longlakeloonies

He He, I bet .... When I say close enough, I mean darn close, so close it's almost touching! Guessed that would be the answer but there might have been a new toy I hadn't heard about. And yes there was, maybe not new but I'd not heard of it. Thank You oakenwood .. I'll go and research the nuvifone. Thank you vicezilla, I agree, as oakenwood said ... GPS with a phone would be more suitable and I've put it on my list. ........... I'll search but does anyone reading this have said phone? Styks- I chose the nuvifone to replace my BB Curve this year when my contract was up with ATT. It has some pluses and minuses, but it does the main job I needed. I live in Northern New England and travel a lot around ME, NH & VT where the cell phone reception can be spotty, especially in the mountains. I used the BB with various gps apps (Google maps, BB maps, Geocache Navigator), but would always get frustrated when I would lose the maps. The thing I love about the nuvifone is that it is a Garmin nuvi with the phone added in - so the maps are always there. All of the other solutions I've seen require constant map download, so if you move off the network you lose the maps. It also has a calendar, 3G web browser, and email - basically all of the things I was using the BB for. So for me it's the perfect fit. The cons are a somewhat clunky touchscreen interface, no ability to download additional apps (Linux OS) and short battery life when you take it out caching (compared to the tens of hours you can get from a set of batteries in an eTrex). Hope this gives you a bit more info. longlakeloonies

OK, maybe I'm lost on the terminology - I've only had the unit for 6 days. I loaded City Navigator NT North America onto my Vista HCx. I then tried to load a number of caches and quickly exceeded the waypoint limit. So then I found information about how to load caches through GSAK and POI Loader and now have all of the caches in Maine that I haven't found (2600+/-) in a custom POI file. I loaded this onto the Vista HCX and can see all of these, but I also see every other POI from the mapping software. Can I pick and choose to see certain types of POIs?

when I turn off the POIs in Mapsource, will it turn them off on the gps? I'm talking about seeing the POIs on the gps in the field.

Thanks for the info, but I don't think this is the answer. I'm trying to get rid of POIs from Mapsource and just see custom POIs. Since they're both POIs I think I have to view them at the same distance. This would work if we were talking about POIs and waypoints.

For all of my geocaching life, I have used a Magellan. I finally saw the light and got a Garmin Vista HCx. I have already figured out (with help in the forums) how to get all of the caches in my state loaded as custom POIs onto the SD card (sweet!!). I can see all of them on the screen as I travel along, so if there's one nearby I can grab it. But I also see every school, Rite Aid, gas station, and everything else that's on the basemap. Is there any way to turn off everything but the Custom POIs?

On a (somewhat) related note, how do I keep from seeing all of those other POIs that come with the maps. I'm a converted Magellan user who is trying to get used to the way things are done in Garmin-speak.

I at least can help with your issue. The button that says "Download to GPS" only works with Garmin units (not Magellan). To get the geocache information onto your Magellan (without becoming a premium member, if you're not ready for that yet - that's the Pocket Query part) do this: Click the button that says "Download gpx file" Save it onto your hard drive Open Geocache Manager (or the newer Vantage Point) Click "open" then browse to where you just saved the gpx file (it will be something like GC12345.gpx) Save that file in Geocache Manager Click the "Send to GPS" button - the one with the satellite picture You should get a message that says "Transfer Completed" When you go back to the gps unit, you should be able to hit "Goto" and "Geocache Points" and then find the file where you saved GC12345, select that file and you're on your way. It's not simple, but it actually transfers quite a bit of info. If you go into the menu and select points of interest and geocache points, you should be able to see the cache name, hider name, difficulty/terrain, date hidden, hint, etc. along with the coordinates. The .loc file only has the coordinates. Hope this helps!

I have an eXplorist 210 that has served me well for 2-1/2 years. Now, all of a sudden when I put geocache files onto it through Geocache Manager I can't see any of the geocache info. I can goto the main file (*.gs) but there are no caches listed below. I have tried navigating to the file through my PC and can see the geocache info in Notepad, but nothing is visible on the unit. Has anyone else had this experience and know a way to correct it?

I have been using: 1. Magellan eXplorist 210 2. Palm Tungsten E2 with Cachemate 3. GSAK 4. Delorme Street Atlas and Topo USA However, now that I've got it loaded I think all I need is the following: 1., 2., 3., 4., Blackberry Curve 8310 w/ Trimble Geocache Navigator I believe this is truly the all-in-one I've been looking for!

Thanks, Thrak, but when I got my new-fangled computer I said "what do I need with a serial port?? I've got 8 USB connections!!!" Oh, well. I'll borrow the USB to serial adapter from work. I'll watch out for the Palm conflict, too!

Thank you all for your input. I will try using a serial to USB adapter and GSAK to download the waypoints and keep my fingers crossed.

I'm trying to help a friend get into geocaching and I'm a Magellan guy, so I don't know how to download waypoints directly into a Garmin eTrex Vista with a serial download cable. She brought over the unit with a 9-pin cable (all I have are USBs) and a manual. Is there some software that Garmin uses like the Magellan Geocache Manager? Or can you just force the waypoints onto the Garmin unit with a direct download from the GC page or GSAK?

Just wanted to put in my two cents... I updated the firmware on my explorist 210 six months or more ago and have had no issues using it. And yes, it does allow you to mark geocaches as "found".

Glad to hear you got an ftf! I still remember my first (and only so far) ftf in a remote location up a steep climb (see here). I think the adventure caches add to the excitement of the ftf. At least it's more memorable to me than a film can in a rest stop.

Thanks for the step-by-step! I'm just getting started on paperless and having this resource is a lifesaver! Otherwise the wife will just say "Let's go back to printing them out and GET ON WITH IT!!!