Mitragorz

Pretty simple question, lol. What's the difference between the two formats? I use gsak's garmin macro to upload the caches. I always used GPX when uploading to the Colorado. I just started using a Montana, and was wondering if I should start using GGZ, and why? Thanks!

Thanks for the insight, guys. Walt, how did you like the size of the Montana vs the Oregon? I think the MT would be but a little bulky for me as a dedicated caching unit.

Thanks for that link. I had actually read that thread early on in my research. On my unit, the metal "sleeve" slides in and out a bit. I don't recall it doing that in the past. I guess it'd be worth prying the connectors a bit to try to make a better contact, before I start taking the thing apart. When you say bend the USB port, that's what you're talking about, right? The little piece in the middle of the silver sleeve? I have taken the wheel apart before, and I found that the rubber seal (or whatever it is) had bound up a bit. I fixed that and gave it a good cleaning, and it helped. Still a little stiff, but definitely functional!

Red... I'd be looking at the basic 600. I've read some how-to's on repairing the plug, but see they require soldering. I can weld with no problem, but I'm terrible with an iron and solder. On4bam... I've never had a problem with the wheel, but I've read about it. The only issue I have with mine is that'l its a little stiff when turning it. Not as smooth as it used to be.

I've been using the Garmin Colorado since I started caching in 2010. I'm actually on my second unit. The first one had the common "loosening" of the USB plug, after a couple of years, so I picked up another. I'm probably 3 years or so into the newer one, and it's just starting to show the same problem. The problem is, I LOVE the Colorado. My finacee has had an Oregon since Christmas (a gift from yours-truly), but from the little experience I have with it, I wasn't really that into it. Maybe it's just from five years of using the same device. I can pick up a used Colorado on eBay from $100 or less. But being that the model hasn't been made for a while, the units are more likely to have the same USB issue, sooner rather than later. A refurb Oregon 600 (don't need the camera or maps) would run $270. Who's gone from the Colorado to the Oregon, and how did you like it? How was it getting used to the new interface? I know the best way for me to know if I'd like it or not would be to actually use my fiancee's device but, to be honest, we cache in spurts, and it could be weeks before we hit the trails again.

Thanks for those! I guess it would make sense to start another bookmark list I should add that anything within a two-hour drive is fair game.

My girlfriend and I are heading to Vegas sometime in late April-Early May, and I'm just trying to get some input on some great caches in the area. We're not so much into the power trails, but we'll likely grab a handful of the ET caches and maybe walk Alien Head/UFO, but we're more interested in hiking to cool spots. Places with abandoned buildings, abandoned equipment, etc... Things that are a little farther off the beaten path. We'll be there for about a week. We'll probably rent bikes for a day or two and do some pedaling. I also plan on crossing into CA at some point to grab GC24264 and check out some of the buried rail cars nearby. That spot has been on my list for a long time! If the old lady feels like making the drive, we may check out GCD2A4. But she's the boss! Any recommendations of Vegas caches that are worth checking out? EDIT: Didn't there used to be a cache at the site of the 1956 TWA/United mid-air collision? I thought I remember one being there and adding it to one of my bookmark lists, but I could be wrong. I did see that it was added to the Nat. Reg. ot Hist. Places last year, and that hiking there is restricted. Was there a cache there that has been archived? I see a few virtuals in the area. It's a little far out of the way to check out this time around, but I was wondering if I'm losing my memory at the ripe old age of 29.

Gas mileage isn't great, but she gets me wherever I need to go!

Can you give me a little more info on that Delorme setup? Actually, I'm only using the Colorado to test this stuff out. I'm looking for a Nuvi or something similar when it comes down to it. And driving these routes beforehand is totally out of the question... There are 11 districts with as many as 10 zones each. I'd have to literally drive down every single street in queens. Making up the routes from my couch is much easier, and a lot cheaper

But if I'm making a waypoint at each intersection, I shouldn't be missing any turns, right? As long as they can navigate to each point in order, I should be good to go. It just seems like this should be a much easier task than it's winding up to be. It seems silly that I can't just create my own route, download it to a GPS, and have it navigate said route.

Doh... That definitely helped. I don't know if it's going to do what I want, though, bc when I start the route, it's skipping the first leg, which is supposed to be down that road in the middle. Maybe it's trying to find the most "efficient", or shortest, or quickest route instead of the order in which I want to proceed to the points? Actually, as I'm typing this, I thought I'd scroll through the options. I changed the "Routing Guidance Method" from "On Road For Time" to "Off Road." Now that middle road there is highlighted, so maybe it's all good now. I'll give it a try in the morning. Thanks for the help, you guys have saved me a lot of hair loss so far

I gotcha. The Montana is the bigger of the two, so that'd what I'd be interested in. If I can upload a custom route, mount the thing to my windshield, and have it walk me through my snowplow route, I'll be happy. I'm amazed that this isn't something that easier to do. Or maybe that's just because I haven't gotten it yet. EDIT: Just stumbled upon this one the Garmin website: Maybe there's hope for the Nuvi afterall.

So I made a small route in Basecamp around my neighborhood. In Basecamp, it looks all good: I uploaded it to my Colorado, and it only shows point-to-point, it's not following the roads, and it doesn't necessarily follow the points in the order I created I created them. I have the North American City Navigator map loaded onto my Colorado when I try this. I thought that's what gave the Colorado the ability to give directions, but maybe I misunderstood. Like I said before, the I'm only using the Colorado to test all this stuff out... I'd like to get an actual in-can nav GPS to do the actual work while I drive.

