Cache Liberation Front

Thanks for the very helpful responses, all. I've been careful not to trust the battery meter on the Garmin (even though I've been carefully adjusting the Alkaline/NiMH setting) and just been letting the batteries go until they can't go any more, heh. I'll look into the Power Saver mode, which I haven't toyed with. I use a Lacrosse charger for my Eneloops, but it sounds like I should maybe step up to some 2700s. Hmmm. Any suggestions on that front? And thanks for the wiki link, I'll definitely check it out, as well. Thanks again, CLF.

Hi all, I love my Oregon 450, but I've only been using it a month or so, and I'm finding the battery life is REALLY poor, using both Eneloops rechargeables and alkalines. I didn't get the change to actually record the data, but I know my fully charged Eneloops didn't last a full day's caching (I think they lasted about 8 hrs), and the fresh alkalines I used (right out of the box) lasted maybe 5-6 hrs on my hike the other night! I don't have the backlight up that high, and I was only using it while hiking, consulting my route to make sure I was on the trail now and again, with the Map screen on by default (maybe the compass screen would use less energy?). Any tips what I might be doing wrong, and any tweaks I can make to improve the general battery life? Thanks!

Bingo, that's it! Thanks a ton, I appreciate the help.

Check the map detail levels on your Oregon (go to setup,->map). They might not appear at zoom level your looking at. Thanks! Hmm, I'm zoomed all the way in, have detail set to MOST, and I still can't see the trails on the GPS that I see in MapSource. Peculiar. Surely I'm missing a small easy step here.

Hi all, I transferred over the correct region of the free California Topo map to my Oregon 450 using MapSource. I look at the area now on my GPS, and I see the isobars just as I see them in MapSource, but I don't see the trails. Hmm. Any tips what I may be doing wrong? Thanks!

Though I haven't been using a Maha (I use a Lacrosse, I believe they're comparable), I have so far found the Sanyo Eneloops to work great in my Oregon 450. YMMV.

I have the Lexard on my Oregon 450 right now, and am very happy with it. I forget it's even there.

I'd also like to suggest the Oregon 450. I've only had mine for a couple months now, and I've been holding it up to high standards having upgraded from the classic 60CSx. And so far, so good.

I always knew a vocal and sadly large percentage of geocachers were good ole' boy rednecks...but moronic, knuckle-dragging Teabaggers, too? Ugh, this thread scares me and again forces me to question my association with a hobby so populated with a-rate nutjobs.

I have a love/hate relationship with Garmin. I LOVE their hardware (the 60CSx and the Oregon 450 are incredible devices), but I HATE their software (Mapsource and Basecamp are heaping piles of crappy code).

There's a new update to Basecamp, now, which appears to handle some of the loading/memory problems that occur with a few Birdseye maps downloaded. Nice.

The OP should seriously consider the Oregon 450.

Birdseye does not work with MapSource, only Basecamp. Has anyone been tracking any Garmin dev action and perhaps have any updates on the status of Birdseye/Basecamp? I sure would like to hear from the horse's mouth that they're working on this horrible (yet potentially wonderful) software.

I just want to say thanks to TPTB for upping the PQ limit to 1k. I just tested it, it works great, and I'm a very happy panda. Thumbs up.

I have a Kindle 2, have had it since it first launched. It's an outstanding ebook reader, but the internet is SOOOO slow using it's Whispernet, I think it's rather misleading trying to sell it as a geocaching tool. Even the wap site, with the Kindle's UI and slow connection speed, is just not worth the hassle.

