[MTB]_Intrepid

No, you don't. My eTrex Vista has a compass but truthfully I never use it. First you have to calibrate it by s-l-o-w-l-y turning in circles (which is quite funny for anyone watching you), then there's the fact that it substantially reduces battery life. And, as long as you are moving, the GPSr will show your heading anyway. I carry my Brunton or Silva with me and they have excellent battery life, never need calibration, and operate even when I'm stopped.

Wow, great tip...it worked on my Vista. Must be an update in the firmware. I had used MeMap but this is much better and way simpler. Thanks Papa Bill.

Cobra's have had generally poor reviews here in the forums. Have a look at some of these comments before plunking down your cash.

You can create an image using a 1:250000 map or orthoimage. The detail won't be as good, but it's better than nothing. The steps are exactly the same, just choose the other scale. Thanks for the positive comments.

Uh, sorry, there is no way to do this. The GPSr manufacturers' topo maps are the only ones you can use (for my eTrex Vista I use MapSource Topo Canada). The maps are vector graphics, not bitmaps like the ones you can create.

Not entirely true. Check out Toporama for some pretty good topo maps of Canada at 1 in 50,000. The Orthoimage satellite maps are pretty neat too. Right on, Hard Oiler, Toporama rocks! The Landsat orthoimages are usually more up-to-date on new roads than any published topo maps. [insert Shameless Website Plug Here] I put together a tutorial showing the steps needed to make free 3d images using Toporama maps and orthoimages...you can see it here. The freeserver that hosts the site is down quite often, just keep trying and the link will work sometime during the run of the day.

Like to see bald eagles? Check this out and this. Kings county in Nova Scotia has over 500 eagles overwintering in the area. 90% of the poultry farms for the province are located here and the farmers give the eagles all the carrion they can eat. Here's a good article on the event.

Keep trying, you'll get it sorted out. It took me weeks to find all this out on my own. As with all things computer, patience and persistence are the keys....hmm, like cache hunting too!

Well, trains used to have cabooses' on the end. Then some brilliant accountant figured out money could be saved (and people put out of work) by placing an automated unit there instead and the Rear End Device was born. It wasn't long before those who actually work the train and are ultimately responsible for it's safety came up with FRED (guess what the F stand for?)...hopefully this will enlighten you.

Hmmm, FRED as in railroad talk? If you don't know what I mean, I apologize, it might just be Canuck slang.

Sorry, me again. I am disappointed by the host where I have put up the site...it seems that it's down about 20% of the time. If you can't reach the site, please try again later. Their server seems to lock up several times a day. Thanks.

I always have something to put in the cache. It doesn't have to be anything of great value; we all have things around the house we no longer use or obtained for free. Obsolete electronics or film cameras, a radio that came free from the bank or a magazine subscription, a silly toy - they all add to the fun of finding a cache for the next person to come along. It's like a treasure hunt at a flea market. TNLNSL makes the game seem like filling out a tax return...just so much effort to complete a form. But for some the numbers are all that matters, and that's ok too.

Using Firefox for the last 3 months, won't go back to IE unless absolutely necessary (MS sites). Tabbed browsing rocks! Got fed up with IE not deleting cookies and temp files on exit even though I burrowed through menu after menu to find the settings...they just don't work. Also, I don't like index.dat and it's record of every place visited, etc. BTW, if you want to kill index.dat, create a new user account with administrator rights, log in, and search for index.dat (it's hidden in several places). You'll be able to finally delete this pesky file.

Here's a look at a solar-powered beacon I put on my "Hardrocker" cache. It cost about $5 to make from an on-sale walkway light. After removing the diffuser, exposing the LED, and filling the innards with silicone (to make it waterproof) I fabbed up an aluminum bracket to attach it. It's visible for miles once darkness falls. I'm sure a few muggles have seen it from the lake below and would like to thrash it, but it requires some physical exertion to reach so it's quite safe. Lightning is another story...

Mach 3? Isn't that a disposable razor? Talk about a close shave! Sorry, I'll stop now...

I've used a backpack and a fanny pack. The backpack is best for open terrain or good trails but it really is a pain if you have to bushwhack. It fetches up in low hanging evergreen limbs when you duck under them, and will fill your neck with snow this time of year. The fanny pack is great for heavy brush but you can't carry as much (of course) and it can give you a sore back on a long hike. I usually spend a few minutes deciding which to use depending on the terrain. Vests are too bulky and you can't just drop them off like a pack. That's my 2 ¢ worth.

Are the buttons usable while wearing gloves? The click-stick on the eTrex is frustrating at best when your fingers are frozen. Have you tried it in cold weather? How does the screen react to cold? Does it really map-draw faster than older units? Thanks.

Wow, great cache...practically muggle-proof (heh heh). Really demands some effort. Nice job.

PLEASE do not post on this topic if YOU DON'T OWN A 76 or 60. I know how to search and I can find spec's on the Garmin website...I want to find out the little bugs that every unit has, as experienced by people who USE them. Thank you. Several posts have the sort of stuff I'm looking for. So far it seems the potatoe shaped 60 is a bit short of what I need...leaning toward the 76. I hope I don't get flamed too bad for this...

I'm going to replace my eTrex Vista in the new year with either a 76CS or a 60CS. I'd like to hear from people that own both to find out what the good/bad features are of each unit. The eTrex works great, but the buttons are too small and hard to press, it redraws w-a-y t-o-o s-l-o-w, and I get the occasional bounce-shut-off battery terminal problem. I also want to use an external antenna. I use MapSource Topo as well. Thanks all!

I used MeMap on my eTrex Vista. It works great! I put in my name and email. Thanks Larry H.

"Don't panic, on the belt line of the automatic pilot there's a tube, now that is the manual inflation nozzle. Take it out and blow on it."

I have a pair of Atlas 825's and they work quite well. They're probably too small for a larger person (I'm 155 lbs.) but the Atlas website does a good job telling you what shoe you need. The bindings are easy to use, even when your fingers are frozen, and the shoes are small enough to manoeuver through brush. The built-in ice spikes (crampons) are great for crusty snow. Winter cache seeking is a big challenge...invest in a good folding shovel.

Good info. The SRTM data varies from 3 arc sec's to 1 (90 meters to 30 meters); Geobase gets as good as 0.75 arc sec's so it's usually better to use, if available for your area of interest. We Canucks can be proud that we are among the best in the world in GIS (geographic information systems).

Thanks PDOP's, I overlooked that since MY province is covered! Oops...