Team Periwinkle

There are many sites with free maps available for download. I'm only familliar with free maps for Garmin units - I just have never owned a non-Garmin unit, so I've never tried to figure out maps for those. http:///www.gpsfiledepot.com has a lot of free maps, along with good instructions on how to use them. Here is a post I made about free KMZ maps from the Garmin website: ______________ Goofing around on forums reading about custom maps, and I reverse engineered a link and was surprised to see this folder allows listing of contents: http://www.garmindev...rminCustomMaps/ You can download all of the KMZ files that Garmin has created directly from that link. I checked out a couple and they are pretty nice. It is much easier to go directly to that link / folder than drill through all the forum postings in the forum below to find the same maps... https://forums.garmi...splay.php?f=206 Perhaps this isn't the biggest hack in the world, and perhaps it has been discussed before, but perhaps someone will find it handy... ___________________ Here is a great way to get a very good, very detailed, free street / trail map of the entire United States, again repeating another post I made somewhere else: ___________________________ I was looking at an area with a lot of trails but no PDF/JPG or any kind of trail map that I could find anywhere to use to make a KMZ (custom map). The trails I wanted are on http://openstreetmap.org, so I started poking around to see if there was a way to get those onto my GPSr. The solution was amazing: 1) go to http://www.osmmaps.com/ 2) download the IMG / zip file - took 3 hours, so I let it run overnight 3) Unzip the IMG file - for me, the US file was / is 3.5 GB (yes, gigabytes) 4) rename the IMG file (since my Garmin GPS supports multiple IMG files) 5) copy the IMG file to the "\garmin" folder on the SD card in my GPS 6) "Enable" the OSM map on the GPS 7) At this point, I couldn't see the trails on my GPSr that I could see on the openstreetmap.org website. I figured I was out of luck...but... So this step may only apply to my GPS (GPSMAP 62/78 series), but perhaps there are similar steps for other Garmin GPSr: go to SETUP MAP, ADVANCED MAP SETUP, DETAIL, select MOST, and bingo! I now have the entire US version of openstreetmap.org on my GPSr, including all the trails you can see on that website. Absolutely amazing. Caveats: I have read that the OSM map is a snapshot from ~2006 census data files, and there are some known inaccuracies in the data, especially in the Western US. OSM seems to be fine for me here in the NE, but buyer beware. This IMG file is not transparent, so I can't see any other IMG files at the same time. I received directions on how to make it transparent, but I haven't yet. This IMG file has no topo contours (and since it isn't transparent, I can't see the contours from my other IMG file, even with both of them enabled). This IMG file is not a routable map. ________________________________ The only way that I found to test out maps was to download them and try them out on the GPSr. For me, here in New England, I eventually decided to pay the $$ for the Garmin 24K Topo Series, and I'm happy with my decision. And I tried a LOT of free maps before that, most of them from gpsfiledepot. Regards Dave

And then we'll post 4000+ threads in these forums debating the merits of, the plans for, and the rumors surrounding caches number 7, 8, and 9 in the series. The original creator will sometimes drop hints that they will get created, and the debate and discussion will go on endlessly, but those caches will never get created.

I just read about this one. I don't know much about scuba caches, but it has some interesting ideas (although I doubt you'll be able to use the concept of walking out on the ice to verify your coordinates...) http://coord.info/GC2H5GD Dave

Your link gets me this: Also, your signature line could be more descriptive. jbensman's "My Trails" is a custom trail map, but his is a vector trail map. Fixed (below is a good link, also fixed in my original post above), and I added "KMZ" to my signature...thanks http://snipurl.com/2414d6i

There is a free demo available so you can judge for yourself http://snipurl.com/2414d6i Dave

My 78sc holds 5000 caches. By playing around with pocket queries and using the instructions under the Tips and Tricks section at the link below, I was able to setup 5 pocket queries (each with a different date range) of 1000 caches each that give me all 5000 (or close to it) active caches within 30 miles of my house. And then, using the same theory, I was able to setup five pocket queries of 1000 each that give me all 5000 (or close to it) active caches within 42 miles of the location of the hotel where we will be vacationing later this summer. Really not hard to do. http://www.markwell.us/pq.htm I doubt any manufacturer of GPSr is going to put the expense of WiFi and cell service into a GPSr. Quite a lot of R&D to get that going, and you're entering a market dominated by cell phone / smartphone industry - and then how do you setup service plans? They would have to partner (read: spend big bucks) with a cell phone service provider, and the end user would have to enroll in a data plan, and probably an expensive one. Not a big enough market to justify it. So, yes, technically it can be done, but I'm not holding my breath. Dave