An overlay would be a start, but unless I was able to get turn-by-turn directions, it may be more confusing than anything else. We drive and re-drive streets over the course of a route, cross streets we already plowed... It'd be tough to tell where to turn and when. Basecamp won't read S&T's GPX files... Apparently they're not as "clean" as they should be. Lots of missing info and invalid sections that Basecamp needs. Thanks for that! When I tried to create a new route in Basecamp, it told me that I couldn't with the current map, and I didn't feel like spending $$$ on another map. This helps a lot. I downloaded a small map, and it looked promising. I'm downloading a local map so I can create a small test route to help me get the hang of it, before I start messing around with the massively-complicated plow routes. If I make a GPX route in Basecamp, I'll be able to upload it to a Nuvi? And get turn-by-turn directions to the points in the order that I create them? That's the most important thing. Thanks again.

Hey guys. I know this isn't a geocaching topic, but this is the only place I could think of where GPS know-it-alls would congregate I own a snow removal company. This year, we've got a contract with the NYC Dept. of Sanitation to plow the streets of Queens. We've got several district, each with several routes. Here is an example of what I'm dealing with: It's a lot of work to drive, plow, read the directions (and understand them), and read the map, all while driving with a blizzard. The easiest thing for me to do is create a custom GPX route for each route (S&T seems to be the easiest way for me to do that) then upload them all to a normal, handheld nav GPS, like a Garmin or Magellan you can pick up at Best Buy. I can create the routes with no problem, but I can't seem to get either of my GPS units to accept the GPX file that S&T spits out. My old Magellan Maestro 4370, I just don't think has the capability to accept custom routes. However, I know for a fact the my Garmin Colorado CAN read custom GPX routes, because I've downloaded hiking trails to that unit in the past. But for some reason, it doesn't like the GPX file that S&T puts out. A little more research, and it seems that S&T gets a little "sloppy" when writing a GPX file. Anyway, my question is, do you have any recommendations on a GPS unit that can accept the S&T GPX file and navigate the route? The simplest way to do this would be to simply buy a GPS antenna for my laptop and use S&T to navigate, but my laptop would take up a lot of real estate in an already-cramped cab.

The trouble with bringing home a girl that's had too much to drink.

Only private pilots? What about us Commercial/ATPs? Commericial - ASEL, ASES, AMES ATP - AMEL Being a pilot is good for the caching map. The company I fly for gives us rental cars during overnights, so that helps with caching quite a bit. W7WT, are you still in So Ill? I lived in Carbondale for a while, flew for Cape Air out of MWA from 2009-2011.

This happened to me the other day. Not sure why it wouldn't recognize the plugin... But I downloaded it again and tried it right away but still no dice. It worked fine after waiting a few minutes and trying again.

Yup, that helps. Don't know how I missed that. Thanks!

If you us the site to search for caches near you, you can simply sort the list by terrain or difficulty by clicking the D or T.

This used to be a function, right? For the life of me, I can't find this option anywhere. The only way I can see to log a find from the app is to actually "log" it. I used to be able to log a find, type a single letter in the "Message" section (since it requires you to write a message before submitting, and I don't feel like tapping away on the phone), then have it show up on my PC later on as a field note. Then I can write an actual message. Now, if I log a find on the app, the log gets submitted and published to the page as "F" or whatever single letter I type. I've been typing "Will write full log later" but is there a way to submit the find as a field note so that I can submit the log with a nice note the first time? I must just be missing something... EDIT: I should also add that, with the finds I made today, I chose the "Save For Later" option, so the logs are labeled at "Pending." I still don't see a Field Note option.

I have yet to release a TB. I've got a few geocoins but they're too nice to release! I've got a few dogtags, I just need to find something I wouldn't mind losing. Not sure how many TB's that I've logged have gone missing, but now I'm curious.

I'm in an almost-kinda-sorta similar situation. Minus the bf/gf situation. I was just in FL for work. Whenever I go someplace new, I check tb-rescue.com to see if there are any TBs around that may need to be rescued from a cache. There was one near where I was staying so I made a trip to the cache, even though it had been archived (the link to the archived cache was on the tb-rescue website.) I found the cache without any problem at all. No TBs inside, though, and since the cache had been archived (the owner moved away and apparently left his caches) I removed the container. I cleaned it up in the hotel room and took it back to NY with me. I logged my find that told the situation, and told the CO to email me if he wants his container back. If I don't hear from him in a few weeks, I've got a great reason to go hide a cache!

Funny you bring that up! I DNF'd a cache the other day because I only found the what the cache was supposed to attached too. It seems like it was a bison tube attached to a rubber snake that was hidden in a tree. Well, I found the rubber snake but no actual cache. Someone logged a "find" the next day: But you're right, the vast majority wouldn't log that as a find. I didn't log a find because I didn't find a cache... I found a rubber snake in a tree. Everyone plays by their own rules, and I don't let it bother me. I'm not too proud to log DNFs If I forget my pen, I'll use anything else I can find to sign the log, including sticks that I press into the dirt! Makes me feel all rustic

I'd just follow the signs: