TheOfficeMaven

My GPS is a Dakota 20 and the "001" waypoint is most definitely there.

I believe that the "001" waypoint you are seeing is simply a placeholder waypoint that gets automatically created by the GPSr (Oregon, Dakota, etc.) whenever you pan the map and the little red thumb tack/pin appears. It doesn't appear on the GPSr unit itself (because the GPSr knows that it's just a placeholder), but it does indeed appear in BaseCamp. I delete it all the time from within BaseCamp without any problems whatsoever.

The Dakota 10 is a great unit but it doesn't have an electronic compass. For that, you'd have to move up to the Dakota 20 which adds the electronic compass, barometric altimeter, and a microSD card slot for holding extra maps, etc.

The Explorist GC does not have an electronic compass (it relies upon the GPS signal) and so it will never be accurate when standing still or moving slower that about 3 mph. I really like the idea behind the Explorist GC, but to make a dedicated geocaching unit without an electronic compass built in just seems plain silly to me. I know lots of folks will tell you that they have no problems finding geocaches using GPS units without a built-in compass, but from my experience, it sucks doing so. You just can beat having an accurate compass that works while you're standing still (as it's very hard to walk faster than 3 mph while you're trying to hone in on a geocache in thick ground cover, etc.).

Hi All, I've got a brand new legal copy of US Topo 2008 sitting here that I was planning on selling on eBay for around $50 (after fees). Thus, if enough folks don't mind chipping in to send me the $50, I'd be more than happy to donate it to RWSmith. I paid about $75 for it just last week from Amazon.com. Let me know what you think. The Office Maven BTW, it's eligible for the $30 mail-in-rebate too if someone has a valid serial number from the older 1999 US topo program. The reason I was going to sell it is because I can't find my serial number from my old topo program (in fact I can't find the original discs at all) and so I can't cash in on the $30 rebate.

The unit has now been sold so I'm closing this thread. Thanks again for your interest!

All, Just as an FYI, I'd like to let you in on a problem I'm having with the person that runs the GPSpasSion.com forum. He has now banned my IP address from accessing his forum and has complained to my ISP. Well, it turns out that he got ticked off with me posting links to his pictures on the GC.com forum (i.e. the ones shown above of the Quest sitting on the store demo shelf with him holding his cell phone up next to it). He states that I breached "netiquette" and "common sense" by posting the links to his pictures on GC.com (even though I posted a direct link back to his web site and the forum topic where the pictures came from). Anyway, I just wanted you all to know what kind of a jerk the guy really is (and let you all know what has happened just in case I get banned from GC.com as well for some strange reason). It has been fun helping everyone out, but I guess that folks just don't appreciate my help and so my time is probably better spent doing other things (according to the users of his site, they are in total agreement with him and I'm the bad guy here). Thus, I won't be spending my time sharing information on GPS units anymore as it's just not worth it to me. BTW, here's the conversation that transpired on his web site and I'll let you decide for yourselves (please note that I may have been a bit harsh, but I just couldn't believe how petty this guy was being as my intent was to only help everyone in the two forums by sharing information on the new Quest): 1. My response to one of the user's questions on the GpsPasSion board: 2. GpspasSion's response to my post: 3. My response to GpsPasSion: 4. After that, I was banned from the site and here is his response (I can still get on his site even though he attempted to ban me): Edit: Am I really stealing his work??? Come on now... Didn't I state that the pictures were not mine to begin with and didn't I give credit to his site with a direct link back to it and the forum topic in question. Oy! And you can read the rest of the posts (where his user's support his decision to ban me) within the topic here: Edit: Link removed by author (see my comments below)! WHAT AN ABSOLUTE BABY! OY! If I was wrong in the way I posted his photos and linked back to his site, well I apologize for that, but he didn't have to be such a jerk about it. All he had to do is ask me (politely) to rectify the problem and I would have. Instead, he blatantly insults me by stating that I have no common sense and by telling me that I only linked back to his site as an afterthought. In my opinion, that's not a very professional way of running a public forum (or treating someone who was only trying to help out his users). I'd never treat my customers like that. If I made a mistake, that's one thing, but to act the way he did was totally inexcusable in my eyes. Oh well, I'm over it. I just wanted everyone here to know what happened. Edit: As you can see, GpsPasSion has now requested that the photos be removed from GC.com. Thus, I've also requested that the links be removed as well as I see no reason to give credit to his site when he's too petty to allow the photos to be posted here. Unbelievable!