Your Montana supports up to 500 KMZ "tiles" (not files - a file can have more than one tile...) so KMZ maps might be the best route for you if you are looking for trail maps of specific areas. See this tutorial: http://www.garmin.com/us/products/onthetrail/custommaps#fragment-2 Here is a post I made about free KMZ maps: ______________ Goofing around on forums reading about custom maps, and I reverse engineered a link and was surprised to see this folder allows listing of contents: http://www.garmindeveloper.com/apps/GarminCustomMaps/ You can download all of the KMZ files that Garmin has created directly from that link. I checked out a couple and they are pretty nice. It is much easier to go directly to that link / folder than drill through all the forum postings in the forum below to find the same maps... https://forums.garmin.com/forumdisplay.php?f=206 Perhaps this isn't the biggest hack in the world, and perhaps it has been discussed before, but perhaps someone will find it handy... ___________________ Here is a great way to get a very good, very detailed, free street / trail map of the entire United States, again repeating another post I made somewhere else: ___________________________ I was looking at an area with a lot of trails but no PDF/JPG or any kind of trail map that I could find anywhere to use to make a KMZ (custom map). The trails I wanted are on http://openstreetmap.org, so I started poking around to see if there was a way to get those onto my GPSr. The solution was amazing: 1) go to http://www.osmmaps.com/ 2) download the IMG / zip file - took 3 hours, so I let it run overnight 3) Unzip the IMG file - for me, the US file was / is 3.5 GB (yes, gigabytes) 4) rename the IMG file (since my Garmin GPS supports multiple IMG files) 5) copy the IMG file to the "\garmin" folder on the SD card in my GPS 6) "Enable" the OSM map on the GPS 7) At this point, I couldn't see the trails on my GPSr that I could see on the openstreetmap.org website. I figured I was out of luck...but... So this step may only apply to my GPS (GPSMAP 62/78 series), but perhaps there are similar steps for other Garmin GPSr: go to SETUP MAP, ADVANCED MAP SETUP, DETAIL, select MOST, and bingo! I now have the entire US version of openstreetmap.org on my GPSr, including all the trails you can see on that website. Absolutely amazing. Caveats: I have read that the OSM map is a snapshot from ~2006 census data files, and there are some known inaccuracies in the data, especially in the Western US. OSM seems to be fine for me here in the NE, but buyer beware. This IMG file is not transparent, so I can't see any other IMG files at the same time. I received directions on how to make it transparent, but I haven't yet. This IMG file has no topo contours (and since it isn't transparent, I can't see the contours from my other IMG file, even with both of them enabled). This IMG file is not a routable map. ________________________________ The only way that I found to test out maps was to download them and try them out on the GPSr. For me, here in New England, I eventually decided to pay the $$ for the Garmin 24K Topo Series, and I'm happy with my decision. And I tried a LOT of free maps before that, most of them from gpsfiledepot. Regards Dave

You're better off posting this question in the gpsfiledepot.com forums. Yes, transparent trail maps are designed to be used in conjunction with some other underlying map. There are all kinds of tutorials on gpsfiledepot.com, but some of them are dated. The best way to see what will happen is to: 1) backup your entire unit (or at least the maps on your unit) by copying everything in the internal memory to your computer hard drive. 2) install the maps to your unit and enable / disable multiple combinations of them to see how they look. Dave

OK, we've been watching this thread for a while and searching high and low for good ideas. Unfortunately I'm not as crafty as any of you, so I had to resort to being crafty with my wallet . We're now ready to apply for membership in the Society of Better Swag. 1) Tiny caraBINERS 2) Little zipper pulls that CLIP to your zipper and are LIT when twisted. They have an LED light. 3) CARABINERS imprinted with our team name GXSIGNATURE. The ones pictured below have a compass and a flashlight...those will be reserved for the most deserving caches, but most that we will set out are just plain carabiners with our team name. Pictures below.... (P.S. just google the red all caps words)

go here: http://www.magellang...eXploristseries click the check mark under each product then click the word "compare" The difference is the available memory and the preloaded maps. The previous post summarized the 710: "The eX710 also comes with the US 1:24K TOPO maps as well as the US City Streets map which gives you road routing capabilities just like a Magellan Roadmate Auto Navigation unit"

