kallt_kaffe

Now I hope their next step will be to do the same for the eTrex Legend/Vista HCx.

I'm using a Nüvi 255T, before I had a 205 which is identical to the 255 except that it has less built in maps. Any Nüvi will be a perfect companion to your 60CSx. I'm using the "Advanced Nüvi macro" together with the spoiler sync macro. Before I also used the Nüvi for caching but a few weeks ago I bought a Legend HCx and it's a very good combination. I haven't got a clue what how the 760 works but I'm very satisfied with the 2x5. However asfaik all Nüvis works with the GSAK macros so get the one the suits your car navigation needs (and your budget) best. I'm having 14000 caches with spoiler pics on my Nüvi.

You're right. FAT32 supports 4Gb files. I should have checked my facts first.

Transflash is the same as a MicroSD flash memory card. Don't worry about that. I'm using a 2Gb MicroSD card and it works fine. Asfaik larger cards will work too but since they use FAT32 filesystem you are unlikely to be able to create a larger mapset than 2Gb so the benefits of a larger card are limited. This is the card I am using: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2396 And yes, that price includes free shipping, worldwide. I've bought several memory cards and other stuff from dealextreme and it takes 1-2 weeks to get it but other than that it works fine.

I'm pretty sure that there is a GSAK macro that will allow you to at least export the hints with your waypoints to the eXplorist series. That's often enough for most caches. If you want full paperless you'd need to any of these: - Garmin Colorado - Garmin Oregon - Delorme PN-40 - Nüvi 500 - Any Nüvi (combined with a GSAK macro) For $60, I'd go with the eXplorist 400. Sounds like a good deal. You can always get used Palm or a cheap Nüvi later for keeping full cache descriptions (with the Nüvi you also get Car Navigation as bonus).

Which is may be worth to consider getting a Legend H or a Venture HC which both use standard cheap USB cables. An eTrex + Serial cable + Serial to USB adapter propably cost as much or more than a Legend H. You'll also get map support as a bonus.

You may want to consider the Gpsmap 76Cx or CSx which is the same hardware as the 60Cx/CSx although it's physically larger and floats. I guess a GPS that floats can be nice if you bring it when fishing.

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=15429 (or any other Car 12V to USB cable)

Actually the way to put coordinates into a eXplorist 100 is pretty much the same as on the Garmin Etrex series. Mark a point and change the coordinates. However with a modern eTrex you'll be able to transfer your waypoints with an USB cable. (Now someone will propably point out that this is also possible with an eXplorist 100 and they are right. It's just a bit more complicated as you'll need to get a nonstandard, inofficial, cable.)

Having found 140+ caches with just a Nüvi and only once or twice I have felt that I missed an electronic compass. So in my case I settled for a Legend HCx. On the other hand I got a very good deal on my Legend HCx and getting a Vista would have increased the price with almost $100. If the price difference had been something like $30-40 then I might have bought the Vista instead, but as I said, I was lucky to find a really good deal and the price went up by almost $40 after I ordered mine.

If by “standard” you mean not high-sensitivity, then no, that is not correct. The SIRF chips in the 60/76C(S)x series are high-sensitivity receivers. Earlier, non-x 60/76 models were not. Maybe that’s what you were thinking of. When Garmin started putting other (non-SIRF) high-sensitivity chips in their H models, I saw several reviews comparing the performance of the new H receivers to the 60/76C(S)x series. I don’t have time to look for them now, but you can probably still find them with Google. As I recall, they pretty much unanimously concluded that if there was any difference in performance at all, it was very slight. In some cases the H units would do better than the SIRF-powered units, in other cases worse. So although the high-sensitivity chips that Garmin is putting in its newer models may be newer, they aren’t necessarily better. There has been much speculation that Garmin switched the type of chips, not because of any difference in performance, but rather for cost savings. Many who have experienced the “drift” problem with Garmin’s newer receivers have expressed the wish that Garmin had stayed with the SIRF chips, which have never, to my knowledge, exhibited that problem. This may be part of the reason for the almost fanatical loyalty that many have for the 60/76C(S)x series. I'm guessing, but as I understand a quad helix antenna is supposed to be better than a patch antenna so my guess was that the higher sensitivity in eTrex chip compensates for the lack of a quad helix antenna. Reversing this line of thought would mean that the SIRFstar in the Cx/CSx logically would be a bit less sensitive as they perform more or less equal to the eTrex H series. I've also seen comparisons where the eTrex HCx are comparied to Cx/CSx and what I remember from it seems to be same as you. Performs more or less equal just like you say. I would rather have a 60Cx or CSx than the Legend HCx that I recently bought but the price of the Legend HCx was almost 50% of what I would have had to pay for a GPSMap 60Cx. I haven't had any drift issues yet though (knock on wood). However my original point was that if the eTrex H uses the same chip and antenna as the Legend/Vista HCx then the upgrade to a Gpsmap 60Cx propably won't mean better "estimated" accurancy. Which chip is the most sensitive was just a guess but is a very interesting question. And that Garmin did not base there new line (Colorado/Oregon) on the well performing 60/76 Cx/CSx is a shame. That had something that worked really well. They could just have added some bells and whistles to that (touch screen, paperless geocaching) and they would have had a winner. Now you have to choose if you want bells and whistles OR a well performing GPS.

Yes it will: http://garminzumo.wikispaces.com/Tricks#toc4

I started with Nüvi 205 and have later replaced it with a 255 (same thing just more maps). However I recently got a Legend HCx (that's the same thing as a Venture HC but with a MicroSD slot). The Legend HCx has following advantages over caching with a Nüvi. - Waterproof (however you have a 500 which is waterproof so that won't matter) - WAAS/EGNOS support. Improves accurancy - Smaller, most people will take it for a mobile phone. - Can be operated with one hand. Again, people will think you're sending an SMS or something. - Good battery life. I'm still using my Nüvi for keeping cache descriptions and spoilerpics and of course for car navigation. It's a great combo. I would recommend getting a Legend HCx instead of the Venture HC unless there is a big difference in price. Once you start adding maps to it the 24Mb of the HC won't last very long.

I'm not so sure that the Etrex H is actually older than the 60Cx. Isn't the eTrex H series using the a patch antenna with high sensitivity GPS chip while the 60Cx has a quad helix antenna and a "standard" SIRFstar chip? In other words, your 60Cx has a better antenna but an older (but well reputated) chip, while the eTrex H has a simpler antenna with a more sensitive chip. There are likely cons and pros with both combination and they will likely perform differently under different conditions. I think the 60Cx will be less likely to get confused by reflected signals and may be more trustworthy in the long run.

Also consider the Legend HCx which is another step up from the Venture HC adding a MicroSD slot so that you are not limited to 24Mb for maps and POIs.

Yes it will. A few things to keep in mind: - Keep it out of the rain, it's not waterproof. - Use 2D-map mode with north up when walking. It's not good at detecting your direction at walking speed. - Get my custom vehicle here: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...cachingfriendly - Make sure the GPS is in Off-road/Pedestrian mode when getting close to the cache. I car mode it will try to lock you onto the nearest street and that can drive you nuts. When you know this is something you will keep doing then you may want to consider a premium membership on geocaching.com and buying GSAK. There are excellent GSAK macros for the Nüvis that will make you go 100% paperless when geocaching. You may also want to consider getting some Topo maps for it. I've found over 140 caches with just a Nüvi 2x5 and it works better than most people may think. I've recently bought a Legend HCx though but I still use the Nüvi for Car navigation and keeping the cache descriptions.

Correct. Never tried a Venture HC but I'd expect it comes with built in basemaps and so does the Legend HCx and Vista HCx. I'm pretty sure Venture HC is pretty much a Legend HCx with 24Mb built in flash instead of microSD slot. Same goes for the Summit HC which is pretty much a Vista HCx without microSD slot. It would propably be less confusing if Garmin had choosed to name the Venture HC as Legend HC instead and the Summit HC as Vista HC. I don't see any reason to choose a Venture HC instead of a Legend HCx. MicroSD cards are cheap and you can store 2Gb of maps (2Gb file size limit on FAT32 filesystem) and asfaik, unlimited of custom POIs on the card. I've got 14000 caches with some basic information like hints stored on my Legend HCx. The 24Mb of the Venture HC will become a limitation. With a HCx you can store both City Navigator and Topo maps and easily switch between them making it possible to use it for car navigation too.

Which is exactly why I only store the status the last four logs and hints when I use that macro with my Legend HCx. Most caches stays on one POI with this setting. My Nüvi on the other hand have it all, even spoilerpics. It's a BIG difference between a doing "paperless" with a Venture/Summit/Legend/Vista/Gpsmap and doing "real paperless" with a Nüvi/Colorado/Oregon.

I'm been caching with a Nüvi since I started caching (august last year) but and since the Nüvi allready does such I great job keeping the cache descriptions and spoiler pics I just teamed it up with a Garmin Legend HCx. Been using the Legend for the last 7 caches and the combo works great. For the Legend I use another GSAK macro called 60CSxPOI and I configured it to only export the most important stuff like the status of the last 4 logs and the hint. But if you want everything in just one unit and want the paperless to be as good as with the Nüvi then your options are Colorado, Oregon or the Delorme unit.

Here's the thread: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=215651 And here's your picture:

The latest, vista compatible, Palm Desktop do not work with all Palm models. I have not succeeded syncing my Palm Zire 71 with 32-bit Vista and it's also not listed as supported (but I had to try anyway of course). I'm using the same setup as you but I'm using a Nüvi 255 for car navigation and cache description. In fact, uptil recently, I used only my Nüvi as I've just bought the HCx. While a Nüvi (cheapest you can find will do) propably cost a bit more than a used Palm + Cachemate it will offer other advantages: - Car navigation (sure, the HCx can do this too, but it's so much nicer with the Nüvi). - An extra GPS if you are more than one that are out caching. - Most likely better for paperless caching than Cachemate. I'm using the Advanced Nüvi Macro and spoilersync and keeps 14000 caches WITH spoiler pictures in my Nüvi. The cheapest new Nüvi you can get is propably the Nüvi 205 or the older 200-model. I would recommend getting the 205 though as it has twice the amount of internal flash (1Gb instead of 0.5Gb), nicer menus, a satellite screen och HotFix. HotFix usually decreases the time finding satellites a lot. And for the HCx. I'm using the 60CSxPOI macro to save the status of the last for logs and the hint with each cache. So usually I check the Nüvi before leaving the car. If I believe that I may need spoiler pic and/or information other than the hint (like other logs, cache description etc) then I'll bring the Nüvi, otherwise I leave it in the car and brings only the HCx.

I'll wait for the Oregon 600 with built in mobile phone so that I can log my finds AND upload pictures to the log with it. But seriously, I've got a friend that on at least one occasion pretended that his GPS was a camera to avoid suspicious looks from muggles. With one of these you don't even have to pretend.

Latest version seems to be 3.70: http://www8.garmin.com/support/collection....ct=010-00422-00

As a short time solution disable the electronic compass. I've got no 60CSx so I do not know what's wrong but giving Garmin support a call may be good start. But first make sure you've got the latest firmware as that is propably the first question you will be asked.

If your car GPS is a Garmin Nüvi then you can store all the cache info in it and get a good, non-paperless, terrain GPS to go with it. Otherwise the Delorme as suggested above is propably a good alternative. Seen a lot of recommandations on them but for me it's not an option. Afaik they only have north american maps which would be useless for me. I'm using a Garmin Nüvi 255T and a Garmin Legend HCx combination.