Also, If I recall correctly, the older non-color Legend will only hold 8 MB of external map data (i.e. MapSource maps loaded onto the GPS), whereas the new Legend C color model will hold up to 24 MB of data. And... I don't believe that the old non-color Legend will do auto-routing either where the new Legend C will. The new Legend C is really a COMPLETELY different beast than the old non-color version. Thus, you should really spend the time looking at what it has to offer. The best place to start is by downloading the Owner's Guide for the Legend C that Garmin has posted on their web site. BTW, I have a brand new Legend C up for sale in the "GPS Garage Sale" section on this forum if you're interested.

DonVito, I also have an eTrex Vista C and I love it too! Doing this will ONLY remove the items from the recent finds list. It WILL NOT delete the items from the unit itself. For example, if you created a waypoint named "HOME" and then routed to it. The "HOME" waypoint would be added to your recent finds list. However, when you remove all of the items from the recent finds list, the "HOME" waypoint is deleted from that list, but the waypoint itself is NOT deleted from the GPSr (i.e. it will still appear in your waypoints list). I hope this helps some and have fun using your Vista C! BTW, do you know anyone who needs a Legend C (it's the exact same unit as the Vista C only it doesn't have the electronic compass or barometer)? If so, I have a brand new one up for sale in the "GPS Garage Sale" section on this forum.

The unit has now been sold so I'm closing this thread. Thanks again for your interest!

Plank, Congrats! You're absolutely going to love it. I still laugh like a kid in a candy store every time I turn mine on and I've already had it for a couple of weeks now.

All, Just for kicks... Here are a couple of photos I found of the Quest in another GPS Forum (i.e. the photos are NOT mine). They show how small (and cool ) the Quest really is: Edit: Links removed per request by TheOfficeMaven. -Hemlock Edit: Images removed per the request of the copyright holder. -Elias

I had the full version of CS NA v5 installed on my computer and I then installed the CS NA v6 update. Once v6 was installed, I went back and uninstalled v5 (from the Windows Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs applet), and v6 still works just fine for me on my machine. i.e. there's no need to keep any prior version of CS NA installed once v6 is installed. In fact, the v6 update is totally self-sufficient (i.e. it doesn't require that any other version be installed in order to function) and this has been proven since you can install it as a stand-alone application by simply performing a Registry tweak. Thus, no prior version is required in order for it to function and so you will be just fine after uninstalling your older versions of CS NA.

Yes, the Quest supports up to 64 custom waypoint symbols. I totally agree!

That's great! Thanks for sharing. I've been looking for a good case for my Quest as well. Yes, I find it just plain silly that Garmin didn't include a way to customize the page order on the Quest like they did on the 60C(S), 76C(S), Legend/Vista C, etc. The Quest includes some really nice button press/hold shortcuts for accessing some of the more common pages, but I find myself forgetting them all the time. I'd much rather just be able to press the Page key on the unit multiple times and step though the pages I want to see (like the satellite page, compass page, route options page, etc.). Like you, I'll be hoping that such a feature is included in a future firmware update.

That's a GREAT idea! Kudos to you for figuring it all out. Yes, I'm sure it will. Also, it may get easier over time as the unit works/breaks in to the mount. Good luck with your quest for a Quest.

