park2

While I do use the built in personalization feature, I also mod'd the firmware with my contact info to make it more permanent. Anyone can change the built-in screen, but to do the f/w you at least need to have a PC, cable & be a geek. BTW, I did the f/w change the old fashioned way, with a hex editor. (When I was a kid, we didn't have these fancy, schmancy automated editors, we had to do it by hand. With 1's and 0's and sometimes I ran out of 1's) Park2

Nope not possible. eTrex (basic) have no extra memory. Yellow will work just fine with a laptop and a map program running on that though. Park2

A reminder for fellow Garminites that the newest firmware (for the Vista at least) features a new field in the MainMenu/Setup/System page where you can specify the battery chemistry you are using. Choose from Alkaline, NiCad, NiMH, and Lithium. I believe this just properly scales the battery indicator for the discharge voltage profile of whtever type of cell you use. Being the geek I am, I now have to buy a set of each to try this out Park2

Sure, I think you could use MapSourse (Garmin product) and use the measuring tool. As you draw a measuring line, it shows you the bearing (integer only) in the status line. Just draw two lines at the desired bearings and see where they intersect. You may also be able to calculate it from UTM coordinates and some triangle laws. Park2

I noticed someone talking about the 15 second update rate when using some MicroSoft products. You may wish to search back for the threads on how to modify the exe file to give faster update rates. There are DIY methods and a little hack program. I use S&T all the time with my Vista and previously my G12, works great and has great detail. Park2

Ribtor here in Cowgary (www.ribtor.com or 403-262-6994) has Ammo cans (and lotsa other cool stuff like camo cloth for disguising caches heh-heh) Supposedly they have an online store but it seems dead tonight. Park2

Yeah, I heard about that guy. And the DND bought 4 of them didn't they

Hmmm, Cool, I never noticed that before. On mine it gives me the same position in two different formats hddd.ddddd and hddd mm.mmm If I change the display format in Units/Setup, one of them changes. Can anyone find a way to change the second displayed format? Park2

One of the more flexible alternatives is to drive with a laptop (preferably on a proper pedestal mount). You can get a new but basic GPS that still has the same accuracy as a wizzy one and use that to tell PC based programs where you are. In my experience (but I live in Canada), PC based maps are generally bigger, more detailed, easier to update and a wider choice of 'user interface'. Some PC programs let you use existing map data, some you can scan in paper maps and geo-reference them to real coordinates. Look at ExpertGPS (www.expertgps.com OziExplorer and similar programs. They let you create a 'track log' of where you have been, you can e-mail the layers of annotation of the map to others. Have Fun! Park2

If the numbers don't show up in the list, that is because the calculated positions of them are out of your usable range, signal strength/etc.. doesn't affect the numbers appearing. The time of day, your position, all affect how many sats are available. Could be just a bit of coincidence you were GPSing with better coverage and/or they went and came back while you wern't looking at that screen. Survey grade GPS systems usually have a work planner time line they can generate to tell you times of day when you will have less sats/accuracy available. Park2

Have you seen this place? http://www.spycompany.com/audtrans.htm or http://www.gadgets-inc.com/cansnoop_1.htm

Try this: http://www.garmin.com/aviation/products.html#portable The GPS92 for example says: At the heart of the unit is a Jeppesen—database with approach, departure, and FSS and ARTCC frequencies. Airport, VOR, NDB, Intersection, and SUA information has never been handier, not to mention airport-specific runway and comm frequencies. What's more, the GPS 92 earns its wings long before you're airborne with fuel and trip planning capabilities and an E6-B calculator. Build and store 20 flightplans with as many as 30 waypoints each.

Try here: http://www.gpsinformation.org/perry/ or here (if your german is good) http://www.tramsoft.ch/gps/garmin_etrex-vista-firmware-upgrades_en.html Have Fun! Park2

Yep, do it all the time (makes those empty prairie roads go by faster)

Don't forget we're in the negative (western) hemisphere, if you are using the hddd.ddddd format, make sure you show a "-" in front of your longitude.

Wow, what a coincidence, I found a 1/2 stripped Acura on Sunday night. I didn't know the non-emergency phone number so while I was looking it up on the web, I saw their e-mail address. In keeping with the tech theme, I just e-mailed the cops the coords, I figured there wasn't anything they needed me there for.

The base map in my Garmin Vista was OK, with MapSource it is better, every road down to the range & township level. And for the few biggest cities, Van, Toronto, Montreal & Ottawa, it has the MetroGuide including restaurants, ATMs, you name it. It led us to a great Greek restaurant last week when visiting Vancouver. You may also want to look at www.gpscentral.ca, I bought mine there and am quite happy.

Hmm, I'm flying to Montreal on Friday night but I don't think I can get to Banff before then (I'm only in Calgary but tied up). If someone can get it to Calgary, I'll take it.

Great idea, should we do an online poll to decide on the channel or does someone just want to make an executive decision here and now? I nominate 10, its kinda in the middle so people may not bother to switch that far into the channels to get away from the people turning them on for the first time and "geocaching" has 10 letters so it will be easy to remember. Monitoring a priority channel may not be the answer here as if there were other parties out caching they would already be on another channel, plus if it is just "Bob, go to channel xx" we wouldn't know it was a cacher. I'd suggest monitoring whatever you want but try and switch to whatever channel we decide. They're really growing in popularity and I'd guess only very few have 3 channels, none of the new ones are made that way, but it is definately worth considering, how many of us have 3 channels? Park2

Thats a loaded question, kinda like whats the best truck. I have a Garmin eTrex Vista and am tickled pink with it 99% of the time, base map is good, the more detailed maps available for it are handy. The only place it has struggled was in some ugly tall wet trees in BC. The entire eTrex family I think has the same basic hardware engine. If you're talking canopy one of the other antenna types (as opposed to the 'Patch' type in the eTrex) supposedly performs better(can't remember name), some Garmins feature that other type as do some models from other brands. If you want serious reliability in da woods, get one with an extendable or external amplified antenna (Garmin 12XL comes to mind). I always wondered about mounting the antenna at the top of a 10m pole. Have fun, Park2 PS: everybody knows it's a Ford.

quote: I wouldn't recommend wearing the strap on a powered on system... The proper static straps have a current limiting resistor in the lead to prevent shocks. Personally I leave whatever I'm working on pluged in (although not necessarily on) so that the static strap has a path to ground through the 3rd pin of the power cable. (Or if I don't have a strap, I can just rest a hand on the chasis occasionally.) Serial ports are quite tough with respect to static and hot swaps of cables, but I don't have a better suggestion.

Thanks guys, I was on True N, not Grid N. I never noticed there was a Grid N setting before, it is in MapSource and my Vista (not sure about my old G12 though, that was the last one I really examined every menu on) Thx Park2

Garmin Vista: Yes

Typically it is because of poor satellite coverage. Either when leaving the car (and making the waypoint) or when coming back to it or both. Big trees, cliffs, and buildings are the typical causes. Look at the satellite screen to see how many sats you are picking up (with black signal bars, not grey) and that may explain things. Sometimes moving a few yards one way or the other will help. Have fun! Park2

It's just a 'lil processor, it's trying its best. Seriously though, battery life and processing power is a continual trade-off, most chips, the faster they run, the more power they take. That plus the physical footprint of more/bigger/redundant chips are the typical concerns of designers of electronics. My Vista is also kinda slow, probably the same as your Legend. I'm not sure if I'm imagining it, but it seems to run a little faster if I turn off the map segments I'm not using (under Map Setup).