Captain Spalding

I've tried Virtual PC on a G4/500 Dual Processor machine. It's a foul piece of work. I've never gotten a "virtual machine" to talk to any USB peripherals (i.e. Garmin iQue 3600, various Palm devices, etc.) I was never successful getting maps into my iQue via Virtual PC. I could get Mapsource to run, at least, but it was so slow and unreliable that sometimes my machine froze, and other times it ran so slowly that I thought it had frozen. I couldn't get the virtual machine to see my PDA on the USB bus in spite of dogged efforts. I couldn't even get it to recognize a generic card reader. Ultimately I abandoned Garmin because they didn't play nice with Macs. Now I have an Intel Mac. I find that XP runs well under Parallels. Garmin now plays nice with Macs, and I've just bought a Colorado and a Nuvi. I used Garmin's Windows-based MapConverter program to convert my old maps to Mac-based maps. On the Mac side, I've played with MapInstall, POI Loader, and Bobcat, and though still a little clumsy, they do what they're supposed to. I know this doesn't help someone with a G5. . . .

You seem pretty level headed, so I'll risk speaking my mind. I recently got a Garmin Colorado 400t. It's a great unit. It does not, however, work correctly right out of the box. My unit has experienced battery charge monitoring issues, as well as issues with the unit shutting off when certain geocaches are referenced. There's a very comprehensive list of issues with the CO here. Am I ready to sue? No. Garmin is working feverishly to resolve these issues. There have been three new firmware releases just since the middle of January, and little by little the issues get addressed. It's been a while since I had a Magellan GPSr, but Magellan has as good a reputation as Garmin, as I recall. I bet they're working on resolving all the issues just as hard as Garmin. I hear lots of whining along the lines of "I didn't pay all this money just to be a beta tester!" If these products were beta tested to the level of your expectations, it would drive up the price so high you might not be able to afford it. It's the same with lots of things - computer operating systems come to mind. Every version of Windows has been released with tens of thousands of bugs, fixed later in updates. Lest I start a Mac vs. PC flame war, I'll also point out that the Mac OS has had two maintenance releases since its last big "feature" release last October. I have a couple of high-end cameras that have both received firmware updates. Even my car has gotten a software update. Like it or not, it is the way of things. And it is the industry standard, which is what will make the difference in a legal dispute. So where does that leave us? Well, for those of us who just have to live on the bleeding edge of technology, we have the opportunity to help with the maturation of a great piece of gear. It will take patience and some suffering, but that's the price we pay for being able to say we're the first one on the block with that shiny new gadget. Personally I like to be in at the ground floor. I get some small satisfaction thinking that I have helped to shape the final product. Others among us, who have the expectation that things should work right out of the box, had better stifle that first-guy-on-the-block urge and wait until a few software revision cycles have elapsed and the multi-page "Why-this-new-gadget-sucks" forum posts migrate way down in the topic list. That will prevent a lot of the aggravation and negativity that has been expressed recently. All this, IMHO, of course....

So, if you know that an "experienced traveler should know not to rely on it [their GPS] completely" then why did you? And how do manufacturers sell GPSr's with the claim that they can be relied upon completely? I've owned 5 GPSr's. Before each purchase I thoroughly reacquainted myself with the market. In all that research, I never once read "Still hanging on to those old-fashioned paper maps? Buy our GPS and use those old maps for kindling!" Look, it's okay to have buyer's remorse. But you can let your rant get just so far out onto a limb before you start to look bad. It's a known industry standard that GPSr's are beta tested by the early adopters, and that issues are subsequently resolved with a string of firmware updates. If you don't want to be a part of that process, then wait until the bugs are all worked out before you buy. But bandying about terms like "class action" about a piece of equipment that has only been out for a couple of months is going to get you nowhere. Happy caching. (Oh, and don't be bashful about logging those caches. Logging is not all about the stats. It helps those who are hunting but not finding to know that the guy who was here yesterday found it or didn't. It helps the custodian of the cache to know that the log book is missing, or that the cache is constantly wet, or in disrepair. It's just common courtesy to log your finds. And one more thing, it buys you just a little credibility on a Geocaching Forum if you actually geocache. You indicate that you geocache by logging.)

You can find m500/505/515s for $30 if you look. Cachemate is a tinkertoy compared to GeoNiche. Were we talking about caching on the cheap, or the most streamlined caching experience?

I cached for several years using a Palm m515, a Magellan GPS Companion, and a Palm program called GeoNiche. Not only can you do paperless geocaching, you can do it all on your Palm. The GPS companion is a GPS built into a cradle that the m515 PDA snaps into. GeoNiche is a Palm application just for geocaching. It can be configured and customized to an amazing degree. It comes with a java-based program called EasyNiche that lets you convert and then load .loc or .gpx files into your Palm. It's a very elegant solution. Palm m515 with GPS Companion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GeoNiche screen shot

+1 on the Novus polish. It comes in multiple grits. I usually find I need to start with the coarsest one. You can find kits on Amazon for $15 or so.

I cached for several years using a Palm m515, a Magellan GPS Companion, and a Palm program called GeoNiche. Not only can you do paperless geocaching, you can do it all on your Palm. The GPS companion is a GPS built into a cradle that the m515 PDA snaps into. GeoNiche is a Palm application just for geocaching. It can be configured and customized to an amazing degree. It comes with a java-based program called EasyNiche that lets you convert and then load .loc or .gpx files into your Palm. It's a very elegant solution. Palm m515 with GPS Companion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GeoNiche screen shot

I bought the 400t recently. Shortly afterward I bought a Nuvi 770. I have heard there's no way to use the 400t's Topo maps on the Nuvi. I drive offroad, so it would be nice to be able to install the topo maps on the Nuvi. If I buy them for that purpose, I will have paid for the same maps twice. If I had bought the 300 and the DVD, I could just load the topo maps onto both units. Unless you know your needs will be limited to a single GPS, I would opt for the maps and the GPS separately.

I've had two caches that forced a reset on my Colorado. GCID: GCQM0Y (Deervale Cache) Failure description: Selecting cash from list caused a power-on freeze. Removed battery to fix. Was able to repeat the failure. GPX file source: Unmodified Pocket Query Colorado Model/Software: 400t/2.6 Host: Intel Mac GPX file location: Internal GCID: GCVGR7 (Ninja Scroll: Dakuan) Failure description: Trying to view cache description caused a shutdown. Repeatable. GPX file source: Unmodified Pocket Query Colorado Model/Software: 400t/2.6 Host: Intel Mac GPX file location: Internal

I recently upgraded from a IIIx to a Palm TE. I use CacheMate with it as it has a native OSX converter for converting GPX to cachemate readable files. Very nice having all teh info with you at all times. Could you please elaborate on the process for converting gpx to Cachemate readable files? I'm stumped. Thanks, A fellow Mac user.

Hello Greg, Let me add mine to the many voices who would pay for your program. I formerly used GeoNiche on my m515, but it doesn't work with the iQue. I am looking forward to seeing your project come to fruition. Starving artist or robber baron, it makes no difference to me. If I just had a program that allowed me to enter a waypoint and then gave me a pointer, bearing, and distance to the waypoint from my position I would be euphoric. All the rest of the features you are planning are gravy. Thanks, and keep up the good work. Captain Spalding

I use a Palm M515 with a Magellan GPS Companion and GeoNiche (and other) software. When I have to scramble over rough terrain I put the PDA/GPS in a belt holster. I've never dropped it and it's never fallen out of the holster. I have an iQue on order and have no worries about the durability of it. The care it takes not to drop my PDA off a cliff or into a lake does not diminish my caching experience.