mtbikernate

Yes, but any potential for confusion would be minimized by creating a different designation for the GPS model name indicating whether it has the sirf chip.

I've seen numerous store ads claiming the etrex x series models have the sirf chip. Chalk it up partly to Garmin for making it confusing to folks who don't KNOW GPS receivers (it took me a bit to get it all straight when I first learned about the new models last year), and partly to whoever put together the ads for not reading product literature closely enough. It would have made more sense to give the sirf chip feature a separate designation than the removable memory on product names, rather than making the x mean slightly different things depending on the product series you're talking about. It's made even more confusing by the car based models that do NOT have an x.

Actually, the thermometer is there for the barometric altimeter mostly. Without a temperature reading, you cannot translate barometric pressure into altitude since Pressure x Volume = (amount of gas) x (Gas Constant) x temperature. Because pressure varies according to temperature and volume, and with volume being more or less constant in an atmospheric sense, you need to have all the values for this equation to be able to take a pressure reading and determine an altitude. Additionally, the thermometer is not meant to measure the temp of the outside air. It is meant to measure the temperature of the electronics inside the GPS. My altimeter watch has a (equally useless for determining air temp) thermometer on it which is used for the altimeter function. I do not see how the GPS clock would need to know the temperature, as the receiver itself does not keep track of time. The receiver receives time data from the satellites and then gives you a readout on the screen for your chosen time zone/format.

Now I'm curious. The news article where I found the location said that the park boundary is nearly a perfect circle. (The planners simply found the 'center' of the mountain and made a circle around it.) The article claims that the color change you can see is a result of different vegetation growing on each side. Inside the park is natural growth, and outside has been altered by agriculture. Jamie I'm just passing along what he told me, and he lives there. Looks to me like differences in vegetation. If you notice, to the NW of the snowcapped peak are two smaller peaks which have the same vegetative cover. It would make sense to me that the nearly perfect circle would be due to a person setting a boundary relative the center of the peak. That same vegetation also peeks out from that circle in a few spots in what appear to be drainages, which would be too steep for agriculture more than likely. Furthermore, if you switch to the Map view of that image, you will see in green, the same forested area marked as the Egmont National Park.

Yeah, the environmental extremists would like to ban EVERYONE from the woods. Take what they say with a grain of salt (or ignore them completely like most reasonable folks do) and go on with your life.

I never use the eletronic compass on a GPS unless I'm standing on top of or close to a local magnetic anomaly, and even then, it's still affected by it somewhat. As of yet, nothing beats a good old fashioned magnetic compass. Get yourself a decent deck-mounted kayak compass.

The altimeter is actually a barometric altimeter. It calculates altitude based on barometric pressure. You calibrate it for a known altitude and it will keep track of any ups and downs. In a pressurized cabin of a jetliner, the readings will be off. Reverting to gps elevation allowed you to see your elevation calculated based upon triangulation from the various satellite signals you were receiving, so cabin pressure will not mess with your readings.

I have a rino 120 and the radio output sucks ROYALLY compared to a couple of fairly inexpensive motorolas I have. At about 1/4 mile distance with a clear line of sight, the Motorolas could only receive static from the Rino while the Rino could receive clearly from the Motorolas. I am replacing the Rino 120 with a 76csx shortly. Oh, the Rino 120 saves FEWER track points than even a legend. Save your money and just buy a new legend.

I will never buy a GPS that requires me to plug it in somewhere to recharge it. I want to be able to pull out dead batteries and put in fresh ones (fine if those batts are rechargeable, but none of those proprietary Liion types that have to be ordered from the MFR). It is best when the electronics can handle multiple batt chemistry types (alkaline, NiCad, NiMH, Lithium, etc) so you can use whatever is available when you need batteries. I realize lithiums offer more power than the others, but until there are rechargeable lithiums in a standardized size (like AA or something), I will be avoiding the proprietary rechargeable lithiums.

Good thread. I just did a hard reset on my Rino 120. Took a couple of tries to find the combo. Hold the page and 'click stick' buttons down at the same time when powering up, and you'll get the prompt to erase all user settings. It's sitting outside aquiring sats right now.

I second the suggestion for the roll-up solar panel to recharge batteries. It is going to be the only way you can record a continuous track of a hike unless you want to carry tons of batteries. Generally speaking, I'm willing to carry 2 extra sets of batteries with me on a trip. If that won't allow me to record what I want, then I just use my GPS or camera less. I would really love to have the solar panel as an option to recharge batteries. You might consider using Lithium batteries, as well. Lithiums will run longer than NiMH's, so you'll be better off there. However, I do not know of any rechargeable lithium-ion AA's yet. You'll have to suck up it up and deal with a few more oz (god forbid) if you want to carry a GPS you can use for 3 weeks in the woods.

I found a Walt Disney World benchmark this past May. I didn't have my GPS with me, and I was unable to log the coordinates of it, but I did get a photo of it. FWIW, it was in the sidewalk next to a trashcan at Epcot. http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mtbikernate/ Is there a way I can log this benchmark, or am I SOL on this one?

Where do you go to school? I would hope your university has some sort of GIS (geographic information systems) software at least on the campus computers. If so, you don't need the GPS unit to save the altitude in the waypoints. If not, you can at least download a free GIS data viewer program from ESRI (www.esri.com). With that program, and a program called MN DNR Garmin (just Google it. it allows you to save data from your Garmin GPS into a GIS-friendly .shp file format), you can view your saved GPS data overlayed with lots of drg (digital raster graphic) data (topo maps, orthophotos), dem (digital elevation model), and all sorts of other stuff that's out there on the web...even satellite imagery (edc.usgs.gov). You can then download hi-res georeferenced topo maps for FREE (no need to buy the $100 TOPO! state-series topo maps or suffer through using the really low-res terraserver maps) from the internet with a bit of searching (they're usually located on state/local gov't websites or large university servers). And if your university has a decent GIS program, then it's likely that your university has a great deal of data located on its servers, as well. And if your university has a GIS course, I TOTALLY recommend taking it. If you plan on doing rangeland work for the government, GIS is a part of daily life. I've spent the past couple of summers doing wildlife work for the USFS, and the training I got with GIS and GPS through the geographic information systems course I took has proven invaluable. I have even taught my employers a few things. If you have other questions, drop me an e-mail. I'm way too much of a map geek for my own good, and have only gotten into geocaching because it gives me another excuse to play with my GPS and GIS software. Nate