I see. So it's ok to use the Bible to make fun of pagans? Let's see, from that same collection of ancient myths: "When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go free as male slaves do." --Exodus 21:7, condoning the selling of one's daughter into slavery, grooovy. "Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, [shall be] of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids."--Leviticus 25:44, condoning the possession of slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. "Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death."--Exodus 35:2. Guess I'll just pop into Target on a Sunday and smite all the employees. "[On the other hand], all creatures in seas and rivers that do not have fins and scales, whether they are small aquatic animals or other aquatic creatures, must be avoided by you."--Leviticus 11:10. Hmmm, guess that those eating shrimp at the Red Lobster should also be smote! "Do not cut off the hair on the sides of your head. Do not shave off the edges of your beard."--Leviticus 19:27. dadgum! I just shaved. Guess I have to smite myself. "The hare shall be unclean to you although it brings up its cud, since it does not have a true hoof. The pig shall be unclean to you although it has a true hoof which is cloven, since it does not chew its cud. Do not eat the flesh of any of these animals. [At this time] do not touch their carcasses, since they are unclean to you."--Leviticus 11:6-8. dadgum, guess all the NFL quarterbacks need smiting! Yeah, that's some word of God, alright. Let's put our blind belief, aka faith, in Him! Does the poster of that anti-pagan bias believe in Bael, or An, or Horus, or Osiris, or Zeus, or Krishna, or Amaterasu, or Izanami, or Enlil, or Inanna, or Set, or Athena....? I guess that just makes ME strange for just tossing one more God (Yahweh) onto the list or supernatural nonsense. *rolls eyes*

MAC is indeed great software, but it's also VERY limiting compared to Birdseye. Please follow the thread at: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...=247375&hl= for MAC's limitation (re: sq miles and tiles).

"With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil—that takes religion. " -- Steven Weinberg Religion doesn't get a pass simply because it's religion. It's up for discussion just like everything else. Why is it so untouchable re: geocaching, and why are so many people shying away from what is a valid geocaching topic? I bet dollars to doughnuts that if those protesting the removal of religious swag came across invitations to the local mosque or invitations for a free e-meter audit they'd remove that material in a heartbeat.

A lot of folks will offer fine advise in much more detail, but I'm really enjoying my Garmin Oregon 450. It holds a ton of caches, POIs, and maps, the screen is big and surprisingly not hard to see in the field, the UI is easy peasy, and the price is right. Just my two copper.

Hmm, I had the same problem on my Oregon 450 yesterday, but only with some caches, not others. I'm trying to isolate just what, maybe, is on the offending cache page to freeze the unit. So far I'm looking at animated gifs as possible culprits.

Do the Scouts still actively discriminate against homosexuals and agnostics and atheists? I'd think Groundspeak wouldn't want to be associated with such bigotry, but perhaps that's just me....

It gets more much more coverage here. Really, why does it bother you? You don't have to reply to every thread, you know. Oh snap! It bothers ME because double-standards aren't ok, and operating your business on them (Groundspeak?) is poor practice. OT is OT, simple enough. Or should I create a thread on "How you DIDN'T serve (aka which country did you run to avoid the Bush years)" just to even the balance. Something tells me that thread would be nuked in a heartbeat, since clearly balance is not a priority here, again, as this OLD OT thread keeps testifying to. As you say in the oh-so trite and abused colloquialism: Oh snap!

I don't know about the OP, but I have an Oregon 450 and have the same problem. I just can't find the option in my Setup to display all cache names.

Thanks! I'm adding those to my list right now.

Hi all, For special caching trips beyond the average day trip, say in lands unknown on vacation, I find myself occasionally desiring internet access in the field. I don't have any fancy cell phone (I use a pay as you go throw away), and I don't want a $50/mo data plan subscription on [insert cell phone network here]. I'm curious if there are any other options for special internet access beyond wifi connectivity at Starbucks (I spend a lot of time rural caching)? I know the 3G iPad coming out (soon?) allows for a month-by-month/pay-as-you-need 3g data plan, which sounds nice, but I'm not sure my only occasional use of such a data plan is worth the iPad cost (and my giving money to the evil Apple). Can anyone else suggest perhaps some other pay-as-you-go internet access plans, perhaps utilizing a laptop/notebook or even a cell phone? I don't mind the up front cost of a cell phone, but I want to avoid any subscription fees on account of my rare use of the data plan. Thanks!