The 78 and 62 have the same firmware, so it should work the same way

easiest way to change colors is to change profiles:

My recommended trick to try to solve potential format problems (deg-min-sec vs. decimal degrees) is: 1) Take your GPS into your front yard. 2) Write down the coordinates it displays. 3) Enter those coordinates into Google Earth 4) If the Google Earth bullseye doesn't end up in your front yard, you have a problem with coordinate formats Dave

You're cross posting this question from your original thread. I suggest you stick to that original thread since it is the same topic, with the same discussion. http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=295210 This thread should be locked.

How far off do you think it is? Why do think the map has it in the wrong place? Are you sure everything is in the same format as in: degrees-minutes.decimal minutes as opposed to degrees-minutes-seconds? If you turn your GPS on and stand in your front yard and write those coordinates down and then enter those coordinates into Google Earth, does Google Earth plot your position correctly?

I've only owned one GPSr (a Garmin 78sc), and I have only been 'caching for less than a year. So I'm not the best source for information, but anyway... I recommend a handheld Garmin, and one that can support: 1) multiple IMG files and 2) KMZ custom maps. These models support multiple IMG files: Colorado, Dakota, Oregon, GPSMAP 62/78, Montana, and nuvi 1xxx and higher These models support KMZ custom maps: http://www.garmin.co...maps#fragment-3 Here is a great way to get a very good, very detailed, free street / trail map of the entire United States: I was looking at an area with a lot of trails but no PDF/JPG or any kind of trail map that I could find anywhere to use to make a KMZ (custom map). The trails I wanted are on http://openstreetmap.org, so I started poking around to see if there was a way to get those onto my GPSr. The solution was amazing: 1) go to http://www.osmmaps.com/ 2) download the IMG / zip file - took 3 hours, so I let it run overnight 3) Unzip the IMG file - for me, the US file was / is 3.5 GB (yes, gigabytes) 4) rename the IMG file (since my Garmin GPS supports multiple IMG files) 5) copy the IMG file to the "\garmin" folder on the SD card in my GPS 6) "Enable" the OSM map on the GPS 7) At this point, I couldn't see the trails on my GPSr that I could see on the openstreetmap.org website. I figured I was out of luck...but... So this step may only apply to my GPS (GPSMAP 62/78 series), but perhaps there are similar steps for other Garmin GPSr: go to SETUP MAP, ADVANCED MAP SETUP, DETAIL, select MOST, and bingo! I now have the entire US version of openstreetmap.org on my GPSr, including all the trails you can see on that website. Absolutely amazing. Caveats: This IMG file is not transparent, so I can't see any other IMG files at the same time. I could probably figure out how to fix that, but I haven't yet. This IMG file has no topo contours (and since it isn't transparent, I can't see the contours from my other IMG file, even with both of them enabled). This IMG file is not a routable map. Finally, spend some time browsing these forums and others. Visit http://www.gpsfiledepot.com and browse the maps and the forums there. Regards Dave

This thread prompted me to change the way I was doing things....I periodically download a pocket query of 'my finds' - but up until now, I was deleting the old ones. I'm going to start saving them. Then, if this ever happens to me, I'll have the old pocket query to compare with. Dave

Team Periwinkle's links were a little messed up. I've fixed the mistake and reposted them here. Relativity in the GPS this paper Thanks, I fixed the links in my original post also. Dave

Welcome! It is a little bit hard to understand your exact question, but here are a couple links that might help: Watch this video: Then read this page: http://www.geocaching.com/track/howto.aspx If those don't help, try to post your question again...

