SteveOr

I live in the US and planning a trip to Ireland next fall. I plan to use my eTrex Legend for Geocaching and was wondering if purchasing Metro Guide is worth the money. Thanks.

I would have killed for an e-Trex twelve years ago. We had some goofy (and short lived) system called PLARS. It was a cumbersome field radio you wore on your back and had a handset that read out the grid coordinates. It was pretty accurate but relied on radio contact and triangulation between all the units (i.e. each company, battalion, regiment etc.). I wanted to borrow the battalion's one GPS unit to set up a land navigation course but our geeky Operations Officer wouldn't let me. Remembering his monotone mantra, "USE PLARS! USE PLARS!" grates me to this day.

Oh, duh! I searched this site but didn't try google. Much obliged.

I formatted my hard drive and forgot to save the cache page simplifier program. Does anyone know where I can download it again?

When I was a kid, my brother and I came across a big brown paper bag full of crap in the woods not far from my neighborhood. After carefully kicking the bag and poking it we moved on. We figured it to be from a kennel or the result of some dog owner's spring cleaning. Maybe this same guy moved west but felt the need to take advantage of the features of present day shopping bags. On another note, I had the misfortune of being in the back of some lazy dog owner's cruddy apartment. Some poor dog had to live there literally 24 hours a day. In the corner was a poo pyramid about a foot and a half high.

I don't know why this works, but it does...with the portion of the MapSource map you want in your document on your screen press the "print screen" key on your keyboard. Then open the Paint program (for most computers click the Start button, then click Programs, click Accessories, click Paint). Then select "paste" or press "Ctrl" and "V". Voila! The map should be on your screen. Let me stress "should." This is all voodoo to me. All I know is it works for Photo Maps USA and it just worked for me now. The tool bars and such will also appear. So you'll have to cut out the portion of the map you want in your document. Use the "select" tool to outline the part you want in the document. It is the dashed box. Then right click inside the selected portion and select "copy." Go to your Word document and select "paste" and it should appear. Good luck!

quote:Originally posted by ZachNLiam: The problem is it's not just the $80 more for the GPS. It's another $80 or so for the software, and then another $80 'cuz you'll want the TOPO maps; It's a never ending cycle! After buying my Legend and selling my Venture (both on eBay) I got a used MapSource Topo on some Amazon.com site. Only an additional $30 for the Legend and $75 for the MapSource Topo--end of cycle. I have no need for MapSource R&R. Except for every single solitary street name, Topo is more than sufficeint.

quote:Originally posted by peter: You can load both at the same time, you just can't display both simultaneously on the GPS screen... Well shut my mouth! For the first time I'm envious of the memory available in a Vista.

One unfortunate aspect of Garmin and Mapsource programs are that you can't load maps from R&R and Topo at the same time. Also if you want to add a map area into your GPS, you have to reload ALL the maps all over again. Which is pretty time consuming I might add. None the less, I'm happy with my Legend and Topo.

At the risk of insulting your intelligence, you can sample R&R and Topo maps at the link below and decide for yourself. http//www.garmin.com/cartography/mapSource/

I like my Legend as well. Got it from a pawnshop on eBay. I upgraded from a Venture and now have uploaded Topo maps from Joliet IL all the way to Milwaukee WI.

I'd like to weigh in on this matter and say that I find absolute nothing wrong, suspicious, greedy or overly commercial with Melissa selling a ready made cache on eBay. Sure it might be currently overpriced for some; myself included-but only because I'm extremely cheap. But it looks good, appears well made, and contains items that are far better than a lot I've seen in caches already out there. Her feedback rating is out of this world and her shipping charges are reasonable. With the credibility she has built on eBay, she has every right to be touchy for being accused of or even compared to those that bid on their own auctions. So if I wasn't such a skinflint I might be tempted to buy one. I'm not among those who gets enjoyment from schleping to a surplus store, a dollar store, and/or a stationary store all to prepare "The Perfect Cache." So what!? If the cache is placed with creatvity I would find it hard to believe anyone would complain that the cache was impersonal. But for those of you that do decide to purchase an eBay cache I reccommend you disclose such in your cache description so as not to offend the more discriminating or demanding Geocachers out there.

I've had problems downloading with Easy GPS as well but my computers symptoms don't match yours exactly. But maybe my solution will work for you anyway. Instead of "Saving the file to disk" when promted, check the "Open this file from current location" option each time it comes up. This solved the problem for me.

In the current issue of Chicago Magazine, geocaching is one of "50 Great Places To Go". In fact it is listed as #1 (although I really don't think that is a ranking but just the first "destination" in a running tally). The text is as follows: 1 Geocaching Techno Booty The next time you long to get away, forget about travel agents; forget about long-range plans; forget even heading toward a definite destination. Instead, invest in a GPS device-for the uninitiated, GPS stands for "global positioning system"-and join the cutting edge techies eagerly searching for geocaches. A geocache (pronounced "Geo-cash") is a stash-perhaps a plastic box containing innocuous "treasures"- hidden in some out-of-the-way place, such as beneath a fallen tree in a forest preserve. Log on to the Web to find the geographical coordinates for a cache, and then head out with your GPS device to find the treasure, a much more difficult task than it sounds. Since the treasure might be nothing more than a refrigerator magnet or an old screwdriver, the thrill of discovery is the primary reward, but those folks stashing the caches are enliveing the game by leaving logbooks or cameras that allow the finders to record their moment of triumph. And with geocaches hidden in more that 100 countries-in locations as various as the Skokie Lagoons and the Red Sea-your next search may take you around the block or around the world. GPS devices are available in most electronic stores; they sell for between $100 and $1,000. To locate geocashes in your area, go to www.geocaching.com and type in your ZIP code. I especially like this article because it sort of references one of my caches, Monster From the Skokie Lagoon, http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.asp?ID=10156

That is a real surprise to me. I ordered a Venture back in August and had no problems. Of course it was in stock and shipped pronto. I liked that they had the lowest prices and free USPS shipping. Perhaps their business has changed in the last six months. Oh well.

quote:Originally posted by james f weisbeck kd7mxi terra utah: select the above option several times then it should be corrected then you can select the below option to download as .loc Above option? Below option? I see no options. Please explain for my brain is drained. After thinking about it for a minute: Oh the "Open this file from current location" option! I get it. Thanks. It works.

In the past I've had no problem downloading scores of caches from the website to EasyGPS. But for some reason it now saves the cache as a "URL:HyperText Transfer Protocol" file instead of a .loc file (this first happened to me a few months ago but I didn't bother trying to figure it out until now). Anyone else have this same problem and fix it? Thanks, Steve

There are three in a cluster in Busse Woods which is a modest cab ride away. But you would obviously have to have the cab stay for awhile or arrange to return later (a bit of a risk in my opinion-US cabbies aren't nearly as professional as those in London). But there is one cache there I'm sure many in the Chicago area would highly recommend: Row, Row, Row Your Boat http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.asp?ID=4583 . This one requires you to rent a canoe or row boat to get to the area of the cache ($8 for an hour if I remember correctly). I'm not sure if boat rental will be available yet but if you are interested I can make a few phone calls and find out. Also there is a payphone there if you want to call a cab to pick you up. Another option is to see if any local Geocachers would like to adopt you for a few hours.