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if you press navigate to > (next screen) lattitude Longitude you can type in the co -ordinates, but I don't think that it will work, as a TomTom should lock the position arrow onto roads. Try it and see.

Here you go, download a user guide http://www8.garmin.com/support/userManual....ct=010-00631-00 I think it works like my old Geko. You mark a waypoint from the main menu, then you edit the name, and the co-ordinates. You have to use the push buttons to select each digit, then select the correct number from a dropdown list. Only takes a couple of minutes per waypoint Once you have a couple of waypoints stored, don't delete them, keep editing their names and co-ordinates as IIRR, you can't actually mark a waypoint in the house, as there is not enough signal for a GPS lock. As to the lead, get one quickly, and an adaptor for usb>9 pin serial. There i=used to be a few sellers that did a USB > geko/etrex all in one lead. You will be impressed as to what you can do with an eTrex a serial lead and some freeware/donationware programs. For example, clear the tracks before you go out, set the clock on your digital camera to match the eTrex and take pictures. At home, download the pictures and the track log as a GPX file. Then geosetter will geotag your photos, showing you where you took each one on a satellite map. Use GPSUtility to convert you tracklog into a GoogleEarth file to amaze you friends. I should think that you can use Google earth to draw out a path for your cache hunt, export the path, and upload it to your Garmin as a track, then follow the track on the screen, very usefull in country parks, you can plan your route easily with aerial views. It will work on roads too, but remember that when you stand still, the track direction goes wrong, you have to move to get a direction fix. Anyway, enjoy your purchase!

It is a good unit for starting out. except, it only works with a special serial port lead that is an extra, http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PC-Data-Interface-Ca...=item53dd5abec0 If your PC doesn't have a serial port you are stuck. Why would you need a lead? So that you can just download co-ordinates straight to the GPS without hand typing, and get the track logs that show where you have been back out again, to show them in Google Earth. If it comes with a lead, it is a very good buy. Otherwise looks about 1/2 new price. Edit: At 40 euros, you aren't loosing much money, it will likely sell on for near to that amount if you outgrow it, or tire of caching anyway.

Hi and welcome. Not sure where your interests lie, but I would suggest a Garmin Vista HCX, Vista CX or venture CX. You should be able to pick up a CX for under $100 easily. Some people upgrade to Oregons and sell thier Vista off cheaply. These have a colour screen, and take microSD cards for maps. There are a lot of free maps available that will work. The Vista has a compass and altimeter, theses are really novelty items, a cheap compass is actually better than the 2 axis Garmin device. The HCxmeans H=high sensitivity, works under leaves, C=colour screen, x takes external microSD memory. If you cycle, get a 'bike mount, any of these will work as a cycle computer, giving a large display of speed and distance. They will record a track of where you went, that you can download, and convert to Google Earth, to see where you went. You can work out a trail in Google Earth, save it as a KMZ file and get it uploaded into the Garmin, then you can follow your route on the GPS, either walking or cycling. I do this for road journeys and follow the GPS map, although all of these units can work as a SAtNav if you get the right maps. I forgot, all of these use a standard camera sized USB lead, I take photos and use the saved track from my GPS together with Geosetter, to geotag all my pictures, I can then upload my favourites to Google Earth.

I had visibility issues on Topo on the Colorado, I guess this is the same thing: some footpaths show up in thin white that you just can't see. (The high res display is just too high res, they show as black lines on a Vista HCx) You can try turning the relief shading off. I also found that having 2 maps active at once made features disappear, as if the maps are not transparent, so now I disable all the maps except the one I'm using: Topo for Geocaching and City Nav for Automotive. Setup> maps > Map information select map. touch the bubble.

Did you put the City Nav on the SD card? If you just sent it to the unit using Mapsource, then it will likely overwrite the preloaded Topo See what Garmin say. (Other than an unhelpful "you should have backed up the unit first ) On my 550t if I goto setup > map> map information select map, I get a bubble for the pre-loaded Recreational mapof Europe (you should get US Topo instead) a bubble for WW Autoroute DEM basemap and a bubble for the map I loaded onto the SD card. Touching the bubble then lets me enable or disable the map.