Not really, but kind of. What we're talking about here is the Sagnac effect, which is accounted for in GPS calculations. The Sagnac effect is the difference in time of something traveling on a spinning object depending on the direction it is sent (with rotation or without). For GPS, that Sagnac effect is the angular velocity of the earth - which could be expressed (or understood) as a change in longitude, since longitude is the direction of angular velocity for the earth. Allow me to paraphrase and expand on a really good paragraph from a really good article on Relativity in the GPS: It should be emphasized that the transmitted navigation messages from the GPS satellites provide the user only with a function from which the satellite position can be calculated in the Earth Centered Earth Fixed (NOT ROTATING) reference geoid as a function of the transmission time. Usually, the satellite transmission times are unequal, so the coordinate system in which the satellite positions are specified changes orientation from one measurement to the next. Since the first step of GPS position solving is knowing where the satellites are, the receiver must generally perform a different rotation for each measurement made, into some common inertial frame, so that the position of the satellites can be solved. After solving the propagation delay equations, a final rotation must usually be performed to determine the receiver’s position. This can become exceedingly complicated and confusing. The actual steps that a GPS receiver takes to calculate a position and account for the various issues associated with these and other factors are described in this paper. _____________ The big problem in GPS related to the Sagnac effect is not really the fact that the receiver moved a little bit during the transmission of the signal. The big problem for GPS with the Sagnac effect is keeping the clocks synchronized. Since the atomic clocks on the earth are moving (with the rotation of the earth), their synchronization with each other and with the GPS satellites is affected by the rotation of the earth. But that's a horse of a different color.

I have found (and have seen documented on other forums) that this tip is necessary if you run the same pocket query on a periodic basis: 1) Connect the GPSr to your computer and turn it on 2) Delete the PQ file from your GPSr 3) Unplug the GPSr from your computer (using the 'eject hardware' sequence) 4) Turn on the GPSr and let it boot all the way into a map 5) Turn off the GPSr 6) Re-attach it to your computer and turn it on. 7) Copy the new PQ file onto the GPSr. If you simply overwrite a PQ file that already exists on your Garmin 62 or 78 series GPSr, without following the above sequence, the GPSr may become all screwed up. Trust me...happened to me. The same goes for overwriting KMZ and or any GPX file. If you just put a PQ / GPX file on your GPSr once, none of this matters to you.

Yep, not to follow the "believe everything you read on the internet," but I'm convinced. See this previous post, and also read post #11 in the same thread: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=269742&view=findpost&p=4639672 So it all makes sense: When we use the pencil icon and edit the coordinates on geocaching.com, that results in a corrected GPX file being generated (either for that cache or when we run a pocket query). then we have the "?" in the correct place. But once the GPX file is on the GPSr, we can't edit it - only enter more stages, which aren't stored in the GPX file. The pencil thing doesn't seem well documented, but what a great feature! Kudos to GS for implementing it, and making our edits with the pencil stick when we generate GPX or PQ downloads. I'm impressed. Dave

Hmmm. Maybe there is an easier way (and my previous solution of effectively editing the GPX is definitely a lot better), but here is one solution on the GPSr, in case you are doing these "in the field": 1) Move your cursor arrow to the "?" symbol of the geocache 2) Press the enter button, you should get a list of things at that point. 3) Select the geocache name and press enter again 4) You should get the geocache description page 5) Press enter to "go" to the geocache 6) You should now be looking at the map screen 7) Press menu and select "View Geocache" 8) Scroll down five entries and select "Enter Next Stage" 9) Enter the correct coordinates and select done. Essentially we are pretending that the cache is a multi stage, and entering the coordinates as the second stage. So this will help you get where you want to go, but it isn't the perfect solution. This does not change the coordinates of the "?" to the correct location, as my previous solution with using the pencil icon on the cache web page does. I can't find a way to 'fix' the coordinates of the "?" directly on the GPSr. And I'll bet you can't - those coordinates are in the GPX file, and I don't think the GPSr can edit the GPX file...now I'm interested - I'm going to search around and see what I can find on other forums... Dave

Dave, are your revised coordinates maintained when the GPX file for that cache is part of a Pocket Query, or only when you download that one cache from its own page? Patty Both

I have found that the easiest way to do this is to change the coordinates on the web page of the geocache. Then when you download the GPX, it uses the coordinates you have entered. On every geocache web page that is a mystery, there is a little pencil icon next to the coordinates. Click on that and enter the correct coordinates. It only changes the coordinates for you - you're not changing the coordinates for everyone. I have a 78sc which has the same firmware as the 62s, so I'll check the steps on the GPSr and post those later. Dave