Spectra20

Accidentally deleted the basemap that comes with the Garmin Oregon 300. Is there a way to get it back? Maybe a full reload or something? I have lots of maps available but for some reason I like to have that one loaded as well. Anyone know where to find one or care to share theirs?

I researched for weeks before buying my GPS and bought the Oregon 300. I like it and have no complaints. Its accurate and easy to use. Some people say the screen is dim in the bright light. I don't have the same opinion, its a color screen in the sun... I also have a handlebar mount for my MT Bike and it does everything I need of it on and off the trail. Have a look down in the GPS and Technology section for some links to the Wiki pages for the devices you are considering. There is a ton of information there that the manufactures sites don't have or make hard to find. Aside from my Palm Pre, this is my first GPS device so my opinion only is from my limited experience.

To echo some of the others, I like that it gives me a destination. I can go hiking and see the same things over and over in my area but when caching you tend to go outside of your normal zone and explore other areas you'd otherwise never see. For instance, I was caching near a local lake a couple weeks ago. Driven by and around it hundreds of times, I've lived within 15 minutes of it for most of my life. In one day I saw a trail I never knew existed and some remains of what was once a bridge just off the main road. Coolest thing I've seen in a while around here. Living in Southern California the good days out number the bad by far. You get complacent with the great weather cause there is always tomorrow. This hobby has me out in the sun and fresh air a lot more often since I started. The family enjoys going and so do some of my neighbors. I haven't found anything not to like about it.

He was just about 3 feet long and sunning himself on the trail. When I moved in closer for the picture he started heading towards the bushes. Ironically, the cache I was after mentioned the lack of wildlife considering the posted warnings.

Saw this guy on the trail on Saturday.

EasyGPS and GSAK will read directly from the .zip files. I have an Oregon 300 so my methods may be off a bit but I think the usage of the two software's mentioned are fairly straight forward. Using GSAK you can open multiple PQs directly from .zip format and they will all load into a single database. Then you can send to your gps and it will store as one .gpx file. When using EasyGPS you can still open multiple .zip files but each opens individually. You can then write to your GPS and each PQ will have its own .gpx file. Same results but different.

I do have a pq on the office location and tried what you mentioned. It is a good work around. Thank you. I just enjoy the ease of use of the search page.

I bring my mtn bike to work with me and do both types of caches. I try to get out at least 2-3 times a week like this and it makes for great exercise. Nothing says hurry up like spending that extra 5 minutes on the last cache only to find yourself running late back to the office. Talk about incentive to push yourself and get in a workout.

I cache at lunch a lot but have to commute an hour to get here. When searching for caches I get by with using a postal code search for my office but have to scroll the map to my actual location. I know I can use the address or lat lon but the postal code is faster than typing in the address every time. I think an additional table in the DB to hold a favorites category would be a very nice to have feature. It would only need to link to the user record. The table would have an ID, User_ID_Link, Favorite Name, Favorite Coords, Favorite Address, etc.. When the search page is loaded, it would query the user id of the person logged in and use it to populate an array based on the results from the favorites table and display the array in a drop down list. If user is not logged in the query would be skipped and the favorites search option would not be displayed. When the logged in user selects the name from the drop down and hits submit the address, zip, or lat lon of the favorites table will be used in the existing queries. It could be lat lon first, if none then address, if none then zip and so on. Also, it would be cool if selecting search with Google maps on the seek page it would default to your home coords instead of, for me, Seatle WA. Just typing out loud here after a good cup of coffee.

Start by going to Setup - Resets - Reset Trip Data, Delete Way Points, Clear Current Track and finally, Restore to Factory Defaults After that, plug it into a PC using the USB cable and browse to the Garmin drive. Locate the Garmin\GPX folder. Delete all the GPX files and the contents of the Current folder as well. While you're there, from the root directory, open the startup.txt file and add some owner information. IF you lose your GPSr this could come in handy.

Lots of good info here. One more thing to remember is to eject the usb device from windows before disconnecting the usb cable.

Is he really finding and, more importantly to some, signing the logs? If you go out as a team, make sure you use some method to identify who all was all there. It could be a misunderstanding but it could mean his finds are not verifiable.

Supplemental is a better word for it. Thank you briansnat for the links. I've downloaded the forms and printed a couple of each just in case.

Starting my adventures during the rainy season I've come across many wet logs. I'd like to have a dry log available to insert into a cache in the event one is unusable. Falling apart/moldy etc.. Not just damp. First, if I don't remove the existing log, is this acceptable? Second, are there pre-formatted log sheets I can download and print or do I just get the cache note and make my own? Thanks

I know this is an old post but its as good a place as any for this information. RAM Mount is making a Oregon bike mount and it comes with a cradle. RAP-274-GA31U is the part number. I am going to order one here shortly since I can't seem to find one locally.

Times 2

I found a climbing backpack that I really like. Its small and light so it doesn't get hot when hiking a long way but is big enough to hold everything I need for a day of caching. Its made by Piranha but I can't find them online anywhere. I work by the factory and stop in when they have the "get it out of the warehouse" sales.

Costco has a rechargeable set for 20 bucks. Comes with 4 AA and 4 AAA batteries and a charger for 4 of them at a time. I have the Oregon 300 and the NiMH batteries last 3 times as long or longer than standard batteries. I cant tell you if its a smart charger but for 20 bucks, I have no issue with replacing the whole set every year or so.

All good workarounds. Thanks for the ideas.

Can the search requirements be lowered to 3 or more? I've often tried to search the forums without luck because of the minimum 5 character limit. As a new Groundspeak forum member I feel the need to search every topic before posting. Especially if I have a question. I know, my post count is almost 0 but there is a reason for that. I try to 'find' my answer first. I am not new to forums, I'm an admin on two other forums. However, they are vBulletin sites, maybe its easy for a vB site to search for 2 or 3 char minimum and not so for ipb. It sure would make things easier. Just limit the results to a couple hundred if its a load issue. Anyway, thanks for listening. I have my fingers crossed. Spectra20

For unknown reasons, we started calling ourselves The Hole In The Wall Gang. It fits us so it works. TMalaby and I are members where the other 2 to 4 others are friends and family that really enjoy outings with us. We needed something for those days we cache together and not have a recreation of the Declaration of Independence on the logs.