tykesplace

Aperture is very important. Larger aperture allows more light. My Sony DSC-V3 has a max aperture of 2.8. Lower the number, higher the aperture. For more info about aperture check Wikipedia. I never use digital zoom, and I usually only use optical zoom outside in good light. I generally zoom the photo by cropping it on the computer later. My priority list for digital cameras is 1. Aperture 2. Time between shots (recovery time) 3. Storage availability and price (Compact Flash-common, Sony Memory Stick-proprietary) 4. Battery life. 5. Megapixels. (Depends on how large you want to print or how much you plan to crop.) 6. Optical zoom. If you only plan on printing 4x6 or 5x8 then 3 or 4 megapixels (mp) is probably fine. But if you want larger prints or need to crop them and still have the quality, higher mp may be in order. For example. Taking a full size image on my camera is 7.2 mp effective. If I crop it by half later then effective photo size is 3.6 mp. If you are using OS X, for Mac camera support take a look at Apple's supported cameras. I am a Mac Consultant and I have yet to have a client with a digital camera that Apple's iPhoto or Image Capture couldn't import from. iPhoto gives you basic editing functions like crop, red-eye fix, rotate, b/w or sepia conversion, touch up, color balance, etc. It also helps catalog your photos to keep them organized. Something else to keep in mind is how large your computer's hard drive is. I have 4000 photos in my library and its about 8gb in size. Although hard drive space is cheap. Remember that with digital, you're not burning film so snap away and delete the bad ones later. I would guess that where I took 24 shots per roll before going digital, in that same time I take at least 100 now. Probably more. Good luck!

I'm on a Macintosh. I suppose I need a PC or Virtual PC to use MapSource? How else could a Mac user get maps onto a Garmin? I can't find any info. Thanks for the help.

I have an eTrex Vista. Recently the location pointer has become misaligned on the map. Accuracy shows 20' usually. I have replaced the batteries and calibrated the compass. A few months ago I set a waypoint for home, now when I stand at the same location where I set that point the map shows my far from it. At least 50' based on the zoom level. When I drive on a main highway that is on the map the pointer show me being that from from from the roadway. This is consistent. As the map tracks my movement, the distance the pointer is off from the road stays the same. Generally the location pointer is to the southeast of the correct location on the map. I guage this by sitting at a highway intersection. Lock on road preference doesn't have an effect. So any instructions for calibrating or aligning the GPS location to the map? I have searched the forums, my manual and Garmin's FAQs but can't find anything. Thanks for any help you can give. Darrel

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I must be missing something but I don't get placing a magnet cache on a train car. Don't they move around occasionally? How can you track it?

Broken legend received. Thanks!

Ditto. Worked for me. Just use a stiff enough foam to give some pressure to the contacts.

eddthejailer's not new at this: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...opic=112461&hl= For those of you needing swag ideas I have neat ones to sell. Similar in size to a geocoin this swag shows your pride in your state. I'll sell them individually for $1 each or a package of 40 for $40, postage Paid! I currently have access to all of the states except for those listed below, which I will get over the next three years. If you would like one of those I will of course will take pre-orders! I would like to show a picture of this swag, but trust me its worth the wait and the small expense. I can take PayPal payments at giveme@yourmoney.com Nevada Nebraska Colorado North Dakota South Dakota Montana Washington Idaho Wyoming Utah Oklahoma New Mexico Arizona Alaska Hawaii

I have the same situation as you. (Etrex Vista). If you are using OS X then you need to have a USB adapter with OS X drivers. I tried Belkin, which has none for X but does for OS 9 (although I don't think there is any OS 9 software similar to SimpleGPS). Also tried my high speed PalmConnect USB adapter which didn't work either. I ended up getting a Keyspan adapter, p/n USA-19HS. Easy install and works great! Also using Mac SimpleGPS. It does upload .loc files to the Vista as well as download waypoints that you set with the gps. It is simple but works well. I think I paid $30 for the Keyspan adapter plus shipping. Good luck!

I have an eTrex vista. The zoom in button stopped working. I took the thing apart and found out that the rubber button presses on a little plastic button in the case. The plastic button broke. Inserting a small wire into the spot where the button was I was able to press the internal button so the connection is still working. I just can't use it. So does anyone have, or know someone that has, an eTrex for parts? Any condition. Even smashed by a truck. All I need is the button or the board its connected to. I think any eTrex unit would have the same button. I've searched A LOT and can't find any parts suppliers or anyone listing one as dead. Garmin's after warranty repair is not an option. Too much $$$. I can't find any way zoom in on the map without that button. If anyone has an idea how to do that, I could get by. I set the zoom to 2 miles before I put it back together. But not having close up on the map is tough. PM me if you like or post reply here. Thanks for your help! Darrel

Normally I keep my Vista in a neoprene case and clipped onto the backpack. But recently I had it out of the case so I could power it from the cig adapter in the car. I took it out for a find and didn't bother to put it into the case again. So I'm walking along on the trail and I slip. Not major but enough that my arm (the one holding the gps) goes flying up to catch a tree limb for balance. The gps goes flying down the hillside, the rocky hillside, kind of slow motion like you see in the movies. Well no injury to me but it took a bit to get to the newly flight tested gps. It had bounced around on some rocks. When I got to it the screen was off. Some marks on the rubber surface mostly rubbed off. A chip in the plastic by the lower corner of the screen was the only real damage. I thought for sure it was dead. I hit the power button and on it goes just as if nothing happened! If you had seen the flight and fall it took you would be as impressed as I am. While I wouldn't recommend purposeful testing of this sort, it is reassuring to know that this unit is so tough. That said the case and lanyard will always be in place in the future. I'll post pictures of it later if anyone is interested is seeing the damage. Happy hunting everyone! Darrel

I haven't had any luck getting a WAAS signal. I think my location in Western Montana just east of the Continental Divide has something to do with it. I looked around and found this on garmin.com. "For some users in the U.S., the position of the satellites over the equator makes it difficult to receive the signals when trees or mountains obstruct the view of the horizon. WAAS signal reception is ideal for open land and marine applications." Being northern with mountains to our south, catching a sat over the equator might not be too easy.

Thanks for the advice. I'm not sure what WAAS is but I remember seeing it in the manual and settings. I assume I have turn something on to get a WASS so I'll do that and see what I get. Also for the battery tip. I've already calibrated the compass but didn't know I should do it at every battery change.

I've read of some people with <5ft accuracy on their GPSrs. My Vista doesn't seem to go below 16ft or so. Wide open space or not. I've even set it down and walked away for a few minutes to let it get better bearings. Any other Vista owners with better accuracy that mine?