Robert, Yes, if you'll recall, I had quite a voice about this very topic in this forum. To this day, I still don't think that the USB support in GPSBable was necessary (at least for GSAK users that is). In my opinion, it's just as easy to do it via the MapSource export. I guess that it was a "must have" feature though since EasyGPS has USB support and so GSAK had to have it too. Yeah, that sucks for sure. Don't get me wrong here as I'm definitely not blaming you (i.e. GPSBable). I'm more than sure that Garmin's firmware is the culprit as it usually is (and not to mention all the problems you've had with their undocumented formats). I only meant that I feel that time would be better spent trying to figure out a hack for the custom waypoint symbols (or riding Garmin's butt about the problem) than trying to implement USB support for the Quest (and the Street Pilots) as it's just not worth it. I suppose there's nothing else that can be done other than getting everyone to submit a formal complaint to Garmin about the problem. It really makes no sense for them to give us the ability to have custom waypoint symbols and then not be able to support them in exports/imports (heck not even their own MapSource program supports them I believe!). Also, even if it gets implemented by Garmin (which I doubt), there's still the whole problem of not being able to assign different custom icons/symbols for different cache types. I talked about this in some of my other posts: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...=0entry994384 http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...=0entry993353 Anyway, sorry if I came off wrong with my original post as that wasn't my intent (i.e. I didn't mean to blame you or GPSBable about the problem).

You are most welcome. I'm just glad that I could help is all. I actually got mine from gpsnow.com. I signed up on their e-mail notification list and just happened to be home when their e-mail came in. The units they had didn't last but a couple of hours and they were all sold out. They offer a great price of $499.95 and only $12 for 2nd day Fed Ex shipping. They filled my order the same day I placed it and I had the unit by the second day as promised. I'm very impressed with their company. Alas, I'm afraid not. The cord is permanently connected to the bracket and so it can't be removed. I agree that doing it that way would be nice. I'm not sure why Garmin choose to permanently fix the cord to the bracket (other than cost). Also, the power cord contains the external speaker for the voice prompts, so if you don't use it, you won't get the voice prompts (and so Garmin probably figured that you'd always use the cord anyway). That can be done, but you'd have to cut the end off of the power cord on the bracket. They are expensive to replace since they contain the bracket, speaker, and the power adapter all in one (i.e. I think they run around $75). Thus, you don't want to mess one up. Actually, it's quite easy to pop the unit into the mount, but popping it back out is not so simple. I keep the bracket mounted in my vehicle all the time and I just pop the unit in and out whenever I park the car. As I mentioned, it's very easy to pop it in, but it a bit of a pain to get it back out. I think that Garmin could have added a lever or something to make it easier to release the unit from the carrier. As it is now, you really have to force up on the unit to get it out of the bracket and it can be hard to do so in the small area around the dashboard (i.e without taking the suction cup mount off of the windshield each time - which I don't like to have to do). I hope this helps some...

Yes, this is true. While it would be a nice bonus to have USB support for the Quest in GPSbable (and hence GSAK), I don't find it at all necessary. The Quest wasn't really made for geocaching, but if you'd still like to use it for that purpose (which is fine), then simply exporting the waypoints (or "My Locations" as they are called on the Quest) from GSAK to MapSource and then using MapSource to load the waypoints into the Quest via USB is supper easy and super fast (plus it gives you the added bonus of being able to get an overview of all of your caches on the bigger maps in MapSource). I really don't see the need to ever add USB support for the Quest into GPSbable given the fact that the Quest is really an auto-routing unit and not a caching/hiking unit. i.e. I don't think the time and effort it would take to do so is worth the outcome when it's super simple to just take the one extra step of using MapSource (which comes free with the unit anyway - as does the USB cable). Edit: Personally, I'd much rather see the time spent on trying to get the cool custom waypoint symbols available in the new colored Garmin units (including the Quest, 60C(S), 76C(S), and Legend/Vista C) to work properly with GPSBable/GSAK. Now that would be worth the effort (and I for one would even be willing to pay for such support). Just my $0.02... Edit: BTW, if you're going to use the Quest for geocaching, then you need to go into its "Routing Setup" screen (under Settings) and change the "Route Preference" setting from its default value of "Faster Time" to "Prompted". This way, when you opt to route to (i.e. go to) a cache, the unit will prompt you for the route method and you can choose "Off Road" (which will give you the compass screen).

