time and hard drive space.

Yes, He can geocache with it. As a former Triton owner, I can vouch for that, and the lack of Magellan support. The included software works pretty well, and can read .loc and .gpx files without doing any conversions. There are also some really easy to use tools for creating maps and such without a whole lot of knowledge. www.tritonforum.com is a great community for Triton owners to get info and help. Transferring maps and cache data is easy as well. It's just the hardware can be not as durable or reliable as the Garmins.

I think using anything that's readily available like Sat images is fair game. If it helps you, and lets you enjoy the game, then great!

Ahh yes, another dissatisfied Triton 300 owner... I just got rid of a 2nd malfunctioning unit, and upgraded to the Vista HCx. I really like it. There's a lot of differences, but nothing that'd be a deal breaker.

The HCx recognized the 4Gb card right away. The 2025 map segment limit is a little disconcerting.. I guess the next question, is can I load more than 1 mapset on the same card? i.e one set for east and west of the Mississippi? Because the mapset I created is less than 1Gb. I could take the card from my cell phone and take the Garmin (PNY) card and swap them. (100k topo doesn't take up too much data per segment.) On a different note - I don't know if this a a GPSr or map issue: I was using the unit going to work this morning, and the unit would not lock on to roads. I had that setting turned on, and it was consistently showing me off the road by 30-40 feet both ways. WAAS is enabled, and my satellite lock was excellent, along with a very nice day. All in all, I think I like the unit a lot, and the Altimeter and Compass are really cool. Just trying to figure out the ins and outs, and how the maps work. With the Magellan, all the maps I created and such worked out great, and put my position right on top of the roads. hell, it was getting pretty close to which lane I was in, and these were not navigable maps as far as road data goes. Sorry for the wall o text.

Ok - so after my 2nd Triton 300 crapped out in 2 weeks, I broke down and upgraded to the Garmin Vista HCx. I got the US topo 2008 on great deal to go with it, and Life was good. Stopped at Best Buy, and got a 4Gb Micro SD card. Now, life is great. Everything installs fine, and I want to load the topo data to the unit - But I get a message saying I'm x number of map units over the unit capacity? Do I need to break up the entire U.S. into sections, then load all the data? 4Gb will get you pretty much everything but Alaska... I know GPX and .loc data doesn't take much room. Or does the device have a hard cap on the number of map units it can process? (It's a little over 2000 if I have it figured right.) I'd like to try to get as much data on as I can, and I don't forsee getting too may 24k topo maps at $100 a pop. And, if the need arises, I can always get a bigger card. BTW - what IS the Garmin limit to external storage capability? Could I get a 16Gb card? (Go big or go home.. I prefer to have too much storage than not enough.) Thanks!

So - I'll be in Winnipeg in a few weeks, and was thinking of doing a little caching, but I've got a Triton 300.. So magicmaps will be my best bet for Winnipeg area map data? I can always use the tools I've been using to make some maps, but if there are some that're a little more optimized and accurate, I'm all for using those.

I've gota moto Rokr.. Ok for a phone, better for a music player.. (Sad, I know...) But no data on it, other than unlimited sms. I have managed to create a couple maps with terrain / street data and import them into VP.. I just need to get my XP system to talk to my unit.. But I guess I can always use my vista Laptop that will connect.... Doncha just LOVE technology?

Just thought of this, but I guess for those of us without smart phones you could always update twitter with a find and short note... unless we can update via sms here? I really like the idea of being paperless in the field... Will have to go premium soon methinks!

That's part of the problem.. I really don't. Lived in this neighborhood for 4 years almost, and I've pretty much only gone from home to work to somewhere else, and not really explored. :/

Update - Got a new Unit from REI today, and it seems to be working great. Need to do the firmware update on it, little apprehensive to say the least right now.. now I just need to figure out how to make a map of my neighborhood.. there's a TON of caches within about 5 miles of me that are still very much active...

Tommcd - We will eventually get there.. Boy is in 3rd grade this year, so it'll be a bit before we get to a longer camp.. It'd be easier if his summers weren't already full with travel to see the grandparents and sports, and wrestling camp... *sigh* I don't remember being this busy when I was that little...

That's a great idea.. Poker Chips or Wooden Nickels... I saw that the local group in MN has had some of those made.. haven't gotten too involved yet, just been thinking about it more since my unit has been dead.. which has now been rectified Thanks REI!