Hi guys, I have both the Vista HCx and an Oregon 300, I thought I would leap into the 21st century and replace the Ol' faithful with a new model: big mistake I generally geocache by mountain bike, and find the HCx is far better for me. I can usually see the display, it is way way better than the Oregon in sunlight. It is actually easier to operate, the buttons work better for me, swapping between map, trip meter and compass is easy, as is actually finding a cache. The oregon touch screen does make scrolling the map easier than the little joystick though if you are planning a route on the fly I have figured out the HCx and find the Oregon just too fiddly to use. The paperless caching is good except, the trouble going from navigation to cache hint and back makes it infuriating. The way the oregon stores tracks and waypoints is a bit tricky too: you would think it is more logical, but I find it more tricky. I bought GSAK, and it has some scripts to load up the oregon, but I couldn't get it working properly. The batteries last longer in the HCx too. In summary, having learned the HCx, I tried out the Oregon, and relegated it to the Geocaching Drawer, and went back to the HCx The only problem with the HCx is Garmin used double sided tape to hold the rubber buttons and surround on. This comes off in no time. I cleaned all the glue off mine and superglued it back *******Warning Boring Bit ahead*********** How I work is like this: I find the caches, either singly or via a pocket query, and get them into the HCx. I also get them into Google earth. I then use Google Earth to plan my route as a path, and export the path as a KMZ. I then upload to the HCx using GPSUtility and it appears as a saved track. Off i go caching, following the planned route, marking the caches as found. I take a couple of photos using my Cannon Ixus too. When I get home, I delete the planned track, and any unfound caches. I plug the Ixus into the Pc and press the blue button, this downloads the photos into a folder named by date. I now download the recorded track and found geocaches using EasyGPS as a GPX, and save in the folder I just made. I then use GPX2GE (because I paid for it once) or GPSBabel to change to a KMZ and marvel at the days performance in Google Earth. I can also geotag the photos with Geosetter, and upload to Panoramio for inclusion in Google Earth.

2.90 unit software, GPS software 2.80. Does this mean I can either Downgrade so I have no idea where I am but I can actually see the footpath I'm aiming for? or Know where I am but have no idea where I am going? Great

Today I went out with the Colorado on its new 'bike mount (waste of money, the zip ties are no substitute for a proper clamp) and the Vista HCX on its original mount. (much, much better) Both are running GB Topo V2. I know to turn off other maps and select max detail. Anyway, there I am, riding along a path on the Vista, that is not there on the Colorado. I turned off the shading and still couldn't see it. When I got home, and scrolled to where I was, the paths are there, but it is a thin white line with no border, so it cannot be seen except when the map scrolls and the edge becomes visible. Is there any thing that I can do to show the paths? The lo-res vista shows them clearly as lines.

The problem with using pocket queries is they only have the last 5 logs. (anyone know how to increase this) So when you have journeyed 120 miles and are really stuck, seeing that the last 5 logs said "easy find" isn't much help

I leave my display on "daytime" with the "Diamond" scheme. It is very irritating to have it flip into night mode when I'm trying to set up routes etc. at home. If I needed the night vision I might go for the "Auto", but a dim backlight seems to work best for me.

I have mine on "Big Numbers" and display Speed Trip odometer Moving time If I'm looking for a cache I switch to the compass screen and display speed, distance to go and location, or the map screen, and display nothing on the vista, or speed on the 60csx.

If you can live with lower sensitivity, the venture cx is heavily discounted, if you can still find one. That doesn't drift. I think the drifting is a characteristic of the Mediatek chipset i.e. hardware. The software updates are just kludges to try to make any kind of a purse out of the proverbial sow's ear. The Sirfstar used in the 60CX doesn't give problems, as we all know....

So why would a newer unit make a difference then? The statement doesn't hold water.

