insig

That's a better idea than what I suggested.

You can use Sight 'n Go -- project a waypoint 160 m in a specified direction.

Looks like there were fixes in 4.20 and 4.30 software. If you're not using that software already, try upgrading to it. http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=5553

Anything with an electronic compas (64s, 64st) should behave similar. The reasoning is that calculating a vector from GPS signals is much more accurate when moving because it's not affected by any magnetic interference (such as walking by a metal shed).

Can you share part of a track log and tell me when it is happening? It's possible that your reception is bad enough to make the device think you're moving fast enough to use a calculated vector base on GPS signals rather than the electronic compass. Software version 3.10 included "Improved 3-axis compass performance" as a line item. This is probably a stupid question, but I have to ask it -- what software version are you on? (Setup -> About). Try holding the device backwards (with the top of the screen pointed towards you and the bottom of the screen pointed away from you. Navigate to a point -- any old waypoint will do. Start walking at a brisk pace -- notice the compass is telling you the wrong way because you're holding the device backwards. That means it's using GPS signals to compute the direction you're moving and assumes you are holding the unit the right way (but in this case you are not). Keep holding it backwards and slowly start slowing down and the compass will eventually flip on you -- now it's using the electronic compass and the Earth's magnetic field. Try speeding up again and it will flip back to GPS compass. It's possible that if you have a bad enough GPS signal reception that your position is moving around enough to flip the compass into GPS mode at some random vector. That's my guess anyways. If you post a track log (record by time at 1 second intervals) we can see how fast it thinks you were moving at the time it gets crazy.

Yes. All it does it turn off the screen. The device is still running.

Pull off all the GPX files to a folder on your computer. Delete them from your Oregon. Unplug and start up your Oregon. After it boots up, connect it and transfer back everything.

While I don't use track portions or NMEA 0183, it's still nice to see an update come out. For instance, look at something like the GPSMAP 62. It was introduced in late 2010, and is still getting updates just shy of 5 years later. By that logic, the Oregon 600 should still be getting updates well into 2018.

shows 30 vs 30x. I don't see a 64 vs. etrex one. But I know the 62 camera and 64 are faster than the 62 (I've had them all side by side before). The 62 is faster than the etrex fron what I remember. It's been awhile since I've compared them all, but I'm positive the 64 is faster than the 62.

So you have used a 30x? Or are you comparing to a 30? Look at them yourself. Other people's opinions are of no use... The 30X does have higher resolution, but a smaller screen. The only other real differences are battery life and button layout. https://buy.garmin.com/en-CA/CA/catalog/product/compareResult.ep?compareProduct=140022&compareProduct=518048 I've seen the youtube videos and it doesn't look appreciably faster than the 20 'classic' model (with which I am initmately familiar). If you have inofrmation to the contrary, then I might have to let my buddy know it is time for an upgrade.

GPSMAP 64 -- I find it has more oomph under the hood, and you don't have to use a clicky stick. As much as I loved my old etrex, once you go buttons or touchscreen, you never want to go back to clicky stick land (in my opinion). If physical size is a factor, then the etrex wins. You could also wait to see how the etrex touch series pans out.

Blue! That's a refreshing color. These look like mini Oregon 600s.

GGZ is basically a ZIP compressed archive that has some metadata to help load it faster when it first indexes the caches on boot.If you throw 10,000 caches in a GPX file, it will take a lot longer on the first boot than if you throw 10,000 caches in a GGZ file. Garmin BaseCamp (last time I checked) won't read GGZ files, so that might be a reason to use GPX on the fiance's Oregon.

Hold OUT, MENU, and QUIT then press the power button to turn it on. You can release the power button now. Keep holding the other buttons though! After the Garmin logo appears, count to 10 and then release the buttons you were holding. The screen should flash white for a split second and the device will reboot. That is a forced master reset. If that fails, you can force it into mass storage mode by starting with it off, holding down the up arrow, and plugging it into the computer. Keep holding the up arrow for 30 seconds (maybe a little longer), and it will go to mass storage mode and skip the normal boot up process.

For Oregon 600/650 and GPSMAP 64, you can use GGZ for a faster initial boot time. Older devices like the Montana 600/650 do not support that file format.

For seeing them on the map, Setup -> Map -> Zoom Levels -> Geocaches and crank it up to whatever value you want.

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=329692&st=0&p=5471926

From the GPSMAP 64 manual: www.garmin.com/geocache redirects to http://www.garmin.com/en-US/geocaching where it says: Clicking the "Get Started" button beneath that links to http://www.geocaching.com/guide/default.aspx Sounds like product support was reading off a script that needs updating.

It wouldn't be the first time "My Trails" has caused something wonky to happen in a Garmin unit -- GPS Tracklog's review of the eTrex 20 encountered an issue in the map list that was caused by that map. It was fixe din the October 30, 2011 update to the map (as listed here).

The 64 does support an external antenna. I'm in the same state of mind as you -- I don't see a lot of need for an external antenna, but it's supported if you want it.

You can switch the device into demo mode (setup -> system), search for a city and navigate to it -- it will ask if you want to simulate navigating it or to move to the location. Pick move to the location (make sure you're in direct routing mode (setup -> routing).

Digital Globe is going to be the satellite imagery. The unit comes preloaded with a sample image of the Eiffel Tower. USGS quads is the Birdseye TOPO demo image which is the USGS paper maps converted for use on the handheld. There should be a demo image of the Grand Canyon on it. There should be preloaded waypoints for both of those locations as well. If you go to Main Menu -> Waypoint Manager -> BirdsEye Demo -> Map, you should see it.

I use Sanyo Eneloops that I purchased at Costco several years ago. The pack also came with some AAAs that I use in my TV's remote control. I have not had to buy AAs or AAAs since I bought those. I usually have a spare set of batteries either in the car or in my pocket in case the current pair gets all used up. Lately, I've been using the Oregon 650 or the GPSMAP 64 both of which have a removable NiMH battery pack that I can charge via plugging the unit into the cigarette lighter adapter in my car between caches -- I still always have a spare pair of Eneloops on me though.

Not true, I've loaded about 70,000 caches on my Oregon 650 using solely GPX. A buddy of mine had pretty large chunk of Arizona on hand for his upcoming trip, and we got curious. It took a long time to boot up, but it imported them all as verified by some random spot checking for certain caches. Now that there's a separate zoom level on the map for geocaches, it's fun to set it to some ridiculous value like 500 mi and zoom out and see all the icons. EDIT: We made sure not to exceed the 2000 GPX file limit on the device. In fact, GSAK spit out all the caches in one giant GPX file.

In your hiking profile, Setup -> Map -> Advanced Map Setup -> Zoom Levels -> Geocaches -> Off.