That's actually a pretty good idea.. My son's Cub Scout group has an overnite camp coming up in 2 months, and this could be a fun den activity. need to start talking tothe park officials now tough, as Anoka County, MN doesn't allow any caches in their parks without a permit..

Ok - I was readig the topic on how to tr yo keep 'ggod swag' in your caches, and this got me to thinking while I wait for Magellan to send me my unit.... What do you carry with you as swag? If you bring the kids, do you head to the dollar store, and let them pick a few things, or no? As an adult, do you subscribe to the 'calling card' type swag, or are you constantly looking for little trinkets and such to leave? I, like many others don't exactly have a ton of cash to spend on 'nice' swag like mini mag-lights, or CD's, or what have you. I have started to read more about coins, and some of those are inexpensive enough, (once you pay for the setup, etc) but the design then becomes the problem. (And not entirely kid-friendly) So it goes out to the trest of you - If you do trade, what is it? What about the kids?

Thanks, as soon as I get the new unit, we'll be good to go. I think if the "Customer Service" guy was right the new unit should be coming from Tennessee, and via FedEx and UPS that's pretty quick to me.. so we'll see. I was hopig against all hope that it'd work, so I could at least get out for a bit...

Alas, after a couple hours of trying on a Vista 64 and Win XP system no luck.. Vista doesn't see it when I connect the device, and XP saw it, then I shut it off after installing the drivers, then started the update, and the device disappeared, and the drivers all of a sudden refused to work.... Guess I DO have to wait for the new one... Which sucks. Bad. It's supposed to be 80 and sunny tomorrow! (Today)

I was looking before mine bricked, and it said 54Mb free... I guess while I'm waiting for the new unit I can try some of the things I've found to try on the tritonforum site.. Since I can get into "dev mode" as long as I can get it to connect to my PC, I MIGHT be able to get this thing to work, at the very least I can't screw it up more right? I do plan on getting the Nat Geo topo maps.. hopig for those for Fathers' day.

Thanks for the link to the review site.. I have noticed the reviews of the Triton units have been getting better and better over time.. Have they really started to push for better firmware and QA? Most of the other reviews online have been older, like right after the unit was released. I didn't find it too much of a pain to navigate today, and didn't need to look at the manual for anything, really. Biggest thing is some complain that the unit loses signal in tree cover, and others say it's great.. rather odd there. The paperless part of the unit is something that does really appeal to me. I have an Axim 50 I may be getting rid of soon, practically new. (With dock and original CD) (No need to carry 2 devices..) Once I get my unit back I'll really start looking into the topo maps more. I really do like the topo data, especially in parks you're unfamiliar with. I was in Duluth last year, and the unit had some topo data, and helped find where we needed to be since it was on top of a really big friggin hill. What kind of area would someone be able to fit on the limited memory of the 300? Do you have to have the entire base map loaded, or can you use that memory space as well for more topo maps for parks and such? I have no desire to use this unit as a road navigation device....

Intro - My name is Ian, I live in Minneapolis, and am new here. (Hi.) Ok - So I live in MN, (obviously) and last year was introduced to geocahching through the MN DNR Geocaching Challenge for the sesqucentennial celebration. The wife and I really enjoyed it, but couldn't spring for a unit to get active and keep us active. Well, today I was in a local Sporting Goods store that was closing, and bought a brand new Magellan Triton 300. Worked fine on the drive home, as far as I could tell, but when I got the Vantage Software installed, the update failed, and bricked the unit. Not to fear, I called Magellan, and actually talked to someone and they're sending me out a brand new unit. First Question: Should I bother updating firmware on the new unit, or should I just take the brand new unit and sell it and get something else? The first unit I ever used was the cheap Garmin one you can borrow from the State Park, and while it definitely did it's job, I was looking for something a little more feature packed. Second Question: I've seen a fair amout of negative reviews on the Triton 300, (After I bought the thing) But none are really concise as to exactly why it's such a bad unit. What makes a good unit for geocaching outside the ability to load a billion maps on it? It seems most reviews seem to be incredibly fickle about one or two options. Like I said, I'm new, we're definitely going to get more involved in the sport, But just need some sound advice to be able to go forth and start our hobby! I know there's quite a few caches close to our house, and it's frustrating as hell that it's supposed to be so nice, and I've got a hunk of crap plastic on my desk unusable...

Minneapolis