Recommend for what? I started with a geko 201 Pros: small. Cons: short battery life, small display, fiddly buttons, low sensitivity. The eTrex H Pros: larger display, longer battery life, increased sensitivity, less fiddly buttons. Cons: physical size. Both are ok for a starter unit, you can find geocaches, mount it on a 'bike and use as a speedo, keep a track of your course. Out of the two, I would go for the eTrex now my eyes are getting dim If you shop around, you can buy the discontinued eTrex Venture CX for the same money as either of the others. Although it doesn't have a high sensitivity receiver, it adds a colour screen, base maps, and a standard camera type USB connector rather than a proprietary serial port. It also has a joystick for quicker co-ordinate entry. Pop in a 2 gig micro SD card and you can install full mapsource maps. I would get one of these!

I thought my Colorado was running the latest software: Software Version 2.60 GPS Software version 2.60. I have all of TOPO GB on a 2gb Sandisk Ultra III SD card I do know that I can upload my field log, including finds, but I haven't the patience (or possibly the lifespan!) to enter any meaningful comment with the thumbwheel: a touch screen keypad and stylus would be fine, so I guess the Oregon has that one covered. I would like to disable the GPS compass when standing or walking slowly- the magnetic should work fine. I do have the option to disable magnetic or switch to auto, but I can't adjust the threshold speed and time for auto like on the HCX. Why magnetic only? 1) I'm near a cache. The GPS knows where I am, where the cache is, and which way the unit is pointing (because of the magnetic compass), so it can draw an arrow pointed at the cache. 2) I'm standing still, trying to figure out where everything is, I want the map to be track up, so I can relate what I see to the display, I turn, the map turns with me. With the Colorado now, the map orientation changes erratically.

I have an eTrex Vista HCX, and "upgraded " to a Colorado 300. To date I have been very disappointed with the Colorado. Yes the screen is bigger and clearer, and Topo looks much better: the roads look like roads, paths like paths etc. but, mine takes an eternity to draw the map! Changing scale results in a blank screen for ages. Once the map is drawn, whilst walking it can keep up. The compass has a mind of its own. I suspect that this is caused by position glitches that make it think I have moved in a direction fast enough to switch the magnetic compass off. At the moment, you cannot disable the autoswitching, or adjust the threshold speed. Data entry is hellishly slow with the scroll wheel compared to the joystick of the Vista. The Colorado is much bigger, and has no wrist strap fixing point: the caribiner attachment point is bulky, and has to be removed to change batteries, which the Colorado eats very quickly. I can't find a bicycle mount, but I wouldn't be happy with something that big on the handlebars anyway. Seeking a cache, the Vista has the edge, because it doesn't suffer from the erratic compass behaviour (but it has the same GPS chip...) When standing at the cache, the two units agree. (on distance if not direction!) I did an extensive field test yesterday, 6 caches in an afternoon, and was pleased with the paperless mode, I had downloaded every cache within 10 miles of the two places we were visiting, and used the paperless mode to discover caches that we were close to. The ones I had printed off we didn't visit However, I soon found the shortcoming of the Colorado and paperless mode: When solving a puzzle, if you have the memory retention of a goldfish, you cannot remember the co-ordinates, as you cannot overlay a co-ordinate entry screen, luckily we had the Vista to enter them into, using the Colorado to display the questions and base co-ordinates. This might be user error now, but I can't see an easy way of knowing which caches I found, unless I write the names down on paper anyway! I think the Vista is a better unit overall. Having the Colorado as well yesterday was a bonus, but I suspect that simply having a PDA with all the data stored would have been as useful. I did consider the 60CSX, but it is a much larger unit, not really suited to a bike mount (I use mine as a speed/distance computer with track storage): which is why I originally bought the Vista. The vista is more suited to stealth: I too have pretended to be on a mobile 'phone whilst using it.

The TOM TOM series will navigate to a latitude & longitude that you enter.

Don't you need to jumper RTS & CTS pin 7&8 and then jumper DSR DTR & CD pins 6, 1 &4 to make a 3 wire cable work? Have you done this? I imagine an old mouse cable would have these 2 jumpers in place, but a bare plug doesn't.

As Storm is saying, what you want are "Custom POIs" (Points Of Interest) Most car navigators allow you to upload a list of GPS co-ords and set an icon that displays on screen, in the same way as the little symbols for banks, ATMs Petrol Stations etc. Certainly my old Navman came with a POI editor to do this, I think the TomTom Home application does it too. You can then set a proximity alarm when you pass through a circle centred on the POI- this is how the speed camera alerts work.

Off road sets a straight line "as the crow files" course to the destination. On road will send you along roads- if you have the correct map installed rather like a car SatNav. Off road is what you want. Try this: Go for a little walk, and when standing on a manhole cover, next to a flower etc. Stand still for a minute, and then press the MARK key. The mark waypoint screen appears, note the number 007 etc. highlight OK if it isnt already, and press enter. You now have a marker set at this position. Now walk away a few hundred feet. Press FIND Highlight waypoints, press enter. A list appears, use the toggle to select the same number as the marker you just set 007 etc. Press ENTER highlight goto and press ENTER Select OFF road Call up the compass screen, and see what happens as you approach your manhole cover, pass it etc. You need bearing mode, as the arrow always points at the target. Try circling (slowly) the manhole cover, from 30 feet away, and see. In Course mode, the arrow shows one straight line course from the start to the finish, and expects you to follow it. If you are on a winding path, it shows errors, whereas the bearing mode keeps pointing at the target. I'll try again. Bearing mode. I am the target. I hold a rope that passes to you. As you walk, I keep the rope tight. It always joins me to you, This is the bearing. You can walk round me, backwards etc. and there is always a straight line from me to you, so you just walk to shorten the string. If you go round a lake, you turn a bit, to still follow the rope. Course mode. When you set it up, I run and paint a straight line between us. You have to follow the line on the ground. If you go around a lake, I direct you back to the painted line, so you have to approach from the original direction.

The newer etrex should have come with the lug n catch part of the mount, loose in the box. This screws onto the threaded boss on the back of the etrex, and makes it look like the back supplied in the original kit. Pity Garmin only supply the large mount by itself, as modern units obviously cant use the replacement back with the standard mount. Luckily I also have a geko, so I bought the geko kit, and at least the cradle fits something. The etrex adapter just snaps into the bar ring from the geko kit. If you don't have the adaptor, you will have to contact Garmin.

Funny that, but everything that I find is in the last place that I look (Probably because when I find something I stop looking for it ) Having said that I can't find nanos either, but one day I will get one!!!

As explained, The GPS can only read one gmapsupp.img file, but it can contain multiple maps. you have to use Mapsource to create it, so you need the Topo and the CN installed in Mapsource and unlocked for your gps. You then select all of the topo maps, switch to CN and select all of the CN maps. Then you build the combined map, and write to the SD card. If you just try to send the CN maps to the SD card they will overwrite your topo and it will be gone forever NB1 you are free to copy the gmapsupp.img off your card, this is a good idea. you can then write it to a new card, or replace it after you wiped it trying to add CN, but it will only work in the gps it was unlocked for NB2 the Topo should be locked to your GPS, so you cannot use it in another unit. Just buy another sd card, write the CN to it, and swap the cards over.

Wait a while if you can, to see if it can be fixed, but I personally think that the etrex is a better unit for me because: Etrex vista wins The etrex doesn't lock up when I power it on. The Colorado has done this twice now in 2 weeks. The etrex is much easier to operate, the joystick is a dream compared to the trundle wheel. The etrex doesn't show ridiculous position errors. The back comes off easily, without having to remove the clip holding the wriststrap/carribiner first. It is small enough to fit in a compact camera case. The batteries last longer. the compass doesn't go doolally. The menus are better thought out and more intuitive. Editing is much better. You can write files to it and still use it at the same time. (The Colorado has to be turned on again and reboot every time it is disconnected. When connected in file storage mode you can't use it) The colorado wins: The display is larger, and Topo maps look so much better. The caching notes all display, (but you can't edit a multi, and just try writing a note with the trundle wheel)