boveer

Yes, the version I bought at the Chicago Garmin store was v8. I'll contact Garmin to see if I can get a deal on the v2008 when it comes out. By the way, last week I bought Topo v2008, which I'm having a terrible time downloading to my SD cards. The whole US won't fit on a 2gb card (to many maps), and even trying to divide the country into quarters usually results in a couple of hours of desktop grinding, ending with a message that there's a communication error with the GPS. Do you know if there's an NT version of Topo which might be compact enough to fit on one card? Or isn't that what "compact" refers to? Thanks for the info.

Did you put in your unlock code? I had to go through a whole telephone routine to get my unlock code for my Mapsource City Navigator NT--I'd thrown out the packaging when I bought it on vacation in Chicago on June 3, only to discover that the unlock code (supposedly) was hidden in the cardboard fold inside the blisterpak. I faxed them my receipt for the software and they emailed me an unlock code, and all went well--I was able to put the whole disk on a 1-gig mini-SD card. Whether the whole unlock routine actually had anything to do with this success, I can't say for sure. I have a Vista which supposedly needed an unlock code, which I never found and never needed; I could load my 3-year-old Mapsource City Select to the Vista without a problem.

This is interesting. I visited the Garmin store in Chicago on June 3rd looking for USA streetmap software for my new GPSMAP76CSx. They sold me the City Navigator NT disk for $129.00, claiming that the NT version was a new more compact one. Now you’re saying there’s a new version coming out? Or do I misunderstand?

I've used the Ray-O-Vac 15-minute chargers with Ray-O-Vac 15-min NiMH batteries for two years; I'm a free-lance photographer and my wife is a full-time newspaper reporter/photographer; we both use them in cameras (except my Canon Rebel, which won't let me) and strobes, and I use them in assorted audio gear, recording devices, preamps, etc. We recharge at least two sets of four every day. Never had a failure yet, though I wish I'd kept track of the number of charges (how?) so I'll know which ones are marginal when one fails. We have six sets of four altogether, and three chargers, one for each car and one for the house. The charger has a fan in it to cool the batteries. I see Eveready has a similar unit now, but I've not tried it. I don't have any connection to any battery company--just a happy user. It's great to be dead certain that you have fully-charged batteries. Dave Bovee, Saline, MI dbovee@sigmaplastronics.com

I have both an eTrex Legend (for years) and Vista (recently), both in B/W (not color). I looked at the color units and thought the display smeary--the B/W display seems more precise. Both the B/W Legend & Vista are cheap nowadays, but the Vista holds 24mb vs. 8mb for the Legend. 24MB will hold all or most of a state. I've been using 15-min rechargable AA batteries in all my cameras and gizmos for two years now, and they've never failed me. The rechargers come with a car cord--I have one at home and one in the car. Both the Legend and Vista can be set for alkaline, NiMH, Nicad, or Lithium power. The 15-min rechargables are NiMH, and last all day. I hate gizmos (like my Palm T3) with built-in rechargables, requiring a propriatory recharger to keep track of. I'm new to geocaching, but have had no difficulty finding the dozen or so caches with my Vista, not to mention hundereds of other hiking waypoints in years past. The only Magellan I've used is one I got nearly five years ago, and it just didn't work well--maybe a lemon.

I'm new to this, too. I have an eTrex Legend, and I just go to the "mark" section, name the cache, and enter the coordinates using the mini-joystick. I don't link to my computer at all. Works fine. I'm not saying there are no advantages to computer linkage, I just don't know what they are.