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tbruihler

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Everything posted by tbruihler

  1. I have the Nuvi 500 (has the Garmin US Topo) and the 62s (did not come with topo). I downloaded the free topo maps from GPS file depot which was pretty simple and I am not very technical by any means. The free ones are JUST AS good if not BETTER than the garmin ones. Like the last poster said, I wouldn't spend over $50 for the preloaded maps. I have a micro SD card in and have no problems with map space. I can't speak for the ammount of detail on the boughten maps but I believe the free ones have 20ft contour intervals which is more than adequate for me. If you want more detailed maps than that you will probably have to buy them.
  2. I have a Garmin Nuvi 500 for sale. I bought it about 3 years ago just as they came out in stores and used it for my first 500 geocaches. It works great as a paperless unit! It has the 2008 street maps and US Topo. Even though the maps are a few years old now, they are still fairly accurate. I have bought a handheld so I no longer use this one for geocaching. It shows some wear around the edges. It had a screen protector for most of it's life but it recently came off. There are a few minor scratches on the screen but it is not in rough shape by any means. It is used but not abused. Sold as is. You will be getting the unit only (no cords or mounts). Make me an offer- tcbruihler@gmail.com
  3. Oh, great and wonderous blue bow! We're planning a visit about the 6th of July. The EarthCache at Indian Mounds looks great, but I don't think we'll have the time for it. My cching partner is from Guttenberg, NJ, so w'll be visiting Guttenberg Ia to compare the two Guttenbergs. We want to drive down the Great River Road from Minn, to Davenport, and hope for the best. So, I'll be interest to hear what recommendations you receive. Why is it I always miss people by two days? Northeast Iowa has a few great caches. Although not in Iowa, the "Lair" (GC5D2D) is a very popular cache in the area. It is just across the border in MN near the river. Decorah, Ia has several great earth caches as well...With all the bluffs in our area, I am sure you will find scenery no matter where you choose to cache!
  4. I could be wrong, but I think you need to be a premium member to download all the cache information to your GPS. Someone may correct me here.
  5. Well, I settled for the used Garmin 62s. It wasn't as good of a deal as I would have hoped at $301 but hopefully it still turns out better than the $380 for a new one! Thanks for everyone's input.
  6. I found someone selling a used 62s WITHOUT the base map (got deleted?)much cheaper than new. If I got something like this, would it be easy to buy the City Navigator maps and get some transparent topo maps and come out ahead than a new 62s with just the base map?
  7. Are the maps for the 62s auto routable and do they contain most of the roads or just the major highways? Has Garmin fixed the "squeeky screen" that many complained about early on, or do I risk getting a squeek if I purchase one from Amazon? From what I am finding out, I wish there was a GPS that combined the mapping ability of the Delorme with the GPS ability of the Garmin! I did find where they have the refurbished PN-40's for $120. I have read that they have more trouble locking satellites and are not as accurate as the Garmin? I will always have my nuvi 500 for auto routing if the functunality and accuracy is better on the 62s. I really like the usability of my nuvi 500 but am not a fan of the touch screen or the way it "feels" in my hand. Thanks for all your input!
  8. I don't see where the PN-60 is only $239? I don't think I have seen it on amazon that low. It is currently MORE expensive than the 62S ($391 vs. $380). The PN-40 is the one listed around $220. Is the PN-40 comparable to the PN-60?
