[compass]

Re compass and bettery drain: I haven't had my 60CSx for long enough to say for sure, but I know that the effect on battery life was dramatic when I was using the Geko 301. I could have sworn there was something about that in the manual, but I jsut looked and couldn't find it. I have seen it mentioned on a number of other websites, though.

 

Of course if you have it set to switch from compass to track when you're moving, then the compass isn't on all the time, so battery life should improve.

[compass]

I only have my vista hcx for about two weeks now and I turn it off while moving until about twenty feet away then i turn the compass on and follow to the location......so far that way seems the best but i still have more to learn about it.

You can set your GPS to switch from compass to heading at a selectable speed, so it doesn't use the compas until, say, you're moving less than 1 mph for 5 seconds, or whatever you choose.

 

The compas does suck down the batteries, though, so I always leave it turned off, turn it on briefly to check the direction, then turn it off again.

[Best GPS for BFE]

Maps are nice, but the OP said he would always have a waterproofed map and compass. Anybody who thinks that "coordinates are simply worthless numbers" needs to learn a bit more. Setting the GPS to UTM along with a gridded topo map gives you a very good picture of where you are. I used a non mapping Geko 301 quite happily for several years until my aging eyeballs demanded a larger screen. That said, the satelitte reception of my new 60CSx is far better than the Geko. It has an external antenna connection, but that's not too useful in the woods; external antennas are more for vehicles where the unit itself isn't where it has a clear view of the sky. The newer Garmins with the SIRFStar III chipset do much better under the trees than the older models.

 

Not sure what cell phone coverage has to do with it?

 

Even with the best GPS, though, I wouldn't ever put myself in a position where I was completely relying on it to get me out. Batteries and electronics do fail, so if you can't find your way out with just a map and compass then you shouldn't be there.

[POI Loader]

What's difference between POI and waypoint?

One other difference is that waypoints store elevation and time (when they were created) information while POI's do not.

[How Does a Business get added to the Garmin POIs?]

Yes, in my [residential] area, the POI database shows a bunch of businesses that are clearly not residential businesses (you're not going to be looking for a part time caterer working out of her house when you're on the road craving a quick burger. Only conclusion it's from phone book records.

[Advise needed - creating trail maps for Land Trust]

NOOOOOO! The newer units most definately do NOT give better accuracy. In fact accuracy is a major problem the new Garmin units are facing. The accuracy of the newer units is quite poor.

 

Definately use the 60CSX, you should have very accurate results. I have used both the 60CSX and the newer units. Trust me, stick with the 60CSX for accuracy.

 

I meant the 60CSx generation, as opposed to the older non-SIRF technology. The newer ones are worse???

[Advise needed - creating trail maps for Land Trust]

Thanks for reading this...

 

I am working with the local land trust to create a trail guide for town. It is in CT - so it is hilly and forested.

 

What town? I'm nearly done mapping one section of the Clinton Land Trust sections as I skied the trails this winter (for my own use; the paper map they provide is pretty poor).

 

Almost any GPS will do what you want, though the later Garmins with the improved chipset will give better accuracy. I used a 60CSx, what software you use depends on what you want to do with the maps later.

[What unit for a 5 year old?]

The Geko 301 is a great unit; I've used one for the past several years. I wouldn't want a GPS without the compass (and altimeter, but that's a different story), and the tiny size of the Geko is perfect for a small child. It was only my 50 year old eyeballs and the tiny Geko screen that drove me to a new 60CSx,,,

[Garmin Communicator Update]

Now only if they'd make it work with Opera...

[Silly Garmin POI Tricks]

The unit has a limit of how many characters can be in the fields.

Unsurprising, but seems to be lines, too... I can put in four lines totalling 72 characters, but not 5 lines with less than 72 characters.

[Silly Garmin POI Tricks]

Hate to reply to an old drawn out thread, but it seems the right place and I can't find the answer anywhere else...

 

I have no trouble creating and loading the custom POI's, multiple databases, custom icons, etc. (thanks to all who posted above!) However, the multiple line comment seems problematic. I'm creating .csv files and using the POI loader to create the .gpi file. According to the POI loader helpfile, if you enclose the POI name or comment in quotes you can include page breaks, and this is correct; it works. However, it seems you can only create four lines either this way or if you enter a long line and let it wrap; anything after the fourth line is ignored, even though the GPS (at least my 60CSx) appears to have room for eight lines of 18 characters each (numbers or uppercase; lowercase gets a few more characters per line).

 

What's interesting is that if I open up the .gpi file in a hex editor the additional information is there, so presumably it's the GPSr that's not displaying it.

[Has Anybody Ever Flown To A Cache?]

Oh, well, I should have figured that with over 33,000 registered users somebody would've beaten me to it! First with a paraglider anyway.

 

IV_Warrior, yes it is pretty cool, even (dare I say it here?) more fun than geocaching! But yes, not too practical for finding most caches.

 

PandyBat, yes, my buddy took the picture, a couple weeks earlier. He took these the day we landed there:

 

Here's our machines on the ground on Cedar Island:

 

Here's me starting the takeoff run from the island (my buddy took off first):

 

-Dana

[Has Anybody Ever Flown To A Cache?]

Has anybody else ever flown to a cache? I don't mean taking an airline flight and then looking for a cache, I mean flying to it. If not then I guess I can claim a first: we flew to a cache in powered paragliders. Click here to see the log and photos. Now of I could only find some more that are accessible from the air...

 

-Dana aka FanMan