Plank, The unit looks pretty durable to me. Not quite as durable as the 60C(S) looks, but it does appear to be just as durable as the 76C(S) and/or the Legend C/Vista C. I've only had mine for a couple of weeks now so I can't say for sure (i.e. I haven't dropped it yet or anything like that). I'm not too worried about it though as it looks great. Also, the unit is water proof/resistant to the same specifications as the other Garmin units (I have no idea if it floats though). Actually, the screen size is great. It's the exact same size as the screen on the 60C(S) and the 76C(S) only it's turned in landscape mode. This is great for viewing text on the screen as there's a lot more screen real-estate available to the text in landscape mode than there is in portrait mode like on the 60/76C(S). I prefer the portrait mode of the 60/76C(S) for hiking & caching, but the landscape mode of the Quest is perfect for auto navigation (although it would have been cool if they would have made it interchangeable like the V is). I really like the size of the screen and I don't have any trouble reading it even from my dashboard while driving. Edit: Also, the Quest has a special coating on the screen that really helps to reduce glare that the 60/76C(S) doesn't have. It's noticable better than my 60CS when sititng on the dashboard on a sunny day. There's a sticker on the screen that must be removed before using the Quest that reads: "This lense is coated with a special anti-reflective coating which is very sensitive to skin oils, waxes and abrasive cleaners. CLEANERS CONTAINING AMMONIA WILL HARM THE ANTI-REFELECTIVE COATING. It is very important to clean the lense using an eyeglass lens cleaner which is specified as safe for anti-reflective coatings and a clean lint free cloth" Personally, I wish the speaker was internal. However, the unit does offer beeps (just like the 60/76C(S) and the Legend/Vista C) when auto-routing without the external speaker attached (although the tones aren't customizable as they are on the other non-voice units). The external speaker is just like the one on the old Street Pilot III units, only it's much smaller/more compact. It's part of the 12/24V power cord that is permanently attached to the unit's suction cup mount. The volume control is a rotating wheel on the side of the speaker itself (as opposed to being on the GPSr unit itself like it is on the SPIII). It offers plenty of volume even while driving with the windows down or with the radio turned up. With the speaker integrated into the power cord and the suction cup mount, the whole thing is quite compact and very easy to move from vehicle to vehicle. Also, as a side note, it's absolutely amazing at how much better auto-routing is when the voice prompting is included. I didn't realize how much I missed it (after I got rid of my SPIII) until I used the Quest. I had been auto-routing with my 60CS and my Vista C, but it really makes a huge difference. It's hard explain, but the small things like knowing which lane you have to be in, exactly where the final destination is, etc. is much easier with the voice prompts. I know it sounds silly, but until you experience both, you won't really know what I'm talking about. It actually comes with the suction cup mount (which works great!) and so there's no need to buy anything else. It even comes with an AC adapter for using the unit indoors (or just for charging - and the unit also charges the battery while it is plugged into the 12/24V suction cup mount as well). Actually, the price is right in-line with Garmin's other units (and probably a bit better) if you consider what you get with it. The unit includes 115 MB of internal memory, the internal rechargeable battery, the suction cup mount (with 12/24V power cord and speaker), the AC adapter, and an unlocked copy of City Select North America v6. Try to buy a 76C with all of that and see what it comes out to. Probably a lot more than the $500 street price you can get the Quest for. Yeah, I did the same thing. However, if you use the second unlock code from your existing CS NA v6 purchase on the Quest, you can then keep the unlock coupon that comes with the Quest and only unlock it once Garmin releases CS NA v7 (in about a year). That way you'll get the upgrade for FREE and that will save you at least $75! That's what I'm going to do. I don't know much about the V other than what I've read about it here, but it sounds like a really nice unit. I never considered it because it wasn't available in color (i.e. I bought a SP III instead). However, I'm more than sure that you'll be 100% delighted with the Quest as long as you go into it knowing that its specialty is auto-routing. I hope this helps some... Edit: BTW, the best way to find out more about the Quest is to read its user's guide. Garmin has it posted up on their web site for free download. You'll actually need to read it a couple of times to get everything out of it. It's really amazing all of the things it can do. Also, you should download the manual for the 60C and/or the 76C as well and compare the features by reading through the guides. That way you'll really get a good idea of what the two units have to offer and how they are different/similar.

