Cache Liberation Front

Excellent, thanks for the help!

Does the 550 have the same screen as the 450?

Check your batteries' little connector plates. As I recall, this was semi-common with some Garmins, and just require a shutdown, a little bending out of the connector plates to make a tighter fit, a restart, et voila.

Thanks for the replies, comrades. I never even considered the Dakota line, just "ASSuming" it was inferior to the Oregon line. I'll go to Garmin and do a comparison now, thanks.

Especially with all the other gross spelling errors in that post, and the fact that the OP is "writing an article". I hope he's got a very good, very patient editor. I've no clue who the OP is, and I don't much care, but shouldn't we first consider that maybe a) he/she's a kid, and/or he/she may not be a native-English speaker? Again, I don't much care, and perhaps I'm wrong and he/she is just, well, unintelligent. However, before the facts are all in, perhaps criticizing such posters is a bit, well, self-serving? My two cents. Back to the point, I'll second the notion that "iPhones are great gadgets, but their GPSr precision isn't a bragging point."

I recall reading somewhere on Garmin's site that such custom maps can only contain 100 images. Is that PER .kmz file, or that per SD card? It wasn't quite clear on the site. If there is indeed a 100 image limitation, I guess that would make Birdseye necessary, no?

Hi all, I'm all good to go in purchasing a Garmin 550, upgrading from my 60CSx, but it seems there are quite a few who claim the screen is near unreadable in direct sunlight. I never had a problem reading my 60CSx while out hiking, and I'm wondering if in the 550 I'd actually be downgrading. Thanks for your thoughts, J.

Wow. I just took a look at this software, and though I don't have a "next gen" Garmin (I'm using a 60Csx), I would think Garmin OR and CO users would love this! I'm still toying with it, but that 6-step intro sure is helpful in learning the software. Thanks! [edit: I end up with a kmz file after all's said and done, but I'm not sure how this file type would work on an Oregon or Colorado (again, I just have a 60CSx). Can .kmz files be used like .img files on the newer models?]

When the year comes to an end, do you get to keep the maps you've downloaded, or do they expire if your sub does? Thanks.

Thanks for the responses, specifically the picture examples. It seems the camera is plenty fine enough for cache work, IMHO.

If I might jump in on the OP's thread and state that I, too, am in the market for a similar purchase. I'm torn between the 450 and 550. I guess the camera is the deciding factor, no? Any 550 users care to comment on the camera? Is it helpful? Does it take good pics? Do you think it's worth the approx. $80 in difference between the two models? Thanks.

Great link, thanks for sharing it! James.

Wow. Awesome responses, thanks comrades! Indeed we love Earth (and Virtual) Caches, and in my early plotting for the trip I've been trying to focus on many of them. We're going to spend an entire day just in and around Denali grabbing all the Earth caches (and others) we can. We have a full day of caching in Anchorage, and a full one in Fairbanks, but I think the most fun caches would more likely be on the road in between. So I've been trying to plot more of those, not just the drive-ups, but some of the short hikes as well (based out of our stops in Talkeetna and Healy). Thanks a ton for the suggestions. Time to whip out GSAK and MapPoint and highlight those. Cheers, James.

Hi all, My father and I are taking a caching trip to Alaska in mid-August. We'll be spending 8 days caching from Anchorage to Fairbanks and back, and I just wanted to check in and pick the brains of locals, perhaps, for "not to miss caches." I'd hate to drive or hike by a great cache simply because I was unprepared. Thanks for the tips, James. PS: I've heard legendary stories about the mosquitoes in Alaska. Erm, how bad can I expect them to be in mid-August?

/tagging interesting thread (I sure would like to see the compass on Groundspeak's app work with this.)

Tagging a great thread for later, never mind me.

I don't have an answer for you, sorry, but I am curious how you like the 265 model. I've been very close to buying one, but I haven't seen many cachers here talking about it. They talk about every OTHER Nuvi model, but not so much the 265, and I wasn't quite sure why.

DING DING DING, we have a winnah! This was what I was going to ask: "When can we expect Garmin to take the hardware of the 60CSx and blend it with the software/UI of the Oregon series?" Right now, there really is no upgrade from the 60CSx. It's the hands-down best "hardware" in Garmin's lines (the Sirf III accuracy, basically, is second to none). Upgrading simply to get paperless capabilities, or for a purty UI/touchscreen/camera just isn't appealing to the cacher who relies on accuracy. I guess a second, tangentially related question would be: "What Einstein chose to put a Cartesio in the Oregon units?"

Thanks for the review! But aren't these statements a tad contradictory: "It is still too early for me to make a recommendation on the Dakota but Garmin has put together many of the right ingredients to make the Dakota a great unit...." and "I have two complaints about the Dakota: display readability and GPS receiver performance." Aren't these two complaints KEY, KEY features for most geocachers (at least back-woods cachers)? I want the Dakota to be "great," too, but I'm sure not going to buy one till both its display readability and GPS receiver performance improve.

It's never wise to castigate those from whom you're seeking help. Especially when that help comes free. Castigation? You heard castigation? I don't think so. I've been around here for a while, and have helped a few others out for free, so please think twice before posting comments like that. It was neither helpful, nor appropriate. I'll paraphrase what a great man once wrote: "Methinks the lady doth protest too much."

I use it for almost every caching trip. It's good, but completely unnecessary. Necessity was never up for discussion. If you want to be reductionist, hell, only a GPS is necessary to cache. But GSAK is not just useful, it's dadgum fun. And fun's why I cache. Note sure about others, I suppose. [edit: Wow, how long now have the Groundspeak boards been auto-editing text? Ugh, censorship bites. Please note I never actually used the word "dadgum," but d-a-m-youknowthelast letter.]

Honestly, I'm a bit flabbergasted here. GSAK is THE single greatest bit of software for the geocacher. I imagine the only people who don't like it are the ones who haven't taken the time (a few mins) to learn who to use it. I have no vested interest in selling it, it's just a great bit of code which I use for every caching venture.

It's never wise to castigate those from whom you're seeking help. Especially when that help comes free.

I'm not sure this is what you're asking for, but if you click on Waypoints, then Menu, there should be a "Delete All" button.

Since you're in a hurry, it may not be helpful right now, but GSAK is arguably the best piece of geocaching software out there. It reads your GPX files, too. But it's a very detailed database program which allows you to do most anything you want with your cache data, including sending it to your GPS. I highly recommend you check it out when you get a chance at gsak.net