  9. I am in the market for possibly getting a new GPS. I have found 560 caches with a Garmin Nuvi and feel it's time to finally move on. I have read a lot about the Garmin 62s and also a little about the Delorme PN-60. Which of these is a better more reliable unit? From what I can tell, the Delorme is going to be about $50-$75 less than the Garmin. Is there a difference in map quality between the two, including auto routing? User friendliness? Durability? Basically, are there any features that set either one of these units apart? Or maybe I should just stick with my nuvi
  10. I'm not sure if I understand your question...are you asking how you download your "finds" or "log notes" to the geocaching website to allow easier logging of caches? If that's what you are asking it is pretty simple. 1) go to your profile page(not public profile) 2) scroll down about 1/2-3/4 of the page and click on "access field notes" on the right hand side 3)on the very BOTTOM of the next page, you will see the steps to download field notes for a Garmin Colorado or Oregon. Click the blue link: "here". I know that you are talking about a Nuvi 500 not a colorado or oregon but the process works the same 4)Click "browse" 5) Open the file that says "geocache_visits". Your GPS has to be plugged into your computer. The "geocache_visits" file is located in the Garmin Drive This is a really easy way to quickly log your finds. I have been caching with my Nuvi 500 for 2 years now and just discovered this trick a couple weeks ago. It has saved me a LOT of time! Once I have logged all my visits, I DELETE the "geocache_visits" file from my GPS. If you don't delete the file, it will automatically download every geocache visit that you have ever logged every time you upload your field notes (including ones that you have found a long time ago and have already logged online). Hope this helps!
  11. I was able to download Map Source for free. Even though it says that you have to already have a Map Source product, I was able to get around it. By downloading th "tutorial" FIRST I no longer got the error message I really don't plan to use it alot - just download a few trail/county maps on my gps.
  12. Thanks! I guess it's pretty important to install the "training center" first! Wouldn't work otherwise.
  13. I have been wanting to download some maps from GPS file depot to my nuvi 500 for a while now. Everytime I try to download Map Source for installing the maps, it tells me that it only works if previous versions of map source are owned. I assume this means a CD that comes with the GPS when bought new? Is there any way around having to purchase a copy of map source and still get the maps to work? I tried to just download the file to the GPS. I can get the .img file to appear in the GPS while plugged into the computer but the maps still don't appear.
  14. I am still using a Garmin Nuvi 500 for geocaching. It is generally okay but would be nice if I could download more than 1000 caches when traveling! You're supposed to be able to download many more caches onto a micro SD card. I have put the card in, downloaded the caches to the card (in a GPX file) but still the only caches I can access are the ones located in the internal memory? Does anyone have ideas of what I am doing wrong? Thanks!
  15. Is anyone else having www.geocaching.com appear in Spanish? While creating a pocket query everything suddenly switched to Spanish and I can't figure out how to change it! Anyone else have this problem?
  16. My wife and I are planning a short vacation to the outerbanks of NC the first week in June. Our main goal is sightseeing and getting away (and also a little caching!). We will be flying into Raleigh from the Midwest and renting a car. All we have to go by for travel logistics (miles and driving times) is what Mapquest says. We plan to spend a night near Kitty Hawk and a night near Ocracoke. Mapquest says that it is 86 miles and 2 1/2 hours driving. My question is this: Is one day enough time to see the lighthouses/beaches/some caches exc. between Kitty Hawk and Ocracoke or is that a stretch? Any other advice on things to see or caches to find on the Outerbanks would be greatly appreciated! Thanks
  17. You should not have to be a premium member to download geocaches to your nuvi 500. I personally have a nuvi 500, and use it as my sole caching GPSr. When you downloaded the program did it ask if you wanted to "save" or "run"? I believe the correct option is "save" otherwise if you select "run" I believe it is only a one time deal. That could be your problem, I know I had to do it twice because I chose the wrong option the first time. I am not computer savy, but I would try one option and if it doesn't work than try the other. You hae a 50/50 chance of getting it right the first time! Once you have the program installed correctly, geocaching.com should recognize your GPS when plugged into the computer. Select the cache you want to download and click on "send to GPS". A small window should pop up that says "Found Nuvi 500" with a couple different options. When you click "write" the cache should be sent to the GPS. Hopefully this helps!
  18. Southeast Minnesota, Eastern Iowa, and anywhere East of the Mississippi would be your best bet for scenery. The Badlands is nice, but between western MN and the Badlands is kind of blah. If you do head that way, check out the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD. NE, ND, and SD and Western Iowa are pretty flat. Personally, I would choose to head North and East from the airport going through Duluth, MN, Northern WI; the UP of Michigan, and Door County, WI and if time allows, finishing the trip going through Southern WI, Eastern Iowa, and SE Minnesota. If you enjoy canoeing, you could check out the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Northern MN. You could hire an outfitter for a few days and not have to deal with the hassel of packing. When you know more of what you want, sent me an email. I have done quite a bit of traveling in the Midwest and am willing to help out anyway I can! Make the trip all about your wife, and I am sure you will have fun no matter where you go
  19. What do other cachers think of adding a "rate the cache" feature? If, when writing a log online, there were a feature that allowed finders to "rate the cache" sayon a scale of 1-10, and show the AVERAGE cache rating on the home page, other cachers could sort out low rated caches (most likely skirt lifts, bridge magnets, power trails, exc) while cachers who enjoyed these type of caches could still go after them. Just an idea....not a point of controversy!
  20. It doesn't really answer your question as far as most most densly populated city, but I recently put together a spreadsheet of caches/capita and caches/square mile. I would be happy to email it to anyone upon request. Basically, the eastern states have a far larger of caches/sq mile which would make sense. California is ranked 7 with just over .48 caches per square mile. In other words - California has almost 1 cache for every 2 sq. miles. For caches per capita, it is almost opposite. The eastern and southern states have fewer caches per person (which is maybe to be expected with the large cities in the NE?). Utah has the most caches/capita at 1 cache for every 143 people. This contrasts with Hawaii which has 1 cache for ever 1251 people!
  21. I use a nuvi 500 and can just copy the GPX file to the GPS and away I go. I know someone who uses a different nuvi model and they had to download a program like you are referring to - from the garmin website I believe. Even WITH the program installed, they still are disappointed with the geocaching capabilities of their nuvi. For example, it doesn't provide all of the cache information but rather lists the cache as a "waypoint". They have no access to hint, cache description, previous logs, exc. Also, when searching for the cache, the unit will not have a "distance to" feature. They have to zoom all the way in and to try to find it that way. Works find if there arn't many hiding spots in the area. Get to the woods and it becomes more difficult. This is just from my experience with a nuvi 205, maybe a nuvi 260 user can help you more...
  22. I have a Nuvi 500 that I use for navigation and geocaching. I have never used anything else to compare it too, but I like it! It has a geocaching feature that allows you to download up to 500 caches (more if you use an SD card). The navigation part will help you drive to the closest parking than you switch to the walking mode to search for the cache. The only negative that I have noticed is the way the GPS handles some caches. Caches with a longer name cause problems with the GPS and causes it to "crash" this is a common problem with the nuvi 500 but doesn't effect me too much - prob less than 1% of the caches do this. If you use GSAK to download caches there is a way around this problem as well. Like I said, I don't have anything else to compare it too, but so far I love it! Looking on ebay, you can get a nuvi 500 for roughly $250 or so which is a bargain compared to when I got mine when they first came out!
  23. I have a nuvi 500 and have not had this problem before. I HAVE charged my nuvi by plugging it into a computer. I have had an almost dead battery and still charged it to full power using my USB cable connected to my computer. When I have it connected to the computer it shows up as an additional drive. On another note - I recently had to get a new car charger for my GPS. The new charger is not a "Garmin" charger but still works fine to charge the gps. However, when I use the new charger it acts like it is connected to the computer when I first turn it on. (It has that green time bar across the screen showing connection status). The factory charger did not do this.
  24. First I think the reason your nuvi crashes is because the name has to many characters in it. That was solved in gsak. Secondly in stead of loading caches directly to my GPS ( I have a Nuvi 500) I run a PQ For either an area or a route Then when it comes In an e-mail I simply drag and drop the file into the gpx file of my nuvi. I do this by Hook nuvi to computer Go to my computer Devices with Removable devices Choose Garmin E drive Choose Garmin folder Choose GPX folder drop the PQ in and then right click on it and select Extract as the PQ is zipped and this will up zip it. THis will put up to 500 caches and info right into your geocaching icon on your nuvi. Know if you want to put Thousands of caches on a SD card see pilotsnipes Thread http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=193374 Thanks! I never thought about running PQ and uploading the entire thing into my GPS. When I do that, will it still upload everything that I want (descriptions, logs, hints, exc) or will it just enter the POI? Is there any other way to minimize the length of the title other than through GSAK? Thanks
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