Plank, I have a Quest. Is there something specific you want to know about it? Here's the highlights of a blurb I posted in another thread that talks about the Quest and the 60C(S): I think the Quest is an outstanding GPSr for use in auto-routing as that's its specialty. You really can't compare the Quest and a 60C(S) as they are both made for different audiences. While both of them have common/similar features, they each have their own specialties. The Quest has some really cool features for auto-routing that the 60C(S), 76C(S), and Legend/Vista C can't dream of matching (such as voice prompted guidance, advanced route planning, setting detours, creating custom road/area avoidances, etc., etc.). On the other hand the 60C(S), 76C(S), and Legend/Vista C have some really cool features that the Quest can't dream of matching (such as the dedicated geocaching mode, all of the games, availability of an electronic compass and altimeter, etc., etc.). Thus, IMHO, the two units fill very different needs. If you use your GPSr for auto navigation most of the time, then get the Quest. If however you use your GPSr for geocaching, hiking, etc. most of the time, then get the 60C(S), 76C(S), or Legend/Vista C. If you're on the fence between the two, then buy one of each like I did. Edit: While one certainly could use the Quest for geocaching, that's definitely not its strong point as it's not really setup for that. It doesn't have a dedicated geocaching mode, the compass page is hard to access (in its default configuration), and it doesn't really work well with tracks (I don't believe that it even has a way to save tracks). Although, one of the nice things about the Quest is that it allows 30 character length waypoint names and 100 character length waypoint notes/descriptions which is quite an improvement over the 10 character waypoint name length limitation and the 30 character waypoint name/description length limitation in the 60C(S), 76C(S), Legend C, and Vista C.

Neo_Geo, This just reinforces my point all the more... Neither the 60C(S) nor the Legend C/Vista C were designed for long distance auto-routing. If you want to do that, you'd be much better off getting a Quest. And if 32 MB makes that big of a difference to someone, then they would indeed be much better off getting a 76C(S) instead. I live in Southern California, and the 24 MBs available in the Vista C can hold all of the City Select maps and the TOPO maps I need for a long weekend of caching, hiking, etc. Thus, I don't need anything else (and the extra 32 MB in the 60C(S) won't make any real difference for me - sure, it would be nice, but it's not at all necessary). Thus, it makes no sense for me to have one since I prefer the Vista C over the 60CS any way. We can bicker back and forth about this all day long, but my point is simply that someone looking for a good color GPSr for use in geocaching, hiking, lite auto-routing, etc. shouldn't rule out the Legend C/Vista C models. Everyone here seems quick to rule them out simply because they only have 24 MB of memory. I say go take a look at the two and decide for yourself which one is better for you. Enough said...

Garmin Guy, Exactly! And the same exact thing can go for the Legend C/Vista C as well. And that's my whole point... i.e. The units are near identical in every manner so it just boils down to personal preference is all. I prefer the Legend C/Vista C over the 60C(S) due to its much smaller size and the ease of use of the click stick. I'm not saying that it's any better than the 60C(S), but only that I prefer it more. Since the two units are so similar, I don't see how anyone else can argue differently (i.e. you may prefer the 60C(S) over the Legend C/Vista C, and that's fine, but that doesn't make it any better). Personally, I'd prefer to save the extra $80 - $100 on the price of the unit and put it towards the price of the City Select maps for auto-routing instead. If someone feels that the difference in memory between the two units (i.e. 56 MB vs. 24 MB) is that big of a deal, then they'd be much better off getting the 76C(S) instead (which has something like 115 MB). Again though, even the 76C(S) is functionally equivalent to the Legend C/Vista C just like the 60C(S) is. So, it all boils down to personal preference and the small differences in memory (and some would also argue about the antenna, but I can't tell any difference between them at all so that's a mute point as far as I'm concerned). Again, just my $0.02...

Yes, there is a bit easier way. While you are in the map manager, hit the menu button and a popup menu will appear allowing you to hide or show whole maps (i.e. Show/Hide City Select North America, Show/Hide Topo United States, etc.) instead of having to hide all of the sub-maps one at a time form the map manager. I hope this helps some...

Neo_Geo, Yes, but on a long trip, you're just as stuck with the 60C(S) as you are with the Legend C/Vista C (i.e. 56 MB of maps vs. 24 MB of maps isn't going to make that big of a difference in our long trip example). Thus, it all still goes back to what the units were designed for, and in my eyes, they were only designed for auto-routing around small areas (such as around your home town) and so the 24 MB vs 56 MB of memory isn't that big of a deal